There is hardly a person who would never have dreamed of having his own business. Ideally, it would be not only very cost-effective, but also interesting, bringing pleasure.
For those beginning entrepreneurs who have been reading detective novels in childhood and in youth, we advise you to pay attention to a very specific, but extremely tempting business. He is not young, he has existed in our country for a long time, and yet only a few companies are seriously involved in it.
Who will contact you?
Let's talk about how to open a detective agency, what needs to be done for this, what are the pitfalls in this business and how to avoid them. This case seems very attractive from the point of view of what does not require serious investments. But the profit can please you nicely. The work of a private detective has always been valuable. You may be visited by husbands who suspect their wives have been betrayed, businessmen who believe that their partners twist their nose and have long passed expensive contracts to competing firms, and many others.
How much does surveillance cost?
I would especially like to emphasize that, having decided to engage in this type of business, you will already be dealing with respectable people whose incomes are, as a rule, above the average. Anyone will not pay for your services.
They can’t afford it. Contacting a detective agency is not an expensive pleasure. As a rule, such offices have a clear price list for services, but sometimes the client begins to rush with the investigation of his case, and then the cost of work can increase significantly.
Since we are giving a detailed plan on how to open a detective agency, let's move on to specific numbers. For example, in provincial Russian towns, monitoring all movements, meetings and human activities per day will cost $ 100 and more. The upper bar can go for $ 1000-2000 or more. It all depends on who needs to be monitored and on which particular case.
Talk about demand
Of course, from this business you can get very impressive profits, but in order to come to this, you need to do a tremendous job. Fortunately, at present, as we have already noted, competition in this market is small.
Experts attribute this to the fact that in fact there are very few sensible specialists in this field. In addition, most start-up entrepreneurs question about how to open a detective agency, plunges into a stupor. And even when they leave him and register their company, then they simply don’t know what to do and how to start earning money as quickly as possible.
Most often, former internal affairs officers work in such offices. They have a clear knowledge of the city, they can professionally conduct surveillance, and finally, they are familiar with the legal field. In other words, they can work professionally, efficiently, without going beyond the scope of current legislation.
Bans
But we would like to immediately emphasize that you should not be confused: detectives do not have such rights as law enforcement officers. They are deprived of many privileges available to the police. All that is allowed to the detective is to take photos and videos, and in some cases to look for witnesses. When searching for information, the law prohibits wiretapping of phones, installation of hidden video cameras in private property, special professional equipment, and much more.
Entrepreneurs who have already made money in this business admit that customers are different. To satisfy the needs of some, information collected legally is enough. However, there are often cases when the client wants more, and then you have to go to tricks and break the rules. Naturally, the cost of such services grows several times. Among detective agencies, there is a rule according to which evidence collected illegally is only shown to the client and immediately destroyed. They are never handed over to the client.
Better to have experience in bodies
In order to successfully start this business, you must at least have a legal specialty and at least small connections in law enforcement. Thanks to them, you can quickly get the information of interest to you in a variety of directions.
Most often, private detectives resort to the help of former colleagues from the authorities when they need to find out the name of the owner of the car or apartment. Of course, such information is not given just like that, and you, the owner of the agency, will need to pay for it.
What do you need to open a detective agency?
To start, rent an office. At the same time, pathos in this matter is useless. And from the fact that you will have luxurious facilities, but you will not be able to effectively satisfy customer requests, nothing good will come of it. Therefore, in a limited budget in the first 2-3 months of work, you can do without premises.
It absolutely does not matter for clients what your legal address is and how luxurious you are. For customers, the most important thing is to solve your problem as quickly as possible. And the solution, as a rule, is to obtain the information of interest. It must be timely, accurate, as reliable as possible and received in confidence.
So need an office or not?
But if finances allow you, then, of course, it is better to get your own angle so that you can fully meet clients, sign contracts with them and conduct more detailed conversations. Any company begins with its employees. Therefore, when answering the question of how to open a detective agency, try to staff a decent staff first.
I would not want to repeat myself, but experienced entrepreneurs say that the role of detectives is most easily given to former law enforcement officials. They easily cope with all responsibilities, thanks to the experience of participating in operational-search activities. When choosing people, remember that the more professional and qualified they are, the faster you will be able to build up an excellent reputation and, consequently, you will have more customers.
About the package of documents
Of course, full-fledged work is simply impossible without legal registration of your activity. First of all, you need to register an individual entrepreneur. For starters, this form of entrepreneurship is best suited. Further, as your business grows, you can be puzzled by the more solid dimensions of an LLC, and so on. You also need to get a license to engage in detective activities. It is issued by the Central Internal Affairs Directorate after presenting a passport, application, a special questionnaire, a medical certificate and a document confirming either the presence of a legal education or the training of private detectives.
About equipment
The main weapon of any detective is his professionalism, the ability to obtain reliable information without detecting his presence. This is what customers are willing to pay decent money for. It doesn’t matter what equipment you use. If you are ready to provide the client with useful information made with a simple soap camera, then use it. How detectives work, so they get it.
If we talk about the minimum set of equipment, then it should be noted that you will need a computer or laptop, as well as recording devices. This will be enough to start working with the first customers. By the way, here one of the most difficult questions arises: "Where to look for the first orders?" Is it really waiting for someone to contact you?
Experienced entrepreneurs are advised to advertise their agency. Declare it good advertising on the Internet, on the radio, in the notes of local print media. At the first stage, it will be a problem for you not so much to answer the question of how to create your own detective agency, but how to build up the clientele. For this, as we just noted, we need to engage in advertising.
It would also be nice to create special conditions for the first customers. For example, offer them the maximum discount on your services. Let the news of your agency spread word of mouth. Please also note that before you start investing in this case, you need to draw up a detailed business plan for a detective agency.
Thanks to him, you can always keep track of your tasks and be able to solve them in a timely manner. This document will be useful if you decide to attract borrowed funds to the business. The investor will be able to documently see how much you need to invest in a detective agency and how much profit you can earn.
