Finally "Day One"

After nearly 4 years of working as a DCJS registered PI, I decided to expand my horizons and go though BEA certification, attending BEA class, undergoing additional background checks, fingerprints and fees to the state. Over the past year I been involved in decent amount of fugitive recoveries with for very little compensation in relationship to the effort, but I still find it much more challenging and rewarding than hiding in the back of a surveillance van for 12 hours at a stretch, doing video surveillance, waiting on an errant husband or wife to exit their paramours location.
However I soon observed that there were plenty more perps getting arrested than were fleeing the courts, so I decided to go back and get my bail bonds license.
In this state, this involves paying for and attending bail bond training, more background/fingerprint checks, insurance school, state insurance tests and fees, then more fees to the state, including paying a $1000 for the license. By the time you get through this process you become obsessed with just completing the process and you come to understand and appreciate all that the folks in this field have gone though in order to get to that "day one" as a bondsman let alone year 25! I have finally reached that day one, powers in hand, but still dealing with a minor delay of the license actually being posted on the state's DCJS website. I look forward to this new venture while still being able to continue doing all the other activities I have previously trained for. I continued to learn from this forum and from this sum total of the experience which is available here. I have a great appreciation for all those who practice their craft , whatever that may be, with professionism and sincerity and who are willing to share their knowledge and experience with others as well.

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Jenifer Jewell
AT YOUR SERVICE BAIL BONDS & RECOVERY
Private Investigator/Bail Enforcement Agent/Bail Bonds
DCJS 99-183465
Virginia

Good luck to you....

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Thomas SnoWolf
FRN# 1999
GAPB 20120726
NSIS ST0707
http://www.rocksolidrg.com
"The hero is not the man that acts without fear,
He is the man that acts inspite of fear"

Oh boy! For what you are about to endure... I wish you luck...

Now you know I am rather out spoken.......... so............. here goes............

Advise is cheap and usually worth the money... you will get it from all quarters... some good, most just talk... however, having said that......... here I go..........


The single most important thing in any of our businesses... whether it be bonding or PI or BEA... is INFORMATION numoro uno...

All else pales in the light of information... anyone can write a bond, it's just filling out the paperwork, filling in the blanks... nothing to it... simple job.... but what you get on that app will decide how long you stay in this business and how successful you are overall.

... and another important thing you will quickly realize...

This business (bonding) is loaded... loaded with people... there has been an influx of new bondsmen over the past few years... all looking to make a lot of money and most of them... I say most, not all... operate with little or no concern for their fellow bondsmen...

THIS IS A CUT THROAT BUSINESS it is a good business but it is definitely cut throat... and even the ones that smile at you will stab you in the back. Choose your mentors and associates very, very carefully little lady.... (Old guys like me talk to all women that way... not to worry... quite harmless... )

No, I do not have a bad attitude, no, I am not upset, no, I am not cynical... I love my work, I love my associates (most of them are my kids, I better)... hell, I even love the defendants, the judges, the cops .... I even like most of the indemnitors... but if there is anything that I have learned in my time in the bonding business... it is beware, beware, beware....

You have previous experience and that will take you far in bonding... but most bondsmen will have a very life changing experience the first time they get a $10,000 skip... body orifices begin to tighten... hands become clammy... pupils dilate... and wallets begin to open... sometimes quite wide open... that is where the separation between a bondsman and a 'wannabe' rears it's ugly head...

I have been reading this site for years... I was a member a long time ago but for some reason my membership disappeared... I joined again just a couple of years ago for the second time... but having said that... I have found that there are literally hundreds of contributors to this site but probably only about 2 or 3 dozen that regularly contribute and then only a dozen or so that read and post regularly.... you can quickly pick out the ones that have something of substance to say. Latch on to them and read between the lines because I have found that these gems in the rough have a lot of great info and advise.

Good luck Jenifer, you should be fine... wade through the BS and read some of the more serious posts on here... and don't forget to read my disclaimer in my sig........

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Bill Marx, Sr.
"FREE STATE BAIL BONDS"
"FREE STATE INVESTIGATIONS"
DCJS: 99-176979
Cell: 434-294-0222

"Endeavor to Persevere" "Lone Watie"

"Good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that , comes from bad judgment" "Will Rogers"

Good Luck..

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Steve Faircloth
A Way Out Bail Bonds
(220) 204-9733 Cell
NSIN# SF0105
LIC. #704058

Congratulations ! Best of luck in your new endeavers..

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River City Associates
Decatur, Al. 35601