More and more private investigators are “riding the bus”, assuming the bus driver knows where they are going and how to get there!

These “bus riders” don’t know how to read a map or work GPS. They don’t know how to do real skip tracing!

This is a huge problem because…

1. It limits the cases they can take and solve.

2. If they get locked out by their restricted access, paid database provider (and it happens all the time!), then they’re stuck trying to explain to clients why they can’t help them. Sometimes after having that client for years! OUCH!

The Big Lesson

The big lesson today is to have a backup plan!

Know your sources and methods so well you can get by without your paid database provider at least long enough to get your account unfrozen!

Don’t wait until it’s too late. If you need to learn about the sources and methods (including the enormous sub-set of OSINT that is public records), then please check out my combo package combining The Investigator’s Ultimate Guide to Missing Persons and Fugitive PLUS my Public Records Mini-Course for a deeply discounted price right now. You can find that special offer here.

Committed to your success,
Larry Kaye,
Private Investigator, (Ret.) &
#1 Best Selling Author

P.S. – And, of course, don’t miss my special report titled… If You Want To be a Private Investigator Give Up… Unless You Do These Three Things. You can get it right here…

When choosing a private investigator association to join (or when evaluating if you’re in the right one) let me suggest you evaluate it on the four criteria I lay out in the video including things like networking and passion.

I like good P.I. associations and you can find them at the state, national and international level. Heck, you can even find them based on a shared characteristic like The Association of Christian Investigators run by the total pro Kelly Riddle.

I hope you find one that’s the right fit for you!

In the meantime, remember: Do the right thing, even if it’s the hard thing.

Committed to your success,
Larry Kaye,
Private Investigator &
#1 Best Selling Author

P.S. – And, of course, don’t miss my special report titled… If You Want To be a Private Investigator Give Up… Unless You Do These Three Things. You can get it right here…

When a potential client calls you and ask for something illegal, unethical or just downright creepy, you need to say no, but how do you keep them (especially the ones with mental illness) from going to online review sites and posting bad reviews saying you’re a rip-off or a scam as a private investigator?

I approach this step-by step:

1. I listen and convey empathy.

A phrase I learned from the excellent book Verbal Judo is, “I understand how you feel and if I was in your shoes I would probably feel exactly the same way.”

This includes recommending they call the police, the F.B.I., or even Animal Control.

BTW, I’ve written a book specifically for Private Investigators, Process Servers and Security Guards that teach a bunch of these types of “magic phrases” I’ve used in the real-world time and time again. Please, be sure to check out 51 Magic Phrases to Get What You Want: The Secrets of Instant Influence for Private Investigators, Process Servers, Security Guards and You!

2. I offer them alternative resources.

That way they feel like I at least tried to help them.

Frequently (frequently!) you will hear them say, “The police are in on it.” Don’t let it catch you off guard. You will hear this. Be prepared with another recommendation like Animal Control or (gently and with a lot of tact) a mental health service provider.

Of mental health services I like to say, “They help people with all kinds of complex problems even if you don’t have a lot of resources.”

I wish you all the best as you navigate this thorny issue, but I guess this is why you want to learn form someone who’s “been there and done that”!

Committed to your success,
Larry Kaye,
Private Investigator &
#1 Best Selling Author

P.S. – And, of course, don’t miss my special report titled… If You Want To be a Private Investigator Give Up… Unless You Do These Three Things. You can get it right here…

More “private investigators” are breaking the law by claiming they are exempt from the state law requirement that they have a private investigator license because they claim they’re an “employee” of a law firm, but in reality they’re just a contractor getting a 1099 at tax time!

Employees of a law firm (or just about any business) may not need a P.I. License to conduct investigations for the company as “in-house” investigators, but… if you’re a “contractor” and not truly an “employee” as defined by law, then you may be committing a misdemeanor!

Don’t think you’ve out-smarted the system. Regrettably, the system is stacked against you if you don’t already have your P.I. license. And if the state discovers you doing investigations without a license, I can almost guarantee any “reason” you have the state has seen before and will handle with extreme prejudice.

You can still do it! People get their licenses everyday. But it’s tough.

Keep it legal and ethical and, as always, do the right thing, even if it’s the hard thing.

Committed to your success,
Larry Kaye,
Private Investigator &
#1 Best Selling Author

P.S. – And, of course, don’t miss my special report titled… If You Want To be a Private Investigator Give Up… Unless You Do These Three Things. You can get it right here…