Press release about the GBA

From Competitors to Community: Two Women’s Mission to Unite the Genealogy Industry As Genealogists They’ve Dedicated Their Lives to Helping Others. Their Competitors Are No Exception. 

SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH, February 1, 2017 - Janet Hovorka and Jessica Taylor are both successful entrepreneurs in their own right in the booming family history industry. Hovorka, an industry leader for nearly two decades, has built several genealogy brands, including genealogyDOTcoach, a one-on-one genealogy consulting business, and Family ChartMasters, creating heirloom-quality family charts. Likewise, Taylor started Legacy Tree Genealogists in 2004, which has become the world’s highest clientrated genealogy research firm and has grown into a million-dollar business.

The pair crossed paths at a genealogy conference, and hit it off, drawn to their similarities—working mothers that wanted to take what was considered as “a hobby” by many and capitalize on the potential to grow their businesses and allow them to help bridge the divide between individuals and their ancestors on a much larger scale.

“Genealogy is considered one of the largest online hobbies,” explained Taylor. “But as a small business community, many operations are still learning how to mature into the larger genealogy industry and gain the knowledge necessary to compete.”

Discouraged by the lack of a formal entity available to mentor small business and provide a cohesive community for genealogy startups to bounce ideas off one another, Taylor and Hovorka decided if an organization didn’t exist, they would create one - and the Genealogy Business Alliance was born.

The Genealogy Business Alliance Facebook group was established, and the website created, proudly declaring its purpose “to provide a place for genealogy business leaders to discuss best practices, ask business related questions, network and create a united voice in the genealogy community.” Hovorka and Taylor built it, but would they come?

Clearly others had noticed the lack of such an organization as well, as word of the organization spread within the genealogy community, and membership numbers quickly climbed. Member businesses included operations in all stages of growth, from one-man startups to industry leaders such as FamilySearch and Ancestry.com.

“The response was exciting and overwhelming,” recalled Hovorka. “Clearly other companies were looking for the kind of mentorship that we had enjoyed on an informal basis between friends in the industry. It was gratifying to find that so many who had found success were now willing to work together and help mentor others.”

However, the initial surge in membership posed a unique dilemma. They were receiving membership requests from some direct competitors. Could the participating company owners co-operate even to the point of giving others an ‘inside look’ into their business operations? Together Hovorka and Taylor decided that if the Genealogy Business Alliance was truly to be established as a genealogy “community” that no exceptions would be placed on membership—including their competitors.

“There was some trepidation as we clicked ‘Accept’ on that first competitor’s request,” explained Taylor, “But the support within the group has been amazing. Business owners can ask for advice on what email server others use, what program they use for event management, questions on taxes—you name it! It’s become an incredible resource to help mentor others and provide a sounding board to those who need it. A sense of unity is now present, and it’s been invaluable.”

Progress of the Genealogy Business Alliance may be validated through a collaborative initiative that has been introduced for RootsTech 2017. Member businesses were invited to participate in the Genealogy Business Alliance Colossal Giveaway, a first of its kind in RootsTech history. Each participating business donated a prize for the sweepstakes, and in exchange, will have their logo displayed on a tabletop sign at each participating booth. RootsTech attendees may receive multiple entries by signing up at any booth bearing the GBA sign. There are a total of 16 prizes with a value of nearly $3,000, from businesses such as Ancestry.com, Findmypast, RootsMagic and Family Tree DNA.

“The fact that we as businesses within the genealogy community can come together and offer this
collective sweepstakes, side-by-side with competitors, is truly indicative of the progress that is being made,” said Hovorka. “We all want to succeed, and often the best way to do that is to help others succeed as well.”

The GBA Colossal Giveaway will run from February 9 th – 11th at participating booths in the Expo Hall. For additional information on the Genealogy Business Alliance visit us at this link.


About Janet Hovorka

Janet Hovorka is an author, educator, international lecturer, and the owner of Family ChartMasters, an award winning genealogy chart printing service that is the official printer for all of the major genealogy companies, and the genealogyDOTcoach personalized coaching service. https://familychartmasters.com and https://genealogy.coach






About Jessica Taylor

Jessica Taylor is president of Legacy Tree Genealogists, a full-service genealogical research firm that helps clients worldwide discover their roots and personal history through records, narratives, and DNA. https://www.legacytree.com





Media contact(s): amber.brown@legacytree.com

How direct sales helped me with genealogy

OK, so you are probably wondering what in the world I am going to tell you that could link direct sales to genealogy.  Well, believe me, I can.  Plus I think the lessons I learned could be helpful to many of you too no matter what your goals are. You may never take a paying client, but even hobby genealogists can hold themselves to professional standards and professionalism.

But first, a little back story.

When my oldest was getting ready to start preschool I found myself in a bit of a crisis.  All the sudden I would have time to MYSELF!  After 3 years of caring for him as a stay at home mom I literally was in a panic about what I would do alone for 4 hours a day.  Now, my circumstances were different from a lot of stay-at-home mom’s.  My eldest was born at 25 weeks gestation and spent 72 days in the NICU.  We were very lucky by the way, it could have been a lot worse.  In his first year of life I was not only mom but I was his medical caregiver 24 hours a day seven days a week.

He came home on oxygen, a feeding tube, and multiple medications.  There were near weekly doctor visits plus 3 days after he came home he had his first physical therapy visit.  We had 4 therapists come to the house every week until his 3^rd birthday (PT, OT, Developmental, and later speech).  Life was regulated.  I like regulated.  I can deal with regulated.

3 weeks old with my husband's wedding
ring for scale

One day in May before his 3^rd birthday I got a phone call.  A friend had put my name down on a list of people who may want to have a makeover at one of these at home party things.  “Sure, why not” I replied to the bubbly woman on the other end of the receiver, “I don’t have anything going on tomorrow afternoon.”  That was when Mary Kay Cosmetics walked into my life.

I won’t bore you with the details of what my life was like the next 3 years until I moved to Virginia.  What I did discover was that I have a knack for talking to, helping, and managing people.  Before I left Mary Kay I was a Director in Training, had earned a car, was responsible at the highest point for 15 team members and actually was closing in on becoming a Sales Director.  Moving and having another preemie baby derailed those plans.

It wasn’t a waste though.  Those skills helped me to the path I am on today.  That is what I wanted to share with you, the skills that I learned which have helped me in my genealogy business and with my personal research.  Maybe you will find some inspiration somewhere in my rambling thoughts below.

Suit-up and show-up
I attended weekly team meetings and as many workshops as I could the entire time I was in Mary Kay.  Making the commitment to myself, my team, and my director to suit-up and show-up was one of the things that I decided to do early on.  If you have ever been to a Mary Kay meeting, well, you know how interesting they are.  Part rah-rah go team and part recruitment plan.  However, I always learned something new and something that I could take away for my own business.  Making that commitment to my business kept me accountable to my success.

Education in genealogy is the same way.  We are primarily a self-taught community since there are only a few (when compared to other professions) degree programs or professional outlets.  Genealogists have to make the commitment to themselves to suit-up and show-up to advance their knowledge in the field.  Making yourself accountable to participating in whatever way possible will only help you be a better researcher and professional.

Cold calls aren’t so hard with a script

To be successful in sales you have to be comfortable with cold calls.  I was petrified the first time I made a cold call to someone on my client referral list.  The what if’s were everywhere.  What if they say no, what if they hang up, what if they don’t like me?  Cold calls were easier when I learned and stuck to a script.  Writing everything down and then practicing it or saying it into a mirror when I talked made the process much easier.  Eventually I didn’t need the script to make those common phone calls.

What do you do if you are going to call an archive, court house, library, potential client, distant family member, or to look for paid / volunteer work somewhere?  Those calls can be nerve wracking if you are the least bit unsure of yourself.  In the beginning have a script handy for any phone calls that you need to make.  By having what you want to say written out ahead of time it will help you calm down, get it all out, and sound professional.  After you say it a few times it will be old hat and no problem.

Being well dressed and well-mannered can only help your image
We had a dress code for appointments: skirts or dresses, business suits preferably, dress shoes preferably with a heel, pantyhose preferred not required, nice jewelry, hair done, make up on, and lightly perfumed.  The thought was if you dressed for success and represented your brand then people would take you seriously.  Why would they want to buy beauty products from someone who didn’t wear their own product and was not put together?

It is the same in genealogy.  Especially if you are going to be a professional.  While there is a time for jeans and grubby clothes (like in a cemetery) if you want to be taken seriously as a professional you should dress the part.    If you are lecturing wear a suit or something appropriate for the venue.  If you are attending a conference, seminar, or society meeting consider wearing business casual.  You do not want people distracted by your appearance.  You want them to think “yeah, they have it together.”

If you have a business remember that wherever you go you represent it.  Are your business cards professionally done?  Do you have a letter head designed?  These things are quick and easy ways to come off as a put together professional.

Manners and professionalism comes in here too.  As a consultant I always wore a smile, even when on the phone.  Did you know that smiling on the phone, even when the person can't see you, still comes across in your tone?  Being friendly, approachable, and easy going are traits that people respond to.  No one wants to be around a sour-puss so even on my grumpiest days I put on that smile and saved my smart-Alec comments for my close friends and family.

Frequently I see many self styled genealogists with very bad manners and habits. Number one infraction, rudeness. Talking down to people only makes you look bad.  Being abusive to staff (no matter where you are or the circumstances) is simply uncalled for.  You can be polite and yet firm if you are upset just like you can patiently sit through someone's family brick wall without looking bored.  Trust me, even if you are having a bad day and an outburst is justifiable, that will be what people remember.  If you slip, apologize.  Saying "I am sorry, that was uncalled for.  It's been a rough day" can go a long way to making you look better.

No one will manage you, but you
While you may have someone you report to in a direct sales system they will not be there for the day-to-day rigmarole that goes on.  As a self-employed person it is up to you to pay your bills, manage your money, keep your appointment book filled, stock your inventory and so one and so forth.  If you are going to be a success you have to do it all yourself.

It is the exact same way in genealogy.  If I don’t go out there and respond to calls for papers, write articles, market myself, pay my bills, make contacts (and then nurture them), plus a whole host of other items I will never be able to pull in an income to help support my family.  Spread sheets and calendars are my friends.  My smartphone is glued to my hip and I am constantly working on something.

You have to hold yourself accountable.  It’s the hardest thing to do but the only one who can keep it all going is the person you see in the mirror every morning. Your success will not be handed to you.  Work hard everyday.  Accomplish something (even if it is as simple as writing an email) everyday and success will follow.

Goal planning is constant
On my very first night of training as a consultant we made a dream poster.  We were supposed to think about goals we wanted to accomplish with our life, business, family, or whatever we wanted.  Then we talked about what it would take to make those happen.  I can’t remember mine for the life of me but I do remember one of the other girl’s posters.  She wanted to take her whole family on a Disney cruise and wanted to earn enough money through being a consultant to do that.  It took her 2 years of steady work but she did it.

As a consultant I goal planned on a weekly, monthly, and quarterly basis.  Each big goal was broken down into smaller chunks.  Those chunks broken down into even smaller more manageable pieces.  I was never afraid to dream big.  In fact we were encouraged to do that.  This is where I learned two of my favorite sayings.  “You can eat an elephant one bite at a time” and “Shoot for the moon because if you miss at least you will land in the stars.”

In genealogy I have continued this habit.  I have yearly, quarterly, monthly, and weekly goals.  Every 6 months I reevaluate the annual and the upcoming quarterly goals and adjust as needed.  It may sound complicated but remember you need to dream big and reach for those stars and if you don’t make it's alright.  Just re-group and do it again.  If you don’t have a vision for yourself or your business you are bound to flounder and success will be difficult.

Failure is ok
When I went into DIQ (Director In-Qualification) it was the toughest thing I had ever done.  I tried twice to qualify to become a director and both times failed because I was unable meet all the requirements.  Yes, it was heartbreaking.  Yes, I had to get over the shame I felt inside for being what I considered a failure.  However, it was pointed out to me that because I had dared to strive for that next level I had other successes. Those success were even more important than failing to achieve the goal I wanted.  I had raised the bar on myself and now I knew what I could do if I put myself out there and went for it.


It is very hard for me to put myself out there.  Many times I do not feel confident in my abilities and worry that I may make a total idiot of myself. You know what?  It's true.  I have made mistakes and there are things that now I would have done differently.  Working through the set-backs and learning from those mistakes, especially when I started my genealogy career, only make me better.  If you can kick aside the failure when it happens and see what the accomplishments were along the way you will find that the world really isn’t that bad.  Your successes should be touted and your failures learned from.



I have more I could say, but I think that is good for now.  If you want to hear more, let me know.  I am happy to tell you my little thoughts any time!

Launch of T2 Family History

Over the last several months I worked, with the aide of several friends, on a website for my new business.  I would not be honest if I didn’t tell you this was a little more than scary but it was something that I needed to do.  I just needed to take a big gulp and put myself out there.

You can check out T2 Family History here.

I decided to shorten my name to T2 Family History to streamline my name.  T2 stands for Trials and Tribulations and I thought the logo, created by a talented friend who is a graphics design artist, speaks to what I do.  She nicely tied in my 2 passions, family history and genetics, with this clean and modern graphic. 

Never fear, I still plan on keeping this blog going.  The other site is intended to showcase my professional side and it will continue to adapt and change as I make my way in the world of genealogy.  This blog will continually be updated with family discoveries, interesting tis-bits, and all the other goodies I post.

Taking the plunge is never easy but sometimes you just know it in your gut when it is right.

Fear comes in many different forms

Ok, this post is a bit, well, unusual.  However, if it struck me it might also hit someone else out there in the same way.  Besides, I tend to believe that if I write it down then it has to happen…

This past week I was catching up on one of my favorite podcasts, The Genealogy Professional Podcast hosted by Marian Pierre-Louis.  Yes, I tend to binge listen to podcasts, that’s just the way the cards fall in my life at times.  Needless to say I found myself driving through the wilds of Virginia this week catching up on the last couple months of the show.

If you have not listened to this podcast I highly recommend it.  Even if you are not a professional genealogist, it is still really good information and gives you great ideas, insights, and things to think about concerning the business side in field of genealogy.  Besides, everyone has a great story to tell, and these professional have some amazing ones! 

To show you how far behind in my listening I was, the first one up was episode 29 with Lisa Louise Cooke from Genealogy Gems which aired June 16th. Anyway… Lisa said something that had me scratching my head and doing some soul searching.  This happens occasionally, but honestly the topic was relevant to how I was feeling at the time so it really clicked.

Marian does a “lightening round” at the end of the show where she asks some fast passed questions and expects equally fast answers.  One of the staple questions asks simply what can listeners do in the next 24 hours to help them transition into a genealogy career.  There are always good pieces of advice given here, everyone has a unique perspective, but for some reason Lisa’s answer struck me like a 2x4 up side of the head.

It was simple.  START! She went on to say that “You have to take action” and “doing nothing is doing something, it’s failing.  It’s ensuring that you are going to fail.”  Wow, well that was powerful.  It also made me want to beat my head against the steering wheel.  Cue 2x4.

You see I can be a very fearful and scared person when it comes to my future.  I am full of anxiety, what ifs, and other detrimental thoughts that can paralyze me in my tracks.  Sometimes I will completely talk myself out of doing something before it even has a chance because of those “what if” thoughts.  Thinking about what she said made me look closer at myself over the next few days. 

It struck me like a ton of bricks. What if it is not a fear of failure but a fear of success that is holding me back and causing the problems with where I want to go and what I am doing?  Failing is easy, it is just letting entropy take over and not doing follow through.  Success is much, much harder.  You have to work at it.

With success you have more responsibilities to say the least.  It brings deadlines, goals, those next steps to take you to the next level, and so on.  Then there are the other factors that I don’t think a lot of people really think about.

In this business it is not all about you, the genealogist.  It can quickly become about your brand, your influence, your clients, your followers, and so much more.  As a perfectionist, a bit of a control freak, and someone who dwells on the details success if a very daunting and frightening prospect.  Do I have the time, energy, or drive to even do that?  Plus at any moment I could run into the cold wall of rejection and failure.

Don’t get me wrong, I am intimately familiar with rejection and failure.   The stack of rejections from conferences or ideas that weren’t “quite what we are looking for” is quite substantial.  However, is that failure?  I thought it was at first.  I mean really, look at all those people who don’t want me or my ideas.  That’s failure right? But it’s not!  Those are really successes because I put myself out there.  I keep putting myself out there too, and for an entrepreneur and budding business owner that is key.  I have to keep putting myself, and my brand, out there. 

The key is to pick yourself back up off the ground by your boot straps and keep on trucking.

Nothing happens overnight and it is going to take months if not years to carve out my little niche in the genealogy world, but by golly I am going to celebrate every little victory.  I am not going to ensure my failure by inaction.  You are right Lisa, you just have to start.

August is going to be a big month.  Hope you will stick around to see what happens.  Big plans, big ideas, and swallowing that fear are all forecasted… 

Time to shake things up...

Painted by J.C. Leyendecker,
Saturday Evening Post

I am in the process of creating a website for my fledgling genealogy business.  This is just a heads up to my loyal readers (and people who stop by on occasion) that the blog address may be shifting slightly in the near future.  We (my trusty web helper and I) are toying with different platforms and what that does to this site.  I am sure you can understand.

Oh, and the blog is getting a face lift too.  Three years with this look is enough.  It is time for some spring cleaning.  I am sure you can understand that, right?  Embrace the change, even if it hurts.

I am very, very excited about all the possibilities that are coming up and it is killing me to keep them from you. However, what kind of a surprise would it be if I told you everything along the way?!

Trust me, it's going to be great!