How many of you could use some further training to enhance your personal history skills? I know I can!

Whether you’re starting out or well established,  here’s a select list of sites that can help.  I’ve combed the Internet to bring you some of the best…Read more.

If I were able to go back to when I began as a personal historian, what’s the best advice I could give myself? Here’s what I’d say…Read more.

It might seem odd to include a Christmas item in this Monday’s Link Roundup, but be sure to check out 25 years of Christmas. It’s a touching home movie compilation of one family and the changes over a quarter of a century. For the bibliophile in your life,  have a look at Top 10 Gifts for the Bibliophile. You’ll find some very whimsical gift ideas.

• Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases. “It has become something of a literary cliché to bash the thesaurus, or at the very least, to warn fellow writers that it is a book best left alone. Some admonitions might be blunt, others wistful, as with Billy Collins musing on his rarely opened thesaurus. But beyond the romantic anthropomorphizing of words needing to break free from “the warehouse of Roget,” what of Collins’ more pointed criticism, that “there is no/such thing as a synonym”? That would suggest that the whole enterprise of constructing a thesaurus is predicated on a fiction.”

• Should You Open a Personal History Business? “Are you looking to go into business for yourself but having difficulty choosing the type of business to open? Have you previously worked as a writer, editor, storyteller, or are you a history buff? Do you love talking with new people? Opening a personal history business may be perfect for you! In fact, even if you haven’t worked as a personal historian before, you may already have the transferable skills to run a successful business in this rapidly expanding industry. For example, excellent communication skills and being adaptable to new situations are qualities that will help you as a personal historian.”

• Microsoft Builds a Browser for Your Past. “Mining personal data to discover what people care about has become big business for companies such as Facebook and Google. Now a project from Microsoft Research is trying to bring that kind of data mining back home to help people explore their own piles of personal digital data.”

• How to Write Headlines That Work. “Your headline is the first, and perhaps only, impression you make on a prospective reader. Without a headline or post title that turns a browser into a reader, the rest of your words may as well not even exist.”

• Native Tongues. “The scene is a mysterious one, beguiling, thrilling, and, if you didn’t know better, perhaps even a bit menacing. According to the time-enhanced version of the story, it opens on an afternoon in the late fall of 1965, when without warning, a number of identical dark-green vans suddenly appear and sweep out from a parking lot in downtown Madison, Wisconsin…The drivers and passengers who manned the wagons were volunteers bent to one overarching task: that of collecting America’s other language. They were being sent to more than a thousand cities, towns, villages, and hamlets to discover and record, before it became too late and everyone started to speak like everybody else, the oral evidence of exactly what words and phrases Americans in those places spoke, heard, and read, out in the boondocks and across the prairies, down in the hollows and up on the ranges, clear across the great beyond and in the not very long ago.”

• Top 10 Gifts for the Bibliophile.  “The classic bibliophile collects and treasures books, it’s a person who makes them an important part of their lives. This may sound all too familiar; you may consider yourself one or perhaps it just describes someone you know. Today, we take a look at 10 gifts that were made for that person. In fact, they’re sweet and clever gifts that the reader in all of us can enjoy.”

• 25 years of Christmas. [Video] “Every year, our dad would tape us coming down the stairs. This is a compilation of all the videos I could find. Relatives and pets grow up and disappear, and new extended family members appear in their place. The song is “Christmas Time is Here”, played by Vince Guaraldi”

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When I  launched my first business venture as a documentary filmmaker over 30 years ago, I wish I knew then what I know now. It would have saved me a lot of grief. I’m older and “somewhat” wiser now and hope that these lessons learned from the trenches will be of help to you.

Here are 10 mistakes to avoid.

1. No savings.

Don’t do what I did. I catapulted myself into the world of independent documentary filmmaking without a dime in the bank. It was gutsy but unwise. I spent several years, desperate and struggling.  Getting a personal history business up and running is going to take at least a year or two of hard effort. Give yourself some peace of mind by knowing that those lean years are covered by your savings. You’ll sleep better at night. 

2. Not charging what your worth.

Lowering your rates in the hopes of landing a contract is a recipe for failure. Once you’ve set low rates, it’s hard to increase them.  You’ll end up not making enough income to support yourself. Overworked and burned out, you’ll eventually give up. Remember you’re a professional with years of experience. Being underpaid does nothing for your self-esteem and nothing for your business.

3. Choosing the wrong business partner.

This is another mistake I made. I spent too much of my emotional energy resenting the fact that my partner wasn’t carrying a fair share of the business load. After a year I got out of the partnership and never looked back. Don’t get me wrong, a business partner can be a great asset but choose wisely.  Look for someone who shares your values and can assist you in areas where you’re deficient.

4. No contract.

You don’t have to produce a “door stopper” legal document. But minimally you need a letter of agreement to avoid complications.  The agreement include a project description, fees, timelines,  and terms of payment.

5. Failing to say ‘no’.

When you’re starting out, it’s tough to say ‘no’ to a low paying job or to say ‘no’ to a troublesome client. You reason that working for something is better than nothing. But time spent laboring for ‘peanuts’ means missed opportunities to land some major contracts. And just because you’re starting out, doesn’t mean you have to  suffer the “client from hell”.

For more on saying ‘no’ check out my previous article The Power of “No”.

6. Doing everything.

I’ll admit I still tend to try and do everything. And part of that is okay. What I like about being a personal historian is that I get to wear different hats.  But  doing everything becomes counterproductive when you take on tasks for which you have little skill. For example, I’m not adept at bookkeeping which is why I have an accountant. And while I love graphic design and have a reasonably good eye, I would always hire a designer for a major book project.

Play to your strengths and hire out to manage your shortcomings.

7. Failing to keep detailed records.

Throwing receipts into a shoe box and then hauling them out at tax time is no way to run a business. I’ve done that! You need to keep an electronic record of your income and expenses on a monthly basis. This not only gives you a means of assessing the health of your enterprise but also provides  accurate records for your tax return.

8. Not putting money aside for taxes.

I know from experience this can be tough. If you’re barely able to pay your bills, setting aside money for the tax man seems like a non-starter. But getting to the end of the year and finding you have a tax bill of several thousand dollars and not a penny to spare is devastating. It can lead to bankruptcy or giving up your dream to take a  job to pay your taxes.

9. Failure to devote enough time to marketing.

Most personal historians I know would rather be cast off on an ice floe than market their business.  Including me. But the truth is that unless people know you exist, they won’t be able to hire you. And your business will fail.

The start up for any business requires extra marketing effort. This means more than putting up a web site, printing business cards, and sending out a press release. The trick is to get out of your office and go where you’re clients are likely to be found.

Here are some previous articles I’ve written that you might find useful:

• 5 Tips to Overcoming Your Marketing Blues.
• How to Retain Clients Who Can’t Afford You.
• #1 Secret to Getting More Clients.
• The Introvert’s 12 Step Plan for Painless Networking.
• Attention Introverts! You Can Market Successfully.
• 25 No Cost or Low Cost Marketing Ideas for Your Personal History Business.
• Are You Doing a Good Job of Conveying the Value of Personal Histories?
• Lousy at Getting Referrals? Here’s Some Help.
• Are You Using Storytelling to Promote Your Personal History Service?
• The #1Thing You Can Do to Jump Start Your Marketing. 
• 5 Essential Marketing Approaches You Need for a Successful Personal History Business.

10. Pretending to be something you’re not.

When you’re starting out, it’s natural to feel vulnerable. You worry that people won’t take you seriously if they know you’re a one-person operation. So there’s a temptation to create a “corporate” identity that projects an image of “we” rather than “I”.   But honesty is the best policy. It builds trust. In today’s world of box stores and indifferent mega corporations, your strength is the personal, caring attention you bring to your clients. Be proud to be a solopreneur!

Also, don’t pretend you’re multi-talented if you’re not. If your cash flow is drying up, it’s tempting to take on a lucrative project even though you’ve little or no expertise to pull it off successfully. You’ll end up with disappointed clients and bruised self-esteem.

Conclusion

Avoiding these mistakes won’t guarantee success. But they’ll make your start up more enjoyable and less likely to fail.

What are some of the lessons you’ve learned the hard way? Please share them. Your experience will benefit all those newcomers to the personal history business.

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Photo by mischelle

Related articles

• The 3 Keys to a Successful Personal History Business. (dancurtis.ca)
• 8 Ways To Make Your Business Stand Out From the Crowd. (dancurtis.ca)

This is my third annual listing of the best personal history blogs of the year.

I’ve been tougher in my selection this year. Blogs that were either “missing in action” or were visually unappealing or had weak content didn’t make the cut.

My criteria for selection is based on the qualities I wrote about in What Everybody Ought to Know About a Successful Blog. Briefly these are:

• Frequent posts.
• Consistency.
• Personal.
• Short and scannable articles.
• Uncluttered.
• Use of graphics, photographs, and video.
  
• Catchy headlines.
• Generous and useful content.

This year there are two newcomers to the list: Beth LaMie’s One Story at a Time and  Sarah White’s True Stories Well Told.

Special mention also goes to three blogs that show what good personal history blogging can be. If you’re not on this year’s list, check these out for inspiration.  The owners know their audience, write great content, post  frequently and consistently, and create a visually appealing format.  Kudos to The Heart and Craft of Life Writing, Women’s Memoirs, and True Stories Well Told.

Without further ado, here are the top eight personal history blogs for 2011, ranked in alphabetical order.  Congratulations to everyone.  Drum role, please!

• The Heart and Craft of Life Writing. Owner Sharon Lippincott describes herself as  “…passionate about all forms of life writing, especially memoir and journaling.”

• Legacy Multimedia blog. Owner Stefani Twyford says that on her blog “you will read about my passion for personal history, filmmaking techniques, genealogy, and related topics. I will veer off onto other topics from time to time but always come back to the things that make my work and my life a joy.”

• Memoir Mentor. Owner Dawn Thurston says, “My blog is an attempt to participate in the larger community of people interested in life story writing of all kinds and perhaps help a few people persevere in writing their stories.”

• The Memoir Writer’s Blog. Owner Denis Ledoux describes his blog as “helping people write family and personal stories…”

• One Story at a Time.  Owner Beth LaMie says, “I hope you find my stories of interest, especially if you want to write some of your own family stories.”

• True Stories Well Told.  Owner Sarah White says, “Here’s where I share the thoughts I might bring up for class discussion. Here’s where I post the writings of my fearless, peerless, workshop participants. Here’s where I share stories from my own life, as well as my pet peeves, pointers, and personal observations. I hope to create the atmosphere you find in my classrooms.”

• Video Biography Central. Owner Jane Lehmann-Shafron describes her blog as a place for “Advice, essays, samples and inspiration for people interested in preserving their personal and family history through video biography, memorial video, life story and genealogy video.”

• Women’s Memoirs. Owners Matilda Butler and Kendra Bonnet have put together a wealth of information that includes writing prompts, book reviews, and more. Women’s Memoirs is not strictly speaking a personal history site but there’s a lot of useful material  here for anyone involved in personal histories.

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Photo by Jackie

1. The 50 Best Life Story Questions.
2. 25 No Cost or Low Cost Marketing Ideas for Your Personal History Business.
3. How Much Should You Pay a Personal Historian?
4. 15 Great Memoirs Written by Women.
5. 5 Top Sites for Free Online Videography Training.
6. The Top 3 Prosumer HD Camcorders Under $2,500.
7. How to Boost Your Interviewing Skills.
8. Three Crucial Steps to Starting Your Personal History Business.
9. 5 Print-On-Demand Sites You’ll Want to Consider.
10. 12 Top Rated Family Tree Makers.

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]]> http://dancurtis.ca/2011/12/21/my-top-10-posts-of-2011/feed/ 1 dancurtis top10 http://dancurtis.ca/2011/12/15/encore-the-1-secret-to-a-successful-life-story-interview/ http://dancurtis.ca/2011/12/15/encore-the-1-secret-to-a-successful-life-story-interview/#comments Thu, 15 Dec 2011 17:20:18 +0000 Dan Curtis http://dancurtis.ca/?p=7991 Continue reading →]]>

Picture this. You sit down to conduct a personal history interview. You pull out your voice recorder and your client looks stricken. You reassure her that there’s no need to worry and ask your first question. She looks at the floor and gives a brief two or three word response.  It doesn’t get any better. It feels as though your “pulling teeth”. Beads of perspiration break out on your forehead. You finish the interview and leave for home, tired and discouraged.

What went wrong?… Read more.

That’s the question I was asked one day by a personal history client.   I muttered something about being too busy and feebly joked about not being able to afford it. As a professional personal historian, it wasn’t my best moment. Why should anyone hire me if I didn’t believe enough in life stories to do my own?

I think as professionals we need to “walk-the-talk”. Would you hire an interior decorator who was uninterested in his own home’s appearance? What about the professional organizer who tells you she never has time to organize her own office? The chances are you’d probably have second thoughts about hiring them.

If we haven’t had our life story told, we can’t  talk about the experience in a personal and authentic manner.  Imagine, on the other hand, what a powerful selling point to be able to enthusiastically share with a potential client the rewards of having had your own life story documented.

I have a modest proposal. If you’re a professional personal historian and haven’t  had your life story told, here’s what to do:

• Hire a personal historian to do your life story if you can afford the time and the money.
• If your finances are low, find a fellow personal historian who’s starting out and needs some experience and product to show. Consider a barter arrangement. For your assistance through the process that person produces a life story for you.
• If you’re new to the business and can’t afford to hire a personal historian, do your own writing with the help of books such as How to Write Your Own Life Story, Legacy : A Step-By-Step Guide to Writing Personal History, or Living Legacies: How to Write, Illustrate and Share Your Life Stories

I wonder how many other professional personal historians out there have never had their life stories told? Am I the only one?

Photo by Amarand Agasi

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