The COVID-19 pandemic has defined 2020 more than any of us could have imagined, affecting every single industry in our economy and leading to one of the highest unemployment rates in U.S. history. While some people have focused on the benefits of spending more time at home and learning new skills, there has been very little discussion around how the pandemic could create new career paths.
Remote Online Notarization (RON) is opening doors for individuals seeking a new career path, looking for a flexible way to supplement their income or interested in a productive retirement pursuit. As the push for and adoption of RON surges nationwide, so has the demand for Notaries, especially Notaries comfortable conducting a mortgage closing online.
Notary flexibility and convenience
RON is expanding opportunities for Notaries by enabling more flexibility in balancing work and personal demands during COVID-19. Examples of this flexibility are apparent in the testimonials I constantly receive from Notaries. The ability to perform closings while also providing enough time for your child’s school drop off and pick up, family dinners and other personal tasks has given Notaries the flexibility to live their lives while earning a living that affords them that luxury of time.
Before RON, we saw Notaries traveling to clients’ houses, coffee shops, attorney’s offices, etc., to conduct notarizations which often took a fraction of the actual travel time. RON provides an alternative to traveling to perform in-person notarizations. During this pandemic, RON has allowed Notaries to safely and comfortably perform their duties without entering a stranger’s home and without the risk of spreading illness through communal contact.
As we navigate this pandemic and its lasting impacts, RON will stand as a service that allows notarizations at the convenience of all parties involved, including the Notary themselves.
RON fits needs of many people
RON offers potential income benefits for a wide variety of individuals. RON transactions can take place with multiple parties spread out across the world, making it an ideal job for military spouses and college students.
Military spouses often have a hard time finding careers because their relocation and deployment schedules do not provide much stability as relates to a career outside the military. RON allows military spouses to have a career on their terms even as they move from base to base or need to change schedules due to deployment.
In a similar fashion, college students require the flexibility to schedule work around classes, and they can get this with remote notarization. RON also provides them the ability to work during holiday breaks and summers, no matter where their lives take them.
Transitioning computer skills to a RON career
When Uber first launched, it was easy to find people who needed a source of income and could readily transition a skill they had been practicing for several years — driving — into an easy income stream. RON does the same thing with computer skills. Whether it’s someone who has spent their entire lives navigating computers or retirees who have grown computer-comfortable from video chat sessions with their grandchildren, it’s easy to transition those skills to RON, with the added benefit of working from the safety and comfort of their own home.
The great thing is, the career path doesn’t have to stop at “Notary.” Career progression is possible for individuals with that intention. For example, I have an employee in my quality control department who started with us as a part-time Notary. That provided her the flexibility she needed in her home life. She then became a manager before moving into her current position. She works with both our quality control and technology departments and has self-taught herself to write code. She has taken a life-long inclination for technology, combined it with a part-time gig as a Notary and turned it into a thriving career.
Providing more than a career
RON doesn’t just provide Notaries a career on their terms, it often provides options and work-life solutions previously difficult to find. RON can give a part-time Notary the additional income their household needs to consider private school for children or at-home nurses for elderly parents. RON can give a parent the choice to be a stay-at-home parent while still supplying an income. At every level, RON provides Notaries the ability to forge their own path.
Rick Triola is the founder and CEO, NotaryCam. He began his career in real estate, mortgage and technology as an Oppenheimer investment banker more than 35 years ago. After spending several years in commercial real estate, Rick helped lead one of California's largest independent escrow companies. He founded eSigning solutions provider Settleware in 1999 and NotaryCam, the pioneering leader in on-demand notarization and mortgage closing solutions, in 2014.
The opinions in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the National Notary Association.