S3/EP 7 Philip Hurst from Philip Hurst Media

DRONE TO $1K PODCAST SEASON 3 / EPISODE 7 WITH PHILIP HURST   Philip Hurst is the owner of Philip Hurst Media.   Introduction   Philip got his first drone about a year ago. He was working for an architectural company and had the idea of using a drone for roof inspections. He ended up using his drone to take videos of ongoing construction projects, as well.   Philip felt like he was really onto something with drones.   He pitched the idea of incorporating more drone work into his job to his boss, but nothing ever really came of it.   In the meantime, Philip had been posting his drone work (cinematic videography, 3D mapping, photography, etc.) on Instagram, and it was catching people’s attention.   People were reaching out to him, asking if he would do drone work for them.   Philip knew he needed to get his Part 107 license so that he could start accepting these jobs and making money. Within a month of getting his drone, he took and passed the Part 107 Exam.   Philip was able to get enough business to quit his architecture job, start an LLC, and fly drones full time!   “It’s really about the hustle and the drive.”   Philip felt lucky to be able to learn how to fly drones with a DJI Mavic because it was pretty easy to fly that drone.   He dedicated lots of time to practicing flying and taking photos and videos.   He also spent time branding his business and adding more and more content to his Instagram page.   David: When you were still working at the architectural firm and starting to use drones for roof inspections, was that when you started practicing a lot? Or did that come later?   Philip was practicing during his lunch breaks at work. He actually had his first accident during one of his lunch break flights – on the first day he had his drone!   Philip took his drone everywhere. Whenever he had a free moment, he would grab his drone and start practicing.   He tried flying in difficult situations, like through tight spaces. He also tried flying the drone towards him so he could practice with the controls being backwards… which ended in a crash. Luckily, his drone was okay, though!   David: What was the first job you ever got? Did you reach out to people or did someone come to you?   Philip races mountain bikes and knew one of the promoters of a big race. The promoter reached out to him and asked if he could get some drone footage of the race.   After that, Philip went on Zillow and found $500,000+ homes. Then, he sent emails to the real estate agents that listed those homes and let them know that he would shoot footage of their listings for free. He said that the first listing would be free, and that his work would help get their houses sold. He sent out about 500 of those emails over the course of two days.   He ended up landing about 15 jobs from that email outreach.   Philip says that being willing to do free work is very important because it will be hard to land jobs if you don’t have a portfolio of previous work to show your potential clients.   “When I send them to my Instagram, the proof is in my work.”   Philip sends his potential clients to his Instagram page to see his work. BUT, he also sends them to other drone pilot’s Instagram pages and shows them what they SHOULDN’T want from the drone pro they hire. He’ll point out things like jerky, non-cinematic footage in others’ work, which helps him prove that his footage is smoother and higher quality.   David: What part of the country are you in?   Philip is in Ohio. He says that he is “the best in the Midwest.”   “When it comes down to it, I’m not just a pilot. I’m just also a media professional and I’m a cinematic photographer and videographer. So yeah, I can catch great content and I can do good drone work, but I like to find the value in my end product, because like I said, drone work are just establishing shots to help support a much bigger story.”   David: Of the 15 free jobs you landed from your Zillow outreach, how many of those turned into paying clients?   Out of those 15, about 8 of them have become routine clients for Philip.   Philip is also branching out into other industries. Some of his friends are shooting a pilot for ABC and they asked him to capture some establishing drone shots. Now, Philip’s name is going to be on IMDb!   Philip emphasizes that he started about 6 months ago. It’s awesome to see how much his business has grown in just half a year.   He says that his drone is one of his most powerful tools.   “You gotta put the time in. You gotta grind, you gotta believe in yourself. You gotta have that confidence. You know, you gotta walk the walk and talk the talk. Go out there and look professional.”   Philip says that you need to make potential clients feel confident in choosing to hire you as a drone pilot.   He also stresses that you need to be posting on all social media platforms. But, you can tailor your messaging on each platform.   David: How would you do something differently for Instagram vs. Facebook vs. LinkedIn? ...