My Visibility is My Business

One woman’s strong sense of self-belief is the foundation of a successful company where the modus operandi is minding other people’s business.

Words by: Catherine Murray

It was 1996 when Julia Hartley Moore quietly began investigating the private lives and public lies of spouses under suspicion. Her company Arbeth & Co., Limited now plays a major role in bringing all truths to the surface, not only in cases of infidelity but also in fraud, missing persons, birth parent searches and employee malpractice. As a female with no police background, Julia’s entrance onto the scene disturbed the historical contour of a male-dominated industry. “I had a meeting with a couple of private investigators because I thought I should probably find out a bit about the industry,” recalls Julia. “I was just told blankly that I couldn’t do it – you had to have a police background. To this day I’m not particularly recognised amongst the other guys out there. But then it just goes to show if you’re determined and you believe in yourself then you can do anything, because it wasn’t easy.”
As with any new venture, Julia’s challenge was to bring attention to her business, an ironic concept given the type of work she undertook. “There are a lot of private investigators out there,” she admits. “But being a girl – and it doesn’t hurt to be a bit glam – I got noticed, and I used every bit of advertising as my marketing. Whereas again I was told you can’t do this, you can’t do that, I thought if you’re clever and structure your business around it you can do anything. My visibility is my business.”
At the time some people questioned the future of a private investigator who had just blown her cover. However, it was a deliberate move by Julia, who made business decisions that allowed her to continue being in the public eye. Concentrating on other areas such as negotiations and extortion, Julia hired ex-police to take over the surveillance work. Julia’s television series, Private Investigators then hit the small screen, and over the past 15 years she has made many other local and international appearances on television and radio, and as a motivational speaker. Julia also adds ‘author’ to her armoury, writing the best sellers Julia Moore P.I., Infidelity: Exploding the Myths and Suddenly Single.