The public perceives us, private investigators, as one thing, but we view ourselves differently. Hollywood paints one picture, but the real-world private eye stars in a different role. Let’s call it old school versus new school. Take a look at how we’ve changed:
OLD SCHOOL VS. NEW SCHOOL
OLD: Place a ketchup packet or a cheap watch under the tire of your Subject’s vehicle to know if or when they’ve left.
NEW: Place an unmanned surveillance vehicle or any one of a host of live-streaming, covert cameras on public property near your subject’s location.
OLD: An ankle-holstered pistol, a heavy right hand, and a bad attitude.
NEW: A heavy dose of the get-the-heck-out-of-there if shit gets real.
OLD: Grease the palm of your local bartender or valet for the scoop on your subject.
NEW: Flip open your laptop and utilize hundreds of open-source intelligence (OSINT) avenues to know your subject’s habits and patterns.
OLD: The black box: your client sends in the case request, you do the work, but you spit out a vague report leaving your client wondering how the results were obtained.
NEW: Full transparency. No mysterious or hidden methods, illegal, unethical, or questionable practices.
OLD: Because of the rural location, use a two-investigator surveillance team with one PI stationed at each end of the road in which your subject lives.
NEW: Use of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) AKA, the drone, overhead with real-time video capabilities.
OLD: Cold calls to attorneys to drum up work.
NEW: Online content that displays your expertise and thought leadership while building trust with your current and future clients.
OLD: Your name emblazoned on the frosted glass of an office door in a seedy part of town.
NEW: Remote working = Low overhead expenses forever!
OLD: Fedora and trench-coat-wearing, cigarette-smoking, Bourbon-swizzling, hard-boiled private dick.
NEW: Just Bourbon. Always Bourbon.
OLD: The lone wolf detective.
NEW: The highly-connected business person; the valuable member of the community.
