Every year I come back to this topic. Sometimes I address it in a humorous way, and other times in a serious way. Notaries often procrastinate some of their responsibilities. Your business will do better if you are a little more proactive in certain ways. Here are my tips for 2021.

Supplies
Stock up on supplies like paper, toner, ink, get that new GPS system if it will help you, pens, stamps, Fedex envelopes, and whatever else you need.

Snacks
Notaries have to eat on the road and that is not always healthy unless you live near a Whole Foods or a Jamba Juice. But, you can have packages of nuts and dried fruits in the car, and then bring fresh fruit on a daily basis. Dried fruits have a lot of nutrition. Apricots, dates, plums, dried mangos, raisins, and other dried fruits are packed with many micronutrients, minerals, vitamins, iron, and more!

Education
The newer Notaries seem to take education a lot more seriously. I noticed a change in collective attitude about six months ago. It seems that Mark Wills at LSS is a force of motivation and enthusiasm to be reckoned with. His students seem to be popular on our site too. His course seems to be oriented towards practical issues like dealing with some of the types of signings that became popular in the last few years (that were not popular during my day sonny.)

123notary has a paid certification course with a hard test. Our testing standards are the hardest in the industry and those who use our site are aware of that. We also have a very interesting FREE course on the blog which people love called Notary Public 101 and we test people who completed that test and sometimes certify them. Most people don’t study enough, but you can make that your New Year’s resolution and it will benefit you for the rest of your career.

Notes
Your Notary profile has a notes section. I just reviewed several hundred of our most prominent notes sections on the site. I am sorry to say that few did a bang up job writing about themselves. I think that putting in a lot of effort to try and figure out what to say about yourself will really pay off. Those who use our site want to read what you have to say about yourself, so if you say very little, they are less likely to call you first. It might take a few hours to read our section on the blog called, “Your notes section” while taking notes. It might take a few more hours to write a great notes section. But, that is what successful notaries so, so if you want to be successful, invest some time in it, especially during the holidays.

Reviews
It is the same suggestion every year. Our notaries seem to have less reviews than a few years ago. The very experienced Notaries got old or died off. Most of our Notaries are new which is refreshing, but they need to have reviews too. Anyone who compliments you on your work – ask them for a review and send them a link to your review page. The link is above your name on your profile.

Company Names
It pays off to have a good company name and register it with your county. We have written many articles on the topic. Please read those articles. It takes hours of brainstorming and conversations with others to pick a great name for your company. It is worth the effort in the long run.

Review your state notary laws
Some people look to Notary agencies for advice, but to know your local laws, please refer to your notary division’s website. Most states have a notary division under their Secretary of State, but some have it under another state office. Review those laws, because you might have a quandry one day if you are not rock solid on Notary laws and procedures.

Summary
I think I better think up my resolutions for this year. I want to be better at time management, lose lots of weight and learn Chinese better. Never mind becoming a millionaire — I’ll save that for 2022.

Anybody who is a loan signing Notary knows that they need to drop documents. We have written articles on this topic before, but it is a loaded topic.

You can claim that you dropped the documents. But, some Notaries are liars, and how can title know that you aren’t? Should they just take your word for it?

If you drop documents in a drop box, there is a small chance that it will get picked up late, or not at all. The courier assigned to pick up from that box might quit and a new person might take the job not knowing that they are to pick up from that box. People do screw up in real life. Your package could be sitting in that drop box for a week while FedEx figures it out although that is rare. But, it happened to me once! Once contents of a drop box got stolen according to a story from one of our Notaries. I only heard of that once. There is a 1 in 1000 chance that your drop box might not get picked up. If you do a lot of signings, that could cost you a client or get you in big trouble. Additionally there is no proof that you dropped it in a particular box and you might not even remember what box you dropped it in.

If you drop at a manned station, that is a better idea. The box in their office will always get picked up, and often at a slightly later time than the drop boxes on the road.

I highly recommend you get paperwork from FedEx stating that you dropped the package at a particular time and place. You might need that evidence if you get in trouble.

The bottom line is be prepared, think ahead, and have as much evidence for what you did correctly. It is just like keeping your journal correctly. It is rare that your journal will be checked, but when it happens (roughly 1 in 2000 jobs gets checked, so it will happen eventually to you.) you need to be prepared or you get in a lot of trouble. You could even get arrested.

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!