How To Start a Drone Business in a New Market
David: Hey everybody, David Plummer and Michael Ferguson here from Aerial Influence. This is the AI Q+A series, and we are focusing on your questions. This time, Michael has one of our viewer questions.
Michael: It comes from Brantley Scott, who says:
“I’m in the Cotton Belt here in Oklahoma — this is a region that has really piqued my interest the past year or so. How do you gauge the demand for a drone service that is pretty much non-existent in a certain area? I could move pretty quick as far as gathering the equipment, but my uncertainty has me reluctant to take that leap.”
I think what Brantley Scott is talking about is drone spraying services specifically, and he’s curious about how he could get into that type of business when it’s non-existent in his area. Part of the problem here is, though it’s a proven technology, It hasn’t been used a lot across the United States. Also, I would imagine that Brantley’s area already has manned aircraft that are spraying cotton fields.
The first thing you should do is get licensed to spray crops legally. Second, know that there’s probably a community near you that would benefit from your service. While there may be one group served by the large planes because they have large tracts of land, there are likely some mid-range farms where it isn’t feasible for the pilot or the farmer or ag company to bring the plane out because these jobs involve spread-out or smaller plots. This is your potential market. And while having existing demand for your services is always great, it’s much more important (and difficult) to get out and talk to people who you could possibly sell your service to who are a good fit.
David: And we get this type of question a lot: “how do I start a drone business?” We get that question once a week from somebody who calls and says, “Hey, this is what I do. I love drones. And I want to do that for a living.”
Understand this: drones right now are today’s wild, wild West. People are just starting to figure out what drones can do for their businesses and on the farm. And the answer to your question is: we don’t have the answer. It’s up to you and the marketing you decide to run with. You can get the drone — the technology is there to change your industry (and several others) — but if nobody knows you’ve got it, then you’re not going to get any business out of it. You’ve got to be the one out there getting your licenses, making videos, doing advertising, going door-to-door, talking to farmers and talking to your primary potential customers. It is really up to your hustle. We can give you the proper tools. We can guide you in the right direction, but you have to be the one out there pushing your services and the amazing things your drone can do in your community.
Michael: Right. I think a lot of people do know that they’ve got to do the hustle, but I think our expertise is where we come in. For example, one of our clients wanted to be able to spray. They were going through their 137 process and everything; long story short, they missed their licensing window, so they missed the spraying season.
While we can’t necessarily help with your marketing program, we would advise someone to prepare before buying a drone (in this case, to understand their licensure process). You may have an idea of what you want, thinking, “okay, I want to do something 55 pounds and under or 55 pounds and over.” You may have a drone lined up to serve your potential clients best. But if you take the process in steps, then you’re not throwing 50 to 75 grand away in the beginning and making a mistake. Take the right first steps, and contact us if you have questions. That way, hopefully, you save money in the long run.
David: So your suggestion would be to go through the legal process of getting your 107 and 137 licenses and getting legal with the FAA if you want to be an ag pilot in the drone world. That would be the first step to spraying crops.
Michael: Right. We’ve got one client that had a 107. They want to begin spraying, so they’re going through the process of getting the 137 right now. But then they’re also purchasing the Phantom 4 Multispectral as well as the RTK so they can do really high-precision 3D mapping. Those two drones can be used heavily in farming, so you don’t need the 137 right away to get started in the agricultural field. And then they’ll eventually buy the T16 once their petition comes through.
David: Thank you so much for reading and submitting your comments. We’ll be back in a couple of weeks with our fourth blog in the series — you don’t want to miss out on more AI Q+A. We’ll see you next time.
We are so excited about how drones can help your business or farm. Make sure to shoot us an email or call us for a consultation if you want more information about Aerial Influence. As always, thank you for reading. We’re excited to share the future of drones with you.