Chris: Hey, Nayid. How are you doing?

Nayid: Good, Chris. Thank you for having me. A little nervous.

Chris: Yeah. Sometimes that’s to be expected and not to worry. Like, I know when I first started doing this, I was super nervous. But once you start talking about something that you love, like drones, it seems to flow a lot better than you would expect. So, yeah, I don’t think the nervousness will last very long at all. Can you just introduce yourself to everybody, please?

Nayid: Sure. My name is Nayid Diaz. I’m 40 years old. I live in Houston, Texas, born and raised here. I have a family. I’ve got a two and a four year old and a wife. And that’s it.

Chris: Right on. And have you lived in Houston your whole life or have you kind of moved out of the country?

Nayid: No, born and raised. And I’m literally just like a tree. I’m a tree here.

Chris: Have you seen the movie called Boondock Saints by chance?

Nayid: Obviously, it’s a classic.

Chris: Okay. When you said like a tree, it just reminded me of that bartender that was like make like a tree.

Nayid: It’s a classic.

Chris: Yeah. It’s so funny. I love that. So dark. I just love that show.

Nayid: Yeah.

Chris: Anyway, so are you a Texans fan?

Nayid: Of course, yes.

Chris: Or an Astros fan?

Nayid: Astros right now? Yeah. Let’s just say the Astros are the team.

Chris: Okay, cool. Regardless of what everybody else might think of them.

Nayid: Yes.

[00:02:09] Let’s talk about how you are flying drones

Chris: Okay, cool. So you live in down in Texas, and you are flying drones full time, or is it kind of like a side hustle for you?

Nayid: No, this is part time a side hustle. I’m currently housing Inspector for Harris County in Houston, Texas. So I do their housing inspections that are visuals. So I go to people’s houses or apartments and I inspect the houses and apartments for Harris County. And that is my full time job. And it’s weird. I came into drones. It just fell in my lap. It was not something I was looking for. I’ve got two little ones, and they’re very time consuming. And a gentleman by the name of Ray called me the day before, and I have a roof inspection for you. I’m like, really? I wasn’t aware of that. My name is Ray. I have a drone. And we’re going to take about 30 to 40 pictures of your roof for your home insurance. But yes, I’m aware of that. And he gave me that day notice. He came out on a Sunday rang my doorbell, and I saw him on the camera. He’s like, Yep, I’m Ray. I’m here. Oh, awesome, Ray. And literally, it wasn’t about ten minutes. And it took me about ten minutes to wash my face, get ready, go out. And he was about to take off. I’m like, oh, hey, how are you doing? My name is NAID. This is my house. And he kind of like, was about to jump in the car, and he kind of like, got back out, and he’s like, yeah, I just did your inspection. I’m like, Are you serious? He’s like, yeah, that quick. He goes, yeah, I got my drone right here and banged it out. It was awesome. It’s like, well, how does it look? He’s like, It’s not bad, but I can’t give any details because it goes to the insurance carriers. And he was like, dude. I was like, how much you get paid? He’s like, man, we get pretty good, man. It’s not bad. It’s eight minutes off, and you get paid. I’m like, Are you serious? He’s like, yeah, man. You want to do it? I’m like, you’re kidding, right?

Chris: That’s a nice invite.

Nayid: Yeah. He’s like, Are you serious? Yes, man. All you got to do is take the part 107 for the drone, for small drones, take the course online. Once you pass that, give me a call. I’m like, Are you sure? Yeah, man. It’s really easy, man. I was like, all right, I jumped on it. It took me about a solid three weeks for me to pass the court to study it. It’s not easy. It’s a pretty good test where you really got to put some mental effort into it and learn these questions. And because it’s like you’re a pilot, just like you’re driving. There’s rules and regulations. And I was able to pass it. Fortunately, it took me about three weeks.

Chris: What did you use to study for that test?

Nayid: No, it’s an online course, which is $300. It’s a drone pilot school, and it’s about nine chapters. Seven of them are going over the rules and regulations, your airports, your altitudes, everything to do with drones, to become a pilot, to receive that license.

Chris: Okay. Is that drone pilot ground school or is it drone pilot school?

Nayid: Yes, sir. Okay, that one. Yes.

Chris: Okay, got you. That was Alan and his team then, right? That teach that one?

Nayid: Yes, sir.

Chris: Okay. Yeah, that one’s really good. And for those that are listening, if you want to check that one out, you can go to thedronetrainer.com/107. And I spoke with Alan about that, and yeah, it’s definitely the best one. Seven training that you can find out there. So I’m glad that you took that. When you took the test, did you smoke it or was it, like a real challenge for you or what did it look like?

Nayid: No, it’s a challenge. You really got to put some effort into it. It’s not something you can just wing it, just study a week. No, it’s really something. You really got to put effort, and you got to put some dedication into it because you’re flying. You can damage things, vehicles, individuals. So it’s something really very serious that I took. So I would study about and I’m not exaggerating about 2 hours a day. I would watch the videos, take the quizzes. It was challenging. It was challenging. And I think it needs to be challenging because not anybody can receive a license like that because there’s a lot of danger involved when you fly a drone. So it was challenging. I loved it. It challenged me.

Chris: What did you find out even more difficult?

Nayid: You know what it was for me? I think the maps, the maps, understanding how to read a map, the airport, your altitudes, your zones, that was the hardest thing for me. That was the hardest thing for me.

Chris: Yeah, that’s definitely a challenge. I found that the weather can be a real hang up, too. That seems to be a very common one that other people seem to kind of cite as being the difficult part of the test. And it’s funny because weather, there’s so much information, and people have been trying to predict and read the weather for forever throughout history, and it’s still, regardless of what the forecast says, it could be completely different, right? So nobody has it figured out perfectly yet.

Nayid: No, but the weather portion of the Part 107 was challenging as well because it has a lot of acronyms and you got to be able to read that. And that was pretty tough as well.

Chris: Yeah. The METAR and the TAF, right?

Nayid: Yes, sir.

Chris: Or METAR. I guess I’ve heard it’s funny here in Canada. Okay. I hear a lot of American pilots say METAR, so it’s just a difference in either side of the border. So now that you’ve got your license, you passed your 107 after taking that training with drone pilot ground school. What was your next step?

Nayid: It was so easy because Ray is like, once you pass the test, you give me a call immediately. I’m like, sure. I took the test, signed up, took the test. I screamed after I jumped out because I thought I bombed the test. I’m being honest. I thought I bombed it because it’s challenging. And as I was walking back to the desk to get my results, I didn’t have that confidence. He’s like, no, you passed it. You’re good. I’m like, are you serious? You’re not joking, right? No, you passed it. You got an 80. I’m like, what? And I was so excited, but I didn’t have that feeling because I studied a lot for it, but it’s really challenging. It really is. And I passed it. And I immediately called my wife. My wife was like, awesome, Babe, you did it. Told you you could. I called Ray. Ray. I got it. He’s like, shoot me the picture. Shot him the picture. He’s like, you got it, man. Okay, I’m going to send you a link so we can do your training with Corey. And we did that over Zoom. And then I was sent an inspection, a test or a quiz inspection of my own house. And that took me about four tries to accurately get the height of the pictures for the roof. And it was challenging. It took me about four tries. And once Ray said, you’re good to go. I’m going to send you a batch, and I’m going to send you out. And you’re saying, I’m like, Ray, I don’t think I’m ready.

Chris: Oh, no, man.

Nayid: You’re ready to go?

Chris: Yeah.

Nayid: I’m like Ray. Are you sure? He goes, yeah, man, you’re good. I was like, all right, man, let’s do it.

[00:10:14] Starting to fly drones commercially

Chris: So you mentioned a couple of names here. Now, Ray and Corey, I think it was are they like, a training provider or the inspection company or what kind of organization are they?

Nayid: I’m hired or contracted to Bees360 and Ray is, I believe, like an operations manager, and also hands out the jobs. Corey. He’s a trainer, and he trains you through Zoom to understand how they need the pictures to come out for the insurance carriers for roof inspection.

Chris: And so that training through Zoom. Is he out there, like, live streaming from his driveway showing you how to shoot his house, or is it what does the training look like?

Nayid: So there’s about six videos, and he goes in detail with all six videos, and he tells you exactly what the insurance carrier is looking for, and they need from a pilot. And he goes to that training, and he shows you what angle understanding pitches of the roof, because that has a lot to do with the quality of the pictures. So he goes through all that, and it’s very informative. I think that prepared me, even though it’s not hands on, but it prepares you for what you got to do for your mission.

Chris: And that’s good that you get to practice with your own home first, and then you’re not out there live at somebody else’s house while they’re watching you through the window trying to figure it out as you go, right?

Nayid: Yes.

Chris: So what drone did you pick up?

Nayid: Okay, so I did a lot of research, and I had no idea that drones range like cars. I mean, you’ve got a variety of drones. And once I Dove into that world, I was like, oh, my God, I don’t know what to get the prices range. And I called Ray. I said, Ray, I got a question. And it’s a personal I can ask you, which drone do you have? He goes, I’ve got the Mavic Air 2 or the Pro as well. And he’s like, what do you recommend, Ray? Because I’m a novice, and it’s literally I’m a novice. He’s like, man, I think this is the best drone. It’s a good price. It’s not your upper tier. It’s not your bottom tier. It’s a medium tier, I believe. And he goes, I love it. And I’ve got the Mavic Air 2 slide more combo, which comes with the case, the three batteries, the remote. And I ended up getting the Mavic Air 2 Fly-more combo.

Chris: Okay. And did you pick that up new or was it a used one that you found?

Nayid: No, obviously. I went to Amazon, I saw the price, and then I went to Best Buy, and I had immediately I went to go buy. I purchased it online and went to go pick it up that same day.

Chris: Oh, nice. Yeah. It’s hard to wait, right?

Nayid: It’s like a commodity nowadays. They don’t have them on the shelves. They don’t last long.

Chris: Worldwide electronic shortage right now. Right. So I could see that definitely happening. I’m watching Twitter right now, and I see people that have ordered their Mavic Mini 3, and they’re just not arriving. So I feel for anybody that’s waiting for a drone right now. So with that drone, what do you think of it so far? Do you have some things that you really love about it and some things that you wish were a little bit better?

Nayid: And it’s just my honest opinion. For me, this is the best word I can use. It’s perfect because I’m an office. I’ve only been flying drones, literally going on four months. So as of right now, for me, this is the Roll Royce of drones, because I’ve never flown any other drone. And it’s funny, Chris, yesterday. No, I’m sorry. Day before yesterday, I was doing some roof inspections, and I always have it on normal, and I finally put it on sport mode. Man, that drone moves, and it scared me. And I clicked it back on normal because I haven’t completely submerged myself into my drone, which I need to step my game up on that part.

Chris: Yes.

Nayid: But, Chris, I’ve seen no videos on, like, Twitter, YouTube, Facebook of these people flying drones. I mean, going 100 had no idea that my drone could reach that type of velocity. And I had to remove it off a sport mode because that drone moves, and that’s pretty scary.

Chris: Yeah. It’s the first time that you click over to that. It can be a surprise, especially if you’ve been flying in tripod mode or a slower flight mode while you’ve been trying to do a nice, smooth shooting and things like that. So, yeah, it’s good to have a wide open space where you’ve got nothing around that you can really bang into the same thing if you go to fly in adding mode with a drone that supports that, having a lot of room and low winds initially will serve you well when you start training for that.

Nayid: Yes.

[00:15:30] How to do drone insurance inspections

Chris: So let’s talk about the roof inspections now. So you start working. So Ray hooks you up at Bees360, and Corey trains you, and you got your drone now. So what do these missions look like?

Nayid: So we have various insurance carriers that are delving into the home insurance over here in Texas and Florida and throughout the nation. So they send out batches, and they’ve got these new clients, new homeowners, or just people changing home insurance, and they send us out. I always call, leave a voicemail and text message and email if possible, if it’s on profile, and I send it out to them, and usually they reach back or text message back, and I go out the next day. I always give a 30 minutes prior notice just because I don’t want to be on somebody’s property without them knowing, because you got to be very respectful in this, very professional. I knock on the door. Some people say, you know what? You’re good. Don’t knock. Do your thing. Awesome. Sweet. Thank you very much. I go out there, I take four elevation pictures of each side of the house, and then I prepare my drone. I’ve got it sitting on top of my car. He’s on. And as I’m walking back from the back of the house towards my cart, my drone is in the air. So I usually start off about 130ft in the air, and I take an overview picture of the whole property line. I get that picture. And then the next mode is we call the birds view. I take a picture of each angle, or 45 degrees of the house. It’s about each corner in each face of the house. That’s eight pictures. Then the last mode would be close ups. We’re taking pictures of all components, all accessories that the roof is carrying out. I try to Hover about 6ft from the roof, and I get the close ups. Great quality pictures so the insurance carriers can see exactly what that roof is telling. The life of the roof, because each roof has a story as well.

Chris: And when you’re shooting, are you shooting in JPEG or Raw?

Nayid: Jpeg.

Chris: Okay. And do you do any processing yourself with these images once you collect them, or do you send them off as is?

Nayid: I use the Bees App, and I hook it up to the remote, my drone remote, and it’s got the cable, and it literally tells me exactly what it needs from a pilot, and the pilot follows that guide. And once the pictures are uploaded immediately to the app and you complete the inspection, you upload and immediately uploads to the insurance carriers.

Chris: So that happens on mobile. You don’t have to take your imagery back to your computer and then upload it in some way.

Nayid: No, it’s so easy, Chris. Literally everything is done with your cell phone and your drone.

Chris: Nice.

Nayid: Yeah. On site. Unless maybe you took a couple pictures or you took maybe you took extra pictures that you want to remove then. Yeah, you can take it. I come back to the house. I usually do. And that’s me being part time. I usually do about, I want to say about seven to ten roof inspections a day.

Chris: Okay.

Nayid: And that’s part-time. And I come home, I get my laptop, and I go to the pictures and do that final check. And then I upload and it’s good to go.

Chris: Okay. So you do upload them through your computer once you get back home?

Nayid: Well, usually what I do is I check them just to make sure the pictures because you have a bigger screen. But usually pictures with the new iPhones, the resolution, it really is four K. The quality is awesome.

Chris: Okay, so you’re checking them on your computer, on the bigger screen, but then you’re still doing all the upload and everything through your phone.

Nayid: Yes, on site.

Chris: Cool.

Nayid: The app allows you to do all that.

Chris: Nice. And then. So when you’re flying the mission, are you hands on the sticks doing it, or is it all pre programmed? And then you just make sure that the drone is doing what it should be doing?

Nayid: No, I’m hands on. I need to see the drone at all times as possible. But no, I’m hands on it, and I’ve got total control. I know there are options that you have where you can map out the roof. And once they map out the roof, it finds the best course or best route to take pictures by itself. But I need to have that feel, that sensation of me flying it and being a pilot. So I prefer not to use that software where it maps out the roof and takes the pictures by itself. I just don’t trust it. I don’t know. I don’t feel comfortable using that software. So I do take all the pictures myself.

Chris: Okay. And when you do those close ups, like the ones you mentioned, where you’re 6ft away from them, are you doing like a close up of something that you identify, or do you try to cover the entire roof so that the insurance company has everything?

Nayid: We try to cover the entire roof as far as all components or accessories, like stacks, your plumbing. And we take pictures of all that so they can get the story of the roof because the roof is telling you a story, whether it’s West, south and the roof hits it or when it rains. So it tells you the where the life of a roof.

[00:20:49] Where can these roof inspections be done?

Chris: Okay. And is this something specific to Texas, where roof inspections are critical to the insurance side of things? Because I know here in Canada it’s not something that I’ve ever done. I’ve never had it done for any of the homes I bought or sold in the past. So I don’t know if it’s just something in the Southern States maybe, or what could geographically. Where is this going to be a hit?

Nayid: I believe housing is a big market here because from my understanding, we’ve got people migrating from all over the world to Houston. It’s just the cost of living so much cheaper than around as opposed to California and New York. And people are buying are purchasing houses here. It’s just the markets booming here. And these insurance companies. I’ve never had a roof inspection when I purchased a house as far as the drone. And for me, it’s something new, let alone insurance companies contracting their pilots and sending them out to see what that roof is telling you the story of the roof. So I believe the technology and the demand.

Chris: Okay. And you’re obviously doing this now on the insurance companies for purchases and stuff like that. But Houston also has the occasional occurrence of Hurricanes and things like that. Right. And I’m assuming that damage is something that you would also be flying for at that time.

Nayid: Yes. Also, they have what they call the exterior underwriting, which are when the owners bought a house or changed the home insurance. So the insurance carriers sends us out so they can get a visual of what the house is looking like. Exterior wide. Now, they also have your claims Department as far as like you said, Hurricane, wind damage, hail damage, any type of damage that occurred to the house. And then they also send us out as well so they can get a visual that roof or the walls, exteriors or inside of the house.

Chris: You mentioned you’re doing eight to ten jobs per day, I think you said. So is there a mixture of those kind of jobs or is there one more than the other?

Nayid: No, it’s a mixture. It depends what Department you want to be in or you want to have that mixed. And depending if you have a full time job or flying drones is your full time job. I have two jobs. This easily can be a full time job for me as well. Flying drones. And I’m being very honest with you, I love it. It’s awesome. I don’t know. I don’t know how to explain it. I guess because I’m 40, even though I’m 40, it’s especially like a kid. I don’t know. It’s like you’re playing Nintendo when I was little. It’s just fun. I don’t know any other way to explain it. It’s fun. It really is nice.

[00:23:54] Making the jump from part time to full time

Chris: And have you considered making the jump to full time?

Nayid: You know, it’s funny that’s that Chris, I’ve been having a conversation with my wife because my wife is going to become a pilot. She already passed her apart. 107.

Chris: Oh, right on.

Nayid: Yeah. And my wife, she’s a stay-at-home mom with my two little ones, a two and a four year old. And this hustle is so awesome that my wife can do it. It’s that easy. And the money is awesome as well. It’s a part time that allows you to do many things. And so my wife’s getting involved as well. And she’s going to be a pilot pretty soon. God, within a couple of weeks for Bees360.

Chris: So your plan would be she can fly during the day and then you fly in the evening when you’re done work?

Nayid: No, it’s unbelievable. The kids can go to daycare and four or 5 hours and she can go do a couple of jobs, make some money. It’s easy. It’s not time consuming. And come back and pick up the kids. And you’re not stressed out or anything. It’s awesome. It really is. It’s been a blessing for me, my family and I that this opportunity came about. It really is.

Chris: Yeah, totally. It just fell right into your lap. And it’s been something that’s really been a game changer for you. And I’m really happy to hear that. And your chance meeting with Ray and him, just filling you in on what Bees360 is doing. That’s very cool. So how does the pay structure work? You don’t have to tell me exact numbers, but I’m just curious. Like, do they pay you per job or is it by the hour or how do you get paid?

Nayid: So as contracted pilots, they pay per inspection.

Chris: Okay.

Nayid: And so you have like, your operations manager is Richard, as well as Ray, and they’ll send me a batch. And a batch can consist of a single inspection or eight or twelve or ten, and they’ll send you a batch through an email and you can deny or accept the batch. And you’ve got about three days to complete it, which is more than enough time for you to get in contact with the homeowner, see if you can schedule a date. And what’s so awesome with these underwriting the exterior ones, the owner does not have to be present, which is awesome because it just gives you that time for you to go set it up if they’re not there. Because we all work, we all have families, and we all have duties. So it’s awesome because the homeowner doesn’t have to be there as long as you communicate with them, let them know, hey, it’s an exterior inspection lasts about ten to 20 minutes. And they were like, shoot, go for it. You got it. The house is all yours, and we show up and we do the inspection.

Chris: And then you get paid as soon as you upload. Or is there verification on the other end or what does it look like?

Nayid: It’s a verification, and we get paid every week.

Chris: Okay.

Nayid: Let me see. Not to be too specific in numbers, but I want to say and I’m being very honest right now, this is a part time for me, and I can make $1,000 a week as a part time job flying drones.

Chris: Really?

Nayid: Yes, sir. And I also know a couple of. Exactly. With capital letters. Wow. I mean, I know other pilots that are making they can make up to 2000 a week and or a little more and I’ve heard it, I’ve seen it, and I’m like, wow. So that question you asked me earlier about thinking about going full time, it’s a very serious conversation. My wife and I are having $1,000 a week is a hell of a part time job.

Chris: Yeah.

Nayid: Enough for me to think, you know what? I can see myself doing this full time, and my wife is a stay at home mom. She can have a part time job as a pilot. And like I said, it’s a game changer. Game changer. And we’re trying to get these years churning and see how it’s going to play out. But you can make a career out of this.

Chris: Have you considered doing any other kind of work, like, outside of the inspections that you’re doing? Have you thought about doing real estate or construction progress or anything like that?

Nayid: Well, Chris, I was doing an inspection about four days ago, roof inspection with my drone, and a gentleman in a large diesel truck passed by because we’re in Texas, and diesel trucks are the things I have. And he goes, hey, is that a drone? I go, yes, sir. Do you have a car? I don’t have a car, but I’m currently flying. He waited for me, I landed my drone. We spoke, and he’s got some land here in Houston outside of Houston. I’m sorry. And he goes, Would it be possible I need to take some pictures or some mapping of my property because he’s trying to sell this property. I go, yeah, most definitely. So that’s opened up another Avenue that I wasn’t aware of because I’m still in a novice at this point, Chris. And I’m like, I come home all excited, baby, you’re not going to believe it. I was doing a roof inspection. A gentleman just saw me flying it, and he’s very interested. He needs to get a mapping of his property. He’s got several acres. It’s huge. And he wants me to come out drone day. He wants a contract to hire me and go out there and shoot some pictures of his property, which is awesome.

Chris: Yeah, that’s really good, especially if someone sees you like that. And did you end up getting some cards so that next time that happens. You’re ready?

Nayid: No, not yet, Chris, but I need to step my game up. But, yeah, I need to do that.

Chris: Okay, good to have them handy. Another thing that I found that works, and this might be, I don’t know, depending on how you decide to take your business, but when I do a shoot, I’ll go around to the neighbors and let them know who I am and what I’m doing just so they don’t suspect that there’s a rogue drone that’s spying on them or something like that. Right. And in the meantime, in the process of that, give them a card. And sometimes they’ll ask you to do some work for them right then and there, or they might keep the card, and then down the road, they might call you back for something when it’s their time to sell or they want to get an inspection done or whatever it is. Right. So I find that that’s another way to get your name out there, because you’re already there, and you might have a couple of bonus jobs that pop up at the neighbors. And there’s nothing better than that because you don’t have to drive anywhere and you might not have to even change a battery.

Nayid: Yes. It’s awesome. I’m so excited. It’s a game changer, really. Oh, my God.

[00:30:48] Drone pilot road readiness kit

Chris: So, talking about batteries, what are you doing on the road for charging? Do you have a whole bunch of batteries that you charge up in the morning and take with you, or do you charge while you’re on the roll?

Nayid: No, I’ve got the Fly More combo. And I charge all my batteries at the same time at night before I go to sleep. And not to be like a drone nerd, but I believe I’m getting to that level. I’ve got a whole set up. I’ve got. What do you call those compartments where you put the clothes in? I can’t think of it.

Chris: Dresser?

Nayid: Well, no, the plastic clear ones where you store stuff.

Chris: Oh, the container.

Nayid: Yeah, I’ve got a storage container. I’ve bought some acoustic padding. I’ve pasted them to the storage container. It’s about, like three X two. And I placed my drone inside my container. I’ve cut out a little section for my battery, for a section for the remote. And my drone is never disassembled. I believe that’s the correct word. It’s always ready to go. I charge him at night, I prepare him in the morning. I put the cover on, and when we’re leaving together and I put him on the passenger side, and I removed the lid, and he’s ready to go. I’m rocking and rolling.

Chris: So then, have you had a project that you’ve really enjoyed so far? It sounds like they’re very, I don’t know, repetitive is the right word, but you’re doing kind of the same thing at most of those jobs. Right. Has there been one that’s really stood out for you as a good memory, like something that is astonishingly beautiful or difficult or anything like that?

Nayid: I went to this one house. I’m a very humble individual, but this house was, I believe it was like, two acres. They had a Lake, two swimming pools. It’s just a view. It really makes an impression on you when you see these houses, how gigantic and enormous they are, and you have to put more effort in to make sure you take some great pictures because it’s more time consuming. But just seeing the houses, it’s awesome. It really is. And you fly, and you got to put more attention to detail, and you got to focus more when you’re dealing with more distance, more altitude. So it gets you prepped and prepared. Hey, I got to take this seriously as I take all my mission serious. But it’s awesome, though, right?

[00:33:07] Drone insurance

Chris: On. And for insurance, does Bees supply your insurance when you’re flying a mission for them, or do you have to supply your own insurance?

Nayid: No, we supply our own insurance and we have to have a minimum of drone million dollars liability.

Chris: Okay. And what do you use for insurance? Do you go through your same company that does your house and vehicles and stuff like that, or did you go through.

Nayid: No, I apologize. I go through sky. What’s the name of it? I forgot. Apologies.

Chris: Skywatch.

Nayid: Skywatch. There you go. Yes, sir. That’s the one I use.

Chris: Okay.

Nayid: And get the monthly one.

Chris: You do the monthly. Okay. I was going to ask if you do flight to flight or if you just do the monthly. And obviously there’s a lot cheaper to do the monthly if you’re flying that many missions.

Nayid: Yes.

Chris: What does your pricing look like to ensure your drone for the type of operations you’re doing? Like, how much do you pay per month with Sky Watch?

Nayid: I’m paying, I believe, $44 a month.

Chris: Okay. And is that completely feasible then for what you’re making? Obviously, at $1,000 a week?

Nayid: Yeah, it’s very feasible. I mean, if you really want to break it down, I can knock that out with probably one inspection or pay more than half of it with one inspection.

Chris: Yeah.

Nayid: So it’s very feasible. I don’t know. It’s just awesome. I guess some people look at it in a negative way, but I mean, like, oh, man, one inspection and I’ve almost paid my insurance for the month. I guess maybe I look at the glass half full. Maybe that’s just me. I don’t know.

Chris: I do a similar kind of thing at the beginning of the year, like when insurance comes due. And before when I was doing an annual policy, I would have my number of what it costs. And at that time, it was quite expensive. I think it was like 750 or 850 or something like that per year. And I remember it was like, you get that first one or two jobs or whatever it is. And then it’s like, okay, my insurance is now paid for for the rest of the year. Then you can start thinking everything from here on is the right side is not red. It’s black now, right? Yeah. Okay. If you had to start all over again and say, like, Droning is what you wanted to do, but Bees360 didn’t exist and it didn’t fall into your lap. With Ray coming over to your house like that, what would your plan be? How would you approach it to try to ensure that you have success?

Nayid: Good question. You got me, Chris. I don’t know as far as in general, with drones.

Chris: Yeah.

Nayid: Chris, being honest, all I’ve seen is just through YouTube, through social media, with drones and all that. But I don’t believe I’d be flying drones if it wasn’t for that for Ray, because I’ve never thought about it as a business. I didn’t know that drone industry industry existed. I didn’t know that you can make it a career that’s construction companies, mapping. Honestly, I didn’t know that existed. There’s an industry. There’s a drone industry. I didn’t know that. I’m just being very honest. I didn’t know that.

Chris: No. And that came across when you first started to talk about how this all came to be as well, too. I was just thinking, based on your experience as a home Inspector or housing Inspector, and then having your experience with Bees and then having the other gentleman that stopped in a diesel truck there and asked for your contact information to do some mapping and photography, like if you had any thought as to what you could tell another pilot that was looking to get into this and kind of a little bit.

Nayid: Yeah. It’s broad. It can go in many directions, and it really can’t be a career of business because it’s demanding. The demand is out there, and there are only buildings, more houses, more buildings, and it’s just not going to stop. I can see it. And I’ve only been doing this four months, and I just see the growth potential is enormous. Drones, how can I say it’s not a niche. It’s an actual industry, a career, a business that can go so many in many directions. And I would say, like you told me, get my cards ready. Get some business cards with my name. Start handing them out. And not only just as far as I believe I’m starting to look, not just because I’m still fairly new, but starting to look into higher end drones to see, because I’m going to write this out. I don’t see no stop in the drone industry, and I’m going to continue flying with it. I’m going with the flow because I see the potential. I mean, it’s enormous. It really is.

[00:37:50] Single drone vs multiple drones

Chris: So do you just have the single drone right now?

Nayid: Yes, sir.

Chris: Okay. Have you thought about the scenario of it just doesn’t want to turn on one day or a gust of wind picks it up and flips it or something like that, and you don’t have a drone anymore.

Nayid: Chris, let me knock on word, man. Oh, my God.

Chris: I’m not trying to say that that’s going to happen. I’m thinking like, one is none and two is one, right. Is often said. So I’m just wondering if you have a backup plan or what your thoughts?

Nayid: You know what? I haven’t thought about that. And that just goes to show you that I’m still fairly new to this. But I’ve hit a tree and the outcome was good, though. I purchased it at Best Buy. So it comes with the warranty, and I bought the extended warranty as well on it. So from my understanding, if it’s not working one day. All I’ve got to do is bring it in, swap it out. If they got one on site, they’ll swap it out. And I’m good to go again.

Chris: Okay.

Nayid: From my understanding, they told me, the sales rep told me, you’ve got I’ve got that. What do you call it? The total take? More Best Buy, no questions asked. Just bring it back and we’ll swap it out.

Chris: Okay.

Nayid: And I was like, are you serious? Are you sure there’s no fine print somewhere? And he goes, no. Yeah, you’re a total tech member and you give a priority. It costs a little bit more, but it’s worth the membership to have.

Chris: Okay, well, that’s good to know. That’s what they’re going to supply to you, and hopefully you never have to take advantage of that. Hopefully everything just stays the spinning side up, like I like to say. Right. And keep everything flying. You don’t have to buy another drone. You don’t have another expense. Right. But I was just thinking for the what if scenario. Right, Chris?

Nayid: You got me thinking, man. I think I’m going to have to go purchase another one.

Chris: Okay. Yeah. Take it a step further. So now your wife is getting into the game, right. And you guys need to fly at the same time.

Nayid: Well, we already purchased her drone, the same drone, same model. And actually we got it on special. And I believe it sounds special because the Mini 3 came out. I believe, if I’m not mistaken, it just came out a couple of weeks ago. Correct. Mini 3. Yeah, it did. So I’ve been getting the emails and like I said, little by little growing, and I’m learning and reading up on drones. So we got a $200 discount. So we bought it for $800. And that was a Fly more combo.

Chris: Which drone is that?

Nayid: No, the Mavic Air 2. Okay, so I got the same model and she’s got her drone. And I’m literally looking at a drone right now, and she’s already assembled it, got the wings on it, and we just got to start flying with my wife and get her ready to go get her up and going.

Chris: Nice. Yeah, that’s good that you already have that second drone, even though it’s your wife’s. But if worse came to worse and you weren’t flying at the same time, then you could borrow hers or she could borrow yours. Right. But yeah, I think potentially having a backup might not be a bad idea. But maybe now that you have two and you don’t have the immediate need, maybe just keep on making money. And then when the need arises and there might be something new, there might be an Air Three or something like that. Right?

Nayid: Yes, sir. And you’re right, Chris, because you got to prepare. You got to be prepared for instances and occasions. Always something going to happen. You’re right.

[00:41:20] Getting in touch with Nayid

Chris: So do you have social media channels like, do you have Twitter and Instagram and that kind of stuff where we can see any of your drone stuff? Or do you not publish any of that? Because everything goes.

Nayid: Yes, because it’s their property. They’re the ones paying for the inspection. So it goes directly to the insurance carrier. Yes, sir.

Chris: Okay. If someone wants to usually I ask for people’s social media channels and stuff like that so they can connect. That way. If someone was wanting to contact you, what’s the best way to find you? Like, are you on LinkedIn or anything like that?

Nayid: No, sir, but I don’t mind giving my phone number or my email. I have no problem with that. I would give it out. If you give me a call, I’ll answer.

Chris: Okay. What should I do with those two? I guess I’ll take them both right now. And then if you’re okay with having those in there, then we’ll let people contact you that way. So, yeah, go ahead. Start with your phone number and then go with your email.

Nayid: Okay. So my email is going to be my complete name is going to be nayid_diaz@yahoo.com, and my personal cell phone is +1-832-641-6039. And also, I’d like to add something has been awesome. It’s a game changer. Their growth is like I was telling somebody, this sounds funny, but it’s like the Uber of inspections with a drone, and they’re so easy to communicate with over there. If I need to make a call, if I need somebody’s guidance or questions, they answer immediately. And I think that’s given me more confidence as well.

Chris: Do you own Stock in Bees360?

Nayid: Not yet, but I will.

Chris: Okay. You’re really pumping it. You obviously love working and doing jobs for them.

Nayid: Like I said, it just fell in my lap, man. It’s an awesome part time job, and I’m rolling with the punches, Chris. I’m rolling with it, and I think I’m going to go full time with it. I really do.

Chris: All right on. Well, yeah, thanks for that chat. Bees is new to me when you started mentioning it. So I’m going to do some research on this and just kind of see what it looks like. And I think for other listeners as well, too. I’m sure that hearing about a side hustle where you can make an extra $1,000 a week is appealing to a lot of people, so I’m sure a lot of people want to check that out. Is it bees360.com or where is the website?

Nayid: Bees360.com

Chris: Okay. I’ll link to all of that stuff in the show notes. So, yeah, thank you very much for coming on the show. And I look forward to seeing how everything grows and as your business grows and hearing about your wife’s success with it as well, too, one day.

Nayid: Awesome. Thank you so much, Chris, just for the conversation. It was a pleasure.