Meet Jay Hanna | Drone Photographer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jay Hanna and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jay, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
I think the initial spark came from a passion for flying drones to capture footage of Colorado’s beautiful sunsets. Two, three, and sometimes four times a week, I would fly my drone up to snap a sunset picture and post it on social media. I probably annoyed a lot of my friends by doing that. I became known as the drone guy. Neighborhood kids would come over and ask to fly my drones, and I would let them occasionally — I still do.

At the beginning of 2022, our good friends Jerry and Tammy asked me to fly my drone at a memorial event for their infant son, Easton, who passed away unexpectedly (Search the Easton Lee Memorial Fund for information on how to donate). Later in the season, my neighbor Vic, who builds stunning decks (@vbdecking), asked me to take some drone footage of a deck he made for an Airbnb. I said yes. These two events stand out as the fuel that gave me the drive needed to see my hobby as a potential business opportunity. I owe a lot of the credit to them.

But you can’t talk about Jeeves Drones without mentioning the failures that came before it. Jeeves is the culmination of over a decade of failing badly. I have marketing skills, I’ve owned five failed businesses, and my passion for technology and creativity has always been there. Nothing was more important than my failures; they gave me the confidence to push through the initial fear and anxiety of starting yet another business. After you fail a few times, you realize that it isn’t that bad, and you begin to see how valuable those failures were. I don’t see them as failures anymore; they’re just valuable lessons. Even if Jeeves Drones fails, it will just be another lesson learned. Life will continue, and that’s what being an entrepreneur is all about; you can’t just quit when it doesn’t work out!

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Jeeves Drones is an aerial photography and 3D virtual tour company in Denver. Jeeves is run by my beautiful wife Nicole, my business partner Wade, and myself. We all pitch in and contribute equally to promoting the company and serving its clients. Each of us brings unique skills and experience to the table, which makes us truly unique.

My wife, Nicole, has been managing some of Colorado’s most well-known venues like Red Rocks Amphitheater and retail outlets such as Under Armor for the past decade. Nicole manages our day-to-day business and makes sure things run smoothly. She has a passion for photography and is our lead real estate photographer. Wade is the newest addition to the company. He brings with him his vast experience in metal fabrication and his experience as an FPV drone pilot. He is well connected in the FPV community and is the primary FPV pilot for our company. He also doubles as a real estate photographer, 3D virtual tour photographer, and general videographer. Then there is me, which I talked about above. I’m primarily a marketing expert, but I love flying my drone and creating data from images, and most of all, I crave the feeling of making others happy and growing their business.

What makes us unique is our comprehensive capabilities, our guaranteed low pricing, and our quality service. Most of our business is real estate marketing, but we are driving forward to develop as a data and mapping resource for construction, agriculture, energy, and insurance companies.

We named the company Jeeves after a series of comedic short stories and novels by English author P. G. Wodehouse. Jeeves, at its heart, is a service-based business. The name Jeeves means servant of model behavior, and our core values are simple: “go to any length to serve our customers.”

As for me personally, I have been leading marketing teams for various small and large companies for the past 12 years. I’ve worked for builders, contractors, engineering firms, SaaS companies, and retailers. I believe these experiences give our company an edge over our competitors, who mainly focus on piloting. Debatably, I think piloting is one of the least important things drone companies should focus on. Most drone companies either sell a product or gather data, so experience doing those things is a must. Not to say piloting and safety aren’t important. You can’t even consider starting a drone company without those acquired skills.

The main lesson I have learned as an entrepreneur and young business professional is that successful people have done more with less than I have. And intelligence doesn’t always equal smarts. A lot of successful folks aren’t that bright; they just work hard. Also, a lot of really talented people are lazy or lack networking skills, so if you have something you enjoy doing and you’re willing to work hard and are willing to network, chances are you will be successful.

These are all just working theories, though. I have not struck gold by any means.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Oh man, that’s a great question. I would take visitors to Glenwood Springs. It’s nothing fancy, but it’s one of my favorite places to show off in our state. I would take them to the hot springs and the Colorado Hotel, and then I would buy them perogies from the little mom-and-pop authentic Polish restaurant if it’s still there.

My second choice would be Estes Park, and we would hit the Stanley Hotel along the way. People love visiting that place.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I dedicate this to Taara, my wonderful sister. Who has always been there when I needed help (which has happened too many times to count). Taara has pushed herself through many obstacles and always puts others before herself. She never gets acknowledged for it. So I credit much of my success to her, and I love the fantastic person she is. I want her to succeed in everything she does in life.

Website: jeevesdrones.com

Instagram: instagram.com/jeevesdrones

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/82318352

Twitter: @jeevesdrones

Facebook: facebook.com/jeevesdrones

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCx-zCraVAP4_af1-gWJSUvw

Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@jeevesdrones

Image Credits
All original photography 🙂 @jeevesdrones