Drone to 1K Podcast by Drone Launch Academy

In this episode of the Drone to 1K Podcast, we sit down with Jeremy Proctor, owner of Central Texas Aerials. Jeremy shares his remarkable journey of turning a therapeutic hobby into a thriving drone business that generated nearly $70K in revenue during his first full year.After being laid off from his corporate tech job in July 2023, Jeremy transformed his drone side hustle into his primary source of income. Based in New Braunfels, Texas, he strategically positions himself to serve both the San Antonio and Austin markets, capturing lucrative construction progression documentation contracts.Jeremy reveals how he:Used Bark.com as his primary lead generation tool, investing $4-5K to secure approximately $70K in businessBuilt relationships with construction companies, universities, and solar farmsSecured recurring contracts worth $10-12K each from clients like Texas A&M University and SeaWorldCreated impressive time-lapse progression videos that won him new clientsPlans to scale his business nationwide by hiring pilots in other citiesWhether you're just starting your drone business or looking to take it to the next level, Jeremy's practical advice and inspiring success story demonstrate how determination and strategic positioning can lead to significant growth, even in challenging circumstances.Don't forget to like, subscribe, and share this video to help other drone entrepreneurs on their journey!https://www.centexaerials.com/

Join us for a conversation with Michael Lilley, founder of Wet Dog Drones, as he shares his journey from drone enthusiast to successful construction site documentation specialist. Michael reveals how he built a thriving drone business while working a full-time job in the construction industry.In this episode, Michael discusses:His unconventional 1AM workday schedule and how he manages his drone business on weekendsHow he convinced his employer to become his biggest client after initially facing resistanceThe specifics of construction progression monitoring and how drones save clients thousands of dollarsHis approach to building recurring revenue with strategic flight schedulesPractical advice for drone pilots looking to break into the construction industryWhether you're interested in the construction world, progression update photography, or building a drone business with sustainable income, Michael's story demonstrates the power of persistence and industry expertise.Get the Progression Shots workshop for just $1 here- https://courses.dronelaunchacademy.com/p/how-to-take-project-progression-shots?coupon_code=WETDOG&product_id=5946200 Connect with Michael: https://wetdogdrones.com/https://www.linkedin.com/company/wet-dog-drone-services/https://www.linkedin.com/in/wetdogdrones/

In this episode of the Drone to 1K Podcast, host David Young talks with Cody Retlich about:Acquiring a drone service business (MKE Drones) for minimal upfront costGrowing revenue by 30% through strategic business acquisitionTips for new drone entrepreneurs on client acquisitionBuilding a successful drone service business from scratchKey Insights:Negotiated a 2-year payment plan with the previous business ownerFocused on expanding existing client base and service offeringsImportance of knowing your niche and building relationshipsLearn more about Cody's drone business journey and strategies in the Drone to 1K course! https://dronelaunchacademy.com/drone-to-1k-2023/ Connect with Cody:https://www.linkedin.com/in/cody-retlich/https://www.droneadair.com/https://www.midwestaerialproduction.com/

In this episode, we dive into Jon Jeffress's incredible journey from weekend car show photographer to a successful real estate media production entrepreneur. Learn how he transformed his business, navigated the challenges of growth, and built a half-million-dollar company in Mobile, Alabama.📸 What You'll Learn:How Jon pivoted from automotive to real estate photographyThe power of networking and strategic partnershipsInnovative approaches to service delivery in the photography businessScaling a business from $35K to $540K in just a few yearsInsights into drone photography and real estate media productionConnect with Jon:https://www.deepsouthfocus.com/https://www.instagram.com/deepsouthfocus_re/https://www.instagram.com/deepsouthfocus/Get the workshop for just $1 here- https://courses.dronelaunchacademy.com/p/landing_real_estate_clients_through_instagram?coupon_code=PODCAST&product_id=4832523

Our guest for this episode is Brandon Beal of Elevation Aerial Application. 🚁 Highlights from this episode:Getting Started: Brandon came from a traditional aviation background working with helicopters before transitioning to drones in 2017. He moved to Virginia during COVID to pursue his dream of agricultural drone operations.The Business: Starting with a $50,000 loan, Brandon and his business partner launched Elevation Aerial Application, focusing on spraying and fertilizing Christmas tree farms, corn fields, and pastures using DJI Agras T40 drones.Growth & Impact: In their first year, they generated $50,000 in revenue. By their second year, they've expanded to three drones and reached $170-180,000 in revenue. Their services help farmers reduce chemical usage by 30% and decrease reliance on manual labor, particularly in Christmas tree operations.Innovation: They're now developing a client portal where farmers can track their fields, request services, and manage application records - showing how they continue to evolve and improve their agricultural drone services.Get the Introduction to Drones in Agriculture workshop for just $1 here- https://sso.teachable.com/secure/58782/checkout/4832513/intro-to-drones-in-agriculture?coupon_code=PODCAST

In this episode, we sit down with Matt Nugent, founder of Wing Walker Aerial Photography in Seattle, who shares his journey from reluctant police drone operator to successful drone business owner. Matt reveals how he built a thriving side business generating $5,000+ monthly while maintaining his full-time career in law enforcement.Learn how Matt:Transitioned from basic police drone work to specialized photogrammetryAdapted his business after losing a major clientDeveloped unique nighttime drone mapping techniquesBuilt recurring revenue through civil engineering and development clientsRecently landed his biggest month ever at $20,000Whether you're just starting your drone business or looking to scale existing operations, Matt offers practical insights on finding your niche, building client relationships, and delivering professional results.Connect with Matt:https://www.wingwalkerphotos.com/Instagram: @wingwalkerphotosEmail: [email protected] TRAINING: How to Start a Drone Business in 2025 — Even If You Have NO Experience:https://training.dronelaunchacademy.com/free-drone-business-training-2025/ _____Use the code PODCAST300 to get the Drone to $1k Course with a $300 discount! https://dronelaunchacademy.com/drone-to-1k-2023/ _____

We're excited to announce that Season 7 Episode 1 of the Drone to $1K Podcast is out!Our guest for this episode is Chris Knipp of Sky Media 423. Highlights from this episode:Unexpected Beginning: Chris's drone journey started with a Mavic Mini purchase in late 2019 for his church's kids ministry during COVID, creating engaging online content by incorporating aerial footage into their productions. His background in film industry work and storytelling through children's ministry laid the groundwork for his visual style.First Commercial Success: Without even planning to start a business, Chris landed his first paid drone job filming an 880-acre property for developers, earning his first $1,000. This unexpected success opened his eyes to the commercial potential of drone services.Business Evolution: Sky Media 423 has grown into a diverse media company, offering real estate photography and videography, event coverage, family portraits, and branding videos.Be sure to check out the full episode to learn more about Chris's journey!Get the Drone 101 course for just $1 with a coupon code SEASON7 here- https://courses.dronelaunchacademy.com/p/drones-101?coupon_code=SEASON7&product_id=1893165

We're excited to announce that Season 6 Episode 10 of the Drone to $1K Podcast is out!Our guest for this episode is Juan Quinones of LuxyDrone.https://www.instagram.com/juan.c.quinonez/ Juan Quinones, founder of FPV Creator Pro and Luxy Drone, shared his journey, highlighting his transition from videography to FPV drone flying.🚁 Highlights from this episode:Discovering FPV: Juan's fascination with FPV drones began when he witnessed an impressive aerial display at a yacht party. Persistence and Learning: Despite numerous setbacks, including struggling with the simulator for about 90 hours over a year, Juan navigated through challenges like understanding LiPo battery safety and repairing drones.Skills Development: Juan improved his skills in repairing drones and mastered FPV flying techniques which led him to landing gigs in luxury real estate.Business Expansion: Juan used his skills to expand his business ventures with FPV Creator Pro and LuxyDrone. He started offering courses and services in the FPV industry.And much more!

We're excited to announce that Season 6 Episode 9 of the Drone to $1K Podcast is out!Our guest for this episode is Guillermo Wenzel of Drone Sky Visuals.Guillermo, founder of Drone Sky Visuals, came back to the podcast to talk about how he's been doing since his last appearance on the podcast in 2019.🚁 Highlights from this episode:Juggling Jobs: At first, he was working both his drone business, Drone Sky Visuals, and a regular job at a construction company.Getting Drones into Business: He managed to convince the construction company to use drones by showing them how they could help with impressive aerial photos.Branching Out: Guillermo talked about how he started looking into different areas like Building Information Modeling and moved beyond just real estate because that market was getting crowded.Business Takeoff: His business took off in 2022 with exciting gigs, leading to a significant increase in revenue.And much more!

Season 6 Episode 8 of the Drone to $1K Podcast is out!Our guest for this episode is Noah Ruiz of Soaring Eagle Technologies.Noah Ruiz, founder of Soaring Eagle Technologies, transitioned from capturing photos of houses to specializing in infrastructure inspection with drones.🚁 Highlights from this episode:Inspiration and Early Ventures: Noah started his drone journey after witnessing the profitability of the technology in various industries, initially focusing on capturing images and videos of residential properties and construction sites.Transition to Infrastructure Inspection: Recognizing the immense potential in infrastructure inspection, Noah shifted his business focus accordingly, investing in advanced equipment like the Falcon 8 drone to enhance capabilities.Success with APS Contract: Noah secured a lucrative contract with APS (Arizona Public Service), generating approximately $120,000 in revenue over four quarters, solidifying his company's presence in the industry.And much more!

Our guest for this episode is Zach Pieper of Quantum Land Design and Arrowview Services.Zach worked for Caterpillar in civil engineering and then ventured into entrepreneurship by establishing Quantum Land Design and Arrowview Services. These companies specialize in services for contractors and civil engineering, respectively.🚁 Highlights from this episode:Drone Integration in Construction: Zach's utilization of drones in construction and civil engineering, leveraging his diverse background in farming, mining, heavy construction, and earthmoving contracting.ArrowView's Drone Data Services: ArrowView Services specializes in providing drone data services for civil engineers and surveyors, offering 3D models and contour maps tailored to diverse client needs.Quantum Land Design's Contractor-Facing Services: Quantum Land Design focuses on contractor-facing services, including machine control models and drone data services tailored specifically for contractors in the field.

Our guest for this episode is Matt Harvey of Edge Drone Services. https://edgedroneservices.com/Here are the main highlights of this episode:Matt's journey into the drone industry began while he was still in college, sparked by a conversation at a construction company where he was employed.He and his friend formed a partnership and started their own drone services company. Initially, they focused on projects in construction, like replacing bridges and promoting real estate.Matt faced challenges and learned valuable lessons while working with a partner, eventually buying out his friend's share.He shifted to subcontracting work, especially in the utility sector. Matt found profitable opportunities during hurricane seasons and natural disasters like wildfires. His contract work involved inspecting assets such as distribution and transmission lines.He discussed the logistical challenges of traveling extensively for work, particularly between Florida and California.Matt emphasized the importance of adapting to industry changes and seizing opportunities.

Welcome back to the Drone to 1K podcast! In Season 6, Episode 5, host David Young catches up with Pedro Silva of Drones by Dro. Pedro shares his journey from part-time drone enthusiast to running a thriving drone business full time. Tune in for valuable insights on starting and growing a drone business, including Pedro's transition to full-time drone work and his success with search engine optimization that boosted his business.https://www.dronebydro.com/ 🚁 Highlights:Pedro's journey from part-time to full-time drone business.Deep dive into search engine optimization strategies.Exploring the different drone services that propelled Pedro's success.Overcoming challenges and personal loss while building the business.Tips for growing your client base and navigating the drone industry.👕 Special Offer:Love the podcast? Leave a review on Apple Podcasts, screenshot it, and send it to [email protected] to receive a free Drone Launch t-shirt!

Welcome back to Season Six, Episode Four of the Drone to 1K Podcast! 🚁 In this episode, David Young sits down with Blake Skor of CT Aerial Photo, LLC. Blake, at just 18 years old, shares his inspiring journey into the world of drone photography and videography. One highlight of the conversation is how Blake fearlessly pursued opportunities, showcasing the power of strategic outreach and overcoming obstacles.🔍 Topics Covered:Blake's strategic outreach approach: From cold calling ski resorts to landing paid gigs.Overcoming the fear factor: How Blake tackled challenges and made things happen.The pivotal moment: Blake's first paid job at a ski mountain, turning a portfolio-building opportunity into a $100 success.Diving into the business side: Formation of CT Aerial Photo LLC and the transition from free work to a profitable side hustle.Utilizing online job platforms: Insights into platforms like droners.io and Sold by Air for expanding opportunities.Tips for success: Blake shares valuable advice for aspiring drone entrepreneurs, emphasizing the importance of persistence and networking.👕 Free Drone Launch T-Shirt Offer!Enjoying the podcast? Leave an honest review, screenshot it, and email [email protected] to receive a free Drone Launch t-shirt as a token of our appreciation.🎙️ Meet Blake Skor:Connect with Blake and learn more about his drone journey and CT Aerial Photo, LLC.🌐 Visit CT Aerial Photo's Website- https://www.ctaerialphoto.com/

Our guest for this week's episode is Jeff Hughes of Campfire Video Solutions.https://campfirevideos.com/ Jeff's journey started from a job where he made videos to promote a home inspection company.Then, during the pandemic, he tried out drones for real estate photos and videos and became a licensed drone pilot.Here's a quick look at what we talked about:From Making Ads to Flying Drones: Jeff started with making ads, and then he got into using drones for even cooler shots.Pandemic Project: Find out how Jeff got into drones during the pandemic, taking cool shots of houses.Free to Paid: Jeff shared his plan of doing free work to build up his portfolio, which eventually led to getting paid for doing cool projects.Smart Moves: Learn why doing free work can actually lead to getting paid for bigger projects, with a real example of scoring a big job for a home builder.Drone Decisions: Jeff talks about choosing between DJI and Autel drones, explaining what's good and not so good about each.

Join us as we chat with Cody Retlich of Midwest Aerial Productions (MAP) and DroneAdair. In this episode of Drone To $1K, Cody shares his stories and experiences, giving us a peek into the exciting realm of aerial innovation.🔍 What to Expect:College Spark: Cody's interest in drones took off during a college project on drones and agriculture, sparking a passion that reshaped his career.Changing the Game: Explore how MAP shifted from local drone services to a successful brokerage model, growing fast and building strong client relationships.Notable Moments (2017-2020): Get into the exciting projects that defined MAP's journey, including collaborations with insurance clients, cell tower inspections, and a special project at the Ryder Cup.Behind the Scenes of Ryder Cup: Take an exclusive peek at MAP's role in the Ryder Cup, where Cody and the team delivered stunning aerial content, including thrilling FPV flyovers.Reflections and Lessons: Cody looks back on his drone journey, sharing insights and lessons learned, providing a unique perspective on MAP's success until 2020.🎙️ Tune in for an engaging conversation with Cody Retlich and discover the evolution of the drone industry and the innovative strategies that contributed to MAP's success. Follow now for more inspiring stories from various industries!

We're excited to announce that Season 6 of the Drone to $1K Podcast is officially here!Our first podcast guest of season 6 is Brian Koester of Southbay Drone Services.Brian's journey began with real estate photography, evolving into a broader range of drone services. Brian shares insights on:Transitioning from real estate to diverse drone services.The role of digital marketing and websites in his growth.Shifting focus to construction and mapping services.Using photogrammetry for projects and the value of ortho mosaic mapping. And much more!

Welcome to the final episode of Drone to $1K, Season 5! In today's episode, we have a special guest, Thomas Wasinski from Ariel Agents. Thomas shares his fascinating journey from starting drones as a side hustle to turning it into a full-time career. He has worked with renowned companies like HBO, the NFL, and even the Cleveland Browns. Thomas's story is truly inspiring, as he went from an unrelated profession to becoming an Emmy award-winning drone pilot.In this episode, Thomas discusses how he got connected with Drone Launch through Eric Hellinger, a previous podcast guest. He shares his experiences working with the Cleveland Browns and HBO's Hard Knocks, where he had the opportunity to showcase his drone piloting skills and even won several Emmys. Thomas emphasizes the importance of providing value to clients by offering specialized services tailored to their specific industries.As the drone industry becomes more competitive, Thomas advises aspiring drone pilots to identify their target markets and find ways to stand out. He suggests focusing on delivering valuable content that meets the unique needs of each industry. Thomas also highlights the potential of subscription-based services, such as providing regular updates for construction projects, which can generate steady revenue streams.Join us for this engaging conversation as Thomas dives into the details of his journey and offers valuable insights for drone enthusiasts and professionals alike. Don't miss out on this final episode of Drone to one K, Season 5!Make sure to like, share, and subscribe to our channel for more inspiring stories and valuable drone-related content. And if you want to support us, leave a review and get a chance to win a free t-shirt! Stay tuned for Season 6 and exciting new episodes.Connect with Thomas-https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomaswasinskihttps://www.aerialagents.com/

In this episode of Drone to 1K podcast, David interviews Robert Nix, a drone business owner of RE Drone SC. David and Robert discuss Robert's journey from a hobbyist drone pilot to a full-time drone business owner, offering tips and tricks for those starting from scratch.Robert is from South Carolina and took a drone launch course several years ago. He and David connected and have stayed in touch ever since. Robert has seen his drone business grow over time, starting from taking his Part 107 license to now doing it full-time.During the episode, David teases some hilarious moments, including an incident where Robert was mistaken for someone else while filming and got into a funny situation. Robert shares valuable tips, tricks, and stories for aspiring drone entrepreneurs who want to build a successful drone business from scratch.Tune in to this episode to hear Robert's inspiring journey in the drone industry, his experiences, and insights that can help you in your own entrepreneurial endeavors.Connect with Robert here:https://redronesc.com/https://www.instagram.com/redronesc/https://www.facebook.com/redronesc/https://www.linkedin.com/in/robert-nix-61504a31/

This week’s guest is Curtis Kloc from Inspections Over Coffee. Inspections Over Coffee is an inspection company that uses drones to help inspect roofs. The company also sells franchises, and Curtis says that everyone that purchases a franchise also has to get licensed and learn how to use drones to inspect roofs. Curtis also works with real estate agents and agencies and educates them about inspection work, which builds credibility for his company and often leads to more business. Curtis gives lots of great advice about running a business during this episode, so be sure to give it a listen! Connect with Curtis Website: https://www.homeinspectionsovercoffee.com/ Facebook: Inspections Over Coffee Instagram: @inspectionsovercoffee Twitter: @CoffeeInspect YouTube: Inspections Over Coffee Have a Drone Business? Want to be Interviewed for the Drone to $1K Podcast? Complete this questionnaire: Drone to $1K Business Owner Application Training from Drone Launch Academy Part 107 Exam Prep Course ($50 off) Aerial Photo Pro Course ($50 off) Aerial Video A to Z Course ($100 off) Aerial Roof Inspection Pro Course ($100 off) Drones 101 Course ($20 off) Other Places to Listen iTunes Stitcher Spotify TuneI

Our guest this week is Pedro Silva from Drone by Dro. Since getting his Part 107 license, Pedro has worked on a variety of drone photography and videography jobs, including construction work, real estate listing photos and videos, and even a video for a hospital that recently did a huge renovation. (The video he created for the hospital actually won an award!) Pedro's been able to quit his job as a waiter and focus on building Drone by Dro full-time. An interesting thing about his business is that since he lives near Washington, DC, he has to request special authorization to fly in the restricted airspace that surrounds the US capitol. To hear more about Pedro's business and how he's been able to get authorization to fly in the restricted airspace around Washington, DC, be sure to listen to this week's podcast episode! Connect with Pedro: Website: https://www.dronebydro.com/ Instagram: @dronebydro Twitter: @dronebydro Have a Drone Business? Want to be Interviewed for the Drone to $1K Podcast? Complete this questionnaire: Drone to $1K Business Owner Application Training from Drone Launch Academy Part 107 Exam Prep Course ($50 off) Aerial Photo Pro Course ($50 off) Aerial Video A to Z Course ($100 off) Aerial Roof Inspection Pro Course ($100 off) Drones 101 Course ($20 off) Other Places to Listen iTunes Stitcher Spotify TuneI

This week's guest is Chris Francescani from Sunset Beach Films. Chris was a journalist and reporter for 25 years. Now, he uses drones to create marketing and promotional videos for local businesses in Eastern Long Island. Chris has been able to find new clients by joining chambers of commerce and networking with business owners who could use social media drone videos to promote their businesses. Be sure to listen to this week's Drone to $1K Podcast episode to hear more about Chris and his journey of starting a drone business! And be sure to play this week's two truths and a lie game for a chance to win a Drone Launch prize: https://dronelaunchacademy.typeform.com/to/DFYpPnDo Connect with Chris: Website: https://sunsetbeachfilms.com/ Instagram: @sunsetbeachfilms Facebook: Sunset Beach Films Have a Drone Business? Want to be Interviewed for the Drone to $1K Podcast? Complete this questionnaire: Drone to $1K Business Owner Application Training from Drone Launch Academy Part 107 Exam Prep Course ($50 off) Aerial Photo Pro Course ($50 off) Aerial Video A to Z Course ($100 off) Aerial Roof Inspection Pro Course ($100 off) Drones 101 Course ($20 off) Other Places to Listen iTunes Stitcher Spotify TuneI

Our guest this week is Grant Puckrin from 19th UAS Precision. Grant's drone business started out doing real estate photography and videography. Now, Grant wants to expand into the agriculture industry. Growing up on a farm, Grant experienced firsthand the hard work and long hours that farmers put into their jobs. He wanted to find a way to use drones to help them save time and resources. Grant bought a multispectral drone AND a spraying drone and is waiting on his paperwork to be finalized before he can get started with his crop spraying services. To hear more about Grant's drone work, be sure to listen to this week's Drone to $1K Podcast episode! And don't forget to play this week's two truths and a lie game: https://dronelaunchacademy.typeform.com/to/ZYlImGKT Connect with Grant: Website: https://19thdesigns.com/ Facebook: @19thuasprecision Instagram: @19thuasprecision YouTube: 19th Designs Have a Drone Business? Want to be Interviewed for the Drone to $1K Podcast? Complete this questionnaire: Drone to $1K Business Owner Application Training from Drone Launch Academy Part 107 Exam Prep Course ($50 off) Aerial Photo Pro Course ($50 off) Aerial Video A to Z Course ($100 off) Aerial Roof Inspection Pro Course ($100 off) Drones 101 Course ($20 off) Other Places to Listen iTunes Stitcher Spotify TuneI

Our guest this week is Joe Morgan from Eyes Above Texas Imagery. Joe's been a Part 107-licensed drone pilot since 2017. Since then, he's gained tons of experience in the drone industry. He's skilled in photography & videography, mapping & photogrammetry, and inspection work. Over the past several years, Joe's built a reputation as a safe and professional drone service provider that always delivers quality work. To hear all about Joe's drone work and his advice for aspiring drone business owners, give this week's Drone to $1K Podcast episode a listen! And don’t forget to play our 2 truths and a lie game for a chance to win one of this week's prizes: https://dronelaunchacademy.typeform.com/to/D92UH9Un And if you want to join Drone Launch Connect for just $1 for your first month, just click here: www.dronelaunchconnect.com Connect with Joe: Website: https://www.eyesabovetx.com/ Instagram: @eyesabovetx Facebook: @eyesabovetexasimagery LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joe-morgan-340463154/ Have a Drone Business? Want to be Interviewed for the Drone to $1K Podcast? Complete this questionnaire: Drone to $1K Business Owner Application Training from Drone Launch Academy Part 107 Exam Prep Course ($50 off) Aerial Photo Pro Course ($50 off) Aerial Video A to Z Course ($100 off) Aerial Roof Inspection Pro Course ($100 off) Drones 101 Course ($20 off) Other Places to Listen iTunes Stitcher Spotify TuneIn

Eric Hellinger from Vivid Flight Media is our guest for this week's episode. Eric only started flying drones about a year and a half ago, and he's already running a successful drone business that specializes in providing FPV videos. If you're not familiar with FPV, it stands for first person view. Eric has created FPV videos for a variety of businesses and organizations, from schools to laboratories to wineries. To hear more about Eric and the cool FPV drone jobs he's worked on, give this week's episode a listen! And if you want a chance to win a Drone Launch prize, don’t forget to play our 2 truths and a lie game: https://dronelaunchacademy.typeform.com/to/fCVZxvX2 Plus, you can join our brand new online community, Drone Launch Connect, for just $1 for your first month: www.dronelaunchconnect.com If you want to check out any of the videos/resources Eric mentioned in this episode, here are links to some of them: The FPV bowling alley video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgS54fqKxf0 Joshua Bardwell's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/JoshuaBardwell Connect with Eric: Website: https://www.vividflightmedia.com/ Instagram: @hellinger_fpv Facebook: @VividFlightMedia YouTube: Hellinger FPV Have a Drone Business? Want to be Interviewed for the Drone to $1K Podcast? Complete this questionnaire: Drone to $1K Business Owner Application Training from Drone Launch Academy Part 107 Exam Prep Course ($50 off) Aerial Photo Pro Course ($50 off) Aerial Video A to Z Course ($100 off) Aerial Roof Inspection Pro Course ($100 off) Drones 101 Course ($20 off) Other Places to Listen iTunes Stitcher Spotify TuneIn

Season 5 of the Drone to $1K Podcast is here! This week, Dusty Jolley joins us as our first podcast guest of season 5. Since getting his Part 107 license back in 2020, Dusty has been able to quit his job in insurance (which he was miserable at) so he can pursue 2 of his hobbies: flying drones and welding. Over the past couple of years, Dusty's been doing a variety of drone work, including cinematography, mapping, and even FPV. Aaaand, we're excited to announce that Dusty is now part of the Drone Launch team in an awesome new role. (We'll tell you more about it during this episode.) To learn more about Dusty, some of the cool drone jobs he's done, and his new role at Drone Launch Academy, listen to this week's episode! And if you want a chance to win a Drone Launch prize, don’t forget to play our 2 truths and a lie game: https://dronelaunchacademy.typeform.com/to/NByITabu Connect with Dusty: Instagram: @_d_jolley Have a Drone Business? Want to be Interviewed for the Drone to $1K Podcast? Complete this questionnaire: Drone to $1K Business Owner Application Training from Drone Launch Academy Part 107 Exam Prep Course ($50 off) Aerial Photo Pro Course ($50 off) Aerial Video A to Z Course ($100 off) Aerial Roof Inspection Pro Course ($100 off) Drones 101 Course ($20 off) Other Places to Listen iTunes Stitcher Spotify TuneIn

Danny Elassad from Mole Media and Hoverscape joins us this week to talk about his full-time drone job AND his drone side hustle! Danny is the chief remote pilot at Hoverscape, where he uses drones to create “digital twins” (extremely accurate, high resolution 3D models) of large structures, like telecom towers and warehouses. With Mole Media (his own drone company), Danny does drone photography and videography. He’s even had the chance to work with Netflix and TV shows! To hear all about how Danny uses drones both creatively and analytically, be sure to give this episode a listen. And if you want a chance to win one of this week’s prizes, don’t forget to play our 2 truths and a lie game: https://dronelaunchacademy.typeform.com/to/L4xJOKdy Connect with Danny: Facebook: @molemedia89 Instagram: @molemedia YouTube:Mole Media Have a drone question? Here's the link to our new Ask Drone Launch page: https://www.askdronelaunch.com/ Have a Drone Business? Want to be Interviewed for the Drone to $1K Podcast? Complete this questionnaire: Drone to $1K Business Owner Application Training from Drone Launch Academy Part 107 Exam Prep Course ($50 off) Aerial Photo Pro Course ($50 off) Aerial Video A to Z Course ($100 off) Aerial Roof Inspection Pro Course ($100 off) Drones 101 Course ($20 off) Other Places to Listen iTunes Stitcher Spotify TuneIn

This week, our guest is Thom Monterville from NexGen Drones, LLC. Currently, Thom’s business is focused on agriculture and mapping drone services. In this episode, Thom talks about how he started his business, how he landed his first paid job (which happened to be with one of the largest cattle and agriculture companies in Oklahoma!), and his goals for the future. If you want to learn how drones are being used in the agriculture industry, you don’t want to miss this episode! Be sure to play our game of 2 truths and a lie (which is based off of this episode) for a chance to win one of this week’s prizes: https://dronelaunchacademy.typeform.com/to/yT2vPt3G Have a drone question? Here's the link to our new Ask Drone Launch page: https://www.askdronelaunch.com/ Connect with Thom: Facebook: @nexgendronesllc Have a Drone Business? Want to be Interviewed for the Drone to $1K Podcast? Complete this questionnaire: Drone to $1K Business Owner Application Training from Drone Launch Academy Part 107 Exam Prep Course ($50 off) Aerial Photo Pro Course ($50 off) Aerial Video A to Z Course ($100 off) Aerial Roof Inspection Pro Course ($100 off) Drones 101 Course ($20 off) Other Places to Listen iTunes Stitcher Spotify TuneIn

Patrick Whalen of Backstage Aerial joins us this week to talk about how he grew his business from $0 to 6 figures in less than a year. When Patrick’s job was affected by the pandemic, he decided to invest in a drone and get his Part 107 license. In no time, he was landing jobs with household name clients like Amazon, Netflix, Hyundai, and Justin Bieber! Patrick tells us all about how he was able to build such a successful business so quickly in this episode, so be sure to give it a listen. After you listen, don’t forget to play this week’s 2 truths and a lie game for a chance to win one of our giveaway prizes: https://dronelaunchacademy.typeform.com/to/nquz4lpM Connect with Patrick: Facebook: @BackstageAerial Instagram: @backstageaerial Website: backstageaerial.com Have a Drone Business? Want to be Interviewed for the Drone to $1K Podcast? Complete this questionnaire: Drone to $1K Business Owner Application Training from Drone Launch Academy Part 107 Exam Prep Course ($50 off) Aerial Photo Pro Course ($50 off) Aerial Video A to Z Course ($100 off) Aerial Roof Inspection Pro Course ($100 off) Drones 101 Course ($20 off) Other Places to Listen iTunes Stitcher Spotify TuneIn

This week, Guillermo Wenzel joins us to talk about how he’s built and scaled his drone business, Drone Sky Visuals. Since starting his business in 2019, Guillermo has gotten experience working in the real estate, construction, inspection, and event industries. During this episode, he talks about how he’s used word-of-mouth advertising, Google Ads, social media, and more to successfully grow his drone business. Listen to this week’s episode to hear all about Guillermo’s story and how he’s scaled his business! After you listen, be sure to play this week’s game of 2 truths and a lie for a chance to win a prize: https://dronelaunchacademy.typeform.com/to/fRZvCCqX Connect with Guillermo: Facebook: @droneskyvisuals Instagram: @droneskyvisuals LinkedIn: Drone Sky Visuals LLC YouTube: Drone Sky Visuals Website: droneskyvisuals.com Have a Drone Business? Want to be Interviewed for the Drone to $1K Podcast? Complete this questionnaire: Drone to $1K Business Owner Application Training from Drone Launch Academy Part 107 Exam Prep Course ($50 off) Aerial Photo Pro Course ($50 off) Aerial Video A to Z Course ($100 off) Aerial Roof Inspection Pro Course ($100 off) Drones 101 Course ($20 off) Other Places to Listen iTunes Stitcher Spotify TuneIn

This week on the Drone to $1K Podcast, you’ll get to hear from Derek Cameron of 3805 Productions. Derek does photography and videography, as well as 3D mapping and modeling. Derek first started his business just before the country shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic. As a result, he’s had to overcome many obstacles to build his business. Since then, Derek has worked with many different clients, including local business owners, realtors, construction companies, and even a candidate running to become a state representative. To hear all about Derek’s business and how he was able to build his network and land jobs even during the pandemic, be sure to give this episode a listen! And for a chance to win one of this week’s prizes, you can play our 2 truths and a lie game here: https://dronelaunchacademy.typeform.com/to/G9aflRTI Connect with Derek: Facebook: @3805productions Instagram: @derekcameron21 LinkedIn: 3805 Productions YouTube: 3805 Productions Website: 3805productions.com Have a Drone Business? Want to be Interviewed for the Drone to $1K Podcast? Complete this questionnaire: Drone to $1K Business Owner Application Training from Drone Launch Academy Part 107 Exam Prep Course ($50 off) Aerial Photo Pro Course ($50 off) Aerial Video A to Z Course ($100 off) Aerial Roof Inspection Pro Course ($100 off) Drones 101 Course ($20 off) Other Places to Listen iTunes Stitcher Spotify TuneIn

Our guest on this week’s episode is Jeff Carrillo from Tarillo Vue. Over the past few years, Jeff has used drones to do creative work and inspection work for clients in many industries. One of the services he specializes in is drone thermography. During the episode, Jeff talks about how he got started with his business, how he learned how to do thermography, and some of the cool projects he’s worked on. If you’re interested in learning more about how drones are being used to conduct thermal scans for roof inspections, wildlife surveys, and more, you don’t want to miss this episode! After you listen to the episode, you can click here to play this week’s 2 truths and a lie game for a chance to win a prize: https://dronelaunchacademy.typeform.com/to/IkItIHmG Connect with Jeff: Facebook: @tarillovue Instagram: @tarillovue LinkedIn: Tarillo Vue Aerial Photo Video Website: tarillovue.com Have a Drone Business? Want to be Interviewed for the Drone to $1K Podcast? Complete this questionnaire: Drone to $1K Business Owner Application Training from Drone Launch Academy Part 107 Exam Prep Course ($50 off) Aerial Photo Pro Course ($50 off) Aerial Video A to Z Course ($100 off) Aerial Roof Inspection Pro Course ($100 off) Drones 101 Course ($20 off) Other Places to Listen iTunes Stitcher Spotify TuneIn

Merrill McKee from Northern Perspectives joins us on this week’s episode of the Drone to $1K Podcast. Merrill went from listening to the Drone to $1K Podcast and hoping to someday achieve what our guests have accomplished, to now being a D$1K Podcast guest himself – which means that he now owns and operates his own successful drone business! During this episode, Merrill tells us all about his aerial photography and videography business, which is based in northern New York. Since starting his business, Merrill has worked with many clients, including local realtors, a contracting company, a county board. He’s even had the opportunity to create an aerial video of a socially-distanced graduation ceremony for a local high school. How has Merrill been able to grow and sustain his business (even during the wintertime in northern New York)? Listen to this week’s episode to find out! Be sure to play this week’s 2 truths and a lie game: https://dronelaunchacademy.typeform.com/to/amhFEfUO. If you can figure out which of the 3 “facts” about Merrill is actually a lie, you’ll be entered into our weekly giveaway! Connect with Merrill: Facebook: @northernperspectives Instagram: @mackeymckee Website: northernperspectivesny.com Have a Drone Business? Want to be Interviewed for the Drone to $1K Podcast? Complete this questionnaire: Drone to $1K Business Owner Application Training from Drone Launch Academy Part 107 Exam Prep Course ($50 off) Aerial Photo Pro Course ($50 off) Aerial Video A to Z Course ($100 off) Aerial Roof Inspection Pro Course ($100 off) Drones 101 Course ($20 off) Other Places to Listen iTunes Stitcher Spotify TuneIn

Our guest this week is James Grace of JMG Aerial Imagery. James provides aerial photography and videography services for clients in the construction and real estate industries. Before starting his own drone business in early 2019, James worked in post-production at Warner Brothers and Sony Pictures. While there, he learned the editing process, and he built a LinkedIn network of 10,000+ connections. James has used his previous industry knowledge, as well as social media, to start and grow his business. Listen to the full episode to hear James’ story and learn how he’s built his business! And don’t forget to play this week’s game of 2 truths and a lie after you listen to this episode for a chance to win an awesome Drone Launch prize: https://dronelaunchacademy.typeform.com/to/oi608JzX Here is the link to the video of the home with the retractable roof that James mentions during this episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJ21co4BQ5E Connect with James: Facebook: @JMGraceAerial Instagram: @jmg_aerial_imagery Twitter: @AerialJmg YouTube: James Grace Website: https://www.jmgaerial.com/ Have a Drone Business? Want to be Interviewed for the Drone to $1K Podcast? Complete this questionnaire: Drone to $1K Business Owner Application Training from Drone Launch Academy Part 107 Exam Prep Course ($50 off) Aerial Photo Pro Course ($50 off) Aerial Video A to Z Course ($100 off) Aerial Roof Inspection Pro Course ($100 off) Drones 101 Course ($20 off) Other Places to Listen iTunes Stitcher Spotify TuneIn

This week, Kevin Olson of Maryland Drone Guy joins us to talk about his aerial photography and videographer business, which he’s successfully grown over the past year. Kevin first started flying drones at the beginning of the COVID pandemic and got his Part 107 license last July. Since then, Kevin has had the opportunity to work with many local businesses, including wineries and breweries, restaurants, gyms, a drive-in movie theater, an engineering company, and more. Kevin has used Instagram to grow his business quickly – without even buying paid ads! How has Kevin been able to build a profitable drone business, while also working a full-time job? Listen to this week’s episode to find out! Be sure to play this week’s 2 truths and a lie game for a chance to win an awesome prize: https://dronelaunchacademy.typeform.com/to/cwbo6KDT Connect with Kevin: Facebook: @marylanddroneguy Instagram: @marylanddroneguy Twitter: @MD_Drone_Guy YouTube: Maryland Drone Guy Website: marylanddroneguy.com

DRONE TO $1K PODCAST SEASON 4 / EPISODE 1 WITH JEN ALLEN Season 4 of the Drone to $1K Podcast is officially here! In this week’s episode, Jen Allen of Wildwood Media tells us all about how she’s used drones to capture aerial photos and videos for her real estate and wedding clients. Jen has been doing wedding photography and videography with her husband for years, but when the coronavirus pandemic started, the majority of their weddings were rescheduled. Jen has been able to find a new source of income: real estate. She uses her photography and videography skills to capture awesome aerial views, which allow home buyers to get a feel for not only the home they’re considering, but also the area surrounding it. To hear all about Jen’s journey as a business owner in the wedding and real estate industries, be sure to listen to this episode! Click here to play this week’s game of two truths and a lie: https://dronelaunchacademy.typeform.com/to/qt9ZNoLx Connect with Jen: Instagram: @wildwood.media Website: wildwood.media Have a Drone Business? Want to be Interviewed for Season 4? Complete this questionnaire: Drone to $1K Business Owner Application Training from Drone Launch Academy Part 107 Exam Prep Course ($50 off) Aerial Photo Pro Course ($50 off) Aerial Video A to Z Course ($100 off) Aerial Roof Inspection Pro Course ($100 off) Drones 101 Course ($20 off) Other Places to Listen iTunes Stitcher Spotify TuneIn To take the TRUST exam, please click here: https://dronelaunchacademy.com/trust/

DRONE TO $1K PODCAST SEASON 3 / EPISODE 10 WITH CALEB RANDALL On this week’s episode, Caleb Randall of Randall Productions joins us to talk about how he’s used drones to grow his business to making 6 figures a year. Caleb started out doing wedding videography, but eventually shifted to creating marketing and branding films for businesses. He’s worked with big-name companies like Geico, as well as smaller businesses, to tell their stories through the art of video. Caleb discusses how he got started with his own business and what he’s done to grow his network and land more clients and more jobs. Be sure to enter this week’s giveaway before 3/23/21 for a chance to win a free 15-minute coaching call with Caleb: https://dronelaunchacademy.typeform.com/to/IKepnKia Also, here’s the link to the Italian castle wedding video that was mentioned in the podcast if you want to check it out: https://vimeo.com/286450774 Connect with Caleb: Website: http://www.randallproductions.com/ Facebook: Randall Productions Vimeo: Randall Productions Have a Drone Business? Want to be Interviewed for Season 4? Complete this questionnaire: Drone to $1K Business Owner Application Training from Drone Launch Academy Part 107 Exam Prep Course ($50 off) Aerial Photo Pro Course ($50 off) Aerial Video A to Z Course ($100 off) Aerial Roof Inspection Pro Course ($100 off) Drones 101 Course ($20 off) Other Places to Listen iTunes Stitcher Spotify TuneIn

DRONE TO $1K PODCAST SEASON 3 / EPISODE 9 WITH JORGE CASAMIQUELA This week, Jorge Casamiquela, our student support manager here at Drone Launch, joins us to talk about how he has successfully built his drone business, all while working part-time for Drone Launch Academy. In this episode, Jorge tells us all about how he landed his first clients, the lessons he learned along the way, and the advice he has for anyone who’s thinking about starting their own drone business! Don’t forget to enter our weekly giveaway before 3/16/21 for a chance to win a free 15-minute coaching call with Jorge (or one of our other awesome prizes): https://dronelaunchacademy.typeform.com/to/lHwxpYNu Connect with Jorge: YouTube: JFC Productions Website: https://www.jfcproductions.com/ Email: [email protected] Have a Drone Business? Want to be Interviewed for Season 4? Complete this questionnaire: Drone to $1K Business Owner Application Training from Drone Launch Academy Part 107 Exam Prep Course ($50 off) Aerial Photo Pro Course ($50 off) Aerial Video A to Z Course ($100 off) Aerial Roof Inspection Pro Course ($100 off) Drones 101 Course ($20 off) Other Places to Listen iTunes Stitcher Spotify TuneIn

DRONE TO $1K PODCAST SEASON 3 / EPISODE 8 WITH RUT PATEL In this week’s episode, Rut Patel of Voyager Industries tells listeners how he grew his engineering business to the point where it’s making hundreds of thousands of dollars per year. A few years ago, Rut quit both of his jobs to pursue his passion for drones and engineering full-time. Now, he has a team of employees and a company that made well over $300,000 in 2020. How did he do it? Listen to find out! Don’t forget to enter our weekly giveaway before 3/9/21 for a chance to win one of 5 prizes (including a free 15-minute coaching call with Rut): https://dronelaunchacademy.typeform.com/to/TQsJBN8q Connect with Rut: Instagram: @patelrut Website: http://www.voyagerengineering.com/ Have a Drone Business? Want to be Interviewed for Season 4? Complete this questionnaire: Drone to $1K Business Owner Application Training from Drone Launch Academy Part 107 Exam Prep Course ($50 off) Aerial Photo Pro Course ($50 off) Aerial Video A to Z Course ($100 off) Aerial Roof Inspection Pro Course ($100 off) Drones 101 Course ($20 off) Other Places to Listen iTunes Stitcher Spotify TuneIn

DRONE TO $1K PODCAST SEASON 3 / EPISODE 7 WITH PHILIP HURST Philip Hurst is the owner of Philip Hurst Media. Introduction Philip got his first drone about a year ago. He was working for an architectural company and had the idea of using a drone for roof inspections. He ended up using his drone to take videos of ongoing construction projects, as well. Philip felt like he was really onto something with drones. He pitched the idea of incorporating more drone work into his job to his boss, but nothing ever really came of it. In the meantime, Philip had been posting his drone work (cinematic videography, 3D mapping, photography, etc.) on Instagram, and it was catching people’s attention. People were reaching out to him, asking if he would do drone work for them. Philip knew he needed to get his Part 107 license so that he could start accepting these jobs and making money. Within a month of getting his drone, he took and passed the Part 107 Exam. Philip was able to get enough business to quit his architecture job, start an LLC, and fly drones full time! “It’s really about the hustle and the drive.” Philip felt lucky to be able to learn how to fly drones with a DJI Mavic because it was pretty easy to fly that drone. He dedicated lots of time to practicing flying and taking photos and videos. He also spent time branding his business and adding more and more content to his Instagram page. David: When you were still working at the architectural firm and starting to use drones for roof inspections, was that when you started practicing a lot? Or did that come later? Philip was practicing during his lunch breaks at work. He actually had his first accident during one of his lunch break flights – on the first day he had his drone! Philip took his drone everywhere. Whenever he had a free moment, he would grab his drone and start practicing. He tried flying in difficult situations, like through tight spaces. He also tried flying the drone towards him so he could practice with the controls being backwards… which ended in a crash. Luckily, his drone was okay, though! David: What was the first job you ever got? Did you reach out to people or did someone come to you? Philip races mountain bikes and knew one of the promoters of a big race. The promoter reached out to him and asked if he could get some drone footage of the race. After that, Philip went on Zillow and found $500,000+ homes. Then, he sent emails to the real estate agents that listed those homes and let them know that he would shoot footage of their listings for free. He said that the first listing would be free, and that his work would help get their houses sold. He sent out about 500 of those emails over the course of two days. He ended up landing about 15 jobs from that email outreach. Philip says that being willing to do free work is very important because it will be hard to land jobs if you don’t have a portfolio of previous work to show your potential clients. “When I send them to my Instagram, the proof is in my work.” Philip sends his potential clients to his Instagram page to see his work. BUT, he also sends them to other drone pilot’s Instagram pages and shows them what they SHOULDN’T want from the drone pro they hire. He’ll point out things like jerky, non-cinematic footage in others’ work, which helps him prove that his footage is smoother and higher quality. David: What part of the country are you in? Philip is in Ohio. He says that he is “the best in the Midwest.” “When it comes down to it, I’m not just a pilot. I’m just also a media professional and I’m a cinematic photographer and videographer. So yeah, I can catch great content and I can do good drone work, but I like to find the value in my end product, because like I said, drone work are just establishing shots to help support a much bigger story.” David: Of the 15 free jobs you landed from your Zillow outreach, how many of those turned into paying clients? Out of those 15, about 8 of them have become routine clients for Philip. Philip is also branching out into other industries. Some of his friends are shooting a pilot for ABC and they asked him to capture some establishing drone shots. Now, Philip’s name is going to be on IMDb! Philip emphasizes that he started about 6 months ago. It’s awesome to see how much his business has grown in just half a year. He says that his drone is one of his most powerful tools. “You gotta put the time in. You gotta grind, you gotta believe in yourself. You gotta have that confidence. You know, you gotta walk the walk and talk the talk. Go out there and look professional.” Philip says that you need to make potential clients feel confident in choosing to hire you as a drone pilot. He also stresses that you need to be posting on all social media platforms. But, you can tailor your messaging on each platform. David: How would you do something differently for Instagram vs. Facebook vs. LinkedIn? For Instagram, Philip will post short, 15-second clips or stories. His Inst

Jonathan Stettler is the owner of Steady Focus Media, a business that specializes in providing photography and videography services for businesses and real estate. Introduction Jonathan has always been into drones. The first time he saw a drone, his friend was flying one of the original DJI Mavic Pros. Jonathan thought it was cool, but he didn’t actually buy a drone until years later. Jonathan’s background is in photography. He had tried wedding photography, but he didn’t love it. He wanted to be a photographer, but he just wasn’t sure what industry he should try to get into. Last year, Jonathan bought a DJI Ronin gimbal so that he could put together a video for his taekwondo school. He had never tried videography, but he decided to give it a go. Once he sat down to edit the video, he was surprised at how much he enjoyed the editing process. When he showed the video to the taekwondo school, they were really impressed. Jonathan started Steady Focus Media to create promotional videos for small businesses. Once he actually started his business, he felt like he was officially a photographer and it really helped him to take it seriously. He ended up buying a drone, and then a few months later, the COVID-19 pandemic hit. All of the small businesses (his normal clients) shut down. He wasn’t sure what to do. He had the idea that maybe he could make money with his drone. So, he looked into it and figured out that there were Part 107 regulations he’d need to learn so he could pass the exam to be able to fly his drone commercially. He went online and found Drone Launch Academy. He enrolled in our FAA Part 107 Remote Pilot Exam Prep Course and it helped him study for and pass the exam on the first try. Then, he enrolled in our Drone to $1K program, which helped him to grow his business. David: How’d you get your first client? He found his first client through a local Facebook Classifieds group. He put up a post that said he was looking for a realtor that wants a free home tour. He got responses back from people asking what the catch was. He said that there were no strings attached, he was just trying to build his portfolio. He ended up getting a response from a realty team. He went out to the house that they told him about and it was a super nice, $800,000 house that had an indoor pool and a tennis court! Although the realtor loved the video, Jonathan didn’t really hear anything back from them. He tried to use Facebook to promote his business, but he wasn’t getting any leads. After about a month, he heard back from the realtor he had worked with and they asked if he could also do another video, as well as photos for another house. As he landed more jobs, he had more and more material that he could use for demo reels and for promotional materials for his own business. Jonathan stresses the importance of having a portfolio of your work. He says that doing free work when you’re first starting out will help you get the content and footage you need to build your portfolio. “It’s the thing you need to start building the ladder to get to where you need to go.” Since Jonathan started using drones when the pandemic hit, he hasn’t shot photos and videos for a single home without wearing a mask. He realized that photography and videography is a job that you can do even during the pandemic. “It’s still a viable business, even when everything’s going wrong.” Jonathan’s business slowly grew from $200 the first month, to $500 the second month, and then 3-4 jobs a week. Jonathan is now working with several local realtors. David: How did you go from having one client to then getting booked 3 times in the same week? Jonathan says that it all happened very organically. A realtor that he had been communicating with a month before ended up reaching out to him because she had a house that she needed photos and video for. Jonathan went out and shot photos and video of the house and sent everything over to the realtor that same night. After that, she became one of his consistent clients. Because of the pandemic, Jonathan couldn’t physically go into realtors’ offices to introduce himself, so he decided to take a different approach. He created flyers for his business and mailed them out to local realtors’ offices. That landed him a job with one of the bigger realty companies. After that, their marketing director called him to ask if he did headshots. He took a headshot for one of their realtors and she then told the rest of the realtors about Jonathan’s business and his pricing. That led to lots of jobs for him. Over the past 3 months, Jonathan has had at least one job per week. David: Do you have a full-time job in addition to your drone work? Jonathan does have a full-time job that pays well, which has helped him to be able to build his drone business. Jonathan loves that his drone work gives him the opportunity to be creative. One thing that Jonathan stresses is that you need to be willing to put the work in if you want to succeed with your

Alex is the owner of LA Aerial Image. Introduction Alex was the first guest when the podcast came out about a year and a half ago. Alex was an original RC plane flyer. Then when he was older, he was able to afford this stuff. One day at the airfield, he saw some guy with a quad copter and knew he needed to have one. Then he decided that he didn't just want it to be a hobby. So he took his photography background as a hobbyist and then just got into video and just started doing video with drones. He does a whole array of different things, such as 3-D modeling for construction sites David: Do you do real estate? I tell a lot of people to start with the real estate because it's easy to get in. Everybody knows a realtor and you can get jobs fairly easy, but you can't stay in the industry. For Alex, he says, it's just not fun. In the meantime, he picked up an Amazon prime show called The Bay and he’s also been shooting for the Pop Star network for three seasons now. David: How did you land your first construction client? What did they want? My first construction job was subcontracted from another guy. They did some progress shots and 3-D modeling. Alex has done 3-D modeling for rock quarries too, so they can judge their materials and measure them. The person who subcontracted to him found Alex on Google. He needed a pilot in LA because he was getting business there but lived in Oregon. David: One thing people are asking who are interested in industries like construction, but don't know the lingo, is “How do I give a sales pitch to an engineering firm or construction or contractor?” What would be your sales pitch for 3-D models? I don’t have to do sales pitches right now; the contractor is doing them. I learned a lot of the lingo onsite because when I first went in, I didn't know either. I learned the lingo just talking to the guys onsite. For the most part you just need to explain that it will save them time and money. Construction guys are busy as hell. If you can send them an “as built”, which is a PDF that shows all the information. David: How often did they have you go out there and do a 3-D model of the whole site? It depends on where they're at in the building. In some cases it was once per week, in others cases every other week. “We’re going to do a testimony video of one of the biggest companies we work with, how they used the 3-D model, how it worked and how it saved them money. We’ve saved them tens of thousands of dollars in the long run.” David: How much are you able to charge these construction companies or engineering firms for flying every other week and doing a three D model? About $1500 bucks a flight in total is what the contractor charges. It takes Alex only about 45 minutes to do a model and then he makes $300 when most of the guys on the site made $50 or $60 an hour. David: What’s your favorite type of thing to work on: What's the most fun for you? What do you like doing the best? “I like the film stuff; I like being on set. As the drone guy, there’s lot of waiting around, which can be a little stressful, but other than that, it’s fun.” David: Do you think the Inspire 2 has helped you get those jobs? Yes, for sure. If you don’t have an Inspire 2, they’re not going to be hiring you for that job. David: What would you say you’ve learned that's new in the drone world? Are you getting better at the stuff you already know how to do, or do you feel like you've honed any specific skills? With nine years of drone flying under his belt, Alex has had more crashes in the last couple of years than ever. “I think I got complacent with my flying and I'm thinking ‘I got this.’ I think I need to get back to the basics and be a little more aware. I got a little loose.” Sometimes you might just get on autopilot and not really be thinking it through as carefully. David: When you're flying for these construction sites, do they require you to have a tight amount of insurance? You have to have insurance and a lot of times it's at least 2 million. It could be up to 5 million. They have really expensive workers' comp and they have to pay the personnel. They preach safety all day long. David: What’s changed from getting business now from when you were first doing it. Now, are you actively searching for any business or it just all comes to you? Alex says he wants to get better at looking for it. All his work lately has been “just coming to him.” He spends about $50-$100 per month on Google Click ads. And, he says, he doesn’t even get that many people from Google. Most of it is referral. “As long as you’re good at what you do, they're going to call you back or they're going to pass your number to someone else. Don’t get discouraged. You have to work actively on your business to grow it.” Alex says it isn’t about just buying a drone. You have to learn to be a good business owner, provide good customer service and create relationships. You might have to do some free jobs here and there to get the people to know your serv

Spencer is the owner of Aerodrone Solutions. Introduction: Spencer started Aerodrone early in COVID. He’d been in military, then went to college, found drones and did military contracting in Middle East. Because that work was touch-and-go, when he returned from Afghanistan in April and in May, he decided to start his own company. David: What I want to know first is--are there any similarities to flying drones in Afghanistan to flying your DJI drones? Spencer says it's similar in how the camera works. The DJI is more simplified but flying is different since he was flying fixed wing UAVs for the military. David: You were one of the first people to sign up for D$1K—ready to get after it—which is a big reason why you're successful. Obviously, you were in drones in the military, but from a civilian standpoint, how did that process start for you? Spencer signed up for the Part 107, started it, did five minutes of it and didn't touch it again for two years. His friend Gail is a commercial pilot in Ocala who had the idea of starting something casually. Because of the uncertainty of the virus, Spencer was real nervous—but other than drones, what could he do? So he went with what he liked, and started up the drone idea. Spencer says, “I loved the idea of having my own company and putting into it and getting something else. It's super rewarding.” Spencer is a local and has a lot friends who are real estate agents, so he thought it would be really easy. For two months, he did no business, but all of a sudden the flood gates opened and he was overwhelmed with work. David: Take us through those two months, what did you do to get the first client? At first, he didn’t know where to get contacts. He found good ideas from Facebook pages of guys that were starting out. He went to Zillow, found 300 of the top agents in the area and sent out an email, getting not one response. He then started doing direct messaging on Facebook, Instagram (a little on LinkedIn)—letting people know what he does that makes him stand out more. That's when it started clicking with people, Spencer says, mostly because the email was a template and the messages were more personalized. David: Things picked up for you when you started doing more direct reach out. What was your first client? Was it paid? How much did you charge for that? Spencer’s first client was someone he knew, who was a pretty good realtor in his area. She said she’d called three other people and Spencer was the first one to pick up. “What’s huge is answering all your phone calls and also being available. Agents have listings that need to get on the market ASAP. They call and you need to be there soon.” Spencer’s first gig was paid but he gave her a discount for the drone service and a free 3D tour of everything. Normally that would have been around $299 or $295. Spencer gave it to her for $195, which also included full interior/exterior HDR bracketed photos and drone photography. David: After your first job, where did it go from there? From there, Spencer says, it went word of mouth to a couple of different realtors and some other friends that were slowly coming out of the woodwork. He had a photographer reach out that does shoots and mermaid portraits for kids. “I had no other option because I'm engaged, I have family, I just want to be home. I knew I had to make this work and that's why I've been so hungry for it.” Spencer continued to go on Facebook, asking if realtors in the neighborhood had needs and getting a few potential contacts from that. He’s also gone to happy hours for realtors, showing up with flyers. He says it’s important to market yourself, in the most budget friendly way to do it. Spencer has continued to get random requests other than real estate, which keeps it interesting. He says that specializing in something is good. It’s important to get in the door and make some money. David: You started charging for these jobs and making some money. When did you break $1K for a month? It took two months...in July he hit $1K. He's still growing. Spencer says that growing was like a domino effect because one person tells another person. He just needed to keep being professional, instead of stressing out over a job that should take two hours and it taking 20 hours. David: Let’s say someone is listening to this and says ‘I want to do my own thing’ or ‘It sounds incredible to fly drones on the side’. They say, ‘Spencer, I heard you on the podcast, you sound like you’re a credible person and you know what you're doing. What should I do? Where should I start? What should I learn?' Spencer says that he would tell them first to get their Part 107. “Do the course that Drone Launch offers. It has everything you need for a foundation. Get someone who knows SEO. If you're doing it on the side, it's going to be different managing your time, but be patient. As long as you're professional, produce a good product and chip away at it, you’ll eventually get some good business out of it.” Davi

Chris is the owner of Chris Dantonio Drone Photography Introduction: Chris says he got in a “little late” and “by accident”, because he started about four years ago at 43 years old. His parents bought him a little toy drone that had a small camera. He flew it for a week, broke it and knew he needed something better. He then bought a $100 drone and broke that in about a month. The DJI Phantom 3 Standard was his first real drone. He started taking pictures around Philadelphia just as a hobby, and really enjoyed it because he’d grown up around photography. His father, a photograph teacher at the local high school, would set up backgrounds to do portraits in the living room. “Photography has always been a part of my life and to be able to do it with a drone and be able to show people things in the city, especially that you didn't even know were there, is nice.” He could show people things that are very rarely seen from the ground level, which intrigued him more. He started an Instagram account, which has been a godsend, Chris says, because it's free. It doesn't cost any money and, with good work and hard work, you get followers. Chris just hit 10,000 followers a couple of months ago. After that, Chris knew he had to get licensed in order to sell pictures. Sure enough, he bought a study guide, studied for six months and took the test. “It's because of the study guide, I did really well. For those of you wondering ‘Should I get a study guide?’ I’d highly recommended it...” Then the business started, almost by accident. David: What year did you get your first Phantom and when did you say, ‘let’s get rolling on this’ and decide to get your Part 107? Do you do drones as a full-time gig or do you have a full-time job or some other supplemental income to go along with your drone business? I got the Phantom in 2016, started studying in 2017 and took the test in early 2018. This is a part time thing for me. Leaving my day job is really far off. I’m also an executive chef for an elite school outside of Philadelphia, so I have a job that allows me to do the drone thing, since nights and weekends are perfect for drone work. David: It's nice to have something that covers your bills and provides the freedom to experiment and pursue things without pressure to make immediate income. There’s pressure to get it going, but you don't want so much overwhelming stress that you're just going to crumble. Chris agrees that it adds stress to a day job—in addition to family and everything else going in in his life, but it’s also nice to pick and choose what jobs you want to do because your next mortgage payment isn't relying on that. Chris hasn't bought a drone with his own money for two years; the business has paid for all of the equipment. In early 2018, Chris got an email from an Instagram follower who worked for American Idol who was from Philadelphia and had seen Chris’ work. That was his first real big job. He had to join ICG Local 600 to shoot as a contractor for the show, which he pays dues for, but found out how beneficial it would be down the road for future work. The show was high stress, they worked all day, but got a very high reward. The third shot of the opening of American Idol was their shot. When subsequent clients came, it helped because they knew that we had already worked for a popular show. David: With American Idol were you just shooting content and handing it over and their guys were editing it? For all his major jobs, Chris gave them raw footage and they had somebody in their organization that handled all of the editing, cutting and doing everything with it. This was the case for Comcast, American Idol, and NFL films. David: What happened next? How did your next client find you? The next person to call was Comcast who wanted to purchase rights to footage for unlimited use. Chris says every job they've had—big or small—has all found them through Instagram. Chris says, “it's a smart business tool that doesn't cost money...the key is getting reposted to get your name out there.” With Comcast, a higher-up had been following him for a while, seeing Chris post shots of cool and different angles of the city. He has never really done any outbound sales activities to pursue clients. “I would be out there shooting regardless. If I had a thousand followers or less, I would still be out there shooting that much because I love it, which makes it easier. if you do what you love, you'll never work a day in your life.” David: One of the things people love on this podcast is specifics and numbers. It inspires people to know what's possible. Can you tell us what you make? His daily rate early on (for American Idol) was $1500 for an all-day shoot. Comcast wanted five photographs and five 15 to 30 second videos. He quoted $500 per still/$1000 per video. He said he’d give them the whole package for $6,000—they didn't bat an eyelash and wrote the check. To come up with those numbers, Chris researched what rights he was giving up for u

Nick is the CEO & Lead Photographer for Open House Foto located in Los Angeles. Introduction: Nick bought his first drone, a Phantom2 with a GoPro in 2015 for $2,500. He’d just left his full-time job at a cable company that he hated working for. He knew that he had some creativity but didn't want to buy a drone because the ones he saw were shaky. He also knew he could do better. Nick would fly the drone over a business, take photos and find out if they would like to buy them. That was that; he kept doing a few here and there. Later, he contacted a photographer, saying he did videography, and asking if he’d like to partner up. She agreed and it all started. David: What type of projects do you typically take on today? Nick says their bread and butter is primarily listing videos, highlighting great things about an area. They showcase how properties compare to other areas. When they approach clients for video, Nick tells them they're not trying to sell the condo; they’re trying to sell the lifestyle and the neighborhood. For example, he shot a condo in Venice beach which was small with no ocean views. And, Nick says, “if you see the video, you say ‘I want to buy that thing right now’.” Nick uses an electric skateboard with a stabilizer on it. He stands on it with his remote control and gets beautiful shots of the boardwalk. People ask him “What's the percent of drone usage in the videos?” From a two-minute video, Nick says, the drone is there for 15-20 seconds max. He says, “You can't waste 30 seconds outside of the property--you gotta get inside ASAP. People need to see what inside looks like.” David: You started taking pictures of businesses and seeing if they're interested. Then you got a partnership with a photographer. Now you're at super high end real estate jobs, doing video tours. Help me bridge the gap between how you got from there to where you are now. Nick says, “The secret is content...you need something to show someone what you've done. It's that simple; it all starts from being willing to spend some money.” After getting the drone and partnering with a few people, he decided to drop by a popular Real Estate office on Sunset Boulevard. Nick gave the agent his business card, saying he does real estate videography and walked out. He got a call a week later from them to shoot an iconic home. Nick asked for $500, the agent paid $300. Nick says he shouldn’t even have charged them because he was new and needed to get content. “It’s like high school...were you at Tiffany's birthday? Then you will come to my birthday. It’s free ads; maybe they work, maybe they don't. As soon as the realtor knows that you've shot something for another realtor, you’re IN. That's how it works with them and with developers.” Nick’s advice is to get really cool building shots in a downtown area, find a realtor and try to get some beautiful homes to shoot a couple of frames complimentary. Nick didn't hear from them for a while. Then sometime later another realtor calls saying he saw the videos Nick had done on the previous house, had just taken over the listing and wanted to pay for the rights to the video. Nick said he could also reshoot it for them very cheap if they gave him two more listings. They agreed. One more piece of advice for people is to go to an open house with cookies or pizza and give it to the agent(s). Nick says to the agent, “I know you're here all day. Maybe there's something for you and for people that are visiting...and here's my card.” Sponsoring lunches is also a great idea. By hiring someone to come make crepes at an office, Nick met one realtor who gave him close to $7000 worth of business over the span of three years AND referred him to another realtor. Nick says that despite all that, it can be easy to get discouraged. He says, “Every time somebody compliments me, I say thank you; that's very encouraging. Because in this kind of business, anyone can go to best buy, buy a drone, knock on a realtor's door to take photos. Realtors (and others) don’t understand that time lost is money lost because when somebody screws up, someone like Nick will have to go back and redo it and they're going to pay him.” “Talk to everyone and make sure they know what you do. Realtors trust me to do my thing. At one house, I heard kids playing in a pool next door so I brought my drone over, told the Mom I’d be flying it for the house next door, would fly over her home but would NOT film the kids. I also invited the kids to watch. She was excited, told the neighbor, who told the realtor, who was very impressed. This could have been a nightmare, which was avoided by a simple knock on a door and a hello.” Nick also tells people to watch movies because you get to see what techniques the cinematographer used. They do really cool foreground shots to the trees--revealing the home from the bottom up. Then the home looks really massive. David: What are you charging for like a full walkthrough, highlight video of a property of th

Liam is a Photographer/Videographer and Owner with Bentley Studios Introduction: Liam specializes in photography and video, mostly in the wedding industry, averaging about 40 weddings a year, and incorporating the drone. He also takes photos of the transitions of projects for roofing companies. David: Let's go back, let us know how your business started from the beginning... Liam has been an entrepreneur since he was 15. He started in the iPhone repair business, doing that for three years, repairing over 300 iPhones and saving $10,000 to fund his photography business. He got his first camera was when he was 13. He became the school photographer in High School, when a teacher asked if he would have any interest in filming her wedding. At 16, Liam sweated through five shirts filming his first wedding. He also realized he loved being a part of someone’s special day, giving them their video or photos and seeing them tear up. After that, he started doing social media videos. He’d call local businesses and say, “I'm starting a business and want to try to get into social media. I see you guys are lacking in that area and I would love to help.” He got a lot of practice doing video production this way. David: What kind of reception did you get when you'd reach out? Some turned Liam down, saying they had their own thing, or they didn’t want to dabble in that. Some said they appreciated that he wanted to do it for free and would give him the opportunity to do so. Liam valued that as a networking opportunity. He got turned down a lot and found out he’d get a better attitude and could find a way to not offend anyone and help people out. David: How did the transition happen from dabbling with free stuff and reaching out to businesses to progressing into your first paying client? Toward the end of high school, Liam did a lot of senior photos which led to more paying opportunities. Every once in a while, he’d try to reach out and get opportunities to film a wedding. As he started to have more work to show people, he started to get booked more. Liam owes a lot of his success to word of mouth. He loves to go out and talk to people and create those friendships. David: When did you start first dabbling in drones? Around the end of his senior year, Liam bought a Phantom 4pro and fell in love with it. At that time, not many local people had any drones, so there was a lot of good opportunity in front of him. David: A lot of people get a drone, then want to know how to start getting clients and paying gigs. So, did your free work just turn into paying gigs or did you have a strategy to start making money? Liam had a gradual increase since he’d started out pretty cheap. Over time, as he had more experience, and his portfolio got larger, he gradually increased his prices because of his experience and equipment. Also, people would see his work on Instagram and message him. Liam says, “It was like a large spider web that expanded, but it was a lot of networking that led to those opportunities.” David: What do you do for your social media? Do you have a system, every time you shoot something, you put it on Instagram or Facebook? Liam has a system. After every shoot, Liam always puts a nice grid on Instagram. He says the first thing people look at when they go onto your page is your grid. The “grid” is some type of theme on your whole feed. Liam says if people see your page and it’s too eclectic, they will bypass it. David: What were you charging for a wedding when you first started out? Liam would charge $500 for a wedding, giving clients an 8-15 min highlight video. He wanted the experience and was young at the time so to make $500 on a Saturday was great. Now, his videos showcase the whole day and the client has total control over what’s in the video. The average price for that is $3000. For photos, he charges an hourly rate of $300 and then there's no minimum or maximum on the hours. An entire wedding runs about $4500-$5000. David: When did you start breaking out into other areas? At the end of high school, Liam got more into the drone. Where he lives—in Youngstown, OH—there are tons of realtors. He’d see on social media that a lot of them were just using their iPhone to take photos, so he offered to do houses for free, saying he wanted to learn. At that time, he was trying to incorporate more of the drone to become the go-to drone pilot in the area. That’s when he fell in love with the drone. Liam still has seven realtors that he messaged on Instagram when in High School that he still does houses for. After he did one house for free, he’d offer to sit down and see what kind of price they wanted to pay. Typically, he’d charge $250 for a full photography package and using the drone would be another $100 on top of that. David: How much of your business is with real estate agents? It sounds like you might be more focused on weddings. Liam is more focused on the weddings, which is where the money is. He has four employees, so he'll doub

Fred owns and operates Nashua Video Tours, a real estate video and photography company. David: ”Tell us about your company.” Fred has been doing this for 15 years, starting with putting video online. Because the internet didn't support video very well, realtors didn't have computers, or didn't know what the internet was—it didn’t work out too well. When he was just about to quit, the real estate market tanked and people needed ways to sell properties. At that point, flash became the de facto way of delivering video but there were three or four different types of platforms and none of them were compatible with each other. When broadband came into play and the internet became predominant, Fred realized he could do it. Fred had started doing realtor websites. He jokes, “I've never wanted to be in this world, I just fell into it and I haven't been able to climb out yet.” He says back then, you’d buy a template so websites all looked exactly the same—nothing stood out. What became popular were 360-degree tours that were not well put together; that was when Fred thought that a video walk-through of the house made sense because then you could see the layout and the flow. “I just had this bright idea that it would be a way to do something different—but nobody was doing it because they couldn't. I really got started out of frustration trying to differentiate these people.” David: “Let’s start from when the internet was working, you could put video on the internet, and you had a drone. How did using a drone change things for you— if it did?” Fred says he’d been in the video real estate video space by himself for years but as more people got into it, he needed to differentiate himself again. Back then, you could fly drone for commercial purposes with no licensing, and everything was still very fuzzy. For Fred, the real estate market has been an odd place to be. Some realtors think they can get their nephew to buy a drone and let him take pictures, or they don't see that you need to have a license. We know there’s a difference between having a drone and pushing a button to take a picture or video—and being a photographer with a drone. “If you don't know how to use your camera, you're not a photographer, you don't have the right eye or the right equipment and you don't know how to do it, so it's not going to look very good. The drone is the least important part of the equation.” Fred says it’s nice to show how a property sits on a big piece of land, but flying around, looking at the roof and gutters, then left and right and up and down for three minutes isn’t all it’s about. A simple top down picture of the roof of a ranch with an ugly front yard and an ugly backyard with dead grass is horrible; it’s more of a detriment than a help. If you're trying to promote a real property, you don't want to show the crap in the neighbor's yard or graffiti on the driveway or bad shingles. Fred advises that you should be truthful, but also show people the highlights. They'll realize that the roof needs replacing or that there's a highway back there, but you don't want to promote that right up front. When Fred shoots a house he does the video, interior, exterior stills, floor plans, all of it—he has about five different cameras for different things, including a camera he can stick out of the top of his car to show the neighborhood—and, of courses, he has a drone. He doesn’t use all of those for every property but chooses what he thinks makes sense. Driving through the neighborhood, for example, his goal is to show whether it’s an older or newer neighborhood, if houses are setback from the street or are right on the street with the trees. His goal is to present the property in the best light. “I treat the drone as just another tool. When I get to a property, I either choose to use it or I don't. It's my choice. I don't want someone saying I need to.” Also, Fred sees a lot of video from new drone pilots that’s too high because the pilot is thinking about max altitude when it’s more important to think about what they’re looking at. Sometimes, Fred doesn’t even know what he’s looking at. David: “The thing people struggle a lot with is wanting to get into this—whether it's real estate marketing, promo videos or photography—but don't really have good methods or know how to get a first client. What advice would you give someone? How would you go about starting fresh?” Fred teamed up with a friend who is a realtor and did all of his first stuff for free. He was able to practice, but also able to get stuff out there for other people to see. “What I did then, I still do now. I make it very easy for someone to find me. It's not a secret. I put my name, phone number, and website at the end of every video. I've done a lot of these and I've never had anybody tell me to take my name off. The biggest thing is if nobody knows how to find you, how are they going to know how to find you?” Fred says the real estate business is a lot of repeat business. He

Cody Retlich is founder of Midwest Aerial Productions. David: “Why don't you start by telling us a little bit about yourself and how you got into drones?” Cody is from Wisconsin and went to school for entrepreneurship and professional sales, so he knew he wanted to run his own business. He’d always take the leadership role and knew he wanted to have the freedom to work the way he wanted. His interest in drones started when a friend developed software for agricultural use of drones. Cody helped him figure out what markets there were. After selling $3.5 million for a company that he didn't enjoy working for, Cody decided it was time to work for himself so he began to build his drone business, doing flights here and there, while driving Uber and golf caddying for almost a year and a half. He “officially” started Midwest Aerial Productions in 2018. David: “When you quit your job to do your own thing, did you know you were going to start a drone business or did you just need to do something else and you found drones after that?” Cody knew from the get-go that there was a huge market for drones—they would have a great of impact. He’d bought a drone a few years before he quit his job and took flying jobs here and there, mostly for real estate and private properties. David: “Talk us through your first drone and your first paying drone client—even as a side thing.” The first drone Cody flew was the Phantom 2. The first year, he picked up whatever jobs he could in the area. Then something tragic happened in his life that took him away from the business for a while. When he returned, he pivoted his company to not only providing services in the area, but working and collaborating with pilots all across the Midwest; he began helping other drone pilots start their business and offering advice. Now, Midwest Aerial brokers pilots all across the Midwest. David: “You said you picked up a few real estate clients on the side... how did those people find you? Were you posting things on social media and people saw it or were you pretty active in your area?” Because Cody had a sales background, he was going to a lot of different networking events around the city and talking to and cold calling realtors all that time. “In the beginning, you gotta get yourself out there. If you don't have any content or clients, the best thing to do is go shoot some stuff in your area. Find someone you know has a nice house or property and ask if you can shoot it for them. Talk to everybody and anybody and just learn what they know or who they know—it’s an experience of connection.” Cody just got accepted into an accelerator program and the woman that told him to apply for it, Cody met driving Lyft one night two years ago. The program is a 7-week intensive program, offering a lot of resources, investors, and pitch nights. David agreed it’s important for listeners to understand how important it is to make finding the right relationships with the right people a habit and practice. Cody says he has to weigh the benefits of doing certain jobs with certain people—sometimes $200 job could be a headache and you do it now but then you know you’re not going to work with that client again. David: “So you were doing side things from people calling you up, were most of those real estate jobs, taking pictures, video or what?” Cody says it was all over the place—some cinematography, some travel, events, real estate and construction with 3D mapping and some orthomosaics. He used thermal drones for core inspections, finding leaks etc. Right now, he keep building technology into their site. There are a lot of people flying a Mavic for real estate jobs who may be undercutting the value of your services so you need to get a broker’s whole office rather than just one broker. Go to the commercial side and find people in your area that want a drone partner. David: “As we talk to people, it seems like there's a bit of a hierarchy—people start off with real estate videos and photos and then find a construction niche. I'm interested to hear about some examples of construction projects you did. What are those clients looking for? How are they using products that you're giving them?” Cody says he’d do a time lapse, going to the construction site once a week to film. He’d put together a highlight reel from groundbreaking till the end and really show it off. Then, naturally, the architects get a visual image of what that property's going to look like from their renderings. “People want to see marketing that shows off their projects, but you can also give them stuff to make them more efficient and more effective at the job site by monitoring points of data.” Also, when they initially map out jobs, they’ve had surveyors on the ground doing these types of things and now obviously you can do surveying. They can use the data from these maps to make sure that they're all on a point and keeping that accuracy level throughout the process. David: “I know pricing is different everywhere

Jeremiah Oschwald owns and operates Beardhouse Media, a real estate marketing business, and Overland Pioneers, an outdoor lifestyle marketing business. David: “Why don't you tell us who you are and what your company is? How did you get into real estate marketing? When did you first mess around with drones?” Jeremiah has been in the real estate marketing business for 4 ½ years, drones for about 3 ½ yrs. There was a big boom in drone popularity but there weren't a lot of people licensed. Jeremiah took the DLA Part 107 class, saying it was great for him because he’s a visual learner. He began Overland Pioneers out of a desire to do more with his life than 5-7real estate listings a day 7 days a week. He wanted to see and film things and get paid to travel. He started with wanting to help small businesses and began going to restaurants and shooting seven small short social media videos that they could post on Facebook. Then, he shot the parents’ house of a friend—Josh Shepherd with the Kentucky Life Real Estate Property Management (see link below)—who later introduced him to team leaders of a large Keller Williams office in Lexington. Jeremiah was invited to talk in front of their monthly sales meeting of 65 or 70 agents. He was terrified but went in having done some research on real estate videos and knowing he needed to build a case. 15 or 20 people came up to let him know they had a listing coming up and would like to use him so he instantly got a lot of clients. Jeremiah feels he lucked out because Lexington was an underserved population in central Kentucky with 3000 agents in one MLS area. He started packaging the videos and, last year, he did over a hundred videos for agents, auctioneers and car dealers. In order to figure out what to charge for real estate walkthrough videos, Jeremiah felt that what people described was too complex—even after hearing a long explanation, he still didn't know what they were charging. They’d say they charged $3,000 to $4,000 per listing but were only getting listings 2-3 times/month—with drones being a very small portion of that. So Jeremiah decided to go to a flat rate system...he says agents use him on every listing. “I don't care if it’s an 1100 square foot house or 6,000 square foot house--it's $125 for just the walkthrough video, if I add the drone, it’s $200.” These are homes that are going to be sold within 24 to 48 hours, and the videos are 50% of their selling package. Jeremiah says that by doing professional photography AND video, they will definitely hire him because he’s a better marketing and listing presentation tool for them. David: “Can you talk about managing client's expectations? How many jobs are you doing per week during your slow and busy seasons?” Here is the past week’s schedule, as an example: Monday: one re-shoot for a new agent. Tuesday: five cabins about 40 miles from Lexington. Wednesday: three local shoots. Thursday: it was raining outside so the job was cancelled. Friday: one auction video. He’s averaging three per day / 12-15 per week--weather permitting in the busy season. Even though that's a typical day, many times, it’s very dependent on weather; there are always reschedules. David: “Would you be comfortable giving us a range of business income for 2019?” Beardhouse Media made over six figures, 40% of that was drone work. “Even when I discount work, I make more money because beforehand they wouldn't have used drones at all. I have relationships with people I actually WANT to work with; one of the biggest rewards for me is when someone calls and I can say I don't have time.” David: “Tell me about Overland Pioneers—what it is and how it came about.” Overland Pioneers is vehicle-based adventure travel. Overlanding is when the travel is the goal, the destination is getting there, i.e. cruising through trails and camping. They got a trailer from Xventure Trailers and went to Prince Edward Island, driving all over Nova Scotia for three weeks. Then they put a series on YouTube showing all the beautiful places. David: “Are you doing Overland Pioneer to work with certain brands and travel for free? Do you end up taking home money on top of that or is it just a side fun hobby?” For Jeremiah, the goal was to replace income that would be made if he were at home, but then also being able to see the world during the warmer months. Last year was close to 70 days of travel; the Overland community is awesome for networking and jobs. David: “Are you starting to shift away from real estate and doing more commercial video work for content marketing with different companies?” Jeremiah says he’ll always keep the real estate because he enjoys the work and his regular clients, but if he can pick up one or two fun, big-paying jobs... he absolutely will. “It’s not about you, it's about your client and everything you do for them. I'm not trying to take the kudos...I'm trying to give my clients even more value.” David: “If you were talking to somebody who's thinking