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See what I did there for this Halloween post? 

We’re wrapping up another month, today in fact, October 31, 2022. I checked my book sales from October 1 thru right now, and this is what I found:

 1,100 notary books sold…in just 31 days. 

If you have an inner critic like mine, you might be frozen with thoughts like:

• “Who the hell are you to write a book?”
• “No one will read a book about that?”
• “You’re NOT an expert!”
• “You’re not a good writer.”

That’s just negative chatter from an inner voice trying to protect you from heartbreak and discomfort. That’s the ego’s job-to protect the status quo. Change is scary to our ego. And writing and publishing a book can change everything.

It did for me. And it lit a fire inside. I had hoped to publish two books this year, but will likely just publish one. Next year? Big goals again. One, two, maybe...

I'm not much for fads. It's not always a conscious decision, but it seems that I come into them either before their fads, or (more likely) after their fads.

Still, I think the Spirit Halloween Meme could be an opportunity to have some fun, even self-deprecating fun, to help spread the word about your notary business. 

Below, is the Michael Myers sized stab I took at my own meme. And then after that, I included the original image that everyone else is using to create their memes. 

I used Canva to create this. Simply download the original image I provided. Upload it into Canva. If you have the premium version of Canva, use the background remover feature to "clean" your image. Add a textbox for what is included in the costume package. Then add a text box for what is sold separately.

Have fun with this! 

You could  add branding, phone numbers, etc, but I've found that it takes away from the fun and authenticity. Try doing it just because. See what...

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Business Plans Are Useless.

Okay, okay, okay,! Before you throw your right hook, hear me out. When it comes to business plans, I subscribe to Eisenhower’s perspective: 

“In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.”

Formal business plans can prove useful if you want government contracts, or you’re trying to get a loan or grant, but when it comes to your day-to-day operations as a solo-preneur, it’s of minimal impact. It’s so inconsequential, in fact, that I’d call it a distraction. Or, what Steven Pressfield would call, “resistance.” 

Like spending months developing a logo, or a website, or choosing the perfect name for your company, a business plan can act as an excuse to avoid doing the actual work. 

The road to hell (and failure) is paved with business plans. 

Let’s be real. Some people spend weeks, maybe...

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We work so hard to fill our pipeline with appointments. Think about all the energy, money, and effort we put into:

• Cultivating referral relationships
• Building websites
• Having social media pages
• Adding more directory listings
• Signing up with hiring companies
• Creating a Google Business Profile
• Networking meetings and events
• Creating and distributing content
• Training (so we’re good at what we do)

All this work to get our phone to ring and ding, and then what? 

Most notaries finish an appointment and then just hop right back on the hamster wheel again and start all over, hustling for their next customer-another new customer. 

Now, there’s nothing wrong with new customers, don’t get me wrong. But they're expensive to acquire. The Harvard Business Review suggests that it is 5-25 times more expensive to acquire a new customer than to sell your services to an existing client. 

Your database of previous notary...

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One of the most dangerous ways of thinking for a small business is, “that’s the way we’ve always done it.” A dangerous pitfall, for sure, but sometimes it feels like it’s the mantra for this ancient notary industry. 

Oh sure, we’re coming around, finally after a thousand years or so: ballpoint pens, gel pens, electronic signatures, Remote Online Notarization, In-person Electronic Notarization, and now even electronic notary journals. 

But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. In an industry with 4.5 million participants, most of whom are unaware of the potential contained in their notary commission, innovation & change is ripe and ready for the picking. 

This last June, in Las Vegas for the National Notary Association’s Conference, I had the honor of facilitating a panel discussion of eight industry pioneers and innovators that are literally changing the landscape for...

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Taking my own advice, I started diversifying my own mobile notary work back in Phoenix (before the move to Washington). In the Valley of the Sun, we’ve been insulated from the economic shift (until very recently), as most of my clients are home builders, or specialize in commercial transactions, but I wanted to get ahead of what’s to come. 

I asked myself which appointments I’ve enjoyed most through the years, and which I thought could also be the most lucrative, considering the legislative bindings in the state of Arizona. 

The answer: Living Trust Presentations.

These living trust presentations fall under the more general category of estate planning, but similar to loan signings, you can command a higher, bundled fee because you actually present documents, gather signatures, and perform notarization (if required). 

If you need some training on living trusts, last wills and testaments, powers...

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Think about the three basic tools you must have for every Notary appointment. I am not talking about all the things we consider a best practice to carry with you, or the fun office supplies we carry to make us more efficient or professional, Just the basics. 

What must you have to perform your duties as a Notary Public?

• Your Notary Seal
• A Pen
• The Notary Journal (even if your state doesn’t require it-come on, don’t get me started)
• Ink pad for fingerprints (if you’re in a state that requires it-okay, you get four things)

I remember being at the end of 14 or 15 hour days, at appointment number ten or eleven, exhausted, and just plain refusing to carry my Notary bag across even one more threshold. I’d grab three blue pens, my stamp, and my journal, and keep my fingers crossed that everything went smooth and easy for that appointment. I mean, worst case scenario,...

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With a population of around 1,000 people, La Conner is the 386th largest city in Washington. And located on Morris Street, right next door to the best Mexican food in Washington, sits Rowdy Dog Antique Lighting.

Even in a charming town, such as La Conner, it was hard for me to picture myself even entering an entire store committed to antique lighting. As it is when shopping (which is rare for me), I feel like a crotchety old man, calculating the rent and labor expenses, judging product displays, and evaluating employee performance. I just wander around muttering, “How do these guys stay in business???”

Yep, I am turning into my grandmother.

But the allure of Rowdy Dog’s beautiful lamps, flirting, twinkling their little lights through the shop window was too much to deny, even for me. I found myself actually waiting for them to open up shop one Thursday morning at 11. I practically camped in the parking lot, like it was an...

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One of the many gifts we have as we work our mobile notary and loan signing business is meeting incredible people. Still, when I first started out, I was terrified of the kind of people I would meet. Were they angry? Sad? Mean? 

Turns out, very few of them were any of those. And my friend Bobbi Illing said it best anyway, “You can like anyone for an hour.”

For the most part (luckily) we aren’t counting down the minutes until we can escape an appointment. People are pretty cool. And some of these connections we have with our signers are magical. 

And even when we think we may have found a “bestie” or an awesome referral source, we can struggle to stay connected and often lose touch. 

No matter how powerful the spark during the appointment, the energy wanes as life goes on and we get distracted. Especially, when the phone is ringin’ and dingin’ like crazy. It’s easy to...

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I just moved into a new home in northern Washington after living the last 18 months in fully furnished AirBnB's.  I find myself needing everything from coasters, lamps, & garbage cans, to landscapers and exterminators (Did you know Washington has a “spider season”? They certainly didn’t mention that in the sales brochure).

When I need something, a service especially, I go to two places- my network for referrals, and/or a Google search. My network up here in Washington is nothing like it was in Phoenix, so if my real estate agent or AirBnB host don’t have a referral for me, guess what-off to Uncle Google I go.

Most consumers skip the referral part and go straight to Google, where they make a decision on who to call based mainly on whose information appears on their screen and the quality and number of their reviews. 

When a consumer types in their search for say, “Notary Near Me,”...