This article is part of a series on notary fees and on how to decide what to charge.
One issue that comes up when notaries mention many of the signing services on Facebook (or in other social media spaces) is why someone would accept fees that the commenter sees as so far below acceptable.
This is one reason why no notary should answer the question about what to charge for anything if it is another notary asking — your circumstances are your own. Your market is not their market — unless it is, then they are your competitors, and why would you want to help those competing against you ?
I don’t work for some firms because I think their fees are low and for other reasons, so those firms have very little to no impact on the fees that I get from my clients.
If you want to work for any so-called lowball company and you believe you are making a profit from it, that is your business.
You may have lower expenses than other people do, or be willing to take a lower profit, or just not know how much this work is costing you in various ways. It is not my role to substitute my judgment for yours.
If you ask me for advice, I will give it. Otherwise, you do you. Don’t let anyone tell you that you can not or should not take a fee that you find acceptable.
On the other hand, if you’re bashing other notaries for taking fees that are lower than you like, please just stop it.
If you blame your competitors for competing on price, you have work to do on learning marketing and other #businessbasics.
One business basic everyone needs to understand is supply and demand.
In this context, supply and demand means there will be reduced fees offered as the supply of workers increases as long as the demand stays the same.
One way out of that trap is to develop better marketing so you’re not competing with those other notaries, even if you’re going after the same clients. You need a unique selling point (USP) that makes your business better in a way that your clients or customers are willing to pay extra for. If you don’t come up with your own USP, you are limited in how effective your marketing can be.
Another way out of that trap is to find other clients, so you’re not supplying services to the same demand. (See my article on How to Land Title Company Work for some ideas on how to do that.)
Blaming your competitors (for being willing to accept the fees that are offered or anything else) does not lead to you having a successful business. It puts you at their mercy — which is a recipe for failure.
