best teacher and the skills required can be learned: interviewing, writing, editing, marketing and sales, etc. Anyone willing to learn and work hard can have their personal history business up and running within three months.
• You are on the cusp of an industry that’s still young and has limitless potential. Now is the time to establish yourself as an expert and “catch the wave.”
2. Is This Right for You?
Here are some considerations when deciding if a personal history business is the right business for you.
2.1 Work preferences
You may have taken a career assessment quiz that identifies your core personality traits as they apply to an ideal career. Some of these quizzes determine whether you’re better suited to a job that deals primarily with people, information, or ideas. I think a personal historian has to want to deal with all of them. Here are the traits essential to a personal historian:
2.1a People-oriented
From my own experience and from what I’ve observed, a personal historian must definitely enjoy dealing with people. From the moment you first discuss a project, you establish a relationship with your client that could last a couple of years. And, people being human, a relationship has its ups and downs. Any relationship requires sensitivity, empathy and compromise. The client and business-owner relationship takes that to a whole new level.
2.1b Information-oriented
A personal historian must also like gathering information. This is done primarily through firsthand accounts from your client, but you will also find yourself doing a lot of research. Having an interest in and knowledge of history is essential. Also essential is an attention to detail, not only in the stories you’ll be recording, but in the finished product. If you’re creating a product that you want to last for generations, you need to make sure it’s letter perfect by checking facts and figures, proofreading diligently, and working with subcontractors for quality control.
2.1c Idea-oriented
A personal historian’s work involves a lot of creativity. As you listen to your clients’ stories, you’ll be thinking of how to make the stories as interesting and meaningful as possible. When it comes to editing and organizing the material, you’ll be shaping the whole manuscript into a flowing narrative, thinking of how all the puzzle pieces fit together or how you could give the story more impact by structuring it this way or that way. Even if you hire a graphic designer to execute your ideas, it’s up to you to provide the creative vision of the finished product. Of course, you can let your imagination soar as you think of all the ways to preserve history in any format.
2.2 Financial circumstances
Assuming you’re working from home and you have a spouse, partner, and/or children, it’s important that everyone understands how important your business is to you. Ideally, they will be in full support and encourage you. If not, you have some challenges ahead, but they’re not insurmountable.
If you’re employed outside the home now, try to lay the groundwork for your business before you quit, and make a realistic plan for finally kissing that job goodbye and doing what you want to do. Start saving now. If you’re laid off and get a severance package, get some advice from an accountant or financial planner about how much you can safely put aside for your business start-up. The beauty of a personal history business is that there can be very little start-up cost. But you still want to have some cash put away for those rainy days when you have no clients on the horizon and the basement starts leaking.
As in any business, it may be a while before you start to see a tidy profit. There will be a learning curve where you might not be charging as much as you will once you’ve got some experience and a reputation. If a partner or spouse can carry you through lean times, great. But if you’re on your own or you need to contribute to the household cash flow, you might want to have an alternate income stream or at least a financial cushion. You’ll spend money on a leap of faith and tell yourself it’s an investment, not an expense (you’ve heard that one before, right?). That’s true, but there will be times when you might feel guilty and foolish for “wasting” your family’s money. My advice: Don’t!
It took me a long time to realize that in order to make money you have to spend money. I think this is a misguided mindset of a first-time businessperson. After decades of having everything supplied to you by an employer — paper, pens, computers with all the bells and whistles, and a technician to do the upgrades — one day you’re looking around for some staples and you realize you have to go and buy them! When I was starting out, I told myself I wouldn’t spend any money until I got my first client. I passed up the chance to attend a personal historian conference because I wasn’t making any money yet and it seemed like such an extravagance. It was expensive, but I’m convinced that had I gone, I would have learned so much and made valuable connections; it would have been a very wise investment. I would have really kick-started my business, rather than having it cough and choke as it sputtered to life.
If you’re leaving a job and a regular salary, there will be some financial sacrifices for a while. If you have a spouse or partner, have a frank and open discussion about finances; about your initial investment in your business, your goals, and what the next steps are if you don’t meet them. The key is to set realistic expectations, set your priorities, tighten the household belt, and (keeping the analogy) buckle down and work hard to meet your goals.
If you have children, explain to them what having your own business means to you and why you’re doing it. The belt-tightening might mean they don’t get the latest and greatest gadget, or that Mom or Dad has to work late. Kids are far more resilient than we give them credit for, and the lessons you teach them by building your own business will stay with them throughout their lives, long after the latest gadget gives out! Involve them in helping you set up your office or doing some simple tasks. If they’re older, you can increase their responsibilities and pay them hourly (or even a salary). Check with your tax accountant for the implications of adding any part-time employees.
2.2a Working at home
Get everyone to pitch in to help keep the house running smoothly. Try to set aside blocks of time when you cannot be interrupted — an office with a door is a wonderful thing!
Working at home is, I think, the best of both worlds, especially if you have children. When your children are young, you can be there for them when they need you, and you just never know when they’re going to need you. Kids’ needs can’t be scheduled. Try as best you can to juggle things during these precious years. Ask for help when you need it. Take a break. Compartmentalize. When you’re working, focus on that and that alone. When you’re with your children, forget work.
The drawback to working at home is that the lines get blurred between work and home life. It’s up to you to set limits.
2.3 Times of trial and tribulation
If you’re in the middle of a major life change, like a divorce, moving house or renovating, having a baby, coping with a medical crisis, or caring for an elderly parent or grandparent, it’s going to be very difficult to handle everything unless you have some kind of superpower. Running your own business takes an extraordinary amount of commitment, time, discipline, and sacrifice. The laundry will pile up. Friends will get brief emails instead of lengthy lunches. With some help and understanding, those things can wait. A seriously ill child or parent (or you!) cannot. Be realistic about how far you can stretch yourself at this particular time in your life.
2.4 Lifestyle considerations
Decide whether this is a part-time business or a full-time business. Think realistically about how many hours you want to work, realizing that much of the time you spend “working” will