Start & Run a Personal History Business. Jennifer CampbellЧитать онлайн книгу.
get paid for them.
Also think about how much time you can spend in the evenings and weekends for networking events and maintaining relationships that will benefit your business. Is it worth it to you? You have to take into account all the demands on your time, then prioritize.
2.4a Say “no”
As a small-business owner, time is your most valuable asset. You might have been an active volunteer or participant with a church group, hospital auxiliary, theater group, choir, fundraiser, or on other noble and interesting pursuits, but there are only 24 hours in the day. Do you really enjoy the weekly book club? Can you let go of either the rowing team or the hiking group? Starting and running a business takes a lot of time and you need to say “no” to activities that don’t provide you with solid networking possibilities. I can imagine you protesting, but realize that this is probably a temporary situation. Just think carefully about how you want to spend your spare time. At this juncture in your life, your priorities should be your well-being, your family, and your business. (You decide on the order!)
2.4b Say “yes”
Do what you have to do to do what you love. If you love this work, don’t let anything or anyone stop you from doing it. You hate sales meetings? Get some training so you’re totally comfortable talking about yourself and your products. You’ve been asked to speak at the local Rotary club, but the thought of public speaking makes you shake? Join Toastmasters, or just get out there and slay your dragons of fear. Feel overwhelmed at trying to keep your bookkeeping up-to-date? Spend the money and hire some help. There are very few things that can stop you from succeeding, unless you let them.
2.4c Stay positive
Stay away from negative people. You know the ones: They’re skeptical and disapproving of just about anything under the sun. They complain about everything yet they never do anything to change things. In subtle or not-so-subtle ways, they’ll get their message across: “Why are you being so foolish?” “Why don’t you get a real job?” “Must be because you can’t cut it in the corporate world!” They may resent and downplay your courage and success and suggest it’s just a matter of sheer luck that you are doing well. Cut these small-minded people out of your life. Save your breath and energy for those who support you because they love you. Keep the faith. Believe wholeheartedly that this will work and it likely will.
2.4d Don’t bore people!
Personal history is a fascinating field, and most people will love hearing about your work. But catch yourself if you find you’re talking too much about it. You will probably get a little obsessive. After all, it is fascinating, you’ve invested a great deal of time and effort, and you’re probably emotionally tied to it. It’s your baby! But … you know the stereotypical grandmother who pulls out 40 pictures of her grandchildren and tells you about every one of their dance recitals or hockey games? Or the bore at the party who goes on and on about the boss and coworkers you don’t even know? Don’t expect everyone to be enthralled with your new venture. People may not have the slightest interest in it, as impossible as that might seem to you. You might find even your closest friends don’t take your business seriously and treat it as another one of your hobbies or passing interests. Compartmentalize. You’ll soon get to know who you can talk “shop” with, and remember, it’s a two-way street. Show interest in other people’s businesses and they’ll probably do the same for you.
3. Terms You Should Know
In this book, I use “personal history,“ “memoir,” “biography,” and “life story” interchangeably as they all mean an account of one’s life or a segment of that life. They can refer to something written by the person himself or herself, or written by someone else about the person. Here are some definitions of a few terms with which you should be familiar.
• Autobiography: A detailed, factual account of one’s life written by oneself; more likely to be about the person’s entire life; may or may not include reflection, opinions, or feelings.
• Biography: A life story written by someone other than the subject.
• Corporate/Business history: The history of a company, from its roots to present time. May include interviews with employees, leaders, customers, or people living in the community where the business operates.
• Family history: The story of a family that may include several generations and many branches of the family tree. May be a written account, as in a book, with photographs, or a multimedia DVD. May include interviews with one or more family members.
• Genealogist: A person who traces family lineages back through the generations.
• Legacy letter/ethical will: A document, sometimes handwritten and of any length, that expresses what the subject wants his or her loved ones to know: the lessons the subject learned from life; his or her beliefs, values and guiding principles; blessings for loved ones; advice for living a good life … whatever the subject wants to pass on to future generations. See Chapter 15 for more on ethical wills and legacy letters.
• Life story: An account of a person’s life. May include information about ancestors. It can be a blend of events (e.g, In 1965 I joined the firm of … ) as well as reflection (e.g., In retrospect, it probably wasn’t such a good idea … ).
• Life review: Reflecting on the experiences of one’s life. A term coined by a pioneer in the field, Dr. Robert Butler.
• Memoirs: Written reminiscences, stories, or memories about one’s life or a portion of it. A memoir likely includes a good amount of reflection (how the subject remembers events as opposed to factual reenactments, and might be selective memories). There is no obligation to include details like dates, times, places, or names.
• Personal history: The history of a person preserved in a manuscript, book, audio or video CD or DVD, or handwritten format. The medium can vary but the objective is the same: to capture a life story, however the teller wants to tell it.
• Oral history: The audio or video recording of interviews of firsthand accounts of the past, generally preserved for historical importance, and generally including the transcript of the interviews. Before the written word became popular and history was written by the educated or elite groups in society, the oral tradition was the way history was passed down through time. It was revived most notably with the Federal Writers’ Project in the US, in the late 1930s and 1940s, to elicit and save the stories of the diverse working-class population.
• Reminiscence: Remembering past experiences and events.
• Reminiscence Therapy (RT): Discussion of past events and experiences usually with the aid of verbal encouragement, photographs, music, scent, memorabilia, etc. Some studies have shown RT to be beneficial for people with dementia or other memory loss, boosting self-esteem and relieving depression and promoting peace, wholeness, validation, and self-acceptance.
• Social History: Details about what was going on in the world and in everyday life of everyday people, from war to the price of eggs.
3
Getting Started
1. The Entrepreneurial Attitude: Are You a Pair of Hands or a Visionary?
The first thing you need to decide is whether you want to find some jobs that pay the bills or whether you’re starting a business. What’s the difference? It’s mainly one of attitude.
On