Monthly Archives: September 2010

From The Archives: How to Interview Someone with Dementia.

How to Interview Someone with Dementia. Over the years I’ve  interviewed individuals with dementia brought about by Alzheimer’s or small cerebral strokes. What I’ve learned I felt might be of value to those of you facing a similar challenge of interviewing someone with dementia. Keep in mind that in advanced stages of Alzheimer’s it is virtually impossible to conduct an interview. Here then are my suggestions: Be flexible with your interview schedule. Your interviewee might have days w … Read More

What Gardening Can Teach You About Growing Your Business.

Do you want your business to grow? Then why not apply some basic gardening know-how to your enterprise?

It’s  harvest time here in Canada.  And I have a bumper tomato crop. Well, it’s just one pot but it’s outdone itself. It got me thinking that running a business is not unlike  nurturing a garden.

Choose appropriate plants.

Experienced gardeners know that to grow the healthiest plants they need to select varieties that suit the local climate. How do you select your clients?

  • Aim your marketing at those who need your service. There’s no point in wasting time and money going after clients who have little interest in your product or service. Take the time to  research carefully who your potential clients are and where you’re likely to find them.  If you’re a personal historian, one of your client groups will be older people wanting to leave a legacy for their children or grandchildren. Another group will likely be parents  who want a record of Grandma or Grandpa’s story to pass on to their children.

Fertilize.

Every garden needs an appropriate amount of good organic fertilizer to replenish the soil and ensure long-term growth. What are you doing to fertilize your business? What would you add to my list?

  • Conferences. A good conference is invigorating. It connects you to new people and ideas.
  • Courses and workshops. These are great ways to learn how to  enhance your business skills.
  • Downtime. It can be a mini-break in the day for exercise or meditation or a longer absence such as a vacation or sabbatical. Whatever you decide, downtime is an important way to nourish you and your business.
  • Networking. Getting out and meeting people is one of the tried and true methods of growing your business.

Dig out the weeds.

If you let the weeds overrun your garden, they soon sap the strength of your plants and in some cases kill them. What weeds are growing in your business? What others would you add to my list?

  • clients from hell
  • unorganized filing systems
  • time-sucking distractions like daytime TV or social networking
  • lethargy
  • scattered or non-existent marketing plans

Watering.

Not all  plants need the same amount of water. Over or under-watering can be the downfall of many a gardener. Here are some examples of over-watering or under-watering a business. What are your examples?

  • Over-watering. Overwhelming potential clients with too much marketing, e.g. fliers, e-mails, telephone solicitations, and newsletters.
  • Under-watering. Failure to acknowledge the person who sent you a referral or not sending former clients a greeting at special times of the year like Christmas or birthdays.

With patience and good gardening practices you can better your chances of growing a flourishing business. How’s your garden growing?

Photo by Ajith Kumar

Monday’s Link Roundup.

In this Monday’s Link Roundup be sure to check out find stillness to cure the illness.  It’s about taking time to stop and be mindful. Altogether now… breathing in slowly… and breathing out slowly… Don’t you feel better already? ;)

Top 5 Most Unique Family Trees. “While I love any well-designed Family Tree, I especially adore the more modern versions that add a little uniqueness to the time-tested keepsake. So whether you’re looking for a way to visually express your family ties or for a special gift (like for a new baby, perhaps!), here are some beautiful and unique Family Trees.”

Highlights from the World of Visual Storytelling, Part 1. “…if visual storytelling in graphic novels is growing, it is also growing in numerous other manifestations and venues. Here’s a partial sampling from the last several months; look for Part 2 of this post on Oct. 10.”

Graphics Atlas. “…a new online resource that brings sophisticated print identification and characteristic exploration tools to archivists, curators, historians, collectors, conservators, educators, and the general public.”

Goodbye, cruel words: English. It’s dead to me.“The English language, which arose from humble Anglo-Saxon roots to become the lingua franca of 600 million people worldwide and the dominant lexicon of international discourse, is dead. It succumbed last month at the age of 1,617 after a long illness. It is survived by an ignominiously diminished form of itself.” [Thanks to Paula Stahel of  Breath and Shadows Productions for alerting me to this item.]

Ancestorville. “… a genealogy web site with more than 4,000 lost family photographs, antique paper, and identified genealogy antiques for sale. The site has identified more than 10,000 surnames amongst the items available for sale.”

Important Slavery Collection Goes Online. “The New-York Historical Society  has announced the launch of a new online portal to nearly 12,000 pages of source materials documenting the history of slavery in the United States, the Atlantic slave trade and the abolitionist movement. Made readily accessible to the general public for the first time at www.nyhistory.org/slaverycollections,  these documents from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries represent fourteen of the most important collections in the library’s Manuscript Department.”

find stillness to cure the illness. “It’s a busy day, and you’re inundated by non-stop emails, text messages, phone calls, instant message requests, notifications, interruptions of all kinds.”

From The Archives: 7 Key Questions to Ask Before Transferring Your Video Tapes to DVD.

7 Key Questions to Ask Before Transferring Your Video Tapes to DVD. In a previous post I talked about the importance of protecting your family media treasures. I stressed the need to transfer your films and video tapes to a digital format. You can do this yourself if you have the equipment but if you don’t, there are numerous service providers who can help you. The problem arises when you try to decide how to choose the right company. Should you go with a local company or a large national chain? Does a more expens … Read More

via Dan Curtis ~ Professional Personal Historian

6 First-Class Short Run Printers.

Are you looking for a reliable, quality, short run printer? These six  all come highly recommended by my colleagues at the Association of Personal Historians.

If you have other printers that you’ve had a good experience with, let me know.  I’ll add their names to a future list.

Bookmobile

“In 2010 a book is no longer just a book. A book is a paperback, a hardcover, or, of course, an ebook. It needs to be in the form the reader wants it, when the reader wants it. As a publisher you see opportunity in this epochal change. As BookMobile, we see the vision we created in the ’90s being realized.”

Custom Museum Publishing

“Custom Museum Publishing specializes in the creative design, production and printing of full-color books, exhibit catalogs and marketing materials for artists, galleries, museums and historical societies. Located in beautiful mid-coast Maine, our newest printing technology makes your showcase-quality products affordable in either small or large quantities. In addition to perfect-bound and hard-bound books and exhibit catalogs, we offer calendars, note cards, post cards, brochures, and large-format signage.  We also offer experienced exhibit photography and copy editing.”

Family Heritage Publishers

“Utah Bookbinding Company is the binding division of Family Heritage Publishers.  It has been in continuous operation since its establishment in March 1952. It has been owned and operated by the same family since the beginning. It is the premiere library binding company serving the Intermountain West. Its experience is unsurpassed in the industry with employees having a collective experience of over 100 years.”

First Choice Books

“Book publishers, small publishing presses and independent authors who wish to self publish will find our self publishing  company affordable, trustworthy and dependable. Quotations are provided within 2 to 3 business days and a hardcopy proof within 2 weeks. Our high tech book printing equipment and experienced, friendly team of professionals will make your publishing experience enjoyable and informative.”

Friesen’s

“Our company will be successful only if our customers are successful.”  Those were the words of D.W. Friesen who started our company in 1907, in Altona, Manitoba. What started as a small confectionery store has grown to become one of Canada’s leading independent companies, specializing in book manufacturing and printing.”

Gorham Printing

“We are a Pacific Northwest book printer specializing in book design and book printing for self-published books. At Gorham Printing, it’s easy to turn your manuscript into a professional quality book. If you are looking for exceptional book design combined with quality book printing, you’ve come to the right place!”

Photo by John Biehler

Monday’s Link Roundup.

The highlight of this Monday’s Link Roundup is Danny and Annie. It’s a poignant and charming animated treatment of a couple’s years together. Do yourself a favor and watch it. You won’t be disappointed. For a simple, elegant way to view web pages check out Readability. I’m using it and it’s terrific.

  • Help Document the World’s Story on 10.10.10. “On October 10, 2010 (10.10.10), across the planet, documentary filmmakers, students, and inspired citizens will record the human experience over a 24-hour period and contribute their voice to the largest participatory media event in history.”
  • Danny and Annie from StoryCorps. A lovely animated short. “Danny Perasa and his wife, Annie, came to StoryCorps to recount their twenty-seven-year romance. As they remember their life together from their first date to Danny’s final days with terminal cancer, these remarkable Brooklynites personify the eloquence, grace, and poetry that can be found in the voices of everyday people when we take the time to listen.”
  • Readability™ . “…a simple tool that makes reading on the Web more enjoyable by removing the clutter around what you’re reading.”
  • Words Almost Everyone Mixes Up Or Mangles. “English is a Rubick’s cube of confusing possibilities, but the new book, “100 Words Almost Everyone Mixes Up Or Mangles” from the editors of the American Heritage Dictionary will set straight all the little linguistic hurdles that effect us, once and for all.” [ Thanks to APH member Marcy Davis for alerting me to this item.]
  • Free Genealogy Backup Service.BackUpMyTree, a free online backup service for your genealogy files, launched today. [September 13, 2010]After you install BackupMyTree software, … the software will automatically find family tree files on your computer. It creates a remote, off-site backup you can restore if necessary, and maintains multiple previous versions of your files.”

From The Archives: My Top 10 Picks for Royalty Free Photo Sites.

My Top 10 Picks for Royalty Free Photo Sites. I use royalty free images a lot in my work. My two favorite sources are  iStockphoto and Flickr Creative Commons.  I like iStockphoto because of the quality and variety of their images. I appreciate  the ease of using the site and the moderate cost. Flickr Creative Commons is a wellspring of member photos. There is no charge for the images and limited restrictions on their use. I highly recommend both. If you’re a braver person than I am, you mig … Read More

How to be Self-Employed and Stay Motivated.

When we are motivated by goals that have deep meaning, by dreams that need completion, by pure love that needs expressing, then we truly live life.
~ Greg Anderson

Most of my working life I’ve been self-employed, first as a documentary filmmaker and now as a personal historian.  There have been ups and downs but on the whole I’ve been able to stay motivated. What’s the secret? Here are the things that have worked for me.

Believe in what you’re doing.

This is crucial. If you’re not happy with what you’re working at, then it’s almost impossible to stay motivated. For me, I know that being a personal historian satisfies some of my deepest values. It’s something I wrote about  previously in Why Are You a Personal Historian?

Take a break from your work.

No matter how passionate you are about your work, your motivation will wane if you don’t take time off. Now it doesn’t have to be a month in Tahiti although that does sound enticing. I’m talking about something simpler – things like getting away from your computer for 15 to 20 minute breaks every hour or two, making sure to take a day for yourself at least once a week, and planning a major  holiday every year. I previously wrote about vacations here and here.

Ensure you have an attractive place to work.

If your heart sinks every time you head to your work place, something’s wrong. Take a hard look at your office. Is it dark and cluttered with ugly mismatched furniture? You’ll be more motivated if your office is a place where you actually like to work. Make sure it has some natural light, ergonomic furniture, your favorite colors, and some attractive pictures on the wall. I love my office which occupies the front of the second floor of our house. It has two large windows that face east and look out on a small park across the street.

Remind yourself of the benefits.

I only worked as a salaried employee for a fraction of my work life but I know what I didn’t like about it.There were the office politics, incompetent managers, endless, often nonproductive meetings, and commuting, to name but a few. Being self-employed I have the benefits of setting my own goals and pace. I can select the kind of projects I want to do. I decide the fees to charge and when to take a break. Reminding myself of these benefits is a great motivator.

Have your very own cheerleaders.

If you work on your own, it can be  isolating. You need to have people who’ll be there to sympathize with you, give you a boost, and offer timely advice. The Association of Personal Historians is another source of support. This is a group of colleagues who understand what I’m going through and provide great advice 24/7.

Create variety.

No matter how much you love your work, it can become a bore and a drain on your motivation if you’re always doing the same thing. That’s why I like to challenge  myself to find different or better ways to deliver my personal history services. I started with video life stories and then tried my hand at books. Now I have this blog.  I find I’m stretched and stimulated and continually motivated.

What do you do to stay motivated?

Photo by h. koppdelaney

Monday’s Link Roundup.

This Monday’s Link Roundup is an eclectic mix . One item I  found particularly useful was How Not To Embarrass Yourself When Doing Your Elevator Pitch. It’s bang on!  For an amazing story be sure to read I found a message in a bottle.

  • 14 Resources for Free Fonts and Premium Fonts.“You can’t deny that typography is important in design. You could have the most beautiful illustrations in the world, but if you use a font like Jokerman, your entire design will look iffy.”
  • I found a message in a bottle. “When a Frenchwoman wrote a love letter to her dead son, put it in a bottle and threw it into the sea, she never dreamed anyone would read it. But author Karen Liebreich did and, moved by the anonymous mother’s grief, set out to find her.”
  • Intersect. “Stories are a big way we share, connect and remember. On Intersect, like in memory, stories live at the times and places we experience them, where they can reach out to people who cross our path.” [Thanks to Stefani Twyford of Legacy Multimedia for alerting me to this site.]
  • 10 tips for great storytelling from a PowerPoint novelist. “People do astonishing things with PowerPoint, but author Jennifer Egan has brought PowerPoint into a whole new level: literature. She’s written a chapter of her latest novel, “A Visit From the Goon Squad,” (Knopf) entirely in PowerPoint.”
  • Seeking balance: The Rule of Thirds in storytelling. “The “Rule of Thirds” dates back as far as the 18th century, defined as a guideline to help artists compose esthetically pleasing art…The Rule of Thirds can apply to more than just visual composition, however. It’s also applicable as a guideline for effective storytelling.”

From the Archives: 5 Steps to Playing a Bigger Game.

Beginning this week I’ll be offering two original posts and a third from my archives. My holiday break gave me time to reflect on the work ahead. I realized that I couldn’t continue to turn out three original articles a week and maintain the kind of quality I wanted.

With over 300 original posts, there’s room to bring some back into the spotlight. For your pleasure this week, I hope you’ll enjoy “5 Steps to Playing a Bigger Game”.

5 Steps to Playing a Bigger Game. There’s a tendency for us to play small when we’re frightened by both recessionary times and shrinking bank accounts.  It’s natural to want to pull up the drawbridge and hunker down.  But if we’re not careful, we become habitual small thinkers and our dreams wither and die. What would it take for you to play a bigger game? Here are five steps that will get you to think big. Silence your Inner Gremlin. Our Gremlins are those critical inner voices … Read More

via Dan Curtis ~ Professional Personal Historian