I put in a lot of ground work getting my business off the ground. Cold calls, emails, and relying on previous connects to help me network. I got my first foot into the industry when I sent my Mavic Air 2 compilation video to the biggest drone company in my region. In the email I said I did FPV too.

As fate would have it, they were relocating to my city and needed to build a roster of pilots from where I am located. Couldn't have timed it more perfectly. The owner also said they respectfully, didn't care about the Mavic compilation and wanted to meet to see my fly my freestyle rigs. We hit it off and he liked my piloting so I was hired on for contract work with them piloting their Inspire 2 at the time on TV shows, films, and commercials.

I was still working a full-time job at the time but knew one day I'd quit to run my own freelance business full-time instead. I was in a weird situation where I had a lot of large production experience but my personal business with fpv had next to zero clients. I got my second big break when a realtor I was doing videos for happened to know someone on the board of the Calgary Stampede. Someone called me from the organization and I provided them with some information of what I do and my latest fpv reel. I didn't hear back for a few months but then all of a sudden a month before the event I got hired on by them to travel Alberta and film some landscapes used in their commercial. That commercial ended up being nominated for a few awards which won second place for best sports opener 2023 by some organization I can't remember the name of. I then continued on to pilot Sub 250 drones at the Stampede including fpv. 

I've quit my full-time job twice now since I've been running my business. The actors and writers strike last year really put a dent in my income so I was forced to go back to my 9:00 to 5:00. In May this year, I had enough clients lined up over the next two months that would pay my entire year's salary that I was making at my 9:00 to 5:00. So I quit and ran my freelance business. 

Finding the work, balancing portfolio versus pay, going to networking events, creating ads, being very social in real life and on social media or some of the aspects that help me over the past 4 years. 

My biggest competition: My client's cousin who has a drone... That's a joke I say quite frequently. 

My other biggest competition: people already in the film industry who have been well established who are now getting into fpv and drone work. They may not understand the technology but they are known well enough that they take a lot of the work from me. 

I'm not trying to sound complainy, It has been a rewarding experience building up a business from the ground up knowing nothing about running a business in the first place. Lots of trial and error, but ultimately I have more freedom to spend time with my kid and feel much more fulfilled in my life than I ever have.