Posted by wildflower on 9/18/11 9:15pm
Msg #397841

Referral Business

Yes I am a newbie, but we all once were so be gentle ! AM here in the High Desert area and would love to have someone refer business. I am not concerned with the pay, but would love the experience. Please help. There is so much terminology and experience that is displayed on this site & I am ready to accquire hands on experience. Serious mentors are more than welcome to assist me. Thank you kindly for your time and advice.

Reply by JanetK_CA on 9/19/11 1:01am
Msg #397844

OK. I'll try to be as gentle as possible, but this is a tough one. None of this is intended to be snarky, but rather a sincere perspective from someone who has been around the block a few times in this business - and someone who never even considered posting a question such as this when I was new...

You've done a pretty good job of explaining why it would be in *your* best interest to have someone help *you*, but you haven't given any reasons why it would be in anyone else's interest to do so. These days, most people are pretty busy working on developing (or sustaining) their own businesses. And, frankly, I think the chances of your being able to reciprocate any referral business to someone who might be willing to help you are pretty slim - at least for the foreseeable future.

Sooo, you might want to consider offering a bit more incentive or look for another approach to gaining that experience (like perhaps paying for a training class or a coach?) One possibility that might get a better response would be to ask others what THEY did to get started. You might be surprised by the responses. I'd bet that very few of those who have achieved any success in this business did so by saying the equivalent of "here I am; someone please teach me what you know". I'm sorry if this wasn't gentle enough for you, but to me, that's how your post sounds.

I always learned my most valuable lessons from people who were brutally honest with me, rather than from those who tried to be nice to me. It wasn't always comfortable, but it sure helped me a lot! Being in business is very different from having a job. It means that YOU are now the one responsible for making things happen.

So far you've done at least one thing very right, and that is to come here to this forum and begin reading. The archives here are an invaluable store house of information, so I recommend becoming very familiar with the orange search button. And if you haven't already, begin reading ALL of message 33325. Some of the content is outdated, but the stuff that deals with attitudes and principles will withstand the test of time.

Best of luck!

Reply by wildflower on 9/19/11 2:07am
Msg #397845

thank you janetk, i can handle the brutal honesty. I cant tell anyone that I can afford to pay for their tutelage, the only reward that person will receive is knowing that they will have had a hand at helping another human being get their feet in the door. Even though this is a tough business, I am confident wth advice such as yours I will definitely get the help that I am looking for.. I am definitely not looking for a handout. I have learned at a young age that in order to prosper in this lifetime, you have to be willing to help others in order to recieve help for yourself. I have taken the courses for notary & signing agent and am certified in both, however, there is still a wealth of information that can be learned that typically on hands on training will provide. I only became a notary to provide little to non-profit help in communities and to persons of little financial resources. And you are absolutely correct, wording is everything. I would only ask for those that pass on jobs to referr them to my site as it would help me to familiarize myself with procedure and it will also create a good repore with them as well. Once again thank you so much & I appreciate your honesty.

Reply by MW/VA on 9/19/11 6:35am
Msg #397851

When you say "certified", I hope you didn't waste your money

with NNA. They are known to market heavily & foster unrealistic expectations.
I wish you well, but you have to be prepared to start a biz from the ground up. That's what most of us did. I started out five years ago & steadily grew as my skills increased & I built solid relationships with the cos. I work with.
The mortgage mess is far from over. I'd advise you to continue building your knowledge base by following this forum. Also, use Signing Central to check out cos. that you will potentially work for & don't accept low-ball offers. We can't set prices in this industry, of course, but we try to maintain a standard for decent fees.
Good luck & we look forward to your continued participation here. :-)

Reply by Glenn Strickler on 9/19/11 3:06am
Msg #397847

If you are in the same High Desert I am, there is very little loan business to refer, 82% of all existing loans are under. water. There is plenty of general work though, and you can get some marketing ideas by using the orange search button and begin reading. Also msg# 33325 may help.

Good luck.

Reply by Marian_in_CA on 9/19/11 12:58pm
Msg #397869

Everyone else has pretty much said it all. I'm with Glenn, though... I'm also in the High Desert, and there is very little work out this way as far as loans go. Many of the long established notaries that I used to refer to in other areas of the High Desert are no longer in the business. They are closing up shop and finding other lines of work.

The majority of my work is in general notary services. My suggestion? Do a LOT more research.

Reply by Glenn Strickler on 9/19/11 1:13pm
Msg #397871

Wildflower, a little more straight talk ..

Just another thought ...

I don't know what your other skills are, however, many employers look at a notary commission as a plus in addition to their main work. In other words and insurance office needs a notary sometimes, so rather than call out for one, it's nice to have one in house. Same with banks, real estate, car dealerships etc. In fact, here in my area of the "High Desert" almost all of the home sales are repos and the notarization process is handled by an "in house" notary. I have a couple of companies that will call me when their in house notary is on vacation or unavailable, but most banks and escrow companies around here have more than one commissioned notary.

Being a notary is something that people do in addition to their chosen profession. Icing on the cake, so to speak. Even when the loan industry was at it's peak, very few notaries actually had that profession as their main source of income. They almost always were involved in another profession first, or like me, many were / are retired from our life's work and were using the notary profession to fill the time and provide extra income to supplement retirement income.

Now we have several "notary organizations and companies" that will sell you a 'bill of goods" about working from home and making big bucks and will train you. Someone already mentioned one. Sorry if you bought into that. However, make lemonade from the lemons. Having a notary commission on your resume is a good thing.

Again, Good Luck.

Reply by 101livescan on 9/19/11 8:20am
Msg #397854

Janet has offered you some very sage advice. If I were you, I would not count on any one willing to give up the small handful of beans they hold in they hold in their palm. The business just isn't there in many parts of our country and especially in the High Desert, Riverside and and San Bernardino counties.

I hope that you have other meaninful sources of income. This loan business is just not going to last for very long. Most of us got into this when the business was HOT. It is just not going to be that way with the current economic conditions in this country, which continue to plummet.

Reply by jba/fl on 9/19/11 8:32am
Msg #397855

"Yes I am a newbie, but we all once were so be gentle !"

Remember, gentle is relative. Realistic is what I will be towards you....you may not think gentle, but as I said, it is relative.

"AM here in the High Desert area and would love to have someone refer business. I am not concerned with the pay, but would love the experience."

No one goes into business being unconcerned with the pay. No one. All smart people decide to go into business for themselves to make money - Profit is not a bad word. You want someone to refer to you - how could they even begin to do so when you do not link your profile and remain anonymous? How do you expect anyone to find you?

"Please help. There is so much terminology and experience that is displayed on this site & I am ready to accquire hands on experience. Serious mentors are more than welcome to assist me. Thank you kindly for your time and advice."

again - how can anyone assist anyone who is not really there? Somehow I get the feeling you are trying to shortcut the process...am really unclear here so may be wrong.

Some advice: (free, so worth just that perhaps)
Link to your profile.

Learn how this site works, what all the tabs are for and how to use them.
Learn about the Links - what they do.

Visit SC (Signing Central) and see what that is all about. Apply to companies with good ratings. Learn who has good ratings and why. Learn why companies do not have good ratings.

Learn about companies who promise you anything, but deliver grief instead of money for work done.

Keep up with this forum, learning who has substance in their posts (worth listening to) and who doesn't. Know how to recognize the difference. .....Comes with time spent researching.

Read a lot here - start with Msg #33325 and read all about this profession from those willing to share their wisdom.

Learn to write effectively, which includes spelling and punctuation and proper capitalization. How you present yourself to others is critical.

Take a marketing class. Learn your area first. Decide what is going to be your area and price accordingly. $XXX is considered the norm, $XX is considered unprofitable except in few instances. Learn why.

Learn about your tax liability as it relates to your business, your situation.

If there is a question on this business, it has probably already been asked. Learn to use the Orange Search button first.

Pay attention to equipment that you will need. Search "printers" for everything you will ever want to know about printers.

Now, you may consider your mentoring from me complete.

Reply by Notarysigner on 9/19/11 9:09am
Msg #397856

Follow what was mentioned by ALL those answering before me, they will NOT mislead you.

Reply by Linda Juenger on 9/19/11 10:16am
Msg #397861

Wildflower, can you explain this sentence

<I only became a notary to provide little to non-profit help in communities and to persons of little financial resources.>

What exactly do you mean by this? If you want to help the needy by offering your services, I commend you for that. A lot of us here do our share of charity work. I for one offer my services to our local senior center twice a month free of charge.

Are you looking for help and advice for general notary work or for Loan Documents? Big difference.

Reply by BossLadyMD on 9/19/11 1:29pm
Msg #397876

I did an internship at a local title office!! I loved it :) n/m