Soloist Spotlight: Andrew Davis, Investigative Services Group

Our Soloist Spotlights showcase the services our amazing Flying Solo Business Class members offer to customers in Australia, and take a peek behind the curtain of their day-to-day lives. This week, meet Andrew Davis, Principal Investigator at Investigative Services Group.

When did you know you wanted to start your own business?

When I left school back in 2002, I worked for a few companies and felt that there was never any real progression and consistently felt I would not get anywhere unless I made a change. Over the last few years, I have been heavily investing in distance education and obtaining qualifications to finally make the move to go out on my own.

Now that I have made the change to go out on my own, I feel I am much happier with what has been accomplished and regret not making the decision sooner.

What’s the best thing about being a soloist? And the worst thing?

The best thing is definitely the freedom to work under my terms and complete tasks in my preferred manner.

The worst is definitely the stress of sometimes wondering when your next job or payments will come in; however after building my reputation over the last few years, these concerns have started to fade.

What’s the best piece of business advice you’ve ever been given?

Create a second bank account for superannuation, PAYG and GST, and don’t use that money for running costs. I can’t recall the amount of times the second account has eased my stress, by ensuring I always have the funds available for the ATO when they are due and payable.

Where and when do you have your best ideas?

I have a habit of waking up in the middle of the night with an idea how to resolve an issue, after I spent the day struggling to find a solution. I find once I have tried to switch my brain off and just relax, that’s when I am able to formulate a plan to complete my goals.

You’ve got a free half hour during your workday. What do you do?

It’s very rare that I get free time as there is always something to do, however when I do make time to get away from my caseload, I will often grab a coffee and go for a quick walk.

What’s your proudest moment?

Successfully completing my first insurance investigation and getting positive feedback from my client. Prior to this moment, I had never conducted an investigation in the insurance sector, and having the client and Case Manager validate my work reinforced I had made the right choice in making a career change.

What would your parents say is your greatest strength? And weakness?

Strength: I’m determined, and I do not give up once my mind is set to something.

Weakness: I’m incredibly lazy at home – I tell them I’m exhausted but I don’t think they believe me.

What do you wear to work?

Business attire if I am visiting clients or conducting scene inspections. If I work from home, I will be in casual clothes.

What’s your number one way to wind down?

I am an avid gamer, so I will often sit on the PC or PS5 for an hour or two at the end of each day to just relax and prepare myself for the next day’s work.

What would be your advice to aspiring soloists?

Don’t be afraid to make mistakes; you will make many. There are times you will fail but that isn’t the time to think all is lost and give up. Learn from what happened and implement procedures to ensure you avoid that mistake in the future.

Find out more about Investigative Services Group:

What do you do? Who for? And how does it benefit them?

ISG provide investigation, surveillance, skip tracing and process serving services to insurance companies, legal firms and corporate companies.

Our Investigation and Surveillance services ensure that all investigations are fair and impartial by an accredited third party, so clients can make decisions that are unbiased and will not result in future litigation.

Our skip trace service helps people locate missing witnesses, debtors or family members, at which point we can also process serve documents for financial recovery or court attendance.

Want your turn in the spotlight?

Soloist Spotlight profiles are exclusively for selected Flying Solo Business Class members.

Already a Business Class member? Simply email us on info@flyingsolo.com.au with a link to your Flying Solo directory listing and let us know you’re keen to take part in a Soloist Spotlight – we’ll be in touch!

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