In any business, you put in a particular number of hours of work. Your work time is divided into particular activities. There is a limit to how many hours you have in a particular week. Few of us can work infinitely, and few can work 80 hours a week. I used to work 70 hours a week and I will never repeat that although that is how I got my business going initially.

MY BUSINESS RESPONSIBILITIES
I have the same problem in my business. I am in the directory business. My time is divided between:
Managing programmers
Adding new listings to the directory
Calling new people, calling old people to see if they are still in business
Writing Blogs
Answering emails & Processing orders

Sometimes I have to figure out which activity not to do when there is a time shortage and it is difficult to choose at times.

WHAT DO NOTARIES DO
But, what do Notaries do? Below is my itemized accounting of what Notaries do in their work time. I ordered the components in order of immediate importance to your career. The topics near the bottom are more long term in their importance.

1. Notary jobs – 31 or more hours per week (or whatever you can get at a market rate)
This involves answering the phone, looking up companies to see if they pay, scheduling, printing, faxing, scanning, driving and supervising signings which includes notarizing. Followups and giving tracking numbers would accompany a notary assignment in many cases as well.

2. Billing – 1 hour a week depending on need (recommended: bill each company you work for once per week)
Faxing bills, keeping records, and threatening companies with demand letters from time to time.

3. Miscellaneous – 1 average hour per week (varies depending on time of year and need)
Buying equipment, toner, paper, supplies,business licenses, taking state notary exams, and doing paperwork for taxes.

4. Marketing – 2 hours a week (recommended)
Contacting new companies, handing out business cards, online advertising, getting reviews, updating your notes, keeping your information straight everywhere it is listed.

5. Education – 4 hours a week (recommended)
Studying certification materials, testing, asking questions, reading blogs.

SUMMARY
Basically, most Notaries who are unsuccessful put too much time into doing jobs and not enough time into the other things that they need to do. Doing jobs provides immediate income, but does not provide for long term success in the business. As indicated above, I recommend doing 31 hours or more of actual notary work per week and the rest of your 40 hours should be doing other activities. You will make more money in the short run doing more work work and less preparatory work. But, you will do better in the long run doing more work that helps your skill level and online presence.

Notaries that know more according to impartial sources (or intrinsically) get more business. Through the use of metrics and analysis I have proven that Notaries who ace my hard tests get a lot more business and get paid more than the others. Acquiring this knowledge takes study time, and perhaps getting some tutoring from Carmen and myself. If you spend too much time making short term cash, you will not have time to study. I put that I recommend four hours a week or study or reading time. To be frank, in the beginning of your career I would put more than four hours. But, once you are established, perhaps only two hours a week. You still need to keep in touch with what people in the industry are writing about to stay informed and keep learning.

Spending more time maintaining your listings makes sense too. Many people online just do not login for half a year or more at a time. Many people’s notes section continue to stay the same when there is a lot more information they could constantly be adding. Most people do not get enough reviews on their listing. Paying attention to these things can increase your market share and demand for your services. If more people want you, then you can charge more for the same type of signing than you could before.

Increasing your value through being methodical and organized about maintaining your online presence, and continuing your education makes a lot of sense. Notaries do not value these things because they don’t have time, lack the discipline to study or write compelling paragraphs about themselves, and just plain don’t see the value. The value is, that by maintaining your education, and presence, you could get paid in my estimate 25% more per signing simply by increasing demand for your service. Additionally, you would get a higher quantity of work. In short, your total income could be a lot higher if you would play by my rules which look at the long run. Less whining and more mastery pay the bills. So, analyze and keep track of how you spend your business time and see if you can make some adjustments that will help you in the long run.

I remember that Cyndi Lauper song from the 80’s – Girls, just want to have fun. It was popular at one time. But, during this decade, we have a different dilemma. Notaries just want to get paid. Why is it that so many Notaries don’t get paid? It is a question of doing your homework. There are various reasons why Notaries don’t get paid. Here are my points on the matter:

1. Notaries who lack experience are seen as less valuable to companies. They typically get paid last if there is a monetary constraint. This is especially true of Notaries who come across as unprofessional, whiny, or make mistakes. The way to remedy this situation is to be more professional and punctual rather than claiming to be as such. Additionally, getting more experience would help as well.

2. Research all companies you work for. If you think you can just blindly accept jobs from companies, I recommend thinking again. Roughly half of the companies out there do not pay on time, or sometimes at all. If you visit the various forums you can easily see who the good apples and bad apples are. You are not just comparing apples to apples — okay, bad example, you are just comparing apples to apples.

3. Have companies paypal you up front. After all, you are not in the finance business. You are not a lender. So, why should you extend credit to a complete stranger? Beginners may have trouble attracting people who will pay up front. But, you can reduce your fee to gain this privilege. It might be worth sacrificing a few bucks to avoid the hassle of chasing people around for petty cash and to avoid the risk of not getting paid at all.

4. Billing regularly and keeping good records is essential. If you go easy on people who owe you money, that will not get you paid.

5. Sending threatening letters to those who have owed you for more than 60 days makes sense. 123notary has a template of just such a letter in our resource page.

Summary
Getting paid is not a complicated art form. It is a matter of following some basic common sense protocol. I hope you learn this and make a habit out of it. Otherwise you might be on the hook for thousands.

Are you a cool Notary? Have you ever wanted to be? We have a Notary in San Francisco whose clients describe him (in reviews) as being young and hip. I think he is the only successful notary on our site who is both young and hip, not to mention articulate. But, what about the rest of us. What makes a Notary cool, and how can you become cool. Or is this a zen paradox and you become cool by not trying to be? Hmmm.

1. Knowledge
I think a cool Notary would be one who either knows his stuff so fluently that he can spout out information in a calm tone of voice without breaking a sweat. Most Notaries get flustered with easy questions like, “How many loans have you signed?” To most that is a trick question.

2. Coolness
A cool Notary would be too cool to care, but would also never miss deadlines for Fedex. It would be kind of a James Bond type cool where you are responsible and cunning in your coolness.

3. Savoir Faire (That’s French for being able to handle tough
situations gracefully) The “cool” Notary should know martial arts and swordsmanship (speaking of James Bond) and be able to go to a signing, fight off intruders using num-chucks, wipe the sweat off his brow after a stunning victory and then say, “now where were we?”

4. Dress
A cool Notary should dress the part. Smart Italian shoes, slacks that fit impeccably, and a leather jacket that says bad boy all over it. For women, a snazzy outfit, not sure what type because I’m not a woman, but definitely flashy and with high heels with an accompanying noticeable hair style.

5. The Car
You cannot be a cool Notary without a cool and hip car. New is usually hip. But, a classic car would work even better. Just tell them you’re a Leno fan and everyone will understand.

6. Poise and Posture.
The proper gentleman stands up straight. But, the cool Notary casually leans on things and holds his head at an angle to show style and perhaps a little bit of attitude too. But, not too much attitude, because too much attitude is edgy which is just as cool as cool, but not the same thing as cool — I guess. How would I know anyway, I’m neither. Just kidding — I’m both, baby!

7. Smoothness
If you are able to work your way smoothly through the package anticipating and answering their every question before they even ask, that is cool. Dealing with all the snags and changes of plans in your signing schedule without even blinking? Yes, once again, that spells cool.

Being a cool notary may sound like it is merely cool. But, think about it from the borrower’s point of view or title. Do you want to deal with a Notary who is awkward and doesn’t know how to handle things or would you prefer someone like Carmen who is the most graceful Notary alive who can handle anything seamlessly without even trying? There is a reason why Carmen gets paid triple what the rest of you get paid. That is because she is a flamboyant, and polished Notary who is cool in her own way — and yes, she has a cool sporty car to match as well. Being cool attracts good clients, so if you think being cool doesn’t matter — turn down the heat because it does!

I just talked to a Notary in San Diego about an upgrade. She was the star of the show and I gave her a huge discount as a result. She said that she used to think I am mean, but now realizes that all of the tips I gave her personally and gave via my courses really helped her with title companies and helped her to be a better Notary (and a better person.)

1. Using clean acknowledgements instead of doing cross-outs helped her be a lot more popular with her title clients. Not all companies appreciate clean work, but her clients did. Cross-outs are messy and can lead to complications when financial companies sell loans, and can also cause confusion if a loan ever goes to court which is rare, but happens.

2. I reminded her many times to get reviews, and she followed that piece of advice and all of my other advice and has the highest points in my points algorithm of almost any notary on the site. The reviews got her a lot of business and she keeps getting new ones too which is key.

3. My tips in general made her a better Notary because she is never sloppy about anything, understands the intricacies of all Notary and signing procedures, and always asks for clarification when necessary. Being meticulous as a result of her education with me made her more popular with her title clients.

So, if you are in doubt about what to do with your Notary situations, listen to what Jeremy and Carmen say as a general rule because we are experienced and know how to handle most situations cleanly and effectively.