We had the good fortune of connecting with Krystel Fortis and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Krystel, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
In 2020, I had been a full-time traveling notary for 8 years. I became a notary after a divorce, became a single mother, and moved back to my home state of California. When I came back to Los Angeles from Austin, Texas, I was starting over at ground zero. After a couple of years of being a military wife & stay at home mommy, I wasn’t ready to drop my 2 year old off at daycare & return to the 9-5 workforce. So I worked a couple of different restaurant jobs later at night after being able to spend my days with him finding new parks & adventures to go on.
Soon, working so many evenings, weekends, and holidays became a drag.
I had family working in escrow companies here in SoCal & decided to get my notary license hoping to catch a couple of signings from them & their coworkers. Before I knew it, I was working as a full-time notary! I was going around to new offices and dropping off cards & candies for new escrow officers. Just a couple of years into starting my notary career, I had more business than I knew how to handle, and I brought my best friend into the biz with me.
Fast-forward to 2020. I had about four or five people I was referring business to every month, making a small referral fee off anything I sent their way. It was working like magic. Everyone was working for themselves, and business was moving at a regular pace for the time. Then COVID started, and everything as we knew it was about to change. Office doors being closed left & right, more mobile services required, people realizing that a small 3 bedroom apartment would no longer suffice for a family of 4 who were all being forced to zoom in the same room & rates dropping like crazy. The real estate market felt like a bomb, and with that came the birth of 365 Notary!
After opening a small office in Glendale, CA, in June of 2020, we started growing faster than even physically possible. Our team went from a modest 5-6 person crew to about 50 contracted notaries, a full-time scheduler, payroll, & marketing employees. Our company was doing over 300 signings a month for a little over 20 escrow clients. Systems were being built out in real-time, and as the need for them grew & quickly, I found myself creating training classes and monthly gatherings for new notaries joining our team.
Life has been a bit of a blur & roller coaster (the kind that has flips and extreme turns) over the last 4 years of being in business as 365 Notary but the experience & connections that have been made by this team is priceless!

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Building a business is not always easy. I walked into this business knowing how to complete a loan document signing really well but with no knowledge of what it would take to hire employees, run payrolls, create contractor contracts, build budgets, or set up marketing plans. Unfortunately, we aren’t taught these skills in high school, and I did not go to college for business. I’d say what it does take to make this possible is being surrounded by people who are capable in areas you are not, being willing to learn, and being ok with failure until you are able to get it right and find out what works for you and your team.
One of the most important things I have learned in business is keeping the heart in it feels almost impossible, but that’s the trap. The more heart you put in, meaning the more truth, honesty, integrity, and respect you bring with you into a business, is exactly what you’ll get out of it.
Overcoming all these challenges is just a matter of knowing your why. If that why is covered in your truth and heart, you’ll find your way out of the darker, harder times with a great group of humans by your side when you walk out the other side.
365 Notary is different because we offer a human connection. You get to know our team. We aren’t just an automated service with no connection or face-to-face interactions. We pride ourselves on getting to know and personally train every notary who works with our team. We also pay a level above the local competitors. I belive when people are valued, they find it easier to enjoy their job.
It’s important to me that we never forget there are humans with full lives who are doing these day-to-day jobs, just trying to support themselves and their families. I never want to forget to care about the person as a whole. That is why so many of the notaries contracted with us are people pursuing other creative endeavors. I love a great story of someone who was able to make their dreams a reality while they made enough and had the flexibility of their time while working with us.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Making a fun weekend plan is a favorite pastime for me!
Let’s assume you’ve been to Los Angeles before and seen the major must-do tourist attractions like Sunset Blvd, Griffith Park Observatory, hiked to the Hollywood sign, drove the Pacific Coast Highway, watched a concert at the Roxy, and took a tour of the LA famous homes in Beverly Hills.
Now you are back in LA and want to discover what the locals do for fun.
It’s Thursday night, and I tell you to get comfy and cute for a night out in Highland Park. I’m taking you to Checker Hall to have some of the tastiest bites from their tapas menu. From there, we will head over to The Highland Park Bowl for a retro-steam punk experience on a huge leather couch for some competitive bowling. We might walk from there over to Gold Line for a vinyl vibe & great cocktails. Now, let’s end the night at Cuevita (The Cave) with some incredible Burlesque. So bring a couple of dollar bills!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
The number of people who have made 365 Notary what it is today is countless.
I would like to start with my right-hand man, Jayson Puls. Even though he started a bit after the birth of 365, he is the one who keeps it running today. Without him, God knows if we would even still be going.
Second would be the brilliant team of notaries and employees who have worked with us over the years. The crew that started with us and worked full-time for the first two years of business will forever be in my heart. They were right beside me while we all figured out what to do and how to do it together.
Then there is my family. As a first-generation Cuban American woman, my goal in life has been to live a life as fully vibrant as that of my grandparents, who came here to give us a better life. Their struggles to make it here and live the American dream have always been my inspiration to strive for more every single day. To my sister, who first trusted me to do her signings, and then to all the other escrow officers and trust attorneys who have used my services and then, in turn, trusted my new notaries with their clients, you all know how much I appreciate you! These people have become my friends and chosen family over the years. I can definitely say that without their faith in me and my team, we wouldn’t be where we are today.
And last but absolutely not least, my kiddo. Now 15 years old, he has basically lived his life walking through escrow offices, doing late-night drop box drop-offs, in the passenger seat driving to singing, & dealing with mom having to cancel or reschedule plans constantly to be able to get a couple of extra jobs in. This on-call, unpredictable lifestyle has not been an easy one for a kid to live with, but he has been by my side and my ride buddy & understanding beyond measure when I have to move our lives around, over and over. I love you dude!

Website: https://www.365Notary.net

Instagram: @365_Notary

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/365notary

Facebook: 365 Notary

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/365-notary-san-marino?utm_campaign=www_business_share_popup&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_source=(direct)

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