How to Set up a Genealogy Business

culled from:wikihow.com

If you enjoy family tree research and have considered providing genealogy services to others, you may want to set up your own genealogy business. Setting up a genealogy business differs from setting up any other small business only in the type of service you provide to prospective clients. Although you are assisting others in finding out their family histories, you are still running a business and need to approach doing the work as a businessperson. Here are steps to take to set up a genealogy business.

Steps

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Establish your credentials as a professional genealogist. Having a credential behind your name will give you added legitimacy in running a genealogy business. You can establish your credentials through one of several methods:

• Through a college or genealogy school. Universities such as Brigham Young University in Utah, Boston University, or the University of Washington offer either degree or certificate programs in genealogy, as does the IHGS in Great Britain. Akami University in Hawaii offers an online program in genealogical studies, or you may be able to find a program at a local community college.
• Through home study. The National Genealogical Society (NGS) offers a self-paced home study course on CD that you can either grade yourself on or be graded by professional genealogists.
• Through attending genealogy seminars and conferences. The NGS puts on a 4-day-long Family History Conference; the Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS), the Association of Professional Genealogists (APG), and the Utah Genealogical Association also host annual genealogical conferences. Other seminars are put on by colleges, such as Alabama's Samford University, or by government agencies, such as the National Archives. Your local library may also host genealogical seminars from time to time. All provide opportunities to learn about genealogical resources, get advice on establishing or improving a genealogy business, and network with other genealogists.
• Through certification. Organizations such as the International Commission for the Accreditation of Professional Genealogists (ICAPGen) or the Board for Certification of Genealogists (BCG) certify genealogists who meet their standards.

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   Join a professional genealogical society. Joining societies such as the APG, FGS, or NGS, as well as your local or state genealogical society will provide you with additional resources for starting up and running your genealogy business, as well as additional networking opportunities.
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   Determine what your specialties are. Genealogical research requires knowledge of a number of different resources, such as census records, cemetery records, courthouse records, plat maps, and histories of the areas in which a person's ancestors live, as well as skills such as indexing, abstracting, and deciphering handwriting. As you become familiar with these resources, you will develop an affinity for certain areas of genealogical research over others, and these are the areas you can specialize in.
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   Develop a business plan. As stated above, your genealogy business is a business and requires you to develop a plan as to the clientele you will serve and how you plan to market your services to prospective clients. Prospective clients can range from casual dabblers in genealogy to those serious about their family history and even other professional genealogists. You need to determine which markets you can serve best and how to approach them.
   • Part of your business plan should include learning who the other professional genealogists in your area are, both to know who your competitors are and to know which genealogists provide services you don't so you can subcontract work you don't do to them and vice versa.
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   Develop your writing and speaking skills. Writing about genealogy is one way to build a reputation for you and your genealogy business. You can write for genealogical publications, other magazines, and the Internet. In writing about genealogy, you need to develop a clear, engaging style. As you gain more recognition for your published work, you will be invited to speak at genealogy conferences and other events.
   • Genealogical publications include the National Genealogical Society Quarterly and the APG Quarterly. In these publications, researchers present case studies that describe their research methods and how they solved problems in finding the information they needed for their research.
   • Other magazines you can write for include history magazines and other general-interest magazines that relate to your genealogical research. For example, if your research turns up an instance of several members of a family dying from diphtheria in the same year, you may want to write about that outbreak of diphtheria in the community after researching it further.
   • You can write about genealogy for the Internet either as a blogger or as an electronic journalist for an organization such as Examiner.com. You can maintain a blog for your genealogy business' website or blog for a group such as geneabloggers.com, which provides you with an audience of other genealogy bloggers.
   • To develop your writing skills, you can join a writing group in your area, where other writers can read your writing and offer suggestions for improvement. To develop your public speaking skills, you can join a local Toastmasters group; larger cities may support several such groups.
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   Use the Web. Having a website for your genealogy business is important to provide prospective clients with a list of your services and give them a sense of the kind of businessperson and researcher you are. To direct others to that website, however, you also need to use the right keywords to optimize your website for online searches. You can also use social media such as Facebook and Twitter to market your services or set up a wiki if you have compiled a large amount of research to share with other genealogists.
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   Consider the services of a genealogical consultant. Genealogy has reached a level of popularity where some professional genealogists have moved from researching family histories to offering their experiences to other genealogists as consultants to help them set up their genealogy businesses. Consultants may offer expertise in website design, blogging, marketing, and other aspects for a set period of time or in an ongoing relationship as a business coach.