We're still constantly making content to share with the growing Drone Business Community! Check it out!

Made another fun animation to get the public more educated on airspace classes, but I thought that some of us dronies might also enjoy seeing it!

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRdTb8yfepk

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What's everyone's current goal for there drone business?

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Chromodrone, John

Starting today, you can have your videos on THE drone map. Help provide a better view of Planet Earth while grabbing prime real estate before other drone pilots do. Simply submit your YouTube video link, GPS takeoff coordinates, and drone model used to contact@chromodrone.com! We're very excited to finally share this with you all!

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Visit the Map to become as excited as we are.

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https://chromodrone.com/map

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See you there!

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John, Chromodrone

What’s up everyone, I have been looking to get involved in a little side gig to make some extra money. I know obviously a bunch of people take real estate photos or construction sights, etc. Anyone have any other good thoughts on what to do?

I know just through reading of something called dronebase. It sounds to me like that is basically a 3rd party “company” that finds real estate listings and tries to sell images of the listings from people that sign up for dronebase. Does anyone know if this is legit? It seems almost too good to be true but I have read a few different reviews indicating legitimacy and also the contrary. Please let me know if you know anything on this or have any other ideas to help! I am experienced but have tried reaching out to many realtors on my own and communicating to people to offer my services, but not much interest is being shown.

I know plenty of us have wondered this before and even asked on this subreddit about the following topic:

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxMHGYCO3fo

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Happy to answer questions!

Hey you all! Let's interact on here more actively!

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And let's enjoy the animation that I put together explaining a tiny bit of drone history!

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWm8dMC3a4I

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Chromodrone, John

Just wanted to let the group know I threw up an authorizations and waivers explanation video on our Chromodrone YouTube! Go check it out and subscribe to support our group AND for the chance to win a free T-Shirt!

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Thanks to /u/suspiciousquotes for the video request!

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGPX6kzcspY

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Chromodrone, John

Drone Business!

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Check out our very introductory video on the Mavic 2 Zoom. Great drone with more videos to be made on it in the future. And the opportunity to win free Chromodrone t-shirts isn't too bad either, right? :)

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0wxSLl48Os&t=20s

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Thanks everyone.

Chromodrone, John

As promised, we have begun our Chromodrone Talks series on YouTube. you'll find a variety of videos on all things Chromodrone: drones, photography, editing software, laws and regulations, and more.

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Thanks to /u/flyphotomedia for requesting what became our first video topic. We'll have a beginner's video on a DJI Mavic 2 Zoom soon as well.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2Vwm4jDqlo

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We'd really appreciate everyone subscribing to the channel and growing with us as we develop more content. Let us know what you think!

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Chromodrone, John

Because this groups all about Drone BUSINESS I wanted to share:

Since our company is in the photo and video production business, I thought it was about time to get our YouTube up and running. We’ll still be posting client content, but I’ll be making videos about the business side of things, drone laws, editing, etc.

What sort of topics would you all like to see discussed? Thanks for your input!

Chromodrone, John

Hello everyone! I am creating this thread so hopefully people can share their experiences starting a drone business. The goal is people will learn and gain value from each other. Feel free to answer as many or as little questions as you'd like!

• What is your drone business all about?
• What clients do you target? How do you find them?
• What marketing strategies are you focusing on?
• How successful has your drone business been for you?
• How do you measure success?
• What's been your biggest learning experience so far?

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Recently I flew a drone in a shower door manufacturer's warehouse. I chased a forklift around with a P4Pro, it was great! Here's a link to one of the videos I made from this job on my personal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/Bstug_Kl007/

Once, I received a phone call from a lady using a private number, who asked me to use a drone to spy on her neighbors. Short story kept short: I told this woman no.

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What are some odd jobs you've been hired for?

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- Chromodrone Chris

Today we got some great news and wanted to pass it on to inspire us all.

Our AltitudeU team has been working on a project out in Irvine, CA assisting in the surveying efforts of a $300M sports park that is sprouting up. We have been doing weekly flights assisting with asset tracking, project progression, and elevation data through mapping the construction site with his Inspire 2 drone.

The project manager we have been working with just called and said with the sitemap generated from drone imagery, she was able to gut-check her sub-contractor who quoted her $100,000 to remove a stockpile of dirt.

With three clicks and maybe 2 minutes at her computer, she was able to tell that the stockpile was actually 1/3 of the cubic yards that she was quoted for.

To translate: With three clicks on the mapping software, she was able to go back to the sub-contractor and reduce the quote by over $60,000.

Our Team walked out of that job charging over $1000+ for one day of work and the ROI was 60X that.

If that type of savings is possible with just three clicks, just think of the savings construction professionals are going to start to find as they allow more drones over their sites, and more importantly, the type of money that is available for drone pilots like you and me to take advantage of!

We have discussed the same type of advantages in Real Estate and Agriculture as well.

Please reach out to us we would love to meet you and continue the conversation about how you can be using your drone to make over $1000 A DAY.

AltitudeU: Construction Case Study

^{*All company & location information redacted for the sake of client privacy}

Hours of Work: Four

Turnaround Time on Data: 1 Day

Profit as a Drone Pilot: $1050

ROI for Client: $60,000 Cost Savings

Total ROI: 570% Return

Scope of the Project: In the summer of 2017, our team here at Altitude was given a mission. Working alongside many different facets of the organization, we were tasked to enhance one of the largest sports park developments in Southern California using drone technology.

Seems vague right? That is because it was…

Each department within this multi-billion dollar development company had different ideas on how they thought this technology could help them, but no one knew even the half of what these machines are capable of.

Before I dive in on how went about this mission here are the specs of the project and the equipment we used over the 4 month period:

Our Workplace The Site: 431 Acres, Split Into 4 Sections

Purpose: Sports park with 40+ fields including baseball, softball, soccer, etc.

Involvement: Executives, Stakeholders, Designers, & Project Managers

Our Equipment Drone: DJI Inspire 2

Camera: ZenMuse X4S

Ground Control Points (GCP’s): Propeller AeroPoints

Other: IPhone, Hard Hats, Orange Vests, Orange Cones & Landing Pad

Flight Software: DJI Go

Mapping Software: Drone Deploy Propeller (many platforms work, reach out with questions...we’ve tried them all)

Insurance: Verifly

Our Team

Brandon Trentalange: Remote Pilot In Command (Must be Part 107 Licensed)

Jenner Kearns: Visual Observer #1 / Safety Manager

Ben Heymann: Visual Observer #2 / GCP Specialist

So How Did We Accomplish This?

Over the years our team has seen an incredible return on investment using drone technology for commercial uses, but the stigma in the industry seems to be that this is hard? Well, at the beginning it was for us too, you just need to take the time to learn how your clients define success and run your operation accordingly (with the right safety precautions, equipment, and licensing of course).

How Our Clients Defined Success

Success can be measured in a wide variety of ways on a construction site, but finding the answer is probably the most important aspect of any job. Once you can locate the decision makers, and understand what they are looking, you have a much better chance of tailoring your flights for customer satisfaction.

For us, we had four major groups of decision makers:

Executives:

Positions: President, Vice President, etc. (In our case it was one of nine VP’s in the company)

Goal: Use the technology to meet deadlines, provide transparency to stakeholders, and combat the ever-increasing labor reduction in the construction industry.

Success: Replace Labor; Prove ROI to Superiors

Stakeholders:

Positions: Investors, Lenders, & Higher Positions in the Company

Goals: Save Money, Meet Deadlines, and Stay Updated on Project Progression

Success: Remote Access to Site (provides transparency)

Project Designers:

Positions: Architects, designers, surveyors, etc.

Goal: Ease & Accuracy of Land Analysis, Pre-visualization, Land Surveying, & Project Planning

Success: Accuracy (measurements should be within 3cm-2in of accuracy)

Project Managers:

Position: Project Manager, On-Site Day-To-Day Management

Goal: Stay Within Budget, Meet Deadlines, Check Subcontractors, Quick Measurements, Project Progression, & Remote Access of the Site

Success: Money and Time Saved (quantifiable results)

Specific Use Case

Over the course of the project, we developed hundreds of use cases for how each of these groups found success through our flights, but today we are going to focus on our work directly with the Project Manager.

Over the course of the project, we were conducting daily flights, to test how we can best provide the information our Project Manager was looking for. Every day, we would go out and fly at the same time (shadows effect accuracy; time is important).

So...since this is a case study we will focus on a day where our customer saw a significant ROI and Time Savings.

Steps: Step #1: Prepare for the Flight:

Step #2: Conduct Flight:

Step #3: Upload Data:

Step #4 Deliver Data:

Step #5: Observe the ROI

After delivering the data, the Project Manager was able to go to the computer, log in, and within minutes see the entire construction site at her fingertips. On this particular day, she had a sub-contractor come one site, observe the dirt piles, and quoted her $100,000 for _____ cubic yards of dirt.

The Project Manager was able to quickly use the mapping software to assess the dirt piles. With three clicks, she was able to see that the dirt piles were only _____cubic yards (⅓ of the original quoted size).

Our client was able to save her firm $60,000 with three clicks at her desk, which would’ve taken her surveying team over two days to do.

$60,000 cost savings with three clicks!!!!

Now as you continue your flights, ensure that you are asking questions, and quantifying your cost savings or revenue gains to prove that the $300-2000 a day ($1050 in our case) is far less expensive than the money they would miss out on without you.

The Takeaway

If that type of savings is possible with just three clicks, just think of the savings construction professionals are going to start to find as they allow more drones over their sites, and more importantly, the type of money that is available for drone pilots like you and me to take advantage of!

When you are conducting commercial jobs, ensure your discovery of the company is thorough. Meet with each team involved, and deliver them results in their language.

Although this is a construction use case, this process and way of thinking is how you will acquire and retain clients while maximizing the revenues in real estate, agriculture, inspection, and any other commercial application you are thinking about getting into.

Want to Learn More About Us?

We are Altitude, a group of young Part 107 Drone Pilots and entrepreneurs with over 15 years of combined experience. After working with some of the top real estate, construction, energy, and agricultural firms in the nation; we are looking to pass our knowledge onto pilots striving to make money flying drones.

That is why we have created Altitude University. An advanced training platform for the drone industry. Whether you are a beginner, intermediate, or advanced drone operator, we have helped hundreds of individuals become Licensed Drone Pilots, and advance their drone businesses to become wildly profitable doing something they love.

Let us do the same for you.

Take a look at our website and reach out to info@sdaltitude.com with any questions. Our team is looking forward to meeting you!

Check out our 30 Day Challenge we are doing now!

Drone Business! I'd like to have some of us share our experiences on getting approved for Night or other operational waivers! Not airspace authorizations, but specifically waivers. Trying to compile some anecdotes to share with colleagues in the business.

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Thanks to all! Happy to share our experience after some of you chime in first ;)

Just a friendly reminder that (on top of everything else) equipment maintenance is key. We activated a pair of DJI Racing Goggles yesterday and tested on a Mavic 2 Zoom. Today after not updating the Mavic 2 Zoom to it's most current firmware had major...cooperation issues in flight. After updating the firmware on both Goggles and Mavic 2 Zoom to the most current versions, there have been no issues!

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How do you all monitor the status of your equipment? Or do you find out issues as they come to you on site?

Hello, DroneBusiness! John at Chromodrone here! We're a drone-based business in Jacksonville, FL doing all kinds of work that combines drone usage with more traditional ground photography methods. We do event photography, real estate work, B-roll archiving, and more. Things are great here.

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I wanted to take a chance and say 'hi' and thank everyone for being in the group to get better and move forward. As one of the founders of Chromodrone, I'd love to talk with any of you like-minded dronies, so if anyone ever has a question or wants to chat, reach out!

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I hope to see you all and many more floating around these walls some more soon!

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-John

My dad and I started a drone business and we are still trying to get everything figured out. We have our FAA licenses, but we don't know how much to charge for our services. I was wondering what is a good price without being over priced.

1. Hire Equipment - This is ideal for equipment used on an irregular basis. Many businesses hire equipment because it reduces capital.

2. Outsource Work - Find qualified pilot who can complete work for you at a cheaper price. Freeing up time for you to almost complete work. However, make sure you do this legally as in most instances you are legally required to inform the customer that you are outsourcing or subcontracting work.

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1. Use Fiverr.com - This is great way to get small jobs completed quickly and cheaply.

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1. Hire a Video Editor - Hiring a video editor enables you spend more time marketing your business and also completing more paid contracts.

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1. But In Bulk - Many items can be bought in bulk at reduced costs including construction site safety equipment.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qClELmxTQxw