As the creator of The 5 Point Marketing System featured at Marketing4Notaries.com and co-creator of Notary Business Builder, I take my commitment to the notary community very seriously. It’s my goal to provide a safe place for notary entrepreneurs to learn the skills necessary to build a successful business no matter what the economy is doing. Part of that commitment is meeting with my co-founders, Bill Soroka and Laura Biewer at least 3 times a year to evaluate our systems, plan for the future and dream big! We also like to have a little fun along the way. And as Bill always says, “there’s no better way to build a deeper relationship than shared experiences!”
We kicked off 2024 with a week-long planning retreat in beautiful Monterey, CA. I’ve never been to that area of California before, but I assure you I will be back. I loved everything about it. The breathtaking scenery, the food, the activities…honestly, I felt like I was born to be a California girl, and I’d move there in a heartbeat if I could convince my husband and kids to move, too! As we drove around the area taking in the gorgeous scenery, I found myself wondering if the people who live there and see the stunning views every single day take it for granted. I hope they don’t.
While in Monterey, we worked hard building out new tools for notaries during the first part of the day gathered in the communal lodge of Asilomar Conference Center. When afternoon hit, we had so much fun together experiencing all the best that this part of California offers. That includes an awesome dinner with several Notary Business Builders (a few who drove for hours) to meet us for dinner one evening. It was so wonderful spending quality time together! We had such a good time at dinner, we decided to meet for breakfast the next morning before everyone left for home.
There was a whale watching tour where we followed a pack of Orcas, shopping and eating our way around Cannery Row, finding a small area winery with the BEST Pinot Noir and Pinot Grigio ever (Bargetto Winery - check it out if you find yourself on Cannery Row and hopefully Tiffany, an aspiring author will be your server, too). We traveled the 17 mile drive in Pebble Beach not once, but twice because we loved it so much - and we may have even stopped at an Open House in Pebble Beach to be “lookie-lou’s”, but no photographic evidence exists! The drive out to Big Sur and back was so peaceful and the afternoon spent wandering in and out of the shops and restaurants in Carmel-by-the-Sea was the perfect place to celebrate the launch of Bill’s first non-notary book, Dandelions.
There are so many lessons I take away from these meetings with my colleagues-turned-friends. The first of which is always GRATITUDE. I still have to pinch myself that I get to sit around a table and create with Bill and Laura! Like the beautiful views in Monterey, I hope I never take that for granted. Their partnership has given me so much more than a spot in time as a “notary influencer.” It’s given me confidence in my abilities to lead, to create and to dream big. Really big! I am confident that what we’ve already provided the notary community like Notary Business Builder and the Certified Trust Delivery Agent program are changing the entire landscape of our industry. I also know there are some big things coming, and I can’t wait for you to see what’s in store.
The second lesson I learned while at our leadership retreat is ABUNDANCE. Everything we do, we approach with the mindset of abundance. There is no limit to what we can do when the three of us work together, and it will always start with bringing notaries what they need to succeed. It’s remarkable to me that the three of us, despite any successes we’ve had, can agree that providing notaries with the best opportunities for growth is our top priority. It’s never been about money or influence. It’s about a love of the notary community and the amazing people that make it up. We are constantly looking for opportunities to share with notaries and there is nothing we love more than experiencing your wins! In fact, my favorite part of the week is listening to notaries share their professional and personal wins on our Tuesday afternoon accountability call inside Notary Business Builder.
Finally, the lesson of SYNCHRONICITY always follows the 3 of us when we are together. There is a sort of “magic” that happens when we’re in a room together and it’s definitely noticeable by anyone who is nearby. If you don’t know, here is a lovely definition of synchronicity: “it is a phenomenon in which people interpret two separate—and seemingly unrelated—experiences as being meaningfully intertwined, even though there is no evidence that one led to the other or that the two events are linked in any other causal way.” I think that’s a perfect way to describe the three of us. Just a few short years ago we didn’t even know each other. Now, we’ve created a safe place for notaries to gather, learn and grow as professionals and individuals. We were also lucky enough along our notary journey together to become supportive friends who genuinely care about each other. Both Bill and Laura have been not only professional influences in my life, but they have each provided me with the inspiration to grow as an individual. It’s one of the greatest gifts of my life, and I will do my best to never take either of them for granted!!