🎯 Why Every Successful PI Picks a Niche (and Generalists Struggle)
One of the fastest ways to stall a PI business is trying to be everything to everyone. Backgrounds. Surveillance. Infidelity. OSINT. Process service. Skip traces. “Anything you need.” On paper, that sounds smart. In reality, it creates three problems. 🔹 1. Clients Don’t Hire “Generalists” Under Pressure When someone has a real problem, they don’t want options. They want the person who does this all day. • Insurance attorneys want a workers’ comp investigator • Family law clients want an infidelity specialist • Law firms want court-ready documentation A niche removes doubt. Generalization creates hesitation. 🔹 2. Niches Command Higher Fees Specialists don’t compete on price—they compete on outcomes. When you’re known for one thing: • Your intake is faster • Your workflow is tighter • Your reports are cleaner • Your confidence is obvious That shows up in your pricing. 🔹 3. Systems Get Sharper When the Work Is Repetitive The best investigators don’t improvise every case. They run: • The same intake flow • The same documentation process • The same reporting structure That only happens when your cases look similar. Niches turn chaos into systems. 🔹 4. Marketing Becomes Simple (and Cheaper) It’s easier to say: “I help insurance attorneys document fraud cases.” Than: “I do investigations.” Clear message = better referrals, better SEO, better word-of-mouth. 🔹 The Truth Most New PIs Miss You don’t pick a niche to limit yourself. You pick one to become undeniable. You can always expand later. But you have to earn authority first. 💬 Let’s Talk If you had to pick one area to focus on for the next 6 months: • Surveillance • Infidelity • Insurance defense • OSINT • Process service • Something else? Drop it below 👇 And if you already niched down—what changed for you?