ThinkGenealogy

Scout camp is over and the children are back in school.  July was a busy month.  It is already mid-August and I haven’t yet posted the July happenings for the ProGen Study Group.  For any newcomers, here is a link back to last month’s post: ProGen Study Group #3.

We only had one chapter to read for the month:

•  Chapter 9 – Structuring a Business by Melinda Shackleford Kashuba, Ph.D.

This is definately one of the chapters in the book geared toward professional as in business as oppossed to other chapters that focus on expertise and skill:

“Many genealogists run their businesses with minimal planning or documentation, and they wonder why opportunities seem to elude them.”

As you might expect, this chapter includes many questions to be used as a self assessment:

• Why you want to start a business?
• Do you have the skills?
• Are we entrepreneurs at heart?

The following topics are included:

• Mission statement
• Business plan
• Legal structures – sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation (C, S, LLC)
• Local, state, and federal regulations (licenses, zoning, taxes, permits)
• Resources – time, people, and money

Overall the chapter does a good job of introducing the basics of business and how it relates to the professional genealogist.

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