I was talking with a newer notary recently about how to get more loan signing work, and during the conversation she mentioned something I have heard for years from notaries, trainers and people in the Facebook groups: sign up with hundreds of companies. Some people will even tell you that 100 companies should be the minimum. I’m going to tell you the opposite. Don’t do that.

I understand the theory behind it. The more companies you sign up with, the more chances you have of getting work. But I really don’t think that is the best use of your time, and I also don’t think there is any reason to send your information out to hundreds of companies that may never have work for you in the first place.

Before you start filling out an application, uploading your credentials, sending over your W-9, background check, insurance information and everything else they want, ask one question: Do you have work in my area?

That should be the first question.

If they say no, you’re done. Cross them off the list and move on to the next company. There is no reason to spend another 20 or 30 minutes researching them, vetting them, filling out paperwork and sending them your personal information if they don’t even have work where you live. Why would you?

If they say yes, then you move on to the next step and vet them. Find out what other notaries are saying about them. Do they pay? Do they pay on time? Are their fees reasonable? Are they a company you actually want to work with? If everything comes back positive, then find out how to sign up with them.

To me, that just makes a lot more sense.

I also think the platforms are a much better place to start, especially when you are newer. You create one profile and that profile can potentially give you access to hundreds of companies. You can start seeing who is actually sending work in your area, who you enjoy working with and which companies may be worth developing a direct relationship with. That is very different from blindly going down a list and filling out application after application just so you can say you signed up with 100 companies.

This really comes down to one of my favorite business lessons: time is money.

Think about how much time it takes to sign up with one company. Now multiply that by 100. Or 200. Or however many companies someone told you that you “need” to sign up with. That is a lot of hours that could have been spent actually marketing your business, reaching out to local title companies, attorneys and lenders, following up with companies that have already sent you work, networking, working on your Google profile or doing something else that could actually bring business through the door.

And there is another part of this that bothers me a little bit, and that is how much personal information we are telling notaries to send out.

Every time you sign up with another company, you may be sending your commission information, insurance, background check, W-9, address, phone number and, depending on how they pay, possibly banking information. Of course legitimate companies need certain information in order to hire you and pay you. That is not the issue. The issue is why are you giving all of that information to a company that may not even do business in your area?

That just seems unnecessary to me.

The whole “sign up with hundreds of companies” thing has been repeated in this industry for years. Trainers say it. Notaries say it. People in Facebook groups say it. And once something gets repeated enough times, it starts to sound like a rule.

It isn’t.

There is no magic number.

You do not need to collect 100 company profiles like badges. You need to find companies that actually have work in your area, make sure they are reputable, and then decide whether they make sense for your business.

That is it.

Find out if they have work. Vet them. Sign up if it makes sense. If they do not have work in your area, cross them off and move on.

I would much rather see a notary build relationships with a handful of good companies that regularly send work than spend weeks signing up with hundreds of companies that never call.

Work smarter. Protect your time. Protect your information. And stop doing things just because somebody in a Facebook group told you that is how it has always been done.