Tweet

Home Based Business Spotlight--L&W Investigations

Written by: Candice Clem

Article Overview: Not many franchisees can call themselves sleuths, but L&W owner can. Learn more about this investigative franchise and you may want to become a flatfoot too.

Home Based Business Spotlight--L&W Investigations

Of the business opportunities available, L&W Invesigations offers what may be the most exciting of all. This franchise business offers franchisees the chance to be a private investigator.

The PI Stereotype

Of course, to really get the proper picture of L&W Investigations, there needs to be some clarity on the business of investigation. Most people are familiar with the Hollywood representation of private investigation: the irreverent, shadowy PI sitting at his desk, taking yet another swig from his hip flask as an alarmingly beautiful woman slips in through the door of his office to beg his assistance in finding her kidnapped father. The characters and the scene are something of an American icon, and maybe it’s an accurate representation of the life of some private investigators, but it certainly isn’t a depiction that’s universally true.

In fact, much of the investigative world of today is nothing like all that. Rather, investigators are professionals who have learned how to collect, interpret, and pass along information pertinent to an assignment, and generally, because investigations are needed in so many fields, they only accept certain varieties of cases dealing in an area of specialty. In the case of L&W Investigations, franchisees concentrate on surveillance and cases of insurance fraud, and they don’t even do the vast majority of the investigation themselves. Instead, franchisees serve as business owners and managers over a staff of far more highly trained investigators.

Training

Because the home business franchisee is responsible primarily for business oversight, there is no need to come into the operation with previous investigative experience. Whatever prior business experience the franchisee may have is harnessed by a team of professional trainers and rechanneled toward the desired business objectives.

The heart of the L&W Investigations training program is in the hands of training manager Ed Fidler and trainer Chris Cline. Fidler comes to the organization with years of experience as an investigator for the Boston District Attorney and is a highly respected member of the SIU community. Cline served as a Kentucky state trooper, was promoted to detective as a part of the Warren County Drug Task Force, and has professional experience in a wide array of investigative fields. Together, they are more than capable of training new franchise owners and their employed investigators, making them some of the best in their specific industry.

Business Operation

This business opportunity depends heavily on the success of the central organization. They are the ones responsible for the vast majority of marketing: giving the L&W Investigations name a strong presence at 35 national trade shows, maintaining public relations, running ads in industry-related publications, and maintaining the company website. And, though the intent is to help those who need it, L&W Investigations does receive recognition for being active in such charitable events as the annual "Taste of the NFL" and the Special Olympics.

The involvement of the central establishment in the success of each home based business doesn’t end with marketing, though. Once the various avenues of advertising make their impact and draw potential clients, the central staff continues working, taking investigation requests made via phone and internet and passing them on to the franchisee in the protected territory nearest to the client. And throughout the processes of serving clients, franchisees have 24/7 access to help from central staff, as well as ongoing training to keep them abreast of the latest developments, tricks, and tactics in the industry.

For the franchisee, the business is simple and consistent. The work from home franchisee is responsible for managing his investigators and their assignments, enhancing the local marketing strategy, and consistently growing the business. As jobs come in from L&W Investigations headquarters, they are handed to employed investigators, who perform investigations on behalf of insurance companies and legal organizations interested in proving the truth or falsehood of an insurance claim.

Perhaps one of the most interesting parts of the work is the ITrac case management system used by the organization. Designed to streamline every part of the investigation process, from payroll to final reporting, it takes the administrative weight out of the business so that franchisees and their staffs can focus on investigation. The ITrac system helps clients by managing accounts and keeping record of investigation instructions, it helps cases by keeping track of important contacts and sorting all found information from data to videos, and it helps franchisees by keeping track of employee hours and wages and producing assignment sheets. Though it lacks the common sense and intuition necessary for good detective work, it is one of the most important aspects of operating this business successfully.

The Founder

Often, one of the key factors in the determining the success of any business for sale is who started it: where his heart is and what his goals are. In the case of L&W Investigations, the founder, Neal Lyons, is a man whose business and vision can be trusted. As business knowhow and drive go, there is no one better to follow. As an executive with Vans for years, he was responsible for revolutionizing the brand and its presence in the retail market by making a line of combination apparel stores/skate parks across the nation. He’s worked for other names like Reebok and Footlocker and has always been a positive presence wherever he’s gone.

Whether it’s in business or while working with Children’s Hospitals or the Special Olympics, Mr. Lyons has always had the intent of making a business or charity all it can be by whatever means possible. And this dedication primarily to people is what makes him and his business a worthy investment. It may not have the glamour of a 1950’s film noir crime flick, but L&W Investigations is a business to keep an eye on.

Related Articles
  Why You Need Insurance For Professional Fees in a Tax-VAT Investigation!
  Who Can Profit From Home Business Opportunities?
  Top 10 Computer & Internet Small Businesses
  Put Past Business Experience To Use With A Work From Home Opportunity
  Home-based Business Idea: Legal/Medical Transcription Services

Article Tags: accurate representation, american icon, beautiful woman, business experience, business franchisee, business objectives, chris cline, fidler, franchise business, franchisees, hip flask, insurance fraud, investigative experience, manager ed, private investigation, private investigator, private investigators, professional trainers, swig, world of today



Related Forum Posts
Elevator Pitch in 10 Words - "Winning Business Design For Aspiring Entrepreneurs Based On Their Idea"
Re: How do you budget your life? - Here is my financial management categories for today: 15% Long Term Savings; 10% Home Expenses; 45% Business and Marketing charges; 10% Friends (Meeting); 20$ Scientific and Law Books. But this will change when it is August or September. Orxan
Books for Women Entrepreneurs - There's a thread for good books in the Resources folder, but it doesn't target books for businesswomen particularly, so I figured I'd start such a thread here. It doesn't matter how successful you are in your business - it's always possible to learn something new. In subsequent posts I give Table of Contents and brief descriptions for various titles - most of them devoted to the businesswoman - and sometimes a review. If anyone else has read a review, or has read the book and found it useful, please comment! 1. The Old Girl's Network 2. Mother's Work 3. The 7 Greatest Truths About Successful Women 4. Pitch Like A Girl 5. Workplace Warrior 6. Treasure Hunt: Inside the Mind of the Modern Consumer 7. Contingency Planning & Disaster Recovery 8. She Wins, You Win 9. Napoleon On Project Management 10. Why Good Girls Dont' Get Ahead, But Gutsy Girls Do 11. Comeback Moms: How to Leave Work, Raise Children, and Restart your Career even If you Haven't Had a Job in Years 12. The One Minute Millionaire 13. Talking From 9 to 5 14. Soloing: Realizing Your Life's Ambitions 15. 101 Best Home Based Businesses for Women: Everything You Need to Know About Getting Started on the Road To Success 16. Work With Passion: How to Do What You Love for a Living. Revised and Expanded 17. Fail-Proof Your Business: Beat the Odds and be Successful 18. Confidence: How Winning Streaks and Losing Streaks Begin and End 19. Women Don't Ask: Negotiation and the Gender Divide 20. Millionaire Women Next Door: The Many Journeys of Successful American Businesswomen 21. Start Small, Finish Big: Fifteen Key Lessons to Start - and Run - Your Own Successful Business 22. Rewired, Rehired or Retired: A Global Guide for the Experienced Worker 23. The Martha Rules: 10 essentials for achieving success as you start, build or manage a business 24. The Essentials of Entrepreneurship: What it takes to create Successful Enterprises 25. Net Ready: Strategies for Success in the E-conomy 26. The Promotable Woman 27. Leave The Office Earlier: The Productivity Pro shows you how to do more in less time and feel great about it 28. The Work At Home Balancing Act: The professional resource guide for managing yourself, your work, and your family at home 29. Secrets of Six-Figure Women
My entry - 1. The Best Business Books Ever: The 100 Most Influential Business Books You'll Never Have Time to Read - this is a fascinating book about the history of Business theory, and I'd recommend it to anybody. 2. The Big Book of Small Business: You Don't Have to Run Your Business by the Seat of Your Pants, by Tom Gegax. Ditto. 3. PADI: The Business of Diving Book Okay, so this book won't be of use to anyone who doesn't want to start a scuba store, but I did, and this book was of course invaluable to me in reaching that goal.
Re: Trade Shows - Are They Worth It? - HI, I have used trade shows (not participated) to collect potential clients. For example, the Home & Garden Industry is extremely behind the time in regards to their websites. I attended an Home & Garden Expo in Denver and collected all the companies contact information. I plan on cold calling & mailing information to each business. It also gave me time to research the industry more, talk directly to the owners in many cases, and learn more about what they need. Jeff


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Tweet

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

Smart & Simple Internet Techniques

Ten Things You Can Do To Be a Better Leader

Getting The Media Attention You Deserve

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.