By David Stenhouse, Data Mutz

I have been running a one-person computer forensics & electronic discovery business for the past 13 years.

My clients are law firms, private companies, and public entities that are in the midst of a lawsuit. I am provided access to electronic storage devices, such as computers, cell phones, and other items that hold data, including Cloud accounts. I am usually requested to preserve that data, search it, and maybe determine if I can see what a user has done. Although it sounds investigative, I am more of an objective examiner, providing my opinions for the record. Sometimes I will write documents for the court, and further provide testimony in depositions and trials.

Running a business without employees is challenging but it is truly a dream come true for me. While I do miss collaboration on ideas with co-workers, I enjoy the solitude.

Some points to understand my perspective at this time:

The business is the sole source of income for my household. No backup plan existed when the operation was started in 2008. The only other option for me was finding employment if my little venture initially failed. In my mind that was not reasonable. I was determined to make it succeed.
Being free from under the employment of others is the most valuable accomplishment for my business—the ability to take control of my career and direct it in any manner I want. There is nothing that tops this. I would literally opt for working an 80 hour week for myself than a 40 hour week for someone else.
I do not subcontract for other companies in my industry.
I have no desire to take on personnel. With a few exceptions, the infrastructure I have in place can be controlled from a laptop computer with an Internet connection. I still meet with clients and go on-site occasionally. Overall, I work best alone.
I would rather be left by myself with no infrastructure than be directed by someone else while being provided salary, bonuses, and benefits—leave me alone and let me go my own way. The most success in my life has come when I made my own decisions and set my own goals.
The initial plan was survival and to stay self-employed. I wanted to build a foundation of clients and believed the revenue would follow. It did.

The above points are not the best foundation for success and can make running a business difficult, however, they fit my personality and work ethic. I feel that for what I lack in business savvy, I can make up for it with persistence to outwork anyone. My personality literally steered me into working for myself, and that has been a reality for quite some time.

I no longer desire the growth of my business other than an increase in revenue each coming year. This can be done by automating tasks and making each matter easier, freeing me up to take on more work than before. The revenue I have generated each year is more than sufficient to meet my expectations and goals. I do fend off prospective work to keep it manageable, sending prospective clients to friendly competitors. But yet I still take on too much, which is a side effect of truly enjoying working with those who hire me.

So, the following are my top 5 takeaways from my venture thus far.

#1 - I have never worked harder than I do now.

Working hard doesn’t always mean I am working well. I cover at least 60 hours a week, and sometimes many more when I am totally overwhelmed. Because I am the only client-facing person for the company, I take anything that comes in from the outside. However, each hour will not be billable work. My time falls into either directly billed to the client, maintenance on the business (admin), or working on making my life easier—this one can be ironic because I put in even more time to accomplish that task, but it is required.

Like in many businesses, my day is a barrage of strikes that require me to be on my toes:

Calls on prospective matters – My work differs on each case that is brought my way. Clients that call on a new matter will provide me general information on what their case is about, where I try to figure out how I may be able to help. This takes non-billable time and if I am not the right person to assist, I then find them someone who can. On many calls, I will be asked about an electronic storage location for which I am not familiar, and the client is hoping to collect data from that system. I may have to do some research to know I can do the work correctly. Some of this may be billable time, yet most of it will not. I do not want to get involved in a matter that is outside of my abilities.
Requests on current matters – Most of the cases for which I am employed may take a year (or many years!) from my first involvement. These cases carry on and may require my assistance after months where I haven’t heard from the client. I may receive a call in the middle of the day while I am working on another unrelated matter, where I am suddenly questioned about work performed months before. Sometimes I can remember off the top of my head, however many times I request a few minutes to go over any notes or look at data before answering their question. I know my answers may direct their case strategy, so I want to provide the best information. This process interrupts the work on the case for which I was working before the call, and it forces me to shift gears in the middle of the day. It’s not easy for me.
Problems that arise – Not necessarily mistakes (but sometimes yes, though), something has popped up that needs my immediate attention. An opposing expert may have seen something and interpreted it differently than I did, or simply files that I provided for review cannot be opened. These aren’t a daily occurrence for me and I have learned that if I make a mistake, clients can be very forgiving and just need an explanation—they do take into account their work with me over the years. However, if the mistakes start piling up, the client may lose confidence in my work. They may not say this to me, but it is there. I may be walking through a minefield, so I drop everything when problems arise and give them all of my attention. Providing a solution or an explanation may take time, yet it is so valuable in keeping a good business relationship.
Admin tasks that pop up – An unknown person from an accounting department may call and request a W-9 so they can issue a check. I need to QC my invoices before sending them out. Checking my evidence inventory and making sure I know where everything is located. One of my machines received a Windows update and suddenly some of my software tools do not function, requiring hours of troubleshooting. A client needs me to redraft an invoice in a manner that suits their case requirements, and they need it now. Items like these pop up each day—many during a time where I am in the middle of tasks that require focused attention.

Multiple points of the above list occur daily. On very special days, they all seem to show up!

#2 - My clients mean everything to me.

I love my clients. The best education, skills, tools, and experience mean nothing to a business if there exists no client base paying for a product or services. They are the lifeblood of a small company.

I have a few law firms for which I have worked for over 20 years and they keep coming back with more projects. I love the filtered customer base I have slowly created and I truly want to provide them the best service I can. Being told by a past boss that “business is about relationships” never sunk in until I was out on my own. The clients have their own lives outside of work, with family, finances, and goals just like myself. The last thing I want them to do is worry after hours about my role in their case.

These firms and their people bring business without me even requesting it. It just keeps coming, where I do my best to provide the best service I can—it can be a lot of work. The projects come to me based on previous engagements, supporting the familiar phrase “a good product sells itself”. I am told the words “call David” come up in meetings. I cannot think of a better scenario for my company.

My most-prized moment in running a small business is the return client. “David, I have another matter for you” are words that cannot be replaced as an affirmation that my business is functioning well. I instantly find myself in an upbeat mood after these calls.

#3 - I am the business.

Clients do not hire my computer forensics company. They hire me. I have built a background, experience, and a process built around me and my personality. And this is what they hire. I know this because I have had a number of them ask “what is the name of your company?”—after working for them for years. That says it enough.

I have computers, storage, and some of the best tools that can be bought for my work, but any company can do that. I cannot easily be replaced in my business, and my clients hire me for who I am and how I personally work with them. This requires me to be the expert they expect me to be.

I market my work to law firms (and their clients) where it is known they will only be working with me, placing this in the text on the front page of my company website. This point can be very valuable, as many customers do not want to hear from the project manager on their matter. They want to hear from the person who has hands on the client data. On the other hand, being the only person can be very difficult for me as my phone and email never stop. I rarely have a day where I am not doing some type of work for the business. On many Fridays I will notify clients that I am not answering calls or email through the weekend, allowing me some quiet time to catch up.

#4 - Discipline and fitness are not optional.

Each day I wake up and go at it. I am on a mission to bring in revenue and it only comes in if I put in the work, requiring me to have priorities in line. Motivation has never been an issue, as I work best when pressed. My current scenario presses me because I am relied upon for our household income, and revenue only arrives if I am working for clients. This is an easy scenario for which to respond with energy.

My mind and body have to be in good shape. Stress is a killer, and it wears on me as I grow older. Nothing rips my physical health apart more than stress. Some hectic days result in the next morning feeling as if I am a high school sophomore on an August morning after my first football practice. The better shape I am in, the better I can deal with stress.

I run, lift weights, and go for walks. In 2019, my wife and I took on the expense of a Peloton bike, which has been a gift sent from Heaven. I have to stay in decent shape for the quality of my work and because my clients expect someone sharp. That is done through fitness.

If I cannot figure out a problem, I may go for a run or at least a walk for a few miles. My workouts drain me but in a good way. They keep me prepared for the rough times.

#5 - I need help with admin tasks, and I get that help from my wife.

Let me be completely honest before finishing my list.

Without my wife, I would be sunk or forced to hire help. She truly has been an invaluable part of this venture. So, in reality, I am not truly running a one-person business. I am just the only person in view of the client base. My wife is the backbone of two of the most important tasks: Managing the finances and corporate record keeping. She takes care of items that would further bog me down in non-billable tasks.

Many businesses fail because they fall into legal and/or financial troubles. When my business was started the first two items on the task list were hiring an attorney and an accountant. Things happen, and legal and financial issues can sink a revenue stream quickly. My wife handles the corporate admin tasks required freeing me up to stay focused. She is the best.

Where does this go?

Much like a Thanksgiving Dinner being devoured in minutes after hours of prep, a computer forensics business takes hours of research, admin, maintenance, and improvements. This all to charge clients for a much smaller amount of time.

My top 5 takeaways in the coming years may be different than what is listed above. The industry in which I work didn’t change much over my first 15 years or so, however, in the last few it seems to have morphed a bit. I have tinkered with small changes in how I do my work with some success, but for the most part, I don’t make major changes to a process that works. I seemed to have found a sweet spot around 2013 and it has held up to the routine beating it takes.

David Stenhouse DS Forensics, Inc. Data Mutz datamutz

Quoted in Computerworld, Laptop Magazine, Businessweek, and numerous other print and online news outlets, David Stenhouse brings 20+ years of computer forensics experience working with law firms and corporate clients. He is currently President of DS Forensics, Inc..

A former Special Agent in the U. S. Secret Service and Trooper with the Washington State Patrol, he is now so blessed to spend each day running a business with his best friend—high school sweetheart and wife, Shay.

Follow David on Twitter @datamutz.