Would a private investigator make a good wage working without an office and through a web site?

Question

I know i investigator should know and I am looking into starting a bussnes with an office but i need the money first. So i figured I could have a web site that would do back ground checks and maybe meet with clients elsewhere. I know this sounds confusing but it is really the only way I can get into an office.

Answer 1

First of all, many states require that private investigators be licensed, so be sure you investigate that before setting up your business.

You don't state what your qualifications are, other than "I know i [sic] investigator should know." but many investigators are former law enforcement officers. There are laws governing what you can and can't do to find out information about people. So be sure you know what's legal before setting up your business. In addition, if someone has a law enforcement background, they also usually have built a network of potential business referrals that they can use to kickstart their business.

Would you make a good wage working without an office and through a web site? It's not likely. Unless you're already well established, your web site will be more of a business card than anything else. It may or may not encourage someone to actually hire you. Your best bet as a PI is to make -personal- contact with people who can refer business to you -- e.g., lawyers, business owners, employment agencies, business accountants, etc. You'll want to attend lots of meetings for groups like chamber of commerce, professional associations, and so on.

A potential client may use your web site like the yellow pages to find you initially, but you'll still have to convince them that you're the PI they want to hire to do a background check or other investigation. Especially since there are so many web sites that let people do their own background checks on others.

Having a web site is a basic item for most businesses these days, but it won't be your main source of business. You really will need to network in the real world. You can make your web site work for you, but that's a lot of hard work in itself.

Having an office is not critical, but is definitely an advantage. If you live in a mid-to-large city, look for local "executive suite" or "executive office" services. "Executive suite" services provide office space on flexible terms. You can rent an office or conference room for a few hours, a day, once a month, etc. Most of these services provide phone answering and reception services. Some will receive mail for you. There's no lease to sign so there's no long-term commitment.

Before checking one of these services out, you'll want to identify what you anticipate your needs are wrt meeting clients. That way, when you talk to the executive suite manager, you can find out if they offer the particular combination of services that works for you.

Lots of businesses use executive suites as either temporary or part-time offices. I've included a link to a site that lets you search for these executive offices, but you can also do your own Internet search.

Good luck with your PI business venture.