Several months ago, I heard from At Your Service Agent, LLC owner Surond Maeweathers that she had booked Bill Soroka to speak at her monthly loan signing agent training class for February 2023. Surond also mentioned that she had booked the Queen of Apostilles, Judi Lawrence with Lawrence Institute of Notaries to speak virtually at her January 2023 training class. This sparked an idea in my head! What if Surond could get Bill and Judi to come at the same time? What if she could also get Laura Biewer to join? This would create an incredible line up of speakers for her class, but Surond being an out-of-the-box thinker took it to the next level. She created a one-day summit in Frisco, TX on April 15th called EVOLVE. Isn't that what we're all doing right now....evolving? I love the name of this conference because it reflects what is happening in our industry. Yes, loan signings are down due to higher interest rates, but business is plentiful for a notary public. My phone is ringing off the hook lately for general/specialty notary services (special thanks to Jim Allen for all the great tips on optimizing my Google Business Profile). And I hear that from notaries all over the country as we are evolving from focusing only on loan signings to creating many different streams of income so we can thrive in business. Bill, Laura and Judi loved the idea of coming to Texas to meet notaries and deliver some of their incredible knowledge to help others. In fact, we've been working on creating a day of learning that includes practical business skills to build relationships with your ideal customers, creating a money mindset and discovering the ways you can lean into the many other options for notaries to build wealth. I hear a lot of people saying they'd love to attend a notary conference, but they can be cost prohibitive. Not this time, my friends. Surond's made the EVOLVE summit very affordable as your day includes breakfast and lunch. And plan on hanging out with everyone after the summit for an on-your-own happy hour. Here's the catch: Space is extremely limited. Special rates at the hotel have been contracted if you're coming in from out of town. Frisco (where the EVOLVE summit is being held) is a suburb of Dallas. Here's the cool part: Tickets are only $150 per person. If you're a Notary Business Builder who attends the EVOLVE summit, you will be included in a brunch the following day (April 16th at 11:30am) hosted by Bill Soroka! Brunch is complimentary to NBB members, and is our way of saying THANK YOU for attending the summit and for being a part of Notary Business Builder. You know we love the chance to mix, mingle and bond with the NBB family. If you're looking for an opportunity to learn from the very best in the notary industry, meet and network with other notaries and EVOLVE your business, then the EVOLVE summit is for you. Just click the word EVOLVE anywhere in this article to register, but do it quick because space is limited! I hope to see you in person in April!

I preach about it all the time. I say it on practically every call I host or attend as a guest, but I didn't do it. I didn't answer my phone. I saw a call come in, I didn't recognize the number and I chose to ignore it because I was involved in doing something else. When I was back at my desk about 15 minutes later, I got the email alert from google that the call was from an attorney via my Google Business Profile and that's when I hit myself on the forehead like the gif above. OMG, I KNOW BETTER!! And, it was a lucrative trust package call that was given to another notary who answered their phone. I know this because of course I followed up, but not fast enough. Sometimes I make mistakes. Sometimes I drop the ball. Sometimes I get overwhelmed just like you. We're human, and it's OK to make mistakes as long as you learn a lesson from them. So, here's the lesson I learned: Practice what you preach and answer the phone when it rings regardless of what the display screen says. Sometimes even calls labeled, "potential spam" have actually been requests for a mobile notary. I hear that from a ton of notaries all across the country. I've committed to no longer allowing calls to go to voicemail if I don't know who's calling. Will you join me? Comment below and let me know you're committed to answering your phone, too! P.S. Let's make it easy for our potential customers to find us! Be sure your phone number is prominently displayed on ALL your profiles including your website, social media, LinkedIn, GBP, Gotary, etc. If you're not sure your phone number is easily noticeable then you need to check today and make adjustments where necessary. It should be the first thing your customers see when looking for a mobile notary.

What the heck is " Gotary ," you ask? I'll get there in a moment, but first let's talk about the birth of Notary Business Builder . I know you've heard of this group of elite notaries committed to building a sustainable business in any economy. The first thing that tends to come up is the $127 a month price to be a member. That's crazy, right? * Who has that kind of money right now since loan signings are all but dried up? ** How can a notary spend $127 each month on a coaching platform when they're already signed up for Notary Coach , Coach Me Laura , Signing Agent Marketing , The Marketing Notary's Google Business Profile Course , Lawrence Institute for Notaries, Notary Assist and any of the dozens of other systems out there focused on the notary industry? *** For that matter, why would you want to sign up when you can join Facebook groups or subscribe to different notary-themed YouTube channels and get the information you need for free? **** I mean, you know how to be a notary public in your state, right? The rules are right there on the Secretary of State's website. Why bother with all the other "trainings" when you've got the tools you need with your notary stamp to make money? ***** Well, if you've set out to earn a living with your notary stamp you have to get really comfortable with this idea first: you're a business owner. Yes you're a notary, but if you want to make any real money with your stamp you must accept the fact that you are running a business. We start out our notary journey thinking it's going to be easy, but nothing good every comes easy my friends. As a business owner, you need to be involved in all aspects of your business including sales, accounting, marketing, social media management, training and development, operations, scheduling, IT, Human Resources...it's a lot. That was just the discussion Bill Soroka and I were having 2 years ago this month when he asked me this very important question, "what if there was a place for notaries to go to have specialized training and coaching for all aspects of their business; not just training how to be a good notary?" Lightbulbs went off everywhere over my head after hearing him ask that. Think about it....there are tons of platforms notaries can join to learn how to be great at notarizing documents, but who is teaching them to build a business to last that isn't dependent on one type of job like loan signings? We leaned into this idea of one place for every aspect of your business. An umbrella, if you will that covers the important parts of running a business, sustaining a business and growing a business. Then, the bottom fell out of the mortgage industry. Interest rates went up, refinances bottomed out and notaries all over the country said, "screw this....I'm moving on to something easier." And that was right about the time we decided to launch Notary Business Builder. An idea some thought was insane given the fact that notaries were dropping like flies as the refinance market dried up. Never ones to shy away from something difficult, Bill, Laura Biewer and I knew that the notaries left standing after the economy "shook out the tree" would be the notaries to thrive. "The ones left standing after the dust settles will be the ones to benefit," is word-for-word what Laura said to me well over a year ago, and I can confirm that I am seeing that happen every day now. The shift is over, and it's time to move on from the narrative that the notary industry can't survive without refinance loans. NBB members are proving every day that there is much more to our businesses than mortgage loans. OK, now back to www.Gotary.com! It's been over a year in the making... Gotary is the Notary Business Builder directory. We knew we wanted to create this from the very beginning...a place where business professionals could find elite notary business entrepreneurs, and notaries can find each other to refer jobs in other cities or states (because Notary Business Builders understand that other notaries aren't competition). But here's where we are making Gotary different than other directories out there: Gotary is ACTIVELY marketed as a source for highly qualified credentialed professionals like notaries public to legal professionals and hiring companies.The owner of the site is Bill Soroka. His contact information is published on the site and businesses and notaries can reach him any time there is a problem. We create and share content that is "consumer-facing" designed to drive traffic from hiring parties to the notaries listed on the directory. We feature transparency and accountability with site ownership and contact information directly on the site. In short, gotary.com works to help our premium members get hired by their ideal customer. We just launched it last week and profiles are being added daily. I'd love to hear your thoughts on it, so feel free to leave a comment below and let me know what you think. Answer key: * No, it's not crazy to spend money every month to have a huge professional support system behind you that includes all of the programs listed in this post, and also has it's own prospecting app with built-in content and a Digital business card, teaches content creation (what to write about on your blog, social media, etc), a certified reverse mortgage training program, LinkedIn training and optimization, search engine optimization (SEO) instruction and support, accountability calls weekly, a private (& very supportive) Facebook group, and so much more! ** Notaries who have spent time working on the tenants we teach like building authentic relationships and building your business on multiple streams like trust and estate planning, specialty notary work, Apostille, fingerprinting, wedding officiant, etc. because they know putting all their eggs into one basket is never a good idea in any industry. *** If you added up all the programs included in NBB individually it would cost over $3,000 a month (yes, you read that right). We removed the subscription fatigue AND gave you the best value we can offer (it launched at $197 month and we recently reduced the monthly membership fee to the lowest price we could to help as many notaries as we can). Every program listed is included in Notary Business Builder membership: Coach Me Laura, Notary Coach, Signing Agent Marketing, Notary Assist, Google Business Profile training, Apostille certification, reverse mortgage certification, Tomm app (for on-the-go prospecting), specialty events, etc. **** Free information on social media and YouTube is not regulated. You don't know the background of the instructors, their history in business, their morals and ethics or if they have your best interest at heart. Let's face it....there are a lot of people out there that just want your money, but our mission is to help you help 1,000 people this year. The founders of Notary Business Builder (Bill Soroka, Laura Biewer and Jen Neitzel) are accessible to each member and lead with integrity as our guiding light. ***** A business owner needs more than the rules their state publishes to run a successful business. They need support, coaching, community (let's face it....working alone can be tough) and access to the tools and people needed to answer their questions.

I've had the house to myself this week for the first time in about a year. That may not sound like a big deal to some of you, but for me it's HUGE! You see, my husband and I both work from home so there is always someone at my house. Literally, always. The TV is normally on all day long as background noise (a habit we both have) and even though he's never asked me to, I put pressure on myself to "logout" at 5pm to make dinner and spend time with my family. I love being alone. As an introvert, it's how I recharge. It's something that is so important to me, which is funny because in my younger years I hated silence and equated being alone with being lonely. Now that I'm older and wiser, I realize that isn't true and those crazy ideas I had were mostly born out of insecurity and immaturity. Before my husband left for his work trip this week, I had my alone-time all planned out in my head. I was going to wake up early every morning, drink my hot tea, go for my walk, meditate, get dressed and spend the morning working on my book. I would break for lunch, work on other projects until late afternoon, and then I'd spend my evenings working on the book. I had one evening planned with girl friends coming over for dinner and wine, and one evening with my son, but the rest of the nights I would spend curating my notary-life-story into words of wisdom for you to enjoy. Here's the thing about plans....they require you to be dedicated to their execution. Ask me how many mornings I've walked or how many pages I've written. For that matter, ask me how many days I've woken up to my alarm. The answer: zero. I started to really beat myself up today about not following "the plan" for the week. Then I remembered several of the Building Authentic Relationships (BAR) calls I've hosted where I've spoken about the art of being kinder to yourself and using positive words instead of negative words when your brain starts to be a jerk. We also spoke about the true meaning of "introversion" and how it exists on a spectrum, and isn't a measure of how shy you are (or are not), but rather how you recharge your energy. Reliving these calls brought me so much relief, and (to me anyway) was proof that all the BAR call material we discuss really works when implemented. Before studying these topics for the call, I would have beaten myself up for days and made myself feel guilty for being "unproductive," but I've learned that part of being productive is having the energy to execute. Sometimes this chick just needs time and space to do nothing to recharge my energy and that is self-care. Next week, we will begin a BAR call series on what it means to be vulnerable in business. I invite all Notary Business Builders to join me on Wednesday (3/8) morning at 8am pacific/10am central/11am eastern as we discuss this very important topic. You can find a link to the call in your Tomm app/events. If you're not an NBB member you can check this amazing group out here: www.notarycoach.com/nbb

I turned 50 a few months ago. I'm not even sure how that's possible because I don't feel as mature or grown-up as I thought I would feel at this age. Remember when you were a teenager and 50 seemed so... old? At 50, my grandmother had grey hair that she had washed, curled and set once a week at the beauty parlor, wore elastic-waist pants made of polyester and played bridge with her other merry-widow friends at 50. That's not me (unless it's Thanksgiving and elastic-waist pants are necessary, but I assure you they won't be polyester). Think back to the TV show, The Golden Girls. Did you know that in 2021 with the Sex & The City reboot "And Just Like That...," Carrie Bradshaw and the gang are the same age as the cast of Golden Girls in season one of that series? I think that speaks volumes about how age is represented on TV and the progress we've made over the years when it comes to women "of a certain age". It's great to see the narrative on age changing in society, and it's especially gratifying when I look at our notary community. I see so many women working their asses off every day at their own business. Making their own rules, their own money and thriving. It's inspiring, to say the least. Even during this strange time in our industry, many of the women I am blessed to work with every day are busier than they have ever been because they are stepping up to meet the times. They are doing the hard work, not complaining about interest rates. I started my notary business at 44, and when I think back to all I've learned and all I've accomplished in the last six years it blows my mind. On days when I am extra hard on myself (and believe me, positive thinking is a skill I work on daily), I try to reflect on who I was at 44 and who I am today to see the progress I've made. I consistently realize that every day I get better and better. There is always more to learn to help us grow. And that's what's so great about being human...the journey of learning never stops! If you're a Notary Business Builder, you're already in the best place to learn the skills you need to be a successful business owner. If you're not, what are you waiting for? www.notarycoach.com/nbb

Yesterday was the 10 year anniversary of the day I met my husband, Tommy. Most people celebrate the day they were married or had the official "talk" solidifying their exclusivity to each other, but we like to pay tribute to the day we met. It was the day that changed everything for us. I go into detail in my manuscript about our relationship, but I also wanted to take a little time to honor Tommy today. If you know me, you know him. We're literally always together, and while some people may think that is stressful, it's actually something I'm very proud of (mostly because after spending every day together working from home since the pandemic started we still like each other). He is the first person I go to when faced with an uncomfortable or unfamiliar situation because his advice is always spot-on. He can also make me laugh harder than anyone else on the planet, and does frequently. Tommy is the person who convinced me that becoming a business owner would be good for me. He was the one that pointed out I had a natural ability to connect with people. He believed in me like no one had before. When I doubted myself, he was there to remind me of my inner strength. Honestly, I wouldn't be in this industry if it wasn't for him pushing me to be the best version of myself and supporting me along the way. I am a better version of myself because of my husband, Tommy. So while all this mushy stuff is going to embarrass him, I wanted to take advantage of my platform to have my moment to "shout from the rooftops" how much I love and appreciate the man I met ten years ago at a bar in Grapevine, TX , and who has given me a life full of love and happiness (and two bonus kids I adore) that I never dreamed was possible.

My oldest daughter graduated from Texas State University in December. She has been working at a bar in Austin for several years to support herself while she was in school, which makes me so proud because she refuses to ask us for money. I trained her well (LOL)! Now that she has her degree, she is beginning to look for her first big girl job. We're encouraging her to look into sales positions because she has that natural sales ability. It's just part of her personality. I am also encouraging her and teaching her how to network! She has reached out to people she knows in different industries and they've all told her the same thing: you need a LinkedIn profile! Being a part of Gen Z, my daughter is very familiar with social media, but she had never set up a LinkedIn profile and in fact, knew very little about it. After checking it out she described it to me as "Facebook for business." It was kind of cool to be my age and know more about a social platform than a 24 year old! It's usually the kids that teach my husband and I how to navigate new social media platforms (they are still trying to help me understand TikTok). She's actually listening to me as I coach her through setting up her LinkedIn profile, which is miraculous because like most young adults she knows "everything!" This lesson has made me realize that I really need to brush up on my LinkedIn knowledge and skills, and I just happen to be a part of an advanced notary group that has a LinkedIn expert on it's faculty!! I am very excited to partner with the one and only Sandra Long tomorrow for a LinkedIn profile session. Much like we did with Jim Allen in January at the Google Business Profile review session, we will gather in breakout rooms to help "boost" our profiles by providing endorsements, recommendations and reviews. Of course, Sandra will provide us with the "how to" information at the top of the call. To join, you just need to have a LinkedIn profile and be a part of Notary Business Builder. This 75 minute call will begin at 1pm central/2pm eastern and 11am pacific. If you'd like information on joining the largest notary collaboration in history, visit www.notarycoach.com/nbb. We are an elite community of advanced notary entrepreneurs who are committed to building a successful business in any economy by leveraging authentic sharing technology and cultivating deeper relationships.

One of the calls I host each month as a Notary Business Builder faculty member is called Building Authentic Relationships or BAR for short. No this post isn't a story about an actual bar, but rather about this amazing call that happens twice a month and leaves me energized and full of great ideas. I look forward to my time preparing for the call and delivering the message. I get to dive deeper into topics that drive relationships with others and with ourselves. I've willingly done hours of research on how the brain affects our thinking and all the past experiences that we've had, and how that shapes our world view. It is endlessly fascinating to me how we humans can retrain our brains, and it's something I work on daily. Why, you ask would I want to "retrain my brain?" Well, if you're like me your inner dialog is a real hard core, take-no-prisoners bitch. You beat yourself up for the smallest mistakes. You doubt yourself constantly, compare your self, your life and your business to others and feel inadequate. Let me tell you, my inner voice can be downright mean and nasty. I wouldn't have the nerve to speak to anyone else in the world the way I speak to myself sometimes. So, retraining my brain is about working on slapping that inner voice upside the head and saying, "OH HELL NO" to negative self thoughts. It's a practice. It takes patience, and it takes the support of others who know what you're going through. Earlier this week on the Notary Business Builder BAR call, we talked about the proven, scientific ways to build better habits. This is research that has been around for decades. I am a big fan of Mel Robbins, the NYTimes best selling author and podcaster (www.melrobbins.com) and she released a podcast earlier this year about how humans can hack their own brains to put better habits in place. I knew instantly after hearing the show that I had to pass this knowledge on to other Notary Business Builders, and I am so glad I did because we had a fantastic discussion about how we all share the same affliction: getting stuck in the rut of a bad habit. Just seeing other people nod their head in agreement when I was talking about my nasty inner dialogue was a comfort. We got real and raw about which habits we had that we need to reframe and the little ways we've helped ourselves do that. We also accepted that better habits are the only way to get from where you are to where you want to be! You don't have to be smarter than you are right now, or richer or thinner or prettier....you need to learn how to hack your brain to learn new habits. MIND BLOWN! If you're a Notary Business Builder, you can catch the replay of Wednesday's BAR call on your NBB dashboard in the recent replays section. If you're not yet a Notary Business Builder and this kind of support and connection are something that interests you, I encourage you to check out the opportunity at www.notarycoach.com/nbb. There's nothing like it out there that you've seen before!

I am an author! I am an author! I am an author! I keep saying that to myself as I am working my way through my first book tentatively titled, "What Was I Thinking?" That's not the actual name of the book, but it is what goes through my head at least once a day as I'm dedicating more and more time to a lifelong dream of publishing a book. Telling myself, "I am an author" is my daily affirmation to convince my normally negative-leaning brain to get on board with this new adventure. Our brains are wired to lead with negative thoughts (partly as a protective mechanism), and I know most of us struggle with keeping the those thoughts at bay. I actively try to replace negativity with a reminder that I'm too hard on myself, and I deserve to live my dreams as much as the next person. I've actively retrained my brain already to understand this: I don't believe that others who have written books are smarter than I am, but I do know they have better habits. That's just step 1 and I have many others to take, but I am confident I will get there because I also know that willpower is bullshit! Willpower has nothing to do with me achieving my goal of publishing a book(s). It's just an excuse we create in our brains to attach emotion and feelings to our goals, which in turn leads to failure (and more excuses). You have to take the emotion out of creating better habits. What will work? Doing the damn hard things to create the habit of daily writing until it becomes second nature. I'll be talking about habits on my Building Authentic Relationships (BAR) call tomorrow (Wednesday, 2/15/23 at 10am central). Notary Business Builders can find the link in their Tomm app on the events calendar. I've been listening repeatedly to Mel Robbin's podcast about hacking habits, and how training a human is no different than training a dog. Seriously! You can actually teach an old dog/lady new tricks with a science-backed formula for success. I'm excited to talk more about this with you tomorrow.

I may not be celebrating Thanksgiving the way I normally do, but if I've learned anything over the last year it's how to pivot! Covid or not, there is no way I could let this time of year go by without saying THANK YOU for your support, encouragement and friendship. I realize how fortunate I am to be doing something I love to do, while making amazing friendships along the way, and for this I am truly thankful. I appreciate each and every one of you and I sincerely hope your Thanksgiving is peaceful and full of good food and love. However you celebrate, know that I will be raising a glass (of orange juice) to you!