<table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0" ><tr><td valign="top" style="font: inherit;">Harold and Debbi,<br><br>I know several professional genealogists who are full-time.  They are living in the Salt Lake City area and are usually attached to large genealogy firms.  There are some independents who are also supporting themselves.  It has been this way for years.  Others do non-research but are associated with genealogically-related activities such as publishing, etc.<br><br>You won't be able to sustain yourself from speaking at conferences or writing articles.  You must be actively involved with research in order to make enough money to sustain yourself.  You may also need to work for attorneys and other professional types in order to get clients supplied to you along with your own advertising.  I would suggest that you look at the websites of several genealogists to see what type of services are being offered.<br><br>A good research background will open more financial doors for you.<br><br>Jeanette Daniels<br>Heritage Genealogical College<br><br>--- On <b>Sat, 6/11/11, Harold Henderson <i><librarytraveler@gmail.com></i></b> wrote:<br><blockquote style="border-left: 2px solid rgb(16, 16, 255); margin-left: 5px; padding-left: 5px;"><br>From: Harold Henderson <librarytraveler@gmail.com><br>Subject: Re: [APG Public List] Genalogy business plan<br>To: "Debbi Lyon" <dlyontamer@verizon.net><br>Cc: apgpubliclist@apgen.org<br>Date: Saturday, June 11, 2011, 5:42 AM<br><br><div id="yiv2106982796">Debbi --<br><br>(1) and (2). What Michael said.<br><br>(3) Not right away. At best it takes time. Check out the relevant chapters in the book Professional Genealogy edited by Elizabeth Shown Mills.<br><br>Earning money in genealogy generally requires having more than one income stream -- client research, writing, publishing, lecturing, teaching, for instance. Many professionals have additional means of support. I don't know of any count, but at APG's most recent roundtable on looking for clients, only one of the four panelists was a full-time genealogist with no spouse to help out with health insurance.<br> <br>Harold<br><br><br><div class="yiv2106982796gmail_quote">On Fri, Jun 10, 2011 at 10:04 PM, Debbi Lyon <span dir="ltr"><<a rel="nofollow" ymailto="mailto:dlyontamer@verizon.net" target="_blank" href="/mc/compose?to=dlyontamer@verizon.net">dlyontamer@verizon.net</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="yiv2106982796gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex;"> <div style="font-family:Verdana;color:#000000;font-size:12px;"><div>Hello,</div><div>I need help writing a business plan for my genealogy business. I would appreciate some insight either publicly or via e-mail. </div><div> 1) How are professional genealogists able to recoup travel and hotel fees when the are not paid for a speaking gig at the convention?</div><div>2) How do the pros get reimbursed for the time involved in writing an article that is published in a scholarly genealogy publication?</div> <div>3) Is there room for one more genealogist to make a decent living (and pay for medical benefits) or is the field already too crowded?</div><div> </div><div>I have worked as a freelance writer/photographer in the music industry and I wonder if genealogy vendors comp trips, tickets, supplies and subscriptions like the record labels do. </div> <div>Thank you,</div><div>Debbi</div><div> </div></div> </blockquote></div><br><br clear="all"><br>-- <br>Harold Henderson<br>Research and Writing from NW Indiana<br>Professional genealogy in and around Chicago -- Rockford to Fort Wayne, Muskegon to Indianapolis<br><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://midwesternmicrohistory.blogspot.com">midwesternmicrohistory.blogspot.com</a><br> <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://midwestroots.net">midwestroots.net</a><div style="display:inline;"></div><br> </div></blockquote></td></tr></table>