10 Drone Business Idea That Really Take off!

You can make money by starting a drone business while following your passions. A drone business may be the right choice for you if you are looking to expand your operations and grow your company.

Most likely, you have concerns about the viability of a drone business. You can rest assured that drone businesses are a great way to generate revenue when done well.

In my quest to find business ideas as an aspiring entrepreneur, I researched drone business in depth.

This article combines my practical experience to help you achieve three key goals: making money, Fostering Growth, and Scaling up.

You might wonder: Can drones drive business? Absolutely. According to my research, drones are a real business opportunity.

You don’t need to worry if drones are new to you. This article will equip you with the necessary information to launch a thriving drone business. You will learn specific strategies for:

• Earn income
• Expand your drone operations.
• Take your business to the next level.

I want to empower you with practical and straightforward insights to help you develop a successful drone-based business. Drones are a great way to achieve your goals, whether you’re looking for profit, growth or scale. Utilize the information below to assist in achieving your entrepreneurial goals.

Read also: Top 15 Business Inventory Software to use for your business

What is a drone?

A drone is commonly used to describe an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). In simpler terms, a drone is a flying object that doesn’t need a crew or staff to fly it because it can be remotely controlled. It’s usually very small in size and looks about this size.

A drone taking aerial photography

10 drone business ideas

To start, this list will be the one we are most familiar with;

1. Aerial photography

This idea stems from the inability of us as humans to see things from higher ground. But with drones, we can take pictures from as high as 400 feet from the ground, equivalent to 37- 45 story buildings depending on the height of each floor.

Aerial photography through drones does more harm than good compared to the helicopter’s old method of taking such sky-high pictures. 

Imagine having to spend so much hiring a helicopter when you could just buy a drone and have it for yourself and get your coverage in the most comfortable and pocket-friendly way.

2. Aerial videography

There is so much more you could do with a drone then taking pictures from sky-high levels. 

The drone can go as far as cover an event. Regardless of your job type, engagement is paramount, be it while signing a contract, welcoming a new team member, or celebrating an anniversary. You could be an event planning firm. 

The drone does the work of a videographer and much more. It will be able to cover the events as you wish, given that someone controls its movements. This not only saves cost and time but also improves your efficiency, which builds your trust in your customers and prospects and finally helps your business grow.

It’s a chain of events, but it all starts with how you take advantage of this drone business idea. 

3. Security coverage

When compared to the Closed Circuit Television (CCTV), the drone does a better job at coverage. Given its mobility in the air.  

As an individual, you can become an expert in security coverage, get contractual work with companies that require your services as a security coverage expert, and scale up from there to become a company that provides drone security coverage services.

And you should trust me when I say every company requires this service, and every company wants to have their staff and goods under control.  

4. Search and Rescue

With your drone control knowledge, you can work with the police and other government search teams based on contracts.

This way, you get paid and help the community grow. Based on your expertise, you can improve your networking and scale up.

Another drone business idea to get you started is

5. Product delivery to remote areas

It’s a popular yet unpopular business idea. Many business owners and individuals know that drones can be used for delivery. Yet, only a minimalistic percentage use this service.

You, as an individual or team setting to start a business, can earn a fortune from this – providing drone delivery services by solving the problem of reaching remote areas.

The only hard work is persuading your prospects to use the drone instead of delivery that requires physical presence. 

6. Wildlife documentary

Providing this service those working on a documentary might just be the right business for you.  

You can solve the problem of coming close to wild animals and tracking their activities as these are major problems for researchers in charge of wildlife documentaries. And there is no better way to scale up your business than to solve a common problem of your prospect.

7. Marine activities coverage

Did you know a drone can be used for underwater activities? If yes, good. If not, now you do.

I know we define drones as flying objects. Still, they go beyond that as Remotely operable vehicles (ROV), simply called underwater drones. 

By providing the services of marine activities coverage, you can solve a problem for the marine researchers by helping them get a closer look at the marine life they are observing and save them from dealing with extreme cases in the water. It’s a win-win situation as long as you don’t get seasick; this is a business worth considering.

Other forms of coverage are;

8. Agriculture survey and inspection 

Drone helps to oversee/track the growth of plants on fields in large-scale farming where the farmer has over400 hectares of land and more.

It can also be used for watering crops.

9. Architectural/ construction survey and inspection

Drone overseeing services are also required in this field. When the construction on high buildings is ongoing, drones can measure the progress instead of having humans go up and down the building with the high risk involved.

For the sales also – in real estate sales, the use of drones instead of helicopters to capture the aerial view of such buildings is required. 

This drone business idea is lucrative and does not require much expertise, given that you understand the market.

Finally,

10. Drone sales/ rent

Yes, You can start your drone business by just selling or renting to others. This way, you don’t have to narrow down to a niche if you have a hard time doing that.

With this idea, you can increase your knowledge of drone types and their functions. Scalability on a high level is guaranteed, given that you understand the market you are selling to.

What is the best drone to start a business with?

Picking the right drone to start your business could be a difficult decision with the many options currently on the market. In selecting the best drone for commercial operations, be sure to choose models that offer the highest level of high-quality professional photography, easy portability, convenience as well as affordability.

High-tech specs are appealing to technology enthusiasts. However, they can overpriced for needs in the early stages. These are the most sought-after high-quality drones available:

DJI Mavic 3

Source: Prizmadrone

The DJI Mavic 3 folding quadcopter set the new bar in the realm of premium drone performance for consumers due to world-class flight speeds with dual camera zoom and the legendary mobiles.

Features:

• Ultraportable and foldable design
• The flight time can be as long as 46 minutes
• 15km HD video range of transmission
• 5.1K video. 20MP pictures
• Multiple intelligent shooting modes

Pros

• Size compact for transportation
• Time-consuming flights to cover more surface
• Camera with zoom capability for cinematic use
• Automated photos like Rocket hyper lapses

Cons

• A high upfront cost of around $1,800
• Not natively compatible with other third-party applications

Autel EVO 2 Pro

Source: Autel Robotics

Its Autel EVO 2 Pro packs premium specs, including the recording of video in 8K and 40 minutes of flight time into a weatherproofed body designed to stand up to the rigors of commercial use.

Features:

• 40-minute flight duration
• 9km range of video
• Video in 8K resolution, photo capture
• IP53 rating for weather resistance

Pros

• Long flight endurance is ideal for flights.
• High-resolution images for video and stills
• Be prepared to withstand dust and light rain infiltration
• Lower cost than many other competitors

Cons

• The design of the Bulkier is not as portable as that of Mavic. Mavic
• The maximum frame rate for video frames in 8K is limited to low 24 frames per second

DJI Matrice 300 RTK

Source: C.R Kennedy

DJI’s Matrice 300 enterprise-grade RTK has exceptional endurance in flight as well as swappable payloads, similar to survey-grade RTK modules, paired with a massive lifting capability.

Features:

• Triple modular payload bays
• 55 minutes max time for flight
• RTK centimeter-precision GNSS
• 8. km of HD Video Transmission area

Pros

• Extraordinarily long flight times
• The ability to accurately survey and map is a key feature.
• Stability, robust construction, and solidity
• Camera/sensor modules that are swappable

Cons

• Massive and heavy, but hard to move
• Costs of entry that are high, over $10,000

Autel Dragonfish

Source: Autel Robotic

The Autel Dragonfish combines a top-quality radiometric thermal camera in the form of a small drone that is designed to stand up to harsh conditions.

Features:

• 320×256 IR sensor resolution
• 45 minutes maximum time for flight
• 1.5km HD Video transmission area
• IP54 is rated weatherproof

Pros

• An in-built thermal camera that includes radiometry
• Low-cost thermal inspection drone
• Long 45-minute flight duration
• Body with a water and dust-resistant surface

Cons

• Limited operation of transmission coverage
• There are fewer automated flight methods
• Image resolution is still limited to 1024×768

The list above covers a few of the most popular drones, showcasing modern flight controllers, motors, batteries, and imaging technology. Each has distinct benefits based on the particular aerial service company’s business model and budget. Take a close look at the options at the beginning of the process according to your needs that allow for growth in the future.

Conclusion

I just did and am pleased to inform you that you do not require much capital to start a drone business.

Why risking life climbing tall trees to take pictures?

Why waste your productive time, which could be spent making more products or delivering more services, dropping orders at your customer’s doorsteps when you could start a drone business and achieve maximum productivity and growth with a drone doing these tasks.

And asides from giving you an edge over your competitors, employing some drone ideas in your business helps save as much money as possible. Because with a drone, you don’t have to employ an expert tree climber, a photographer, a video editor, or a cinematographer for every purpose of it when you could just get a drone at once and enjoy its benefits in your business more.