{"id":1669,"date":"2015-10-26T09:09:37","date_gmt":"2015-10-26T16:09:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/droneanalyst.com\/?p=1669"},"modified":"2017-01-04T10:26:32","modified_gmt":"2017-01-04T18:26:32","slug":"five-skills-you-need-to-succeed-in-the-commercial-drone-market","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/droneanalyst.com\/2015\/10\/26\/five-skills-you-need-to-succeed-in-the-commercial-drone-market\/'","title":{"rendered":"Five Skills You Need to Succeed in the Commercial Drone Market"},"content":{"rendered":"

These days it seems just about anyone can get an FAA Section 333 Exemption that allows them to legally use small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS) for commercial purposes in the U.S.\u00a0 As of October 20, 2015, almost 71% of all Section 333 grants<\/a> have gone to firms claiming that their primary operation\/mission is Film\/Photo\/Video<\/a> (and most claim multiple uses).\u00a0 This includes companies that are using drones for movies, as well as for art and real estate, among other things. Inspection and Monitoring<\/a> has seen the second highest issuance rate, at 31%, while Mapping and Surveying<\/a> for land and commercial construction, rounds out the top three at 20%.<\/p>\n

Looking further into the data, AUVSI reports<\/a> that at least 84% — and perhaps as many as 94.5%– of all approved companies are small businesses. While we don\u2019t agree with their astronomical forecast (see our write-up here<\/a>), we concur with this analysis.<\/p>\n

But here\u2019s the catch.\u00a0 With the bar so low for starting a commercial drone service, what\u2019s the guarantee these businesses will succeed? According to Bloomberg<\/a>, eight out of 10 entrepreneurs who start businesses fail within the first 18 months. A whopping 80% crash and burn. So given the risk, it makes sense to assess which markets and use cases provide the best chance of success, the skills you\u2019ll need, and the value-add services you should be offering those markets.<\/p>\n

Here are five services we think you should consider offering as part of your commercial drone business:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. $ – Video<\/li>\n
  2. $$ – Mapping<\/li>\n
  3. $$$ – Photogrammetry<\/li>\n
  4. $$$$ – LiDAR<\/li>\n
  5. ??? – Spectral imaging<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    I\u2019ve put dollar signs next to each service and listed them in progression to represent both the skill and value each has for potential customers. Notice I\u2019ve got question marks there by spectral imaging.\u00a0 That\u2019s because the jury is still out on whether there is a solid ROI on this service vs. that provided by manned aircraft for precision agriculture.\u00a0 Precision agriculture often gets touted as the #1 place where \u201cdrones will transform the world\u201d but the hard reality is this is a specialized application and a very complex market.\u00a0 (I have written about this extensively and you can find some very important details in a post I wrote more than a year ago called Film or Farm: Which is Largest Drone Market \u2013 Part 2?<\/a>)<\/p>\n

    Skill 1 – Video<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Now some of you may be wondering why I included video on my list. \u00a0We often see drone video footage on YouTube and think it\u2019s cool. But the hard fact is commercial buyers of drone video services have a much higher standard.\u00a0 So you will, too, if you want to make money in the Film\/Photo\/Video market.<\/p>\n

    By now you know shooting good drone video starts with selecting the right drone, the right camera, with the right lens, mounted on the right gimbal. \u00a0It\u2019s not a secret any drone enthusiast can go out and buy a DJI Phantom Vision 3 for about $1,200 and shoot 4K video<\/a>. But just because you can fly it and press the \u2018record\u2019 button does not make you a professional aerial videographer.\u00a0 There is much more to it than that. For one, shooting good video requires you to be skilled in the basics of:<\/p>\n