A common misconception is that you have to form a full-time business in order to find opportunities to make money with your drone. This isn’t true. There are literally dozens of drone business ideas out there for even part-time video entrepreneurs. Freelance UAV pilots and aerial filmmakers are making money with drones even outside of the traditional businesses while selling their services through online marketplaces.
It can be tough to run a business, and not everyone is cut out for it. Additionally, not everyone wants the kind of long haul responsibility that goes with full-blown entrepreneurship. Some drone owners just like fiddling around with them on the weekend, and the opportunity to make money through a side job is appealing.
The “long story short” is that you can still make money using drone technology, even if you don’t have a traditional business you work through.
While there are UAV jobs out there don’t lend themselves well to micro job websites, here are 3 drone business ideas that offer immediate opportunities to make money with your drone on VideoToOrder very quickly:
- Selling Stock Footage
- Working for Local Businesses
- Video Greetings and Announcements for Special Occasions
Here’s how:
Drone Business Ideas: Selling Stock Footage
Just like Shutterstock and related websites make money off of companies that need stock video footage and b-roll, specialty websites are offering stock drone video footage for sale, too. Not every bird in flight or city street you see in commercials was shot explicitly for that purpose. No, businesses contract out videographers or pay other companies for the license to stock footage in order to cut down on their own costs.
Some businesses and clients look explicitly for certain moments that need to be captured, like a caterpillar creating a cocoon. Others will buy any stock film they believe will, in turn, make them money. You have options, so see what’s out there.
Drone Business Ideas: Look for Local Business
Local and small businesses in your surrounding area likely want to create commercials, but they don’t have the ability because of tight budgets. One way to offer them a cheaper method of advertising, that’s still high in quality, is to set them up with a drone video shoot.
Other clients may want footage for other reasons – a cousin’s birthday party, a community event. Always look for an angle and don’t be afraid to offer your services during occasions like these.
Drone Business Ideas: Video Greetings and Announcements
Drones give you the ability to be creative, and being creative sells. This is especially true when it comes to video greetings, announcements, and personal messages. Events like a milestone birthday or a proposal require intimate, unique gestures, and what’s more intimate and unique than a message delivered via drone footage?
Potential Career Benefits
Let’s hypothetically say that right now you just want to make some extra cash with your drone, but in the future, you’ll want to turn your weekend hobby into something more professional. The best way to start building a reputation and resume is to start small – do local jobs and work on a freelance basis until you make a name for yourself to create a credible business with.
There are tons of ways to boost your credibility as a drone pilot and freelance filmmaker; other drone business ideas including opportunities to make money by entering drone video contests and commercial drone pilot apprenticeships. These sites often hold challenges to see who can take the best aerial footage and they usually come with fantastic cash prizes attached.
But still, even if you do just want to keep your hobby a hobby, you do have options open to you. Not to mention being an experienced drone pilot looks pretty cool on any resume, not just one that deals with drone work. Have fun, make money and see where it all takes you. You may end up surprising yourself.
Keep in mind that as a freelance video creator you still need to consider the tax consequences of self-employment and, possibly, local regulations to use your drone for commercial purposes regardless of your official business status wherever you may be. Please fly safely!
Are you offering drone video services on a marketplace website? Put the link in the comments below and tell the world about it!
