Drone Business Plan
You’ve come to the right place to create your Drone business plan.
We have helped over 1,000 entrepreneurs and business owners create business plans and many have used them to start or grow their Drone companies.
Below is a template to help you create each section of your Drone business plan.
Executive Summary
Business Overview
Views By Amy is a drone business located in Annapolis, Maryland. We specialize in using drones to capture high-quality photography and videography around the city. Our drones can provide footage for live streams, cinematography, and still photos. We work with several local industries (such as the film, real estate, and advertising industries) but also offer our services to individuals. So whether a client needs live footage of their team’s match or a stunning view of the city, our drones can get them the footage they need.
Views By Amy is led and founded by Amy Schwartz. Amy has worked with drones for ten years both as a pilot and a sales professional at a local drone shop. She has captured aerial photography for many personal projects as well as for her clients on a freelance basis. After working for ten years as a freelancer, she is ready to incorporate her business and hire other drone pilots to help her out.
Product Offering
Views By Amy provides drone aerial footage for numerous industries. Some of these industries include:
- Film
- Real estate
- Tourism
- Sports
- Advertising
- Construction
Customers can request footage in the form of live streams, videos, or photographs.
Customer Focus
Views By Amy serves all residents and businesses in Annapolis, Maryland who need drone photography or videography services. We expect much of our sales to come from a handful of industries: sports, film, advertising, and construction.
Management Team
Views By Amy is led and founded by Amy Schwartz. Amy has worked with drones for ten years both as a pilot and a sales professional at a local drone shop. She has captured aerial photography for many personal projects as well as for her clients on a freelance basis. After working for ten years as a freelancer, she is ready to incorporate her business and hire other drone pilots to help her out.
Success Factors
Views By Amy will be able to achieve success by offering the following competitive advantages:
- Service Customization: Views By Amy offers extensive services and offers customizations and special requests.
- Management: Our management team has years of drone photography experience that allows us to market and serve customers in a much more sophisticated manner than our competitors.
- Relationships: Having lived in the community for fifteen years, Amy Schwartz knows all of the local leaders, newspapers, and other influences. As such, it will be relatively easy for us to build branding and awareness of our drone business.
Download the Drone business plan template (including a customizable financial model) to your computer here <–
Financial Highlights
Views By Amy is currently seeking $600,000 to launch. The capital will be used for funding capital expenditures and location build-out, hiring initial employees, marketing expenses, and working capital. Specifically, these funds will be used as follows:
- Store design/build: $250,000
- Drone purchase and upkeep: $100,000
- Three months of overhead expenses (payroll, rent, utilities): $150,000
- Marketing costs: $50,000
- Working capital: $50,000
The following graph below outlines the pro forma financial projections for Views By Amy.
Company Overview
Who is Views By Amy?
Views By Amy is a drone business located in Annapolis, Maryland. We specialize in using drones to capture high-quality photography and videography around the city. Our drones can provide footage for live streams, cinematography, and still photos. We work with several local industries (such as the film, real estate, and advertising industries) but also offer our services to individuals. So whether a client needs live footage of their team’s match or a stunning view of the city, our drones can get them the footage they need.
Views By Amy is led and founded by Amy Schwartz. Amy has worked with drones for ten years both as a pilot and a sales professional at a local drone shop. She has captured aerial photography for many personal projects as well as for her clients on a freelance basis. After working for ten years as a freelancer, she is ready to incorporate her business and hire other drone pilots to help her out.
Views By Amy’s History
Upon surveying the local customer base, and finding a potential retail location, Amy Schwartz incorporated Views By Amy as an S-Corporation on April 2nd, 2023.
Amy has selected an initial location and is currently undergoing due diligence on the property and the local market to assess whether it will be the most desirable location.
Since incorporation, the company has achieved the following milestones:
- Developed the company’s name, logo, and website
- Created the list of services
- Determined equipment requirements
- Began recruiting key employees
Views By Amy’s Services
Views By Amy provides drone aerial footage for numerous industries. Some of these industries include:
- Film
- Real estate
- Tourism
- Sports
- Advertising
- Construction
Customers can request footage in the form of live streams, videos, or photographs.
Industry Analysis
Drones have become an essential tool for many industries. Their ability to soar to great heights and reach areas that humans cannot have made them invaluable. Their popularity has only soared since they first became publicly available and there is no sign that that popularity will fizzle out.
However, many businesses cannot afford their own drones or only need to use them every once in a while. This creates a great demand for drone services, such as aerial photography. According to Fortune Business Insights, the global drone services market is projected to grow to $232.8 billion in the next 10 years. The industry will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 42.8% from now until the end of the decade. This is substantial growth seen in very few industries. These statistics show just how essential drones have become in such a short time. Their uses are numerous and their popularity is bound to only increase.
Download the Drone business plan template (including a customizable financial model) to your computer here <–
Customer Analysis
Demographic Profile of Target Market
Views By Amy will serve the local businesses and community residents of Annapolis, Maryland and its surrounding areas. The area we serve is affluent and has the disposable income/profits required to demand drone services.
A demographic profile of Annapolis, Maryland is as follows:
| Total | Percent | |
|---|---|---|
| Total population | 1,680,988 | 100% |
| Male | 838,675 | 49.9% |
| Female | 842,313 | 50.1% |
| 20 to 24 years | 114,872 | 6.8% |
| 25 to 34 years | 273,588 | 16.3% |
| 35 to 44 years | 235,946 | 14.0% |
| 45 to 54 years | 210,256 | 12.5% |
| 55 to 59 years | 105,057 | 6.2% |
| 60 to 64 years | 87,484 | 5.2% |
| 65 to 74 years | 116,878 | 7.0% |
| 75 to 84 years | 52,524 | 3.1% |
Customer Segmentation
Views By Amy will primarily target the following customer profiles:
- Residents
- Local businesses
- Local sports teams
Competitive Analysis
Direct and Indirect Competitors
Views By Amy will face competition from other companies with similar business profiles. A description of each competitor company is below.
Dave’s Drones
Dave’s Drones is the best spot in town to buy drones for one’s business or personal projects. Dave’s offers a large inventory that consists of numerous models. The store is staffed by drone pilots and experts who can help customers find the perfect drone for their needs. While Dave’s Drones does not offer direct competition with us, they are an indirect competitor since they sell drones to local residents and businesses.
Skye Photography
Skye Photography is a local photographer who works weddings, sports events, and other special occasions. It is run by Skye, who has been a professional photographer for ten years. Though she primarily uses regular cameras and equipment for her work, she is also an experienced drone operator and offers drone photography in her list of services.
Riverside Drone Services
Riverside Drone Services is the only other drone photography business in Annapolis, Maryland. They provide drone photography and videography for multiple businesses in the area. So far they have primarily partnered with real estate and construction businesses, but haven’t touched other industries that can benefit from this work. Therefore, we can reduce competition with Riverside by marketing to these underserved industries.
Download the Drone business plan template (including a customizable financial model) to your computer here <–
Competitive Advantage
Views By Amy will be able to offer the following advantages over their competition:
- Service Customization: Views By Amy offers extensive services and offers customizations and special requests.
- Management: Our management team has years of drone photography experience that allows us to market and serve customers in a much more sophisticated manner than our competitors.
- Relationships: Having lived in the community for fifteen years, Amy Schwartz knows all of the local leaders, newspapers, and other influences. As such, it will be relatively easy for us to build branding and awareness of our drone business.
Marketing Plan
Brand & Value Proposition
Views By Amy will offer the unique value proposition to its clientele:
- Extensive drone services
- High-quality aerial photography and videography
- Excellent customer service
Promotions Strategy
The promotions strategy for Views By Amy is as follows:
Advertising
Views By Amy will initially advertise in local newspapers and local tv shows, and sponsor community events in order to gain awareness.
Social Media
Views By Amy will create social media accounts and invest in ads on all social media platforms. It will use targeted marketing to appeal to the target demographic.
Word of Mouth Marketing
Views By Amy will encourage word-of-mouth marketing from loyal and satisfied clients. The company will use recommendations and word-of-mouth marketing to grow its customer base through the network of its existing customers.
Website/SEO
Views By Amy will invest in developing a professional website that displays all of the services offered by the company. It will also invest in SEO so that the company’s website will appear at the top of search engine results.
Pricing
Views By Amy pricing will be moderate, so customers feel that they are getting great value when purchasing our services.
Operations Plan
The following will be the operations plan for Views By Amy.
Operation Functions:
- Amy Schwartz will be the Owner and President of Views By Amy. She will oversee all the general operations and operate all the drones for her customers.
- Amy is joined by Omar Peterson who will be the Administrative Assistant for the company. He will help out with basic accounting, administrative, and marketing tasks.
- As the company grows, Amy will hire several other employees to help manage the fleet of drones and provide high-quality drone photography for customers.
Download the Drone business plan template (including a customizable financial model) to your computer here <–
Milestones:
Views By Amy will have the following milestones completed in the next six months.
- 7/202X – Finalize lease
- 8/202X – Finalize personnel and staff employment contracts
- 9/202X – Purchase equipment and supplies
- 10/202X – Begin marketing campaigns
- 11/202X – Begin moving into Views By Amy
- 12/202X – Views By Amy opens for business.
Management Team
Views By Amy is led and founded by Amy Schwartz. Amy has worked with drones for ten years both as a pilot and a sales professional at a local drone shop. She has captured aerial photography for many personal projects as well as for her clients on a freelance basis. After working for ten years as a freelancer, she is ready to incorporate her business and hire other drone pilots to help her out.
Financial Plan
Key Revenue & Costs
Views By Amy’s revenues will come from charging for drone services.
The major costs for the company will consist of marketing expenses, the purchase and upkeep of the drones, labor, and the cost of the lease.
Funding Requirements and Use of Funds
Views By Amy is currently seeking $600,000 to launch. The capital will be used for funding capital expenditures and location build-out, hiring initial employees, marketing expenses, and working capital. Specifically, these funds will be used as follows:
- Store design/build: $250,000
- Drone purchase and upkeep: $100,000
- Three months of overhead expenses (payroll, rent, utilities): $150,000
- Marketing costs: $50,000
- Working capital: $50,000
Download the Drone business plan template (including a customizable financial model) to your computer here <–
Key Assumptions
The following outlines the key assumptions required in order to achieve the revenue and cost numbers in the financials and pay off the startup business loan.
- Number of customers:
- Year 1: 120
- Year 2: 180
- Year 3: 280
- Year 4: 400
- Year 5: 550
- Annual rent: $100,000
Financial Projections
Income Statement
| FY 1 | FY 2 | FY 3 | FY 4 | FY 5 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenues | ||||||
| Total Revenues | $360,000 | $793,728 | $875,006 | $964,606 | $1,063,382 | |
| Expenses & Costs | ||||||
| Cost of goods sold | $64,800 | $142,871 | $157,501 | $173,629 | $191,409 | |
| Lease | $50,000 | $51,250 | $52,531 | $53,845 | $55,191 | |
| Marketing | $10,000 | $8,000 | $8,000 | $8,000 | $8,000 | |
| Salaries | $157,015 | $214,030 | $235,968 | $247,766 | $260,155 | |
| Initial expenditure | $10,000 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | |
| Total Expenses & Costs | $291,815 | $416,151 | $454,000 | $483,240 | $514,754 | |
| EBITDA | $68,185 | $377,577 | $421,005 | $481,366 | $548,628 | |
| Depreciation | $27,160 | $27,160 | $27,160 | $27,160 | $27,160 | |
| EBIT | $41,025 | $350,417 | $393,845 | $454,206 | $521,468 | |
| Interest | $23,462 | $20,529 | $17,596 | $14,664 | $11,731 | |
| PRETAX INCOME | $17,563 | $329,888 | $376,249 | $439,543 | $509,737 | |
| Net Operating Loss | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | |
| Use of Net Operating Loss | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | |
| Taxable Income | $17,563 | $329,888 | $376,249 | $439,543 | $509,737 | |
| Income Tax Expense | $6,147 | $115,461 | $131,687 | $153,840 | $178,408 | |
| NET INCOME | $11,416 | $214,427 | $244,562 | $285,703 | $331,329 |
Balance Sheet
| FY 1 | FY 2 | FY 3 | FY 4 | FY 5 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ASSETS | ||||||
| Cash | $154,257 | $348,760 | $573,195 | $838,550 | $1,149,286 | |
| Accounts receivable | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | |
| Inventory | $30,000 | $33,072 | $36,459 | $40,192 | $44,308 | |
| Total Current Assets | $184,257 | $381,832 | $609,654 | $878,742 | $1,193,594 | |
| Fixed assets | $180,950 | $180,950 | $180,950 | $180,950 | $180,950 | |
| Depreciation | $27,160 | $54,320 | $81,480 | $108,640 | $135,800 | |
| Net fixed assets | $153,790 | $126,630 | $99,470 | $72,310 | $45,150 | |
| TOTAL ASSETS | $338,047 | $508,462 | $709,124 | $951,052 | $1,238,744 | |
| LIABILITIES & EQUITY | ||||||
| Debt | $315,831 | $270,713 | $225,594 | $180,475 | $135,356 | |
| Accounts payable | $10,800 | $11,906 | $13,125 | $14,469 | $15,951 | |
| Total Liability | $326,631 | $282,618 | $238,719 | $194,944 | $151,307 | |
| Share Capital | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | |
| Retained earnings | $11,416 | $225,843 | $470,405 | $756,108 | $1,087,437 | |
| Total Equity | $11,416 | $225,843 | $470,405 | $756,108 | $1,087,437 | |
| TOTAL LIABILITIES & EQUITY | $338,047 | $508,462 | $709,124 | $951,052 | $1,238,744 |
Cash Flow Statement
| FY 1 | FY 2 | FY 3 | FY 4 | FY 5 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CASH FLOW FROM OPERATIONS | ||||||
| Net Income (Loss) | $11,416 | $214,427 | $244,562 | $285,703 | $331,329 | |
| Change in working capital | ($19,200) | ($1,966) | ($2,167) | ($2,389) | ($2,634) | |
| Depreciation | $27,160 | $27,160 | $27,160 | $27,160 | $27,160 | |
| Net Cash Flow from Operations | $19,376 | $239,621 | $269,554 | $310,473 | $355,855 | |
| CASH FLOW FROM INVESTMENTS | ||||||
| Investment | ($180,950) | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | |
| Net Cash Flow from Investments | ($180,950) | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | |
| CASH FLOW FROM FINANCING | ||||||
| Cash from equity | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | |
| Cash from debt | $315,831 | ($45,119) | ($45,119) | ($45,119) | ($45,119) | |
| Net Cash Flow from Financing | $315,831 | ($45,119) | ($45,119) | ($45,119) | ($45,119) | |
| Net Cash Flow | $154,257 | $194,502 | $224,436 | $265,355 | $310,736 | |
| Cash at Beginning of Period | $0 | $154,257 | $348,760 | $573,195 | $838,550 | |
| Cash at End of Period | $154,257 | $348,760 | $573,195 | $838,550 | $1,149,286 |
Drone Business Plan FAQs
What Is a Drone Business Plan?
A drone business plan is a plan to start and/or grow your drone business. Among other things, it outlines your business concept, identifies your target customers, presents your marketing plan and details your financial projections.
You can easily complete your Drone business plan using our Drone Business Plan Template here.
What are the Main Types of Drone Businesses?
There are a number of different kinds of drone businesses, some examples include: Drone photography, Drone real estate videography, Drone security, and Drone building inspections.
How Do You Get Funding for Your Drone Business Plan?
Drone businesses are often funded through small business loans. Personal savings, credit card financing and angel investors are also popular forms of funding.
What are the Steps To Start a Drone Business?
Starting a drone business can be an exciting endeavor. Having a clear roadmap of the steps to start a business will help you stay focused on your goals and get started faster.
1. Develop A Drone Business Plan - The first step in starting a business is to create a detailed drone business plan that outlines all aspects of the venture. This should include potential market size and target customers, the services or products you will offer, pricing strategies and a detailed financial forecast.
2. Choose Your Legal Structure - It's important to select an appropriate legal entity for your drone business. This could be a limited liability company (LLC), corporation, partnership, or sole proprietorship. Each type has its own benefits and drawbacks so it’s important to do research and choose wisely so that your drone business is in compliance with local laws.
3. Register Your Drone Business - Once you have chosen a legal structure, the next step is to register your drone business with the government or state where you’re operating from. This includes obtaining licenses and permits as required by federal, state, and local laws.
4. Identify Financing Options - It’s likely that you’ll need some capital to start your drone business, so take some time to identify what financing options are available such as bank loans, investor funding, grants, or crowdfunding platforms.
5. Choose a Location - Whether you plan on operating out of a physical location or not, you should always have an idea of where you’ll be based should it become necessary in the future as well as what kind of space would be suitable for your operations.
6. Hire Employees - There are several ways to find qualified employees including job boards like LinkedIn or Indeed as well as hiring agencies if needed – depending on what type of employees you need it might also be more effective to reach out directly through networking events.
7. Acquire Necessary Drone Equipment & Supplies - In order to start your drone business, you'll need to purchase all of the necessary equipment and supplies to run a successful operation.
8. Market & Promote Your Business - Once you have all the necessary pieces in place, it’s time to start promoting and marketing your drone business. This includes creating a website, utilizing social media platforms like Facebook or Twitter, and having an effective Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategy. You should also consider traditional marketing techniques such as radio or print advertising.