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.
