How to Start a Drone Surveying Business: The Ultimate Guide

[@jeffreylambey7011]

Thank you so much for this information. You really have helped me push forward in getting started. Thank you once more.

[@SheWhoDaresWins]

Hey No Worries and best of luck :)

[@Guide504]

Base understanding of real time kinematics would be helpful as distinct from standard GPS.

[@EnduroDroneHub]

I've only got a DJI Mini 4 Pro and do basic clear damage roof reports for home owners atm as part of damp proofing. im seriously considering dropping tools and picking up the controller more. Your video is in my favourites and I found it really simple and clear , I hope you continue with your success thanks for the video

[@SheWhoDaresWins]

It’s a great add on for your services for sure! I’d keep both going until your drone work really picks up. I’ve found being a full time drone flyer can be really hard. Weather restrictions etc but then again I do know full time flyers . Thanks for your kind words. More drone videos to come

[@akhilrooprai8511]

Hello sir, this sounds very intriguing. I was curious how you go about acquiring clientele? Do you have an instagram page? Thanks

[@EnduroDroneHub]

@@akhilrooprai8511 foot work and using the drone to find potential customers make some demo videos you can show potential clients. You can use your own house anything. Without learning to edit in post production you’ll not have the polished skill required to produce a good video. Practice. Practice. Practice.

[@360DroneMappingLLC]

Greetings from South Texas! Great video, really enjoyed it.

[@SheWhoDaresWins]

Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for sharing watching :)

[@albertvilviljoen367]

Thank you! Very very useful info, much appreciated!

[@SheWhoDaresWins]

You are welcome

[@willperry1147]

Liked, Subbed, thanks for the video.

[@SheWhoDaresWins]

Thanks for the sub!

[@lucholucho1975]

Good info! I'm thinking about getting a Mavic 3M to do some crops surveys, photogrammetry and mapping too!

[@SheWhoDaresWins]

Oh yeah you should they are ace!

[@SamWelbourneGuitar]

Great video, thanks.

[@sergebelair987]

Hello Michelle Thank you for your encouraging video! I understand you were an engineer in the past but was it in the field of surveying? Serge from Quebec, Canada

[@SheWhoDaresWins]

Yes I was a setting out engineer so the transfer to land surveying was relatively smooth

[@ChrisWard-hy4fv]

This is a great video. Thank you so much for the information! Does PQS Tech work in the U.S.? Do you have any insightful guidance on where to go for knowledge on doing as-built for construction? Thanks again SheWhoDaresWins!

[@SheWhoDaresWins]

They don’t I’m afraid. You could try fivver there are lots of engineer freelancers on there

[@denaco]

with the rtk and base station (plus licence), do you still need to lay gcp's around or can you just use the rtk for cm accuracy? always thought about getting the mav 3 enterprise and rtk base station but the cost of the software yearly licence been in the 1000s for p4d and drone deploy put me off a bit. it really adds up.

[@SheWhoDaresWins]

Great question. I always still do GCPs. It does depend on the accuracy your client needs. RTK is great but for accurate surveys 1-2cm you will need a couple of GCPs. Licenses are expensive but pqs tech do flexible ones so you can just pay per flight :)

[@rajanyt7343]

@@SheWhoDaresWins currently I'm doing data acquisition part for solar farm and power line inspection companies, may i know the market value in your state, like how the company pays for 1MW solar farm data acquisition (thermal + RGB)

[@SheWhoDaresWins]

@@rajanyt7343 i'm not sure I understand what you mean.Are you asking what price should be charged?

[@rajanyt7343]

​@@SheWhoDaresWins Yeah, how much does your competitor charge for data acquisition for solar farm or power line inspections?

[@She_who_dares_wins]

@@rajanyt7343 Sorry no idea, we've never done. a project in that field

[@glynbarrett1961]

If you don't do GVC you can't overfly uninvolved people with a 250g+ drone. It's 150m horizontal separation reducing to 50m with A2 C of C. If you want to do construction work on a live site then you really need GVC. I got by initially with my M3E and A2 C of C by just doing sites on the edge of town and on a Sunday when the site was closed. Very restrictive.

[@SheWhoDaresWins]

Yep totally agree! I just got my GVC this week :) I highly recommend it to everyone and will be making a video about why very soon! Who did you do yours with?

[@glynbarrett1961]

@@SheWhoDaresWins i did mine online with UAVHUB. im NW England and they had a flight tester based near Chorley so it all worked out. this video was a gateway into your other content. very helpful actually, thanks.

[@aliabdulla574]

Hello , I am a structural engineer and I work sometimes in civil 3d to import surveying points and produce some proposed topography , I got interested in surveying but my question is , do you believe it is useful to get chartered if you have your own business ? and how do you think AI will affect surveying , thanks

[@SheWhoDaresWins]

Hey! I don’t think you need to be chartered unless you grow your business and start tendering for large government jobs. Oh great question about Ai I have a video on that coming soon

[@DanielViviano]

Awesome video Michelle! My favorite drone of all time is the DJI Phantom 4 Pro and has never ever failed me...except that time I flew it directly into a bridge lol Please reach out to me if you'd like to connect, I work for the largest drone tech distributor globally...and keep up the great work!

[@SheWhoDaresWins]

Thanks for the kind words. Ha ha a tree that’s pretty scary lol. Oh interesting, who do you work for?

[@DanielViviano]

Drone Nerds...ever heard of us?@@SheWhoDaresWins

[@451degreesF]

Why do you need the GPS license? Is that some legislative necessity? I thought you just buy some NTRIP caster like Reach RS3 and that's it?

[@SheWhoDaresWins]

no it's to get your GPS connection to the satalites, So your base station works. Not sure what the deal is in other countries but in the UK and Europe you definately have to pay for your license.

[@merseyviking]

@@SheWhoDaresWinsNo, license is the wrong word. Anyone can have access to the satellites free of charge. What PQS and others give you is access to Topcon's GNSS base station feeds (which in the UK I think are the Ordnance Survey's base stations). They then create a VRS (virtual reference station) that interpolates the signals from nearby base stations and creates a virtual base station near to your site and give you a NTRIP feed. Topcon does offer satellite-based L-band feeds as well, but unless you're really remote, the NTRIP feeds will be fine.

[@DJ_Kie]

Hi im from the uk. I am considering a change of career. I came across your video whilst researching roof surveying. Im considering looking at drone video and event filming as well as roof surveying as a 2nd job with the scope of going in full time if it makes sense. One thing im not clear on, does one need to have an actual qualification i surveying to do roof inspections? (Producing report requires any accredition?) Im legal by education, QA manufacturing by trade. Would be good to strike out and do something for myself.

[@SheWhoDaresWins]

Oh great. I think for roof surveying just some experience is ok. maybe see if you can get on with a company for that for a bit before going on your own? Flying over houses and buildings is tricky so you need. the relevant certs and experience but it can be done. Best of luck!

[@apowave]

Do you have a rough estimate for how much you can charge per acre for say 1-10 acre land surveys

[@SheWhoDaresWins]

Oh I don’t price per area and there’s a lot more into it. Try and figure out flight time and then work out a day rate. Normal day rates for flight surveys are anywhere between 500-1000 a day or more if you are doing lidar. Again also depends on the deliverables

[@circuschris2880]

At the beginning of the video it sounds like you say "having been an engineer for the last 17 years...", but the caption says "haven't been an enginner" and since the captions are part of the video, is this a mistake you missed?

[@SheWhoDaresWins]

Ah thanks ha ha auto comments caught me out

[@Steve_W27]

Never trust auto captions on KZbin - they’re nearly always wrong at some point in every video. They are nothing to do with the person creating the video. It also came up saying DGI drone instead of DJI.

[@DroneKamenjas]

Hello, can I do surveying with DJI mini 2?

[@SheWhoDaresWins]

Technically you can do photogrammetry with any drone. If you client needs accurate surveys then it might not be the best drone. A bigger drone or one that can fly for longer would be better. I only normally recommend the phantom 4 pro of the mavic pro for those starting out

[@littlenel17]

Mavic 3 Enterprise is great as well just a bit pricey.

[@GeoproXYZ]

Don't forget the surveying license.. that's the important one.

[@SheWhoDaresWins]

Oh do you mean RTK licence for gps?

[@GeoproXYZ]

​​​@@SheWhoDaresWins in the USA surveying is a licensed profession, you must have a combination of education, experience, and pass exam to provide these services. I'm quite certain this is also a requirement throughout most countries in the world, though it varies. Just the same as how you can't practice surgery by buying a scalpel.. because there is a risk to the public if an unskilled person starts selling their services but isn't qualified.

[@SheWhoDaresWins]

Oh wow definitely not the case in the U.K. but most have a degree and relevant further training. We have charter ship which you can gain after many years of experience, but it doesn’t really help get you work really.

[@tclondon]

Would be the equivalent of a RICS membership in the UK. Would I need this to carry out Drone Surveying in the UK? Great Vid, very informative!

[@atharvparkhe6384]

How do you find clients for drone surveying ??

[@SheWhoDaresWins]

For me it’s been word of mouth or old clients looking for drone surveys. If you are starting out maybe start with posting about what you do on LinkedIn

[@atharvparkhe6384]

yes thank you @@SheWhoDaresWins

[@rajanyt7343]

hey do you have enterprise drone with you ??

[@a.g.csurveysystems6839]

hi love from india

[@SheWhoDaresWins]

Hey

[@furmanvit]

phantom or mavic 3e?

[@SheWhoDaresWins]

I’d go mavic it’s a better drone

[@neilfoster814]

DGI Drones, are they a new company? 😉

[@SheWhoDaresWins]

Ha ha nope my bad

[@mangodjur]

What is this automatic text?? All wrong

[@algreen746]

Just use your ears.

[@garyrendano4717]

will be fun when all these folks doing all that training and buying drones.. and then in the usa they ban drones.

[@SheWhoDaresWins]

oh wow that sucks