I looked you up in the state's system and it looks like you're in Chino, right?
My first advice to newbies is to go the your country recorder and do some research. It takes time... but look at recently filed deeds for the areas you wish to cover. This will give you a lot of information. First, you will find out what companies are doing business in your area. You'll also want to make note of the notary, too... because those people may likely be your competition.
There are over 400 notaries in Chino Hills alone. How's that for sobering? That's just Chino Hills... not Chino. China has another 500 or so. That's a LOT!!! Consider that there are only about 160,000 notaries total in the whole state. The state average ratio is 1 notary for every 242 people. In Chino and Chino Hills combined, it's 1 notary for every 152 people or so.
This means that there are a LOT of notaries in your area, which means you will also be competing with a lot of other newbies who take super low fees. You're also in an area where a lot of the signing services and lenders/title operate out of, too, which actually explain the saturation numbers to some degree. That's both good and bad. Good because it means you can try to get business by meeting them face to face. Bad, because, well... you're competing with not only the newbies who think they have to take less to get work but also the long established notaries with serious credentials.
It may not be what you want to hear... but it might be that doing general notary work, as opposed to loan work, might be a bigger money maker for you.
I'm honestly curious how you came to learn of the business ans what made you decide to pursue it right now, a time when there is little work and a lot of veteran notaries are leaving the business. |
