The Ironclad Button-Up: The Ritual That Saved My Notary Business (and My Sleep)

Have you ever laid down to bed at night, totally fried, mind racing with a dozen things you meant to do, but didn’t?

Yeah, me too. Except my version ended with lost clients, panic attacks at 3 a.m., and a serious reconsideration of my entire notary career.

See, I used to be the guy who’d forget to send the invoice. In fact, one client fired me for it. Said she didn’t want to chase me down to pay me. Understandable. Not exactly a power move in the business-building department.

And don’t get me started on bookkeeping. That gnawing feeling at night wasn’t hunger, it was the dread of untracked miles, unsent receipts, and the ever-looming shadow of tax season. Honestly, I’d have preferred an audit by the IRS than the mental audit I gave myself nightly.

I was equally obsessed about making a mistake. I’d pop out of bed, again at 3am, the witching hour for my inner critic, freaking out because I thought I’d missed a stamp on the deed. I usually didn’t, of course, but sometimes…

It wasn’t until I was fired by my favorite signing service (by the VP of operations, no less) for missing WAY more stamps than is acceptable by any standard, that I knew something had to change. It wasn’t from lack of skill, it was from overwhelm that comes from a lack of systems. 

The Post-Appointment Ritual

A ritual is just a fancy word for a little sequence of habits that you do on purpose. For notaries, I call it your Post-Appointment Ritual and it’s the difference between riding the chaos train and running a calm, controlled, trustworthy business.

This ritual became the earliest form of what I now teach inside the SMILE Framework. And now, we’re taking it to the next level with what I call the Ironclad Button-Up, the ultimate habit stack for staying on top of your biz without losing your mind.

But first, let’s talk about what makes a ritual work.

The Science Bit (But Not Boring)

Every ritual needs a trigger, something consistent that kicks it off. For me, it’s the snap of the car door closing after an appointment. That sound = game time. It’s my reminder to check in and button up.

And, if you’ve read Tiny Habits or Atomic Habits, you know the magic happens when you keep things small, simple, and stupidly easy to complete. My original ritual lived on a Post-It stuck to my steering wheel. High tech? No, but extremely effective. I couldn’t miss it! 

Don’t try to do all the things. Pick 2-3 habits to start. Once those become second nature, add another.

What’s in a Solid Post-Appointment Ritual?

Glad you asked.

Here’s what yours could look like:

• Quadruple-check your documents (because even one missed stamp can haunt you)
• Send the invoice and/or update bookkeeping (Don’t forget to Log mileage and expenses if required for you)
• Message the hiring party (Let them know how it went, anything special the client said or did)
• Send a handwritten thank you (or use SendOutCards)
• Request a review (don’t wait!)
• Update your social media (You can always find something to talk about in and around appointments)

You can get creative here too. Some notaries add:

• Call or text a loved one (or a prospect)
• Stretch and breathe (your body will thank you after being in a car all day)
• Send a quick follow-up to yesterday’s leads

We all have a vision of the person we wish we could be:

• I wish I could be that person who stays in touch
• I wish I could be that person who sends nice notes
• I wish I could be that person who remembers to ask for reviews
• I wish I could be one of those nerds that stays up on their bookkeeping

Those “persons” weren’t born that way. They’re built that way. And they do it through systems and habit building like the post-appointment ritual. 

The key is this: keep it short, purposeful, and repeatable.

My Tips for Ritual Success:

• Build in 10-15 minutes after each appointment. Make this part of the gig, not an afterthought.
• Write it down and post it somewhere obvious. Steering wheel. Dashboard. Rearview mirror. Wherever your eyes go.
• Move your car before you do your ritual. No one likes a stranger parked outside their house fiddling with papers.
• Have your tools handy like your notepad, stamps, thank-you cards, or whatever app or device you use to complete your ritual. It MUST be easy or you won’t do it (That’s not a judgment, that’s just human nature). 

Even If You’re Not Good at Details & Habits…

You don’t need to be a detail wizard to run a detail-heavy business. I’m terrible at the detail work and managed to earn hundreds of thousands of dollars a year as a mobile notary and loan signing agent, and still enjoyed the work. 

But you do need systems that make it easier, especially if you’re more visionary than taskmaster (like me).

This one ritual changed everything for me. I stopped losing sleep. I started keeping clients. And I finally felt like a pro, not just a hustler on the edge of burnout. It made my work, on the road and building, scalable, even as a one-man operation. 

Now, as we dive deeper into the SMILE Framework, the Ironclad Button-Up becomes your next evolution. It’s how you build trust, save time, and make sure nothing falls through the cracks, no matter how busy you get.

What will be in your post-appointment ritual?

Leave a comment and let me know. Bonus points if you’ve got a weird/fun trigger.

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