{"id":3432,"date":"2025-08-15T14:44:18","date_gmt":"2025-08-15T14:44:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.genealogyatheart.com\/?p=3432"},"modified":"2025-08-15T14:46:32","modified_gmt":"2025-08-15T14:46:32","slug":"the-summer-of-my-genealogical-discontent-lesson-7-listening-to-the-pros-or-not","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.genealogyatheart.com\/?p=3432","title":{"rendered":"The Summer of My Genealogical Discontent Lesson 7 \u2013 \u00a0Listening to the Pros (or Not)"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Today\u2019s blog might seem to contradict last week\u2019s post about how I regretted not joining genealogical organizations earlier. But hear me out\u2014this is a different kind of lesson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I decided to take the leap and become a professional genealogist, I did what many of us do: I turned to the experts. Longtime professionals told me there were a few non-negotiables\u2014complete certain online courses, pursue credentialing, and charge fees that, quite frankly, I knew my clients couldn\u2019t afford.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I listened. I believed them. And honestly? It didn\u2019t sit well with me from the start.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first issue was the recommended online course. I was on a waitlist, which ended up being a blessing in disguise. I was working a job that had me traveling constantly across the country\u2014there was no realistic way I could log in consistently at the scheduled times. I would\u2019ve failed before I even started.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I also applied for credentials, and\u2026 well, that was a wake-up call. (You can read about that experience here<\/a>.) My clients didn\u2019t care about my professional journey. They didn\u2019t ask about credentials. They didn\u2019t want to know about my course plans or associations. They wanted answers. Period. That experience made me reevaluate what I actually needed to build a meaningful and sustainable business. As an educator, I value credentials to insure that somene is competent in their field and I planned to one day revisit genealogical credentializing (more to come soon!) but that step didn’t impact my growing business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then came the topic of fees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I understood the argument from those already well-established in the field. They were charging high rates and worried that my lower fees might undercut the \u201cmarket.\u201d I get it. I was the Big Lots to their Macy\u2019s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But charging what they charged didn\u2019t feel right to me. I knew the people I wanted to help\u2014those searching for answers, sometimes quietly and painfully\u2014couldn\u2019t afford boutique pricing. And that mattered more to me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To this day, I still undercharge. And you know what? I\u2019m okay with that. I\u2019m at peace with that decision. And all those pros who once told me what I had<\/em> to do? They\u2019ve since retired from genealogy. Their path wasn\u2019t mine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maybe they meant well. Or maybe they wanted to keep genealogy as a kind of exclusive club. But that\u2019s not how I see it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I believe everyone deserves access to their family history\u2014for medical reasons, for breaking cycles, for healing, for honoring those who came before us. I believe in empowering people to understand their story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s why I\u2019ve learned to be who I<\/em> am, not what others think I should be. It\u2019s my business. I run it my way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In last week\u2019s post, I mentioned how I wished I\u2019d had a mentor early on. Let me clarify that\u2014I wish I\u2019d had someone who listened to me<\/em>. Someone who supported who I was and what I valued. Not someone trying to mold me into something else.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re thinking about going pro, here\u2019s my advice: Find someone you connect with. Someone whose values align with yours. Years ago, I turned down the chance to mentor someone in another state. This was pre-Zoom, and I wasn\u2019t sure phone mentoring would be effective. I suggested she find someone local instead. I never heard from her again, and I still wonder if she gave up on genealogy altogether. That thought saddens me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So if you have the passion and the desire to go pro\u2014don\u2019t let anyone stand in your way. Especially not someone telling you there’s only one right path. Because in genealogy, just like in life, the best path is the one that feels right to you<\/em>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Today\u2019s blog might seem to contradict last week\u2019s post about how I regretted not joining genealogical organizations earlier. But hear me out\u2014this is a different kind of lesson. When I decided to take the leap and become a professional genealogist, I did what many of us do: I turned to the experts. Longtime professionals told … Continue reading “The Summer of My Genealogical Discontent Lesson 7 \u2013 \u00a0Listening to the Pros (or Not)”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[1301,775],"class_list":["post-3432","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-education","tag-credentials","tag-professional-genealogy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogyatheart.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3432","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogyatheart.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogyatheart.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogyatheart.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogyatheart.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3432"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogyatheart.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3432\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3539,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogyatheart.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3432\/revisions\/3539"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogyatheart.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3432"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogyatheart.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3432"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogyatheart.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3432"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}