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Through 26 business failures, I tried my share of network marketing opportunities. 

Aside from Primerica and Legalshield, I wasn’t good at any of them. And even with those two, I was mediocre at best. I just happened to love the insurance products from those two companies, so they were easier to talk about.

And that ended up being a huge realization for me. 

I’d get so enrolled with the vision, falling in love with the potential of the opportunity (a total reflection of my dating life at the time too), and daydreaming about:

• Having freedom and flexibility to do what I want, when I want;
• Making unlimited income, easily;
• And finally being able to call myself a successful business owner. 

And then reality hit. 

The top three reasons I failed at network marketing:

1. I tried to sell stuff I didn’t really believe in, so I shied away from talking to anyone about them.
2. And, even if I loved the product, I...

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During my recent Prolific Content Creation workshop at NBB, a student asked me what I thought of using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to write content for blogs. 

This is literally a workshop where I write a piece of content, like a blog article, from scratch, in collaboration with fellow members, and we make it customizable so each notary can use a personalized version of it on their own platforms. 

So…

Being the writer snob that I am, shared my distaste of some random robot wrecking my craft. 

I wasn’t a fan. 

Writing is supposed to be pure, I said. It’s supposed to be an extension of our soul, I cried. It’s our personality on paper, I pontificated. 

Blah, blah, blah. 

The fact is, not everyone enjoys writing as much as I do, and that’s okay.

That doesn’t mean the need to write or otherwise create valuable content is any less important. 

Content should not be ignored....

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I almost didn’t graduate high school because of two subjects:  Keyboarding and algebra.

Keyboarding, by the way, was still done on a typewriter in 1996 Show Low, Arizona (somehow that was 26 years ago).

I wish I could say my failing grade was because I had some clairvoyant vision that computers were the wave of the future, and typing was obsolete, but that wasn’t it. I just didn’t go to class (and I still can’t type). That was the pitfall of being 18 years old for my senior year: I could sign myself out of school. 

And algebra…

Well let’s just say I disagreed with Mr. Butler’ insistence  that letters of the alphabet should be commingled with numbers to create a math problem (emphasis on problem).

Letters and I got along just fine in English class, geeking-out alone on paper, writing essays and book reports. But throw them in with mathematical equations, and suddenly they act like...

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As a Notary Public and entrepreneur, one of the gifts we enjoy is that the service we provide is often required. 

• Want to buy that house? Get notarized!
• Want to sell that car? Get notarized?
• Want to send your kid to Timbuktu without you? Better get notarized!

But guess what… 

Your notary services aren’t the only ones required for commerce to ensue. 

Fingerprinting is another essential service of our modern economy. 

The enormous increase in remote employees, virtual businesses, and increased security/safety checks, has created a high demand for convenient fingerprinting services. 

• Want that new job? Get fingerprinted!
• Want to volunteer with those children or seniors? Get fingerprinted!
• Want to get, or renew, that professional license? Get fingerprinted!

People in your city need fingerprinting everyday! 

In this blog we answer your biggest questions... 

The Top Four Questions Notaries...

As per usual, NBB members gathered on Monday evening, this time to celebrate Notary Public Day together. 

Instead of the usual Orientation and Sorting Ceremony we usually do, esteemed faculty member, Jen Neitzel, led a discussion she calls Pit & Peak, aptly named after an exercise the Kardashians do on their show. 

Jen originally started this when her kids were young and in school, and she called it, Best & Worst. You know those family dinners where you sit around and ask, “how was your day, dear?” and the only answer you get is, “fine.”

Jen and her husband, Tommy, decided they would do things differently. They asked their kids, “What was the best part of your day…and what was your worst?” 

That ignited conversation that moved beyond just, “fine” to true authentic sharing. 

We got to do that on the NBB call too, and it was fascinating to listen to, as well as participate in. 

The question?

...

I Almost Died That Day

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The idea was to rent an AirBnB in Washington for six months until I found a house to buy. I scored with a pet friendly home right on the water in Shelter Bay, a small coastal community in La Conner. 

My host, Annie, is delightful and lives just a few streets over. She and her husband are in their early 60’s, and while they love Shelter Bay, they plan to move when they retire, seeking a more… vibrant community. While not officially a retirement community, it has the vibe.

Oh, okay, I’ll just say it! It’s like heaven’s waiting room. They even have a street they call “widow’s lane.” It’s sad, but…true. 

Several of my neighbors are well into their 90’s and still driving, watering plants, and one guy even works on his own roof. Let’s just say I am on the younger end of the spectrum, even at 45 years old. 

Which is why what happened...

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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...

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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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As of this moment, I am the self-published author of three best selling books in the micro niche industry of the Notary Public, and I am working on the fourth with my esteemed colleague, Laura Biewer (The Notary & Motivation G.O.A.T.). 

Once I published my first book, Sign & Thrive: How to Make Six Figures as a Mobile Notary and Loan Signing Agent, my life, and business, changed forever. It has sold over 30,000 copies (and rising). Here’s what that first book did for me:

First, I checked something pretty major off my bucket list. I had dreamed of writing and publishing a book since I was six years old. Actually doing it was a priceless contribution to my own esteem and confidence level. 

Second, having a book that I wrote and published gave me something to talk about, leave behind after meetings, and kick down doors that otherwise would have remained sealed. When done correctly, a book can add credibility to...