The Profit Calculator

A great article for those wondering the costs and benefits of everyday businesses. Here's a bit about private detectives:

"How It Works: Lawyers, insurance companies, and private citizens hire McKeever for a base rate of $100 an hour. McKeever advertises heavily in phone books because he has almost no repeat private customers. At-home Internet sleuths have cut McKeever’s locating business, but surveillance is steady.

Annual Revenue: $120,000 ($90,000 is profit before tax).

Most-Profitable Jobs: When a spouse becomes obsessive; McKeever spent more than 130 hours following an ex-husband for a current custody case.

Why Men Are Better Clients: They are nearly always wrong when they suspect a cheating spouse, but they often won’t believe it and will keep McKeever tailing. (Women are 90 percent correct when they suspect their husbands.)"

Not as cool as it seems in the movies..

image and rest of article at New York Magazine