Updated 1-3-24. One of the keys to building a thriving and sustainable Notary business is collaborating with other Notaries, but care is needed when picking the right people and projects, according to experts and Notary coaches Laura Biewer and Bill Soroka.
In an NNA 2020 Conference video presentation, the pair answered the most common Notary questions about collaboration, including how to employ various strategies and how to successfully find other people to work with and projects to pursue.
Grow your business by collaborating with other Notaries
In this video, the California- and Arizona-based partners and friends outline the basics of collaboration, including:
- What collaboration is and what it is not
- How it can grow your business faster than working alone
- How to successfully choose your collaborators
- What types of projects to seek
- How to start (and exit) a collaboration the right way
Biewer explained that she has learned and grown more by working with partners than she ever could have alone, and that has enabled her to pursue certain projects that otherwise would have been off-limits because she lacked knowledge or experience. For Soroka, collaboration has been a key ingredient in his ability to learn new skills and then apply them to new endeavors.
“When you’re a part of something bigger than yourself, it changes your outlook, it changes how you feel about things,” Biewer said.
Working with a partner can take a business to the next level and open doors, but both warned that the process works best when Notaries take care to choose only people they know, like and trust.
How does Notary collaboration work?
Partnering with other Notaries often comes from a sense of abundance, versus the scarcity mindset. In order to collaborate, you have to know that there’s plenty of work to go around, and you don’t need to fear competition.
Collaboration could be defined as the act of combining skills, connections and power to solve challenges and achieve results greater than you could achieve alone. It can include a one-time project or ongoing creation.
Different levels of Notary collaboration
The process can be quick and simple, or involve a deep, ongoing connection. Sharing skills with a newcomer is an example of a lower-level collaboration. It doesn’t require a significant relationship or a deep level of trust. However, partnering on a project such as going into business together and sharing resources, referrals, and clients requires significant trust and knowledge of the other person.
Soroka compared the process to mapping out a relationship like dating — don’t skip from level one to five before knowing the person’s values, or you could get entangled in something from which you can’t extricate yourself.
Examples of Notary collaboration
A few collaboration examples include meetups (which led to a much larger symposium event for Biewer), conference calls, such as Soroka’s Tuesday Notary Titans (which is how he met Biewer), and presentations and education seminars.
Social media is also a great place to meet like-minded folks who may advertise an interest in finding partners for particular projects, or be looking for someone to mentor them or take work off their hands.
Considerations and exit strategy
Before embarking on a project, you will need to decide on the level of relationship you want to have with your collaborator such as your business needs, the audience you want to reach, how revenue will be split, how to handle the money coming in, and how to define individual roles.
When the project is complete, consider what happens to materials, including who owns the rights to collateral or curriculum, what happens to a website or marketing strategies, mailing lists and products created.
Biewer and Soroka advised Notaries to think long-term and have some skin in the game. Think about how to build a relationship and give, instead of just how to make money.
“Make a business about something deeper, and you’ll have more integrity in your work,” Biewer said.
Doing what you say you’ll do promotes trust, and you’ll consistently do the right thing, which promotes confidence, Soroka noted.
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