Starting Off Right In 2020

Another year has come and gone and you, like everyone else, are likely busy with the hustle and bustle of the holiday season. It is important, however, to keep the momentum of the year going by working on your business plan for the coming year. Having a clear vision of what you want to accomplish and how you will accomplish it are the keys to becoming even more successful in the near future. While your plan should be specific to your business, here are a few universal ways to get started off on the right foot in 2020.  Thank Your Customers. This is the simplest and one of the most often overlooked ways to show appreciation to your customers. After all, they are the reason you are successful. Without them, you wouldn’t have a business. Take some time to send them a personalized “thank you” card or make a quick phone call letting them know how grateful you are for their past business and how much you look forward to continuing to work with them in the coming year. Learn Something New. There have been so many recent changes in the notary/ mortgage/title industries due to revisions in law and technology that it may be difficult to keep up when working in your business. In the upcoming year, set aside time in your schedule to take a class, read up on industry changes, learn a new skill, or join an association relevant to your business. Knowledge is power, and it is the key to running a sustainable business. Review Your Finances and Adjust. Take a look at what your expenses were last year. How can you reduce your expenses in the upcoming year? What assignments were most profitable and least profitable? Break down your business by the numbers and set realistic expectations as to how you will perform financially in the new year. Market Your Notary Business. Decide how you want your business to grow this year and what marketing endeavors will help you achieve those goals. Create a plan, with a time frame, that shows exactly how, when, and to whom you are marketing. Set some time aside every week just to work on your marketing plan. Make Sure Your Business is Industry Compliant. While there aren’t many hard and fast rules for notaries, there are some suggested guidelines that, if followed, will vault you to the top of most companies’ preferred vendor lists. Check to see if your E&O insurance provides adequate coverage. For notaries whose errors and omissions insurance policy terms are not consecutive with their terms of office, this is a good time to ensure that their policies are still active and renew them or purchase new ones if necessary. Make certain your background check is from a preferred vendor and that it’s less than a year old. Review how you are protecting personal information and find ways to make your technology and processes more secure. Stock Up on All Necessary Supplies. Take advantage of holiday season savings when it comes to standard office supplies you use every day - paper, pens, staples, etc. This is also a great time of year to reorder business cards. The beginning of a new year is also a good time to re-ink your official notary stamp to ensure that every impression continues to be perfectly legible. Also, buy a new notary record book if your current one is almost full. Continue the Good and Fix the Bad. Assess all aspects of your notary business from last year. Identify what procedures and tasks went well and not so well. Keep doing what worked, but for things that didn’t? Review, revamp, and revise. The Legal Process Lady wishes you and your loved ones peace, health, happiness, and prosperity for the upcoming New Year. Legal disclaimer: An excerpt of this article was originally published on December 2018 by American Association of Notaries. The Legal Process Lady seeks to provide timely articles for legal support proprietors to assist them with information and ideas for managing their legal businesses and enhancing their legal educations but makes no claims, promises, or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained. Information in this article is not intended as legal advice. We are not attorneys. We do not pretend to be attorneys. Though we will sometimes provide information regarding federal laws and statutes and the laws and statutes of each state, we have gathered the information from a variety of sources. We do not warrant the information gathered from those sources. It is your responsibility to know the appropriate laws governing your state.

Happy Mother's Day: Four Secrets to Success as a Mompreneur

Starting your own business isn't easy. It takes all your time, energy, dedication and money- and so does being a mom. While trying to be both an entrepreneur and mom seems like a recipe for stressed-out days and sleepless nights, moms all over the world are doing it successfully every day.

Nearly 47% of U.S. workers are women, with 75% of them working full time, and women own almost 10 million businesses today.

So how do we do it? How do mompreneurs flourish at balancing mom life and business life? Turns out there are 4 secrets to balancing work with family life.


1. Your Labor Must Start & End with Passion.
Working moms labor with passion in and out of the home. Sometimes moms don't choose to work. They're forced to start their own business because their husband gets laid off, they get divorced or a child gets sick and medical expenses quickly pile up. Others start businesses because they have a passion for a product or service and they see an industry need they can fill. In the first case, moms work with passion because of a deep love for their family and needing to support them, and in the latter, they're passionate about a product or service they've created and want it to prosper.

Either way, getting deep into this passion that moms inherently have will help fuel your willpower to succeed and strengthen your ability to successfully start and run a business. And if you have a passion for what you're doing, it'll reduce some of the stress of being a mom and entrepreneur.


2. Listen To & Emulate Other Successful Mompreneurs.
Most moms don't blindly start a business. They talk to mompreneurs they know to ask questions and get advice. They look online for success stories and tips from those who have succeeded and failed at starting their own business (just like you're doing right now by reading this article).

You may think, "Who needs other people? I've got my gut and it's always right." And yes, it is good to listen to your gut instincts when running a business, but by talking and listening to others who have been in your shoes, you're able to bounce ideas off them and have your eyes opened to insights and scenarios you would have never thought of by yourself. But remember, that success leaves clues. You don't need to figure it all out yourself. Find a mompreneur you respect and admire and model yourself after her.

3. Know & Live Your Priorities.
Before starting a business, create a list of professional and personal priorities. Instead of having a mile-long to-do list each day for life at home and work, set and rank your priorities. Constant disruptions won't allow you to be a productive or effective as a mom or a business owner. By knowing your priorities, you'll improve your focus, keep your sanity, give your all to each role and be able to reduce some mom guilt.

For me personally, I realized I wasn't the best at balancing, but that I could be good at prioritizing. So I made some goals, including a list that prioritized what things are and were going to make me the happiest in my life, now and long term. My three obvious ones that came immediately were God, family and relationships, and business. Once I started putting my priorities at the top, then the balance came. All of the sudden being a mom and a business owner started to flow.

4. Above All Else, Do What Works for YOU!
No one is the same. The exact plan to success that worked for one mompreneur may not work for you. You have to find what works for you and your family, which may come through some trial and error, but once you find that sweet spot, go for it full throttle.

What works for you may change as your business and family grow. But what matters is that your way of doing things lets your children know you love them, keeps your business running and makes you happy.

Being a working mom is like having two full-time jobs. But like all would agree, mompreneur is a very rewarding title to have and it's totally doable when you have a plan to be successful in mom and business life.

Happy Mother's Day!

The Pros and Cons of Self Employment as a Legal Consultant

Anyone who’s ever worked for themselves can tell you that the independence and notable lack of bureaucracy can be intoxicating. Not to mention you don’t have to take on any case you don’t want to — whatever the reason. Here are several other things legal consultants like about working for themselves:

BEST PRACTICES FOR ATTORNEYS – HOW TO AVOID DEFICIENCIES WITH MDEC

The Judiciary continues to make enhancements to the File and Serve features of the Maryland Electronic Courts (MDEC) system. Effective January 1, 2019, please follow the Best Practices For Attorneys on how to avoid deficiencies to streamline your e-filing efforts. The Maryland Rules authorize the State Court Administrator to publish examples of deficiencies under Rule 20-203(d). This list, in its entirety, may be found here. 

FILE NAMES: Make sure that the electronic file name for each submission relates to the title of the submission. If a submission relates to another submission, refer to it in the file name. In other words, show that they’re related. Rule 20-201(i).

FEES: Pay all required fees. Rule 20-201(l). FILING CODES: Use the correct filing code. If you can’t find a code that exactly matches your submission, use the one that most closely matches it. 

LEGIBILITY AND ORIENTATION: The submission must be completely legible and must be scanned with the proper orientation. If it’s upside down, sideways, blurry, or contains blank pages, the filing will be deficient and returned.

MULTIPLE SUBMISSIONS: Multiple submissions (including proposed orders) in a case must be submitted IN THE SAME ENVELOPE as separate PDF files. Rule 20-201(e).

PARTY NAMES: Identify each party in the exact same way EVERY TIME (spelling, first name, middle name(s), last name(s), initial(s), and other identifiers).

PROPOSED ORDER: Submit as a separate document, identify the submission as a proposed order, and indicate the motion or other request for court action that it pertains to. Rule 20-201(k). This requirement does not apply to court forms that contain a form Order at the bottom of the page.

RELATION TO CASE: A submission must relate to the case in which it was filed.

RESTRICTED INFORMATION: A submission must not contain restricted information. If a submission is required to contain restricted information, submit a redacted copy. Rule 20-201(h).

SIGNATURES AND RELATED INFORMATION:

➢ A signature consists of the signer’s typewritten name followed by a visual image of the signer’s handwritten signature or by the symbol /s/. Rule 20-101(t).

➢ A signature under oath, affirmation, or with verification must be hand signed and scanned per Rule 20-107(d). Subject to Order of the Chief Judge of the COA, the State Court Administrator may be authorized to waive this requirement for the upcoming Landlord Tenant Bulk Filing Pilot project.

➢ The following information, although not part of the signature, must appear below the signature: a) the filer’s address; b) email address; c) telephone number; and d) Client Protection Fund ID number.

Things to Consider For the New Year: Updating Wills, Medical Directives, and Financial Planning

A new year brings new beginnings and, with it, an opportunity to evaluate your legal support  practice and how best you can serve your clients.  But equally important to your business is ensuring that you comply with state law and adopt best practices, so allocate some time during this holiday season to consider how to best ring in the New Year professionally.  

Estate Planning
As part of your new year’s resolution, you should review your estate plans.  Even a plan that is only a few years old can be seriously outdated.  In fact, you might want to revise your will after any major life events such as marriage, divorce, moving to a new state, the birth of a new child, or the death of loved one. Changes in personal circumstances, health, or finances could impact estate planning documents.  There may also be changes in the laws that affect wills, asset protection planning for Medicaid and nursing homes, and estate and retirement taxation.

Medical Directives
Much of the same advice and logic applies to medical directives, also known as living wills. The whole idea behind a living will is to lay out the treatment someone would want to receive if he or she were terminally ill, critically injured, or in a vegetative state. Unlike sticking to that low-carb diet or hitting the gym every day, advance care planning is an easily attainable New Year’s resolution. And just like other legal documents, a living will cannot remain static.  A lot can happen between the time a living will is created and when it needs to be used. For example, a medical diagnosis may cause someone to rethink the care options available to him. Living wills need to be updated based on changes in life circumstances, medical advances, and government regulations. Thoughts about life and care change over time.

Financial Planning
Notaries routinely work with certified public accountants and other financial planners and advisors. Consequently, it’s important to re-evaluate wealth management going into the new year and to think beyond a budget.  A financial plan should be a living and breathing document.  It’s merely a snapshot of someone’s financial situation at a particular time. The plan should reflect current circumstances and address future needs, wants, and wishes. At a minimum, the plan should review retirement, education funding, estate planning, risk management, asset management, and emergency fund strategies. Ultimately, these are all fluid areas, and simply taking a snapshot of where things stand today will not define anyone’s ability to get where he or she wants to be in the future. Some of the most important work that goes into a plan is the monitoring and updating of the plan over time.

Your Legal Support Business
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, you should evaluate your legal support business and make any adjustments necessary in order to be the best version of yourself.  You are your most valuable asset. Check your business filings with your local government. Make sure your business is in good standing with the local and state authorities in your area. Determine if there are any changes or updates to your state notary laws. Evaluate your legal errors and omissions policy. Is it time for new business cards, brochures, legal journals, printer cartridges, or paper? Start the year off well stocked, as there are often multiple discounts.

The Legal Process Lady wishes you all good health, happiness, and success in the coming year and always. Happy New Year!

Legal disclaimer: An excerpt of this article was originally published on December 2018 by American Association of Notaries. The Legal Process Lady seeks to provide timely articles for legal support proprietors to assist them with information and ideas for managing their legal businesses and enhancing their legal educations but makes no claims, promises, or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained. Information in this article is not intended as legal advice. We are not attorneys. We do not pretend to be attorneys. Though we will sometimes provide information regarding federal laws and statutes and the laws and statutes of each state, we have gathered the information from a variety of sources. We do not warrant the information gathered from those sources. It is your responsibility to know the appropriate laws governing your state. Legal support professionals are advised to seek the advice of an attorney in their state if they have legal questions about how to prepare documents.