Working PIby Isaac Peck, Publisher
Most private investigation firms never grow past the founder.
Private investigation remains one of the most fragmented professional services industries in the U.S. The overwhelming majority of PIs operate as solo practitioners or very small shops—often by design. Building a firm means taking on risk: hiring staff, managing compliance, carrying overhead, and stepping away from billable investigative work to focus on leadership and operations. For many investigators, that leap never makes sense or never feels worth it.
In this regard, Justin Hodson is among a select few PIs who have built a firm at a scale rarely seen in the profession.
Hodson started exactly where most private investigators do: as a solo operator, working cases himself and building relationships one client at a time. Today, he is the founder and CEO of Hodson P.I., a fast-growing, multi-million-dollar investigative firm with more than 80 employees and contracts with nearly 150 independent service providers. The firm serves law firms, insurance carriers, municipalities, and corporations nationwide.
Very few privately owned PI firms ever reach this scale, let alone do so without losing control of quality, ethics, or culture along the way. Hodson hasn’t gotten here through shortcuts, acquisitions, or outside capital. He built the business deliberately—by learning from mistakes, reinvesting in people, developing systems, and making the transition from investigator to leader.
“You’re going to make mistakes,” Hodson says. ” You’re going to screw up. That’s the best education. The question is what you learn from it.”
Hodson’s journey is especially relevant today. The private investigation profession is evolving rapidly, driven by technology, specialization, digital intelligence, and rising demand from insurance carriers and litigation teams. Opportunities are expanding, but so are the operational and liability challenges that come with growth. Scaling a PI firm now requires more than investigative skill; it requires vision, discipline, and a willingness to build something larger than yourself.
This is the story of how Justin Hodson made that transition from solo PI to CEO, and what other investigators can learn from the process—whether their goal is to scale a firm or simply run a stronger, more profitable, and more resilient business.
For most investigators, growth doesn’t mean 80 employees. It means landing more clients, increasing revenue, making a first hire, reducing liability exposure, or finally stepping back from being the bottleneck in every case. The lessons in Hodson’s story apply just as much at that level. In fact, that’s where many of them matter most.
Introducing Justin Hodson
Meeting Justin Hodson, it’s immediately clear that his success isn’t built on bravado or ego. He’s direct, approachable, and comfortable talking about what he knows—and just as comfortable acknowledging what he’s still learning. That mix of confidence and humility has shaped both his leadership style and the culture of the firm he’s built, and it’s a theme that comes up repeatedly when he talks about growth, hiring, and decision-making.
With over two decades of investigative experience, Hodson has built one of the most respected PI firms in the country. Licensed as a PI in 2003, Hodson began his career in corporate loss prevention and fraud detection. While in those fields, he quickly earned recognition for his strong skills in undercover surveillance and internal investigations.
In 2012, he launched Hodson P.I. and by 2016 hired his first employee. That hire marked the beginning of Hodson P.I.’s transformation from a solo practice into a powerhouse investigative agency and a multi-million-dollar enterprise today. Serving law firms, insurance companies, municipalities, and corporations, Hodson P.I.’s reputation for precision, discretion, and ethical rigor has made it a go-to resource for complex legal cases and high-stakes investigations.
Hodson contracts with nearly 150 independent service providers and recently hired his 80th employee. Hodson believes strongly that it takes a village to find success, even individually, and that bosses should absolutely admit that they rely on their employees.
It’s a work ethos that’s paid off. In 2024, Hodson was honored as Investigator of the Year by the California Association of Licensed Investigators (CALI), recognizing his leadership, mentorship, and contributions to the profession. He was also a nominee for EY Entrepreneur of the Year™ 2025, a testament to his business acumen and commitment to innovation in investigative services.
Hodson recommended a few books, including: CEO Excellence: The Six Mindsets That Distinguish the Best Leaders from the Rest, by Carolyn Dewar, Scott Keller, and Vikram Malhotra, which breaks down the different mindsets that a leader should have; and Rocket Fuel: The One Essential Combination That Will Get You More of What You Want from Your Business, by Gino Wickman and Mark C. Winters. But he also listed an old classic: How to Talk to Anyone: 92 Little Tricks for Big Success in Relationships, by Leil Lowndes. “It will help you,” he said. “Investigators are extremely intelligent, and want to solve problems, but being able to establish communication skills allows you to introduce yourself to new clients.”
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Building Blocks
Hodson’s growth as a business owner mirrors his development as an investigator. “Everything before age 40 was practice,” Hodson said, reflecting on the long arc of his professional development.
The turning point came in 2012 with the birth of his daughter, Aubrey. “She served as inspiration to try to build a bigger and better company focusing on insurance defense and civil defense,” he explained. Starting the business was one thing—hiring his first employee took another four years.
To get there, Hodson focused on building relationships. He found that working alongside clients as partners or “counterparts in a mission” helped foster trust. “We were working together to collect the information they needed to close out their claim,” he said. That reliability built his reputation, one case at a time.
“In that time, I was able to develop a growth mindset,” Hodson said. “Continuous learning. Improving myself. Making myself a better investigator, a better employer. Embracing challenges. Learning that your mistakes are valuable.”
He made a habit of attending networking events with adjusters and attorneys, asking what associations they belonged to, how they stayed sharp, and how he could get involved. “I built those relationships by meeting new people,” he said.
Hodson believes that everything worthwhile requires a leap of faith. “They have to take that first step; it’s not just going to come to them.” Whether it’s pursuing a new client or hiring your first employee, each move can feel like crossing a chasm—but it’s necessary and worth it.
He also emphasizes the importance of educating clients. “A lot of clients don’t understand the hours that go into surveillance, so you have to be more specific with them,” he said. Timing matters too. “It’s seven o’clock at night—it’s not feasible to call the adjuster.”
Budget expectations can be another hurdle. “A client will give you a four-hour budget for surveillance. Here’s your four hours, pre-surveillance. Our standard rate is $125 per hour. You’re billing for pre-surveillance, travel time. If you tell us four hours, you can’t do much for that. You have to educate your client.”
Over time, Hodson found that this kind of upfront education didn’t just prevent misunderstandings. It led to better client relationships, clearer expectations, and more sustainable, profitable work. When clients understand what goes into the assignment, they’re far more likely to value the work and the fee that comes with it.
Looking ahead, Hodson has ambitious plans. “My growth plan is to be nationwide in the next five years,” he said. “We have a good base on that. We’re working on developing strategies that we can grow with or without outside investment.” That growth could come through strategic partnerships, additional investigators, or collaborations with other providers in the insurance and civil defense space.
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The Keys
Taken together, Hodson’s experience reveals a set of recurring habits and mindsets that made this kind of growth possible. These aren’t abstract business theories. They’re practical decisions that can be applied incrementally, whether you’re running a solo practice or managing a growing team.
Learn from mistakes. “You’re going to make mistakes, screw up, screw up business ideas. Take those mistakes and you focus on them. It’s your best education,” said Hodson.
Learn from criticism. This one is harder than learning from mistakes, because mistakes can be made and learned from in private, whereas criticism always involves other people. Hodson admits that leaders in his profession don’t always accept criticism gracefully. “It’s fair to say in our profession, we have some egos. When people give us feedback, we need to embrace that.” He recalled when a client told him he needed to work on his grammar. That kind of criticism might sting, but Hodson responded by hiring someone to grammar-edit his reports, making sure they read professionally.
Take it to the next level. It’s a little out of fashion, but Hodson is the guy who will tell you to spend an extra hour at work. “Extra effort is the only way you’re going to be able to grow,” he said. He also emphasized the difference between working “in the business” (doing actual PI work) and working “on the business” (keeping the firm’s business operations running). “You’ve got to section time for building a business, and section time for doing the work,” he said.
Go for it even when you’re scared. “Even as a company with 80 employees, I still get a fear around not making the right decision,” Hodson said. “There’s a saying that I like: Scared money doesn’t make money.”
Be client-centric. Do everything you can legally and ethically for your client. Hodson’s two Cs are “candor” and “compliance.” Candor starts with honesty: “I tell them about my team, and it’ll be up to them to decide if I’m the right fit.” If a client asks for something outside the firm’s scope, Hodson says they’re upfront about it and willing to offer referrals. Compliance, the second of the two Cs, means “making sure that when you’re building your business, you’re aware of the different laws and regulations that exist for all sorts of different-sized companies,” Hodson says. He recommended having an attorney and staying current on federal and state laws.
Let yourself be inspired by other people’s success. “If you see somebody who’s very successful, embrace them, talk to them, and if they are a decent person, they’re going to inspire you,” Hodson explained. “I’m an open book. I want everybody to be successful. One of the biggest things hurting our profession is rough competition, including people talking badly about each other.””
Reinvest your profits into the business. “We reinvest into labor,” Hodson said. “That’s going to easily be 50 percent of your cost.” Training staff, getting them up to speed on databases and case management systems, can cost $15,000 to $20,000. “Give yourself a little raise if it’s doing well. Everything else is reinvested into the company. If you don’t reinvest, it’s not going to grow.”
Ask for help. “The only way you can grow is by having help. You can’t grow and make tons of money without help,” Hodson said. He also volunteers regularly, believing in keeping the karmic wheel spinning.
Delegate to the point of replacing yourself. “You have to delegate tasks,” Hodson said, explaining this unique principle. “You have to trust in the training you’ve given your hires. That they’re going to do a good job.” He explained that his goal is to put himself “out of a job” because there’s always a new job to do, something new to build. “Find somebody else, delegate that work to your team. Put yourself out of a job so you can find a new one.”
Taken together, these lessons reflect Hodson’s belief that growth isn’t just about hustle, but committed, responsible, and ethical hustle.
Handling Growth Once You Get It
Hodson knows that growth, while exciting, can be dangerous if not managed deliberately. “You don’t want to grow too fast,” he said. “We’re always analyzing our processes, auditing our work.” At Hodson P.I., several department leads have helped build a system where training is standardized and quality control is embedded. “When we do get new people, we know what we need to do. We know how to train them. And we’ve got fail-safes in place like audits and periodic reviews to make sure that training is actually applied.”
“Maintaining case quality has always been important to us, especially as the team expands,” Hodson said. Hodson pointed out that hiring a new investigator isn’t just about salary, but also a reinvestment. “You’re putting $15,000 to $20,000 into labor and training before they’re generating income. They’re shadowing, learning how to do investigations. That’s a real cost,” Hodson explained.
Hodson credited strong leadership for helping him develop effective onboarding systems, including documentation, videos, and online programs that give new hires a solid foundation. “They shadow investigators, they shadow department leads. They get a real understanding of how we operate,” he said.
Risk management is another area Hodson doesn’t take lightly. “It’s a litigious world,” Hodson pointed out. “Clients ask about our insurance all the time, E&O, General Liability. You’ve got to have multiple levels of protection. Not just for your company, but for your employees, your future, your family.” He emphasized the importance of carrying Directors & Officers insurance, cyber coverage, and other safeguards that protect the business from emerging risks. “It’s vital. You’ve got to protect the business.”
When asked what advice he’d give to other private investigators, Hodson did not hesitate: “Figure out what you want to specialize in,” he insisted. “It took me years to find my niche. That’s okay. But once you do, it makes you more valuable to clients.” He encouraged new private investigators to think strategically about their focus and to build relationships across the investigator profession. “Network with other investigators. Be friends with your competitors. Join associations. Things change all the time, and you’ve got to stay sharp.”
Hodson also explained that he truly values critique, especially from within his own team. “I tell my leaders the last thing I want is for you to agree with everything I’m doing. I want dissenting voices. That’s how we grow,” he said. Outside perspectives are essential to entrepreneurial thinking. “It stimulates how we think. Sometimes I hear something and think, ‘I don’t know why I haven’t thought of that before.’ That’s what makes you a better investigator,” Hodson added.
The results speak for themselves. Hodson P.I. generated $8 million worth of business in 2024 and $11 million in 2025. Growth is happening, but it’s happening on Hodson’s terms, with strong systems in place to protect work, people, and the future.
That future, like all futures, is uncertain and unpredictable. What is predictable, Hodson knows, is that private investigators make mistakes, depend on others more than they often admit, and eventually face decisions that force them to think beyond themselves. He’s built a business by acknowledging those realities, while remaining committed to hard work, ethical decision-making, and continual improvement.
With no shortage of opportunity ahead in insurance investigations, litigation support, and business intelligence, Hodson P.I. offers a clear example of what’s possible when growth is pursued deliberately.
Not every private investigator will choose that path, but the lessons from it apply far more broadly than the scale alone might suggest.
About the Author
Isaac Peck is the Publisher of Working PI magazine and the President and Senior Broker of OREP.org, a leading provider of E&O insurance for the PI profession. Working PI is the most widely read print magazine for investigators nationwide, reaching over 25,000 PIs. PIs who become OREP Members enjoy two CE courses (15 hours) at no charge (Visit OREP.org/PI-Members for details). Email Isaac at isaac@orep.org or call toll-free (888) 347-5273. CA License #4116465.
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