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From: "Christy Fillerup" <>
Subject: Re: [TGF] Record Lookups Business Model
Date: Wed, 27 Feb 2008 07:55:33 -0700
References: <837E065DFF684E1398AB9484A8CFF9EF@ChristyPC><57DA2A449B4D4B13A058F52DE9C353DD@MissysOffice>
In-Reply-To: <57DA2A449B4D4B13A058F52DE9C353DD@MissysOffice>


Thank you to everyone for your wonderful advice, both on and off list. You
have really given me quite a lot to think about, and I'm very appreciative
for it! I'm convinced that a nicer group of people doesn't exist.

Cheers,
Christy
----- Original Message -----
From: "Melissa Barker" <>
To: <>
Sent: Tuesday, February 26, 2008 1:00 PM
Subject: Re: [TGF] Record Lookups Business Model


> Dear Christy,
>
> Hello, I am sure many with chime in with their thoughts and advice. I
> like
> seeing such questions. It makes me think about my own model and see if I
> need to do any tweaking. Here are my comments for each situation:
>
> #1: Same as yours
> #2: Same as yours, however I would let the client know up front that if
> the
> time it takes to review the film is longer than XXX I will charge XXX
> #3: I chose "B" on this one and charge for the total search.
>
> If I am doing a search for a document that the client has not given me
> very
> specific information to go on, I charge by the hour to locate the
> document.
> If they do give me specific information to go on I charge a set fee of
> $15.00 to be paid regardless of what is found and this includes up to 1
> hour
> of research time. If the document can not be found in the 1 hour of
> research time I will report my findings and ask the client if they would
> like me to research further and obtain authorization for more hours of
> research.
>
> I will add this very important consideration concerning offering specific
> or
> non-specific document retrievals as part of anyone's business model. We
> must have very good knowledge of what is available to us and that we can
> offer to the public to conduct research. If we know what we can do, what
> we
> have access to and educate ourselves to the specifics of the sources we
> offer our research in, we can offer our clients better services. This
> knowledge does not come instantly, we do have to take the time to educate
> ourselves.
>
> I offer to conduct research in Kentucky and Tennessee records. I do not
> know off the top of my head every source available to me in these states,
> but I have educated myself and I continue to educate myself on what is
> available and becoming available all the time. I have compiled spread
> sheets of all sources that are known for these states and that I can gain
> access to and believe it or not, I continually add to that database. This
> type of database can be quickly tapped to check access of a certain source
> or type of record so that I can tell the client if I am able to conduct
> the
> research.
>
> We are all trying to work things like this out in our own business or
> while
> we are trying to set up our potential businesses. We are not all going to
> do things the same and I am sure we all recognize that. I think it's
> great
> that we have a forum where we can talk about these things and get opinions
> of our peers.
>
>
> Sincerely,
> Melissa Barker
> Genealogist for Tennessee and Kentucky
> My Website: www.freewebs.com/genealogyservices/
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Christy Fillerup" <>
> To: "Transitional Genealogists List"
> <>
> Sent: Tuesday, February 26, 2008 12:11 PM
> Subject: [TGF] Record Lookups Business Model
>
>
>> List,
>>
>> I post this question with some trepidation of looking uncertain or
>> wishy-washy, since some of you have had me do record lookups for you.
>> But
>> in the interest of creating a better service, here I go.
>>
>> I am struggling with creating a working business model for Family History
>> Library record lookups and could use some advice. These are several
>> situations I have run into:
>>
>> 1. Please obtain an image of FHL Film XXX,XXX, page X, which should
>> reference XXX.
>> 2. Please review FHL Film XXX,XXX for a [birth, marriage, death]
>> referencing XXX.
>> 3. Please obtain a [birth, marriage, death] record for XXX, date XXX.
>> 4. Please obtain a [birth, marriage, death] record for XXX, date unknown
>> or date range given.
>>
>> So for #1, it's a very straight forward process. If the image is there I
>> provide it, if the image is not, I report that. Situation #2 is also
>> very
>> straight forward, I review the film to determine the layout of the
>> information, conduct a search for the information requested, and report
>> back - depending on the ease of reading the film this could take anywhere
>> from a few minutes to a few hours.
>>
>> Situations #3 and #4 are a bit trickier. Let's say that the FHL catalog
>> lists several records that could be relevant, perhaps a film of original
>> records, a film of transcriptions or abstracts for other original records
>> not available at the FHL, and an index to original records held
>> elsewhere.
>> My first action would of course be to search the original records. If
>> the
>> record is not found in the original records do I:
>>
>> a - report that the record was not found in the original records, with
>> suggestions to search the other available films?
>> b - move on to the next likely film (and if I do this do I then charge
>> for
>> each film searched, or just for the total search?)
>> c - pause my search and ask for authorization to search the additional
>> records (again charged as one search or several?)
>>
>> Note that I'm not talking about moving outside of the genre of records
>> requested, that moves more into research planning and analysis, but just
>> moving on to other records available at the FHL within the requested
>> record type.
>>
>> If you are uncomfortable answering any of the above questions, please
>> don't. I don't want to put anyone in a position of compromising their
>> own
>> business model.
>>
>> With my currently limited schedule (small kids and all that) I would like
>> to create a business model around record retrieval primarily for other
>> professional genealogists. So as professionals, what service would you
>> prefer?
>>
>>
>> Christy Fillerup
>> Millenealogy, LLC
>> Salt Lake City, Utah
>>
>> Millenealogy n. 1. genealogy for the new millennium 2. the synergistic
>> relationship between genealogical expertise, technology, and you.
>>
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>>
>
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