This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
[Music]
In this week's first $1,000 segment, we're gonna hear from a genealogical detective who pieced together a successful business by unraveling the mysteries of family histories. In fact, an ancestral detective uncovers hidden heritages. It is, as noted, a segment in our first $1,000 series where we're like, hey, how did somebody actually make their first $1,000? How did they get started? How did they go from side hustle idea to side hustle income?
Welcome, friends. I'm Chris Guillebeau, your host. I love making this show for you. Today is episode 2,690. Been going every single day since January 1, 2017, all with a goal to create economic empowerment to help you make extra money without quitting your job.
Perhaps by following a skill or following a passion, but I usually focus on skills first. You're often passionate about what you're also good at. So following a skill to turning it into an offer or a service, a product or a service in the form of an offer, to be precise. How do people do that? And how can you do more of what's important to you?
Even if you've got a day job. In fact, most of our listeners are busy with day jobs, family responsibilities, other stuff they like to do, hobbies. It's good to do things that you enjoy as well, in addition to stuff that you do for money. But you've got all this stuff. You've got a busy life.
How do you, in fact, afford it? How do you make it all feasible and sustainable? Well, a side hustle is one answer to that. And perhaps that side hustle can become so much more. Of course.
So today we've got this genealogist. Let's hear her story of how she got going. Perhaps it's helpful or inspirational to somebody else out there. Gonna pass the microphone over to her. Her name is Evelyn.
I'll be back with a few words of wrap up at the end. [Music]
Well, hi there. My name is Evelyn. And I'm a grandmother with a passion for uncovering family histories. It all started when I was a young girl, spending hours poring over old photo albums and listening to my grandparents' stories about our ancestors.
Little did I know that years later, I would turn this fascination to something that helped me earn income. Let me tell you, starting a genealogy research business was no walk in the park. Had to learn how to search through databases, decipher old handwriting, and piece together information from a variety of sources. There were countless late nights spent hunched over my computer, trying to make sense of census records and ship manifests. As a busy grandmother, finding the time and energy to dedicate to this new venture was a constant challenge.
At first, I offered my services for free to friends and family. I spent hours creating detailed family tree charts and writing up biographical sketches of long-lost relatives. The feedback was positive, but I knew I needed to start charging if I wanted to keep doing this. It took a lot of time. I started by reaching out to local libraries and historical societies, offering to give presentations on genealogy research techniques.
Slowly but surely, I began to attract clients who were eager to uncover their own family histories. In fact, one of my first paying clients was a woman named Sarah, who had hit a brick wall in her research. She had been trying for years to find information about her great grandmother, who had immigrated to the United States from Italy in the early 1900s. I spent weeks combing through records and reaching out to Italian archives, but I couldn't find anything concrete. Just when I was about to give up, I stumbled upon a small detail in a ship manifest that led me to a tiny village in Sicily.
From there, I was able to track down Sarah's great-great grandmother's birth certificate and marriage record. When I presented Sarah with a detailed report and a copy of the documents, she burst into tears. It was a powerful moment that reminded me of why I had started this business in the first place. As my client base grew, I began to specialize in certain areas of research. I especially liked uncovering stories of women who had been overlooked in traditional historical records, like from indigenous communities.
But most of all, I never lost sight of the personal touch that had drawn me to this work in the first place. I made a point of getting to know each of my clients and their unique family histories. Looking back, I realized that starting this project was one of the best decisions I've ever made. It hasn't always been easy. There have been plenty of late nights and dead ends along the way.
But the satisfaction of helping people connect with their roots and uncover their family stories is priceless. It also helps that I'm not doing it for free. Last year, I hit a major milestone. I earned over $25,000 from my research services, all while working part-time from a spare bedroom. But for me, the real reward isn't the money.
It's the feeling of deep fulfillment that comes from turning a lifelong passion into a purpose, all while showing the rest of my family that it's never too late to chase your dreams. [Music]
Big thanks to Evelyn for telling us about her first $1,000 and more. Her first, what does she say, $20,000. And of course, this is part-time. This is a part-time project that she does, partly because she's really excited about it.
And I don't wanna say that she would do it for free, but that's the kind of work that you want to do, the work that you would do whether you get paid or not. And then of course, it's nice to also get paid. I feel that way as a writer. I'd be writing books whether I had publishers paying for them or not. But of course, it's better to have publishers paying for them.
So, that's what you wanna figure out. How can you do that for yourself? And if you have a question or an update about your hustle, sidehustleschool.com, we got notes at sidehustleschool.com/2690 for today's episode. Of course, lots of other notes for lots of other episodes there as well. You can find the show wherever you listen to podcasts.
There's a new episode every day, but that's all for now. My name is Chris Guillebeau. You're listening to "Side Hustle School." [Music]
From the "Onward Project."
