Joyce Cole, a municipal historian, turned her genealogy hobby into a business through an entrepreneurial program. She gained confidence, got a business toolbox, and now has three books in progress and a genealogical camp for children in development.
Chapters
My name is Joyce Cole. I work for Westchester county, and I am a municipal historian for the village of Ossning. My idea was to have a genealogical research program that helped people research their family lineage. I was urged by a friend who saw that what I was doing was in fact a business, that it was something I just enjoyed. And she said, you certainly have a business, you should get started. And I joined the program to kind of solidify what I'd already started and turn it into a business. Before starting the program, I was very intimidated stepping into an arena with people that were entrepreneurial minded. But as time went on and started doing the steps, I started to see myself differently, that I had a viable business, a business that really could work and had a place. And I started to look at myself differently. I went from being an employee Since I was 12 years old in multiple businesses and always working for someone else, to now it's like I am the boss and I can be the boss, and I'm comfortable being the boss and just being able to do things the way I want to do them, how I want to do it. It's quite empowering. The most beneficial part of the program for me, honestly, was getting a toolbox to de risk this business. So the benefit was honestly was building. Being able to build what I'm doing, the business model, the business plan, and being able to confidently go out and execute that plan. Having people available, coaches available to go with you every step of the way, to give you feedback, being able to pick up the phone and have them available to talk to me is. It's invaluable and I wouldn't have got it anywhere else. I am actually in the process of writing three books as a result of the research that I have done that I've already received some clients that want to buy the book once it comes out because they're interested in the research. And I am currently working on a genealogical camp for children. So I have a lot that's coming out of building this business through the program. I would recommend this program to anyone and everyone. It has really been just such a wonderful program to be in. If you are someone that never thought you could be an entrepreneur and you thought that, you know, your idea can never blossom into a business, this is where you need to be. This is where you need to be to grow. This is where you need to be to flesh out that idea. This is where you will get the support you need to kind of build on your idea and to see it and watch it grow into a business. So I totally recommend this program. You're not going to go anyplace else and get this supported and get so much from it that you're going to feel like you owe them something when you leave, because you're going to gain so much.
