Posted by Hugh Nations Signing Agents of Austin on 6/25/04 10:12pm
Msg #3536

Starting a business

For those who are just starting out, my experience may prove useful.

I have been a signing agent for a tad over a year and a half. A couple of months after I started, I realized how little I knew about the business, found some study material, and took the NNA certification exam -- not the best teacher, but head and shoulders above nothing.

After that, I made a conscious effort to do two things: List with as many signing companies as possible, and list with as many free notary sites as possible (there are lots of them out there). I spent many hours in front of the computer tracking down companies and web sites. For long months I refused to pay for a listing anywhere except with NNA. That, unfortunately, has proved to be the least productive of the many listings I've joined, both free and paid. Including NNA, I have now grudgingly taken out three paid listings, none more than $40.

I signed up with every signing company in sight, and took almost everything that was offered. The object was to be able to say to any prospective customer than I had hundreds of signings. I can say that now, and I also have been able in the past few months to be far more selective than in the past. Further, title companies are now calling, and as with everyone else, the ultimate aim all along was to get the title company business.

I just ran a Google check on my company name. I got 33 hits from the many notary listings I set up. That has taken some time and some effort, and lots of hours logged on the computer, biting my lip to ignore the sexy new negligees my wife delighted in flaunting behind my back.

Was it worth it? Well, that's a heckuva lotta exposure I would never get had I just waited for the world to come to me. So, worth it? Let's see...33 hits vs wife in sexy negligee.........33 hits vs sexy wife in sexy negligee............um, maybe you'd better just ignore the whole darned thing.......

Reply by BrendaTX on 6/26/04 9:47pm
Msg #3572

Newbie's Posting Tips to Add

Good thread Hugh! I'd like to add a few thoughts about posting to forums to what Hugh has said.

Notary/Signing Agent Forums are one of our greatest resources. If you are new or thinking about the business, here are some things to remember about posting to this or other forums:

1- Those who offer business opportunities read this forum.

2-Considering that potential employers are reading what you post, never forget: An unfortunate “truism” of life (unless you are dealing with you mom, or you grandmother): One "Damn Ya'!!" has the power to cancel out all the "Atta boy!'s" you have ever gathered in your entire life and career.

Think before you post. Typographical errors happen to everyone. However, postings with repeated misspellings, cutesy-pie abbreviations that are more appropriate on social forums, and poor grammar are not endearing in a professional group forum. Be yourself and say whatever you want to say, and in your own style, but do not say it stupidly.

3- Posting on this forum is opening a window into your professional image. What you post will give quick information on which of the following you are at this point in your life:
(a) Lazy, whiny, emotional, hot-headed and unwilling to use spell checking for accuracy in posts.
(b) Professional, earnest, willing to learn. Has a degree of consideration for accuracy in basic professional communication skills.

*It definitely matters!* It will be to your benefit to recall that you are digitally associating with "colleagues," and getting exposure to opportunity. I have received business from two readers of this forum who have said I was selected for a job because I wrote thoughtful content in my postings and one person said they were gratified because I did not misspell every other word. These are both repeat employers. It is not outside of reason that other opportunity has come to me because I understand this about posting in a profession-related forum.

4-Keep Cool: The one time you post something in haste could cancel all your Atta boy!'s Heated debate is one thing, but an angry, subjective reply is another.

5-There is a lot of frankness on notary forums. The contributors of good information are the busy signing agents. They may sound abrupt because they do not have time to tiptoe around and gush with politeness. They are taking a moment of their time to give information that will be helpful.

If it sounds abrupt, likely it is not personal, or meant to slight anyone. And, in the off chance that it is, get over it as quickly as you can and let it go.

If you feel you have been misunderstood, post an explanation, but do not attack with subjective terms. If you do, you will attract attacks from Trolls. Troll activity on a forum will ultimately cause time expense for a forum moderator and will ruin any benefit that the forum can offer. I will explain about trolls below.

6-Trolls:
(a) Read all forums with topics they have a basic knowledge of, interest in, or feel they can slip into without being detected immediately.
(b) Have varying degrees of reason for doing so but mainly seek to destroy the integrity of the forum, or anything positive that comes from a forum.
(c ) Are emotionally and/or mentally injured and they spend their time finding ways to engage easily provoked people into trading hurtful remarks. They scour boards for those who will respond to button pushing. By not responding in an attack mode you will avoid button pushing fun and games from trolls.
(d) Leave a forum when they have been detected and no one will respond to their attacks. Total lack of response is the only way to get rid of them.

7-Ignore nit-picking and argumentative responses that will engage you into a time-consuming debate. Experts on everything exist. Good posters on all forums can lose focus and become a little bit possessive of their perceived position on a forum as one of the most knowledgeable about a topic. When you get a critical “expert on everything” nit-picking response, recognize it for what it is. Ignore it. Let someone else do the blasting.

8-You, personally, must learn to do internet research:
(a) Learn to use the search engines with good results. Practically anything you ever need to know is at your fingertips.

(b) If you repeatedly ask general questions about how to get business you are telling the audience of the forum this is translated to: “I have not bothered to do my own research or read anything of the earlier postings.”

(c ) If you ask “Where are the agencies I can sign up with?” it means: “I have not done any serious internet searching and I want you to give me the answers.” Or “I have not explored the list of companies that are on this website or the ones that I would have found if I had read earlier postings.”

9- If you ask for advice, and get an answer: take it, or don't.

Say thank you, but do not argue with the person who gave you advice. If you already knew the answer, you would not have posted the question, right?

Do read what others may argue in response, however, if you are compelled to argue with the advice you are given refer to #6 above.

Just my two cents! Brenda

Reply by Leslie on 6/26/04 11:40pm
Msg #3574

Re: Newbie's Posting Tips to Add

I am offended that you would treat us as mindless idiots. We are not children and I think anyone would understand a misspelled word here and there. Christ, I know most of the time I'm in a hurry to post because I do have other things to get into a short period of time. Come on if you want to offer some advise make it worthwhile and God forgive me if any words are misspelled or the grammar not great. Also, being a notary doesn't require a degree in English. Oops, I forgot to use spell check.

Reply by HisHughness on 6/27/04 12:59am
Msg #3576

Re: Newbie's Posting Tips to Add

Advise = verb
Advice = noun
So, it would be "...if you want to offer some advice".

You are correct, of course, that being a notary doesn't require a degree in English. However, language is a tool that you use countless times every single day of your life. Would you hire a carpenter who did not know which end of a hammer to use on a nail?

I'm sensitive to language because the use of language has been the primary way I've earned my living most of my life. However, I'm not alone in my tendency to use the way language is employed as one of the yardsticks to measure people. Obviously, Brenda has somewhat the same tendency.

I recently had some e-mail correspondence with Harry. I was immediately struck by how articulate and precise his use of language was. Will that impact my judgment of the way he runs this forum? You betcha!

Like it or not (and you won't, if you were one of those who slept through junior high English classes), you'll be judged by your language, just as you'll be judged by your haircut, your trouser crease, the whiteness of your teeth, and whether your car parked out front is a junker. Is it the whole measure of a person? Of course not. That would be quite shallow. But it would be even more shallow to be defensive and deny the importance of what you are projecting by your language. Good English gives you an edge.

As for postings here, I don't think anyone will hold any poster to a level of language use required in other venues. But Brenda is correct: This forum is read by some other than notaries. You don't care about that, don't worry about how your postings read. If it does matter to you, nobody ever died from a little judicious self-editing.

Reply by HisHughness on 6/27/04 1:13am
Msg #3578

Re: Newbie's Posting Tips to Add

I just re-read my post on this topic, and I'm really concerned that what I had to say might discourage some participants from contributing to this forum. That was far from my intent, and I hope it doesn't happen.

I'm a former editor, and even the best of writers can almost always benefit from a good editor. You can be your own best editor. What I was trying to suggest, and did so poorly, was that you yourself simply direct a moment of attention to your post before sending it. The post will benefit and other participants will benefit, but the greatest beneficiary in the long run will be you, because you will then become more attuned to what your language is projecting.

Nobody here expects perfection, or even close to it. I get far too much value out of the coast-to-coast expertise found in this forum than to do anything to choke off that marvelous fount.

Reply by BrendaTX on 6/27/04 2:17am
Msg #3579

Re: Newbie's Posting Tips to Add

Hugh, as always - The Scholar and a Gentleman !

You are right. No one does expect perfection. (In fact, I see I have a typo in my original post!)

My post and yours were both truthful. Neither of them will discourage anyone seeking answers.

Brenda

Reply by AM~NC on 6/27/04 12:01pm
Msg #3585

You both are so right.

I have to agree with the advice being given here.
I am fairly new to the forums so I can't speak from experience here. However, in a previous life I often received resumes from people seeking employment in one of my departments. There were times when I didn't read beyond the cover letter. I felt it was an important indication of what I could expect from the individual who was writing it, in regard to their work performance, quality of work, etc.
I am not an expert on the subject and don't intend for this post to be insulting to anyone. But it is important for all of us to remember that to potential employers, "first impressions are lasting impressions".

Reply by Joan-OH on 6/27/04 5:28pm
Msg #3597

Re: You both are so right.

Last August we started the HFC/Beneficial offices through IREP in my area. I was initially told to go to the HFC office & introduce myself. A few days before the start of the program, IREP called to see if I went to the Beneficial office. Apparently, they put me on the Beneficial list & not the HFC list. I went to the Beneficial office to introduce myself & she showed me the list....no I was not on the HFC list.

Three days later, at the start of the Independent loan closer program I got called to go to the HFC office for a closing. I asked the manager how he got me since I was on the Beneficial list. He told me his closer stopped by, but her business card had a mispelling and 2 typos, so he wanted to use me.

I laugh now, because I did not give him a business card....probably a good thing. But this month I did $1500 in business between the 2 offices and it probably would not have happened if the other woman had spell-checked.

Joan-OH

Reply by Sylvia_FL on 6/27/04 8:21am
Msg #3581

Editors

Speaking of editors, I was recently reading a book, and on page 230 at the bottom of the page it read:

"She still wore her ruined fucksia silk blouse and red slacks"

I know it is supposed to be fuchsia!

I wonder who proofreads books, and who would ever wear a fuchsia blouse with red slacks!!!

Reply by HisHughness on 6/27/04 12:27pm
Msg #3586

Re: Editors

Maybe it was a Freudian slip, and the "ruined fucksia silk blouse" referred to the manner in which the blouse got ruined in the first place. Writers refer to romance novels as "bodice rippers." Sounds appropriate here.

Reply by Sylvia_FL on 6/27/04 12:46pm
Msg #3587

Re: Editors

Not all romance novels are referred to by writers as "bodice rippers" :)

I just couldn't believe that it was left in the book.

Reply by Dennis D Broadbooks on 6/27/04 8:00pm
Msg #3603

Isn't This Reminiscent of Monica's...

...stained dress? Are you sure this wasn't "der Slickmeister's" new book? There's every bit as much fiction contained within the pages of that tome as you'll find in any romance novel. Freudian "slips" abound when Clinton's around.

Reply by Sylvia_FL on 6/27/04 8:09pm
Msg #3605

Re: Isn't This Reminiscent of Monica's...

Now Dennis
Surely you know me better than to believe I would buy der slickmeister's book. I prefer fiction labeled as fiction, rather than fiction labeled as non-fiction.
This was one of the Tammi Hoag books.

Reply by CA_Notary on 6/27/04 1:44pm
Msg #3588

Re: Newbie's Posting Tips to Add

Brenda offered plenty of useful advice. If you feel like she's treating you as a mindless idiot then you obviously missed the entire point of the post.

It's strange. I would NEVER take personal offense to a post like that because even if she was "treating us like mindless idiots" I know that I'm NOT a mindless idiot and I would not assume that it applied to me. That you feel that it does apply to you says a lot more about your own view of yourself than anything else. In my humble opinion of course.

Reply by jjrundall on 6/27/04 2:16pm
Msg #3591

Re: Newbie's Posting Tips to Add

Thank you all for the information for us "newbies". I am grateful for any information that the "experienced" notaries can share. I was not offended what so every by any of the informative postings. I appreciate you all taking time to share with us what insight you do have. Hope I did not mispell anything...

Thank you!

Jennifer

Reply by sue on 6/27/04 7:21pm
Msg #3601

Re: Newbie's Posting Tips to Add

Leslie - I am directing this to you but it's also directed to others I've seen post the past few months here and on the gmn board. Newbies (not saying you are or aren't - I don't know) come to the boards and ask questions. when they receive a reply that's not what they want to hear, they get their dander up and take offense. There are not many 'old timers' that post on the boards any longer because we've seen it all and done it all and don't gather a lot of useful info any longer (although I'm hooked - I don't smoke, drink or use drugs so I've got to have some vice.) My point is that every piece of information asked for and given on these boards should be processed through everyone's head and used or discarded according to their own needs. One notary not too long ago went so far as to say something to the effect that she only wanted positive responses. Another announced she had several years title company experience and when she was told that she still needed help learning the 'signing' business she really took offense. I see her post almost daily with questions so I guess her 'title company' experience doesn't help her a lot with the 'signing' part. I'm one to really botch up tenses and probably have runon sentences every time but I would never take offense to anyone telling me about it. I'm not as kind as Sylvia nor as eloquent as Dennis & Hugh so please don't take offense to this post.

Reply by Sylvia_FL on 6/27/04 8:11pm
Msg #3606

Re: Newbie's Posting Tips to Add

Hmmph! Sue,
Are you saying that I am not as eloquent as Hugh or Dennis? I am deeply, offended.


Just kidding!!!!

Reply by E. Lorraine Kratz on 6/28/04 12:33am
Msg #3613

Re: Newbie's Posting Tips to Add

I think your tips are great! Thanks for taking the time to pass on your wealth of knowledge. Your posting is well organized, clear and concise. I don't post alot...just read mostly, but I really appreciate and use the advice passed on in this forum. If certain postings scream out "newby", yours and Hugh's certainly exude experience and confidence. I "as a newby" am looking for wisdom from those of you that have attained success in this field. I don't mind reading about someone's occasional bad signing experience, or general questions - but, I have to agree that the lazy, whiny, hotheaded posts project an image of unprofessionalism - and are not what I am looking for in this forum.