Success stories / Andrea Bentschneider
Andrea Bentschneider · Beyond History · Hamburg, Germany
For 18 years, her business ran her. Now she’s the one driving it.
Meet the CEO
One of Germany’s leading genealogists, who turned her passion into a profession, and her profession into an agency.
Andrea Bentschneider founded Beyond History in Hamburg on July 1, 2004, after ten years in New York working in luxury hotels, including the St. Regis and The Mark, and in high-end travel. Her team researches family history across Germany and the former German provinces, finds heirs in probate cases, and researches for TV formats like “Who Do You Think You Are?” and “Finding Your Roots.”
Her husband joined the business full time in year three, and the team has grown to as many as seven people. She has chaired the Association of German-speaking Genealogists for ten years and is a sought-after guest on German radio and TV.
The goal
Stop riding demand up and down. Build steady demand for a luxury service with a clear marketing plan, so the business and the team could grow on purpose.
Before The CEO Collective®
Clients came, and she reacted. Every time.
01
Staffing up, then letting go
When demand rose she added people. When it dipped, she had to cut back. Under German employment law every hire is a full employee, which made each swing heavier.
02
A luxury service in a hard year
She joined in 2022: the third year of Corona, a war close to home, and rising prices. Genealogy is a pleasure, not a necessity, and she wasn’t sure how much longer she had the energy to keep fighting.
03
Books, but no answers for her business
She read the business books, but they couldn’t answer questions about her specific case. She had no MBA and no one to ask about marketing.
“It was always a lot of clients came and then I had to react to everything. And now for the first time I’m really driving my business and make decisions.”
The 90 Day CEO Operating System® at work
What the system actually built for Andrea.
Andrea found the podcast, tried the planner on her own, then joined a virtual CEO Retreat in March 2022. In a conversation afterward, Racheal answered the one question ten other people couldn’t: how many extra people she would need, what they would cost, and when they would pay for themselves. She joined that June.
Phase 01
One way to attract clients is enough
The Client Growth Engine™ showed her she was already doing more marketing well than she realized, and that she didn’t need ten ways to attract clients. One that works was enough, which made her goals and quarterly projects simpler.
“I don’t need to have 10 ways of attracting clients, but having one way that works is definitely enough.”
Phase 02
The Monday CEO Date
Every Monday she checks her goals and what she said she would finish that week, celebrates her wins and gets support where she needs it. On slow weeks the coaching was simple: take small steps and stay in action.
“You have a time to schedule it. You have a time to celebrate your wins and to get support where needed.”
Phase 03
Visibility built on relationships
Her theme for the year was alliances. Her plan included one paid speaking engagement a month and regular coffee talks with people in her industry. Her role with the genealogists’ association led to RootsTech, a relationship with FamilySearch, and live Q&As for hundreds of people.
“If you don’t ask, it’s a no. But if you ask, then you still have a chance of maybe a yes.”
In her own words
What it looks like when your business stops running you.
I turned my hobby into my profession, my passion into my profession, and I never expected it to be where it is today. But before the Collective, I always went with the flow. If there was demand, I increased my team. If there wasn’t, I had to reduce it. I always just reacted to what was happening.
When I joined, I wasn’t sure how much longer I had the energy to keep this up. It was always a fight. Having a group of businesswomen with similar experiences, who can tell me, “I use this letter,” so I don’t need to come up with it, meant there was no question in my mind anymore whether I will still be in business next month.
The CEO Collective definitely gave my business stability. It’s the first time I’m running my business and it’s not running me.
I probably needed half a year to really arrive, to clean everything up and have a basis to work on. Then, at the beginning of this year, it completely exploded and took on a life of its own: a German TV show, newspaper interviews, and two live Q&As at RootsTech with 600 to 800 people, two nights in a row.
When I’m hesitant to ask someone for something, I ask myself, “What would I do if I wasn’t afraid?” Then the tone of the email changes completely, with more confidence.
What’s different now
Andrea’s biggest wins.
Result 01
A network of women who get it
“Now I’m in a network of similar minded women. Many of my friends are employed, so they don’t know what I’m going through.”
Result 02
Hundreds of people at RootsTech
“I gave two Q&A sessions live and I had an average of 600 or 800 people there, two nights in a row.”
Result 03
A monthly event with FamilySearch
“Since that was such a huge success, this is going to be now a monthly event, advertised and organized through FamilySearch.”
Result 04
Media that keeps calling
“Sometimes I look at them and think, “How are you supposed to be invited to a TV show by next week?” and then all of a sudden an hour later, the phone rings.”
Featured episode · Promote Yourself to CEO®
Going From Reactive to Proactive In Your Business with Andrea Bentschneider
Andrea joins Racheal to talk about moving from winging it to a clear plan: the feast-or-famine staffing cycle, building visibility through relationships instead of cold pitching, and the question that finally convinced her to join.
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If demand decides how your year goes, you don’t need more hustle. You need a plan you can see a quarter ahead, and a room of business owners who will tell you what’s working. That’s The CEO Collective®.