How I Got Started and Where I Still Struggle

You don't realize how tough something can be until you dive in with your eyes closed and do not open them until you are half way through the ride -- only then, when you open them do you realize what you got yourself into. Then you are so far into it you can't stop or you don't want to stop (one of the two).

I dove into being a Notary and starting this business with the mindset that it would be easy. I thought -- Okay, I am getting this thing for work, but I also need some extra money on the side why not make some use of it. So I looked up the rules and nothing said I couldn't use it outside of my jobs business hours and keep the monies made for myself; in fact it said I could do just that. It was perfect. So I jumped in. I talked to my husband, He agreed it would be a great opportunity for me if it was what I wanted to do. My kids, well you can imagine how kids are -- they were just excited about something new.

The Research Started ---

I knew I had a lot of research ahead of me especially because my kids wanted me to pick a cute and catchy business name (cough cough). From my previous job I knew I was going to need a Business Tax Receipt for each county I was planning on doing business in as well as getting my business listed with the Secretary of State. The expenses just kept climbing as my research hole grew.

I was also going to need to make a website and social media accounts and probably pay for ad space at some point. If I wanted to get fancy I could even pay for Google Workspace and have my emails match my website to make it easy for customers. I ended up doing pretty much all of that early on --- some probably a little bit too early (we will cover that later)

So I had my Notary, had my website, had my business name, and was registered with the state and counties --- but I still didn't feel prepared if I suddenly got a call from someone asking me to go notarize a document for them. I started to panicking ; flat out panicking.

I realized I only knew the basics of notarizing a document. Sure, over the years being interested in Notaries I had looked up plenty about them and their different documents and situations. In this moment of realization I knew that I had to delve into the Notary world more than I realized. I was going to have to find more tools than just reading an article here and there. I was going to need to subscribe to Forums, and Notary Websites from Professionals. I needed resources and hopefully free ones.

I hit resource overload. Everything I was reading was telling me I should be making thousands and thousands of dollars. Have my phone ringing off the hook. Followers rolling in constantly. But I was not. None of that was happening. In fact, quite the opposite was happening and it was silence. Crickets. You could hear a pen drop in an empty room.

I had to figure something out or all of this would be wasted time and wasted money.

So I started looking for forums. Places with real people, who I could talk to and read about their experiences. I found websites with free information and videos so I could research information and not feel like I would be unprepared if I got a phone call for a job.

What are some good sites?

I am only going to list some sites that I found useful. There are a ton of websites out there that are and will be useful to somebody else. The following websites are just ones that were most useful to me with the information and training that was available.

The National Notary Association is a given. Everyone has heard of this website and chances are this is where you get most of your information. If you don't I suggest subscribing to their newsletter and taking a look through their archives as you will not regret it, I know I sure have not.

Notary Stars is chalk full of good information. They do have a subscription if you want to list yourself on their website, but on their site you do have access to a good bit of information. You will have to pay their fee to access some of their pages including the information on RON and any Marketing training videos or pages. They do have a separate website for their RON Directory. I think for the vast array of information that is provided on this website it is pretty reasonably priced. If you only want to list yourself in their directory you pay a once yearly fee of $30. If you want to list yourself PLUS get their training information you will need to pay a monthly service fee of $40.

Another is Notary Café. This is a website full of knowledgeable people who are available to answer any questions you may have on their forums. Their forums though are full of already posed questions where you can search in their search bar for previously asked questions and search their whole database easily. You can pay monthly and list your self in advertisement on their site to get your name out there as well. Super nice!

I'm sure there are a ton more out there and I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to hear which ones you are using to help you expand your knowledge as in the past month these are just the few I have just been using for myself.

Any readers out there, please feel free to comment with your insightful tips as well.

Marketing myself and putting my new business out there on social media has been my biggest struggle. Aside from finding resources with good information and places to list my services, I don't think I have quite figured this part out. If I am being honest, I don't think I am doing the "marketing" thing right. I started a Facebook page, an Instagram, Yelp, and I just put myself on Thumbtack in hopes one of those will drive at least ONE person to give me a call to sign my signature on their document.

I will let you know which one works when it does! So we will come back to Marketing later -- THIS ONE IS MY BIGGEST STRUGGLE AND I HAVE NO IDEA WHERE TO EVEN BEGIN.

Other than, all I can and will say is - Can I really do this?