How to Get Started

[bethanyjacobnotary]

I have been officially certified for about 3 weeks and have signed up for every signing service you can think of but I have yet to receive any jobs. Can someone help me out here? I would like to get started in the new business venture.

[cNsa5]

@bethanyjacobnotary As with most businesses that are starting out, it’s a SLOW process.

In general, most do find building a business within this business sector to be a MARATHON, not a sprint.

Well, that is unless you live in a region that isn’t already saturated with Trained, Certified, & experienced Notary Signing Agents [NSAs] who are also seeking out Signing Orders OR if you have a family member who works at a Title/Escrow Company [T/EC]. In those scenarios (and a few others), you may find it to be a BREEZE!

As a fellow business owner, I’d like to offer an opportunity to further enhance your business acumen & skill set (speaking proverbially) by “teaching you how to fish;” instead of giving you a fish . . .

Specifically, this link may be insightful & quite helpful. Check out all 3 answers on it:

@leannefigueroa92 Excellent query. Of course, it’s been posed myriad times over the years on the Notary Cafe forum. Thus, your answers await you in the Notary Cafe database! sparkles You can run a Search (upper right/magnifying glass) as it will probably be quicker than waiting for someone to reply. Here are the results I found for you by typing “newbie” in the Search field: Search results for 'newbie' - Notary Cafe Forums Take the time to review the info found within the threads (on the p…

Best wishes

[cNsa5]

@bethanyjacobnotary Also, it’s always wise to research & vet a new client prior to providing a definitive confirmation to them for your initial Signing Order for them. A great start of research would begin within the Notary Cafe forums Search Function.

Most members find it difficult/nearly impossible to locate the Search Function in order to access the wealth of info available within the database.

To be helpful, I’ve inserted an image for you & others [see below] to help members locate it to unlock the wisdom & knowledge of other members on the forums.

Accessing the database to locate info about potential clients has saved many of us an inordinate amount of time ‘chasing’ payments for Services professionally provided to potential non-payers . . .

[cNsa5]

@bethanyjacobnotary Plus,. here are several threads that you’ll find quite insightful, packed with helpful information, & quite a bit of WISDOM!

Must You Complete A Training Course To Get Work?

I concur with the insights of LindaH-FL & mannie1950 (return to the teaching industry). Also, there are 2 recent posts by CherylM that leave the sugar-coating behind & Tells-It-Like-It-Is . . . Truly, anyone entering this business sector needs to change their mindset from that of an employee to that of a Business Owner. It’s a completely different paradigm and is managed differently as well. Best Wishes with your decision.

Temper your expectations

To preface this, I’ve been a lurker on these forums for quite some time and I’ve noticed a ton of expectations lately that seem too unrealistic. I’m a NSA out of Michigan and have been one for the past 7 years. I usually pull in at least 8k worth of business every month but it takes a LONG time to get to that point. I see a ton of newer notaries looking to make fast money or expecting SS or TC to come to them over seasoned notaries while they have very little experience. A few tips that I’d sug…

Starting to hate doing this work

I am just beyond frustrated with this industry. I do this as a part time gig to pay bills, I teach full time, but this industry is just asking for too much and pays too little. They really want me to do a refinance for 100 bucks that has 200 pages and want me to travel there. ALL the signing services are paying less. A refinance no matter how big should be no lower than 100 but these services constantly yelling me te the average is $80. Gas prices in my area are $3+. What idiots are out here doi…

I need help with calculating the true costs of doing business

It would be in your best interest to jot down all of the expenses associated with performing the services you provide within your service region to determine a baseline operating cost. Then, at that point, you can calculate the fees that will generate a net profit to determine if you’ll have a Profit or sustain a Loss at that rate. There are many items to consider within your Overhead calculations. Here are a few to get you started: • telephone expenses including cell phone equipment and month…