Having a drone is fun. You may be having a great time flying around, taking pictures, and shooting videos, but have you ever thought of making a business out of it? If you haven’t given it a thought yet, now is the right time to do so.
The drone market has been booming every day and it is assumed to reach a whopping $14 billion market value by the next decade. Nowadays, buying a commercial drone has become much more inexpensive than ever before; thanks to the growing competition among the manufacturers and rapid growth of customer demand.
Modern drones with their versatile application have opened the door to so many new opportunities across several industries. If you have a drone in 2023, you better know how that tool can bring you some bucks, or who knows, maybe loads of money!
Here are the 20 Best Drone Business Ideas you can consider if you are really interested in making passive money aside from just having fun with them.
1. Photography
Drone photography is perhaps the most popular and profitable drone business idea that will pop up in anyone’s head. And why shouldn’t it? Drones can reach locations that even the most skilled human pilots with the most sophisticated vehicles can’t reach. Aerial drones can give you a whole new perspective of geographic locations and buildings from above. The same can be said about underwater drone photography.
If you have the skills of a photographer and own a drone, you can start selling your drone photos and videos to online selling platforms like Shutterstock, iStockphoto, real estate agents, and PR campaigners.
2. Filmmaking
If you have an interest in filmmaking and possess some good skills in operating and controlling drones, this drone business idea is perfect for you to jump in. There is absolutely no denying that drones are brilliant tools for modern filmmakers and cinematographers for the scope and convenience they offer over conventional movie cameras.
Prior to the invention of the drone, offering a different viewing perspective to the audience from above the ground required heavy, strenuous movement of both the camera and the videographer but nowadays, filmmakers can use a drone more conveniently to film locations and take shots from angles which seemed almost impossible even a decade ago.
If you think you have the skills and ability to use your drone to give the audience a new viewing perspective, all you have to do is create a CV and gather some of your best shots as a videographer and send them right away to a production house that is looking for new talents.
3. Home Security and Surveillance Agency
Drones are machines that don’t make mistakes or give false reports. You can use your drone to monitor private properties and detect threats immediately. You can also configure your drone in such a way that it will not only detect a threat to the home and other properties but also send signals upon it immediately to the owner via Smartphone. Even more so that, it automatically alerts the local authorities about the threat instantly.
If you’re good at operating drones and willing to go through the nitty-gritty of setting up a surveillance agency, you should consider this one as a business option.
4. Agricultural Survey Agency
Drones can be used to gather agricultural data too. Images taken by unmanned aerial vehicles from above the ground can be further analyzed to extract unprecedented amount of data including soil composition, hydration level, and crop health.
You can open up an agricultural survey agency from where farmers can get useful information regarding optimal crop irrigation, fertilization, and pest control.
5. Geographical Mapping Agent
You can use your drone to generate three-dimensional cartographic information of geographic locations with an accuracy of within 1-2 centimeters. Today, archeologists, urban planners and environmentalists rely heavily on this cartographic information to carry out their surveys and plans.
If you are interested in geographical mapping and cartography, this is the right time for you to jump in. Contact a professional archeologist or an urban planning authority and inform them about your skills with drones. You can also use drones to make more accurate geographic maps of different locations and sell them using drones.
6. Search and Rescue Agency
Drones can go to places where humans cannot even think of going. If you are really good at flying drones, you might want to consider opening up a search and rescue agency. From recovering a lost smartphone from underwater to searching and rescuing pet animals from remote locations, you can be sure that people will call you up for help.
Drones can fly at night too. This means if you just equip your drone with infrared or night vision you can look up for lost things at night too. Becoming an agent for a search and rescue agency or even selling search and rescue drones can earn you a significant amount of cash.
7. Drone Renting Company
As we mentioned earlier, drones nowadays have become much less expensive than they used to be. So, if you have enough cash to buy some of them and you’re less interested in providing the services by yourself, you can consider renting out or leasing them to individuals/companies who are looking to use them on an ad hoc basis.
By doing so, you can earn a significant amount of money on a daily basis. But before you buy drones from the market, we suggest you have a look at our previous blog where we have listed some of the best drones available in the market in 2023 with their configuration and price.
8. Roof Inspection Service
Whether you admit or deny it, climbing up to the top of your building to see if everything’s doing well is a risky and laborious. Roof inspection is something that is regularly done by repair service companies, solar panel installers, or insurance adjusters. It is not only costly but also dangerous and involves carrying around a lot of equipment such as ladder, harnesses and measuring devices. If you have a drone with a good camera, you can offer your clients a cheaper and logistically simple way for the task. All you need is some software for photogrammetry which will allow you to create a navigable 3D model out of the overlapping photos you take with the drone.
9. Wedding Photographer
Wedding photography is the most popular business idea as well as the one that promises you a significant amount of money. People expect their bridal shoots to be unique and well-captured. If you are good with drone photography, you can become a wedding photographer who offers bridal photoshoots from a different angle using a drone. It’s true that everyone in a wedding is a photographer but at the same time, not everyone has a drone to capture those precious moments of life.
10. Freelance Drone Journalist
Becoming a freelance journalist is an obvious choice if you own a drone. Taking aerial shots of events and selling them to news corporations and small-scale media outlets can earn you a lot of cash. Media houses won’t mind you paying you some healthy amounts either because after all, it is cheaper buying from you than flying a helicopter over the places.
11. Freelance Drone Pilot
Most companies don’t know well about how to incorporate drones into their business strategy. They are curious about it, but they just don’t know how to use it to gain leverage for the business. As soon as most of the companies realize they will require drones for specific business projects, they will start advertising for hiring freelance drone operators. If you are good with the camera and know how to operate a drone, this might be your time to shine. You can work as a freelance drone pilot as a part-timer, contractual employee or who knows can even be appointed as a full-timer for them.
12. Underwater Exploration
As we have mentioned earlier, underwater drone photography possesses infinite opportunities. I mean, who doesn’t get intrigued by the lives and bio-diversity underwater? An underwater drone will bring you high-resolution photographs and videos that might even sell for millions!
Not only that, submersible drones can be used for numerous other jobs, and these tools are widely available and affordable too! You can use these for marine research or assessing environmental impacts.
Submersible drones can also come in handy in cases of water accidents, making you a useful hand for your local law enforcers. You can inspect tanks, pipes, or boat hulls with your drone too.
So, collaborate with marine researchers, your local police or plumbers, when you own a submersible drone, the options are countless!
13. Industrial Inspection
Similar to inspecting roofs, drones are also being used for inspecting other structures that are hard to reach, such as bridges, towers, pipelines, turbines, etc. These structures are not only difficult to access, but it is also a risky task for people to inspect them by getting on top of them.
Thankfully, drones are here to the rescue. There is no doubt that once you prove your competence as a drone-pilot, the industries dealing with these inspections, such as architecture firms or regional planners would happily offer you contract-based or even full-time jobs.
Insurance companies also use drones as a part of surveying damaged properties. So, keep an eye out for it too!
14. Drone Repairing Service
This drone business idea is for the ones who possess a technical mind. Drones are aerial vehicles. And just like any other vehicle, they crash, get damaged and malfunction. If you possess a piece of deep technical knowledge about drones, you may consider setting up a Drone repairing business. The industry is growing in a rapid pace, so you can expect a lot of customers to come to you for repairing their drones.
15. Drone Delivery Service
This might come off as an unusual suggestion considering the regulatory and technological barriers associated with it. Delivering products using a drone is has not become a common practice just yet, but many of the business giants like Amazon and UPS have already started investigating on the prospect of the idea. Just imagine the potential benefits of delivering products using a drone, it can be cheap, automated, reliable and fast. Instead of hiring a truck and paying for a driver who will drive across the cities to deliver your product, you can start off your own product delivery service using a drone.
16. Setting up a Drone Studio
Using drones for taking shots for films, documentaries and video content are much more efficient than using trolleys. Nowadays, up and coming directors rely more heavily on drones than conventional equipment. If you can set up a studio equipped with high-tech drones and skilled pilots, you can do the work for them. After all, it’s cheaper and much more sensible than flying a helicopter over the head.
17. Hazard Mitigation Planning
During natural calamities or fire breakouts, drones can be sent to assess how fatal the accidents are. This will substantially decrease the loss of lives and properties, and help the police or firemen to take necessary measures.
The authorities are gradually becoming habituated with the idea of hiring drone-pilots in civil services. Hence, this might just be the right opportunity for you to dive in!
18. Real Estate Photography
Real estate agencies depend on professional photographers to capture the beauty and specialties of properties. These photos and videos later attract potential buyers. But most photographers do not offer the aerial view of the property, which could provide the buyers with a better perspective and generate way more interest.
By now you have probably realized how handy drone photographers can come to real estate agencies. When you are skilled enough, you can charge even more than $250 for a one-hour photography session!
So, why wait? Combine your photography skills with your knowledge of flying drones, and create a portfolio full of catchy and high-resolution aerial photographs. You’re sure to get some well-paying clients!
19. Offer a Professional Course
If you know all the details of drones and are an expert in operating and controlling them, you can think of this business idea as the best one for you. All you have to do is create a video tutorial containing information regarding operating and controlling drones and sell it to your audience. You can also create a YouTube account where you will discuss all the technical aspects of these unmanned vehicles and give tips and suggestions to your audience.
20. Importing/Exporting Drones
Even though drones are quite available in most countries, the rate of availability still differs across the globe. For example, USA, UK, Germany, France and many more countries manufacture a whole lot of drones. On the other hand, some countries of other regions do not mass produce them.
Therefore, if you have much knowledge about different models of drones and you want to take your business to an international level, you can either import or export drones depending on the demand or production of your region.
There are so many drone business ideas that you can consider before starting a business with your drone. Find the areas that interest you and in which you are good at. As with any business, you must be knowledgeable of the subject and consistent with your efforts. Only then you will earn a good amount of cash out of your drone business, and flying drones will become even more enjoyable and satisfying.
