GNW????

GNW.

Have you ever seen these initials and wonder? Hmm. What is that?

Well, those in the know, recognize it as General Notary Work, meaning everything that is NOT a loan signing job!

Hi, my name is Laura with Coach Me Laura.com, And this is a pet peeve of mine. It doesn't describe at all what you do. It doesn't indicate that you have any special knowledge or training or skill. It doesn't even imply that you travel to their location. It's a terrible misnomer. And I want to change that. Hence my new acronym, SNW, which is Specialty Notary Work. Hmm. I like it! This work is made up of many different niches that require a notary. And just like loan signing work, you will be more competent and more exposed to more opportunities when you invest in understanding these common documents used, and the venues most requested by the public and businesses.

Like any business, I solve problems and I serve a need. People need their documents notarized, but they cannot access the service. For instance, acute care hospitals and specialty hospitals, skilled nursing and assisted living facilities. Doctor's offices are commonly requested venues to perform notarizations, as signers unable to go to the bank or the shipping center to get it done. Also, jails and prisons have the same challenge. Another problem is the need for a specific document to be notarized ASAP, but it's after hours. It's the weekend. It's a holiday. It can't wait till the next day. Again, access is the problem. And the mobile notary is the answer.

There is a repeatable pattern for documents requested to be notarized. The public has probably 10 or 15 documents that I'm asked for over and over again. Powers of attorney - there's five or six different versions, right? There are healthcare directives. They're the number one documents that I'm asked for. Also, there's lots of variation of the same kinds of documents, whether it is for financial or for real estate.

Now the last will and Testament may need notarization, if it has an attestation clause or a self-proving affidavit. Estate Planning documents used in a living trust. Many times that's done online and downloaded, or it might be done with an attorney who says, get the notarizations on your own. These might include the Pour Over Will, the Trust document, Assignments for Personal Assets, Tangible and Digital Assets, and Businesses. Prenuptial and Settlement documents. How about a Passport Consent for a minor to travel? How about spousal consents for your 401K's, and Attorney In fact for investment accounts. Refi's, HELOC's, and Loan Modification packages many times are mailed directly to the homeowner and that falls outside of the traditional path of going through a signing service or a title company.

So you might wonder, well, what else do I need to know besides filling out the certificate? And then of course, where to place my stamp? Well, each specialty I named has different nuances. Some documents require witnesses. Some venues have access procedures. Some customers don't know exactly what it is they're looking for, and they need your help to hook up to the right resource if you're not that person. And although we cannot give legal advice, if we understand the documents purpose, and what happens to it after notarization, we can be very helpful in directing them where they can find the answer. When we are familiar, we may realize certain documents require an extra witness, or it might be witness or notarization. We can help the client with the document instructions to see if there are instructions about what kind of notarization would be needed. We may have connections such as paralegal colleagues who can prepare documents.

If we understand what Apostille certification is or authentication is, we'd be able to explain that process to our client. Either we would facilitate that ourselves, or we might have a partner, we facilitate it with, or at least we can direct them what to do with their document, if they're going to try and do it on their own. When I work with doctors and lawyers and nurses and administrative staff - professional staff - it's important that I understand the lingo they speak, and what their business is about. Because if I understand that, I ask more intelligent questions and I get the answers that are needed for my client. When you become a notary, even if your state gives training, these kinds of document details - they're not provided! So where do you learn it? I recognize these documents, but where do I get the work? Who do I need to be visible to so they'll choose me?

Well, again, I saw a need and I made it my business to understand this marketplace of 'niche' notarizations. My over 16 years of experience in over 30,000 notarizations with loan signings and all these other kinds of documents, along with teaching the mandated training for exam prep and help desk work, exposed me to notary law for 50 States. The marketing, it came from experiments. It came from experience. Identifying what kind of documents do need to be notarized which I'm going to be asked for most. This helped me determine where to focus my attention and how to design my marketing strategy.

You may get niche work already haphazardly through signing services, but that's not the same as targeting the market and going after it. So if you want to start your notary business, if you want to expand what you already have - if you want to multiply your income as a notary - most States are very friendly to mobile notary work! Our fees outside of the notarial value, which can be anywhere from $2 to $15 each - that's part of our money, but the bigger part of our money, are travel fees! Also, we may provide additional services. They may ask us to print documents. They may ask us to drop it off at FedEx. They may ask us to run it down to the County for recording. These are all extra services that we can provide and get paid extra for that. Also, after hours work, weekend work, or holiday work may have a surcharge as well.

Think about all those fees as you're adding up the cost of a notarization and what might've started as a $5 job could end up being a $50 or $75 concierge service. That's what I like to think of. So how do you get this specialty training? It's at your fingertips! Laura Biewer presents or LBP is a video replay library. It's made up of different niche businesses that you could tap into. And each video is specific to a different specialty market and a couple of notary skill builders on journaling and certificate languages were thrown in there as well to make sure you feel competent and confident about the job you're doing. This library continues to grow every year. I add additional videos for notaries, as I uncover and identify newer specialty documents that need a little bit more understanding of what they are, how they work, how they fit into business.

Examples include hospital assignments, jail assignments, apostille assignments, estate planning assignments, powers of attorney, healthcare directive assignments, last will and testament assignments. And of course, I have in there, your new BFF, the journal, and of course, certificate language like acknowledgements, oaths, and affirmations. You pay a one time fee and you get all of it. Plus anything new that I produce. And I do that about once a quarter.

So if you'd like to do more with your commission and increase the value to your customer, then this training will hit the spot. Just go to Coach Me Laura and scroll to the bottom of the homepage. You'll find the video replay library right there. If you need to know more, or you have questions about whether your state is friendly to the mobile notary business, then click on "Quick Call" and schedule a free consult call with me. And I'm happy to talk to you about it. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Until next time, stay safe!

Laura