Dronedesk case study
solo videographer/photographer
How Oliver takes the stress out of flight planning for Different View Photography
Like all sole traders, Oliver Dickinson was balancing the need to complete paperwork and plan his drone flights alongside finding new jobs and actually doing the jobs.
But a chance encounter with our founder, Dorian, on a job at Nightingale Hospital in Exeter would result in Oliver discovering a tool that would save countless hours of admin and make it possible to take on jobs he'd never have been able to before.
And this chance encounter came at just the right time, because things were about to take off for Oliver.
Different View Photography: the right place at the right time
After years working as a teacher, Oliver had decided to pursue his true passion: photography. Oliver saw an advantage in offering drone photography to stand out from the competition, and his early work even helped him secure the People's Choice Award at the British Photography Awards. But Oliver had his eye on a new drone, and that drone would open some unexpected doors.
The drone was the DJI Inspire 2, a drone that was both perfect for Oliver and also rather expensive! So Oliver looked for second-hand models that were in good condition. And he was in luck. More than he expected.
While working on the job, some of the IBM team took an interest in Oliver's drone and took his business card.
That documentary has had 200 million views at the time of writing (Feb-23), and helped open even more doors to clients such as ITV, BBC, and a production company working for Williams F1. Oliver's business is going from strength to strength, and Oliver attributes some of that success to not having to waste hours on laborious paperwork thanks to Dronedesk.
Taking the stress out of planning drone flights
The amount of time spent planning is a pain that Oliver, and thousands of other drone operators know all too well (it's why our founder, Dorian, built Dronedesk in the first place!). Hours spent collating information, filling in paperwork, and even duplicating forms is time lost. Dronedesk brings everything under one roof, making it quicker and easier to plan a flight by putting the information you need at your fingertips.
When Oliver was filming for IBM, he was returning to the same location for four days in a row. Each flight would have needed its own plan, requiring laborious copying of the same data from one assessment to another, and wasting a lot of Oliver's time duplicating paperwork. The same is true of anyone performing multiple flights in the same location, which is why we've made it so much simpler with Dronedesk.
For Oliver, this is the key benefit of Dronedesk: it means he can spend less time on the planning, so he has more time for the actual flight, more time for himself, or even more time for sleep; after all, when a last minute job comes in, you don't want to be up all night planning the flight.
More than flight planning
And it's not just the planning that Dronedesk helps with. We also wanted to help reduce the time you spend on admin even after the flight is complete, which is why Dronedesk can automatically log data such as your flight times.
Oliver has also made use of Dronedesk's ability to keep all of his relevant details in one, easy-to-find location. Rather than hunting around his computer or digging through papers, Oliver's information is kept safe within our cloud-based platform, so he can find it wherever his is.
Less admin, more flying!
Oliver has built a thriving business and we're proud to be helping him to save time and focus on what matters to him. A sole trader's time is invaluable, and they have to do almost everything to keep their business running. That's why we're glad to be able to save time for someone like Oliver and remove some of that burden!
We also provide the same level of support to a sole trader like Oliver as we do to our bigger, corporate clients. Whether he's encountered a problem or simply looking for help using a new feature, Oliver's always found that we're ready to help him get the most from Dronedesk.
If you're a sole trader or small business and planning your drone flights is taking up time that could be better spent elsewhere, try Dronedesk. We offer a free trial and a money back guarantee to all new users, so find out just how much time Dronedesk can save you today.
All quotes are from Oliver Dickinson - Owner of Different View Photography
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