On some mornings, Angelina Nguyen makes $150 in five minutes.
The 25-year-old is still surprised at how lucrative her small notary business has been. When she first became a notary signing agent seven years ago — just weeks after her 18th birthday — Nguyen thought it would be a temporary side hustle to support her income as a bank teller.
Notaries, or notary publics, witness and authorize the signing of important documents, like passport applications and real estate contracts. Most notary publics can only charge what their state dictates; notary signing agents, on the other hand, can charge more as they specialize in property records and loan documents.
While Nguyen thought the bulk of her work as a notary would be spent verifying signatures and explaining documents to clients, she quickly realized there was more to notarizing than she initially thought — she was also walking people through some of the happiest, and saddest, moments of their lives.
"I've watched people sign the deed to their first house and contracts for a house they weren't ready to leave … there's a lot of tears, both happy and sad," says Nguyen. "I realized I wanted to be the person who made people feel seen, heard, cared for and understood in those important moments."
Two years ago, Nguyen decided to try notarizing as a full-time career, launching her business, Team Signings, in San Jose, California, her hometown. That decision turned out to be a smart bet: In 2022, Nguyen's business made close to $150,000, according to tax documents reviewed by CNBC Make It.
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'You don't have to go to college to be successful'
Money Report
Nguyen's dad, Chau, repeated the same advice to her throughout high school, as her friends panicked about their grades and having the right extracurriculars on their resumes: "You don't have to go to college to be successful."
"He built a career that he loved as a real estate agent, without a bachelor's degree, and always instilled in me that I didn't have to go to college to be successful," says Nguyen. "I listened to him, and thank goodness I did because I didn't know what I wanted to major in and I would have had to take out student loans … it saved me a lot of time and stress."
Her dad was also the one who suggested she become a notary signing agent, as the notaries he worked with on real estate documents were in incredibly high demand and earning $75-$200 per signing.
In most states, you just need to submit an application and clear a background check to become a notary public, but in California, you have to take a six-hour training course, pass an exam and clear a background check. The startup costs for becoming a notary in California can range anywhere between $275 and $442, according to Notary.net.
It took Nguyen about three months to complete the process, which she finished in 2015, and another month of training and coursework to become a specialized signing agent in 2021.
After completing her certifications in 2015, Nguyen still wasn't convinced she wanted to be a notary signing agent full-time. She quit her job as a bank teller in 2016 and for the next five years, she tried out different jobs, including short stints as a real estate agent and insurance agent — but nothing matched how much she enjoyed notarizing.
"It's one hour of work and then you're done, you're free," says Nguyen. "It's flexible hours, and I feel like I am really making a difference in people's lives."
'I work less than six hours a day'
Nguyen registered Team Signings as a corporation in November 2021 and immediately got to work building her clientele: She visited real estate agencies with a stack of business cards, made TikTok and Instagram pages to document her work as a signing agent and asked friends to spread the word about her new business.
Nguyen's TikTok, which has almost 30,000 followers, has been her most successful marketing tool, she says. Notaries in other states have reached out with referrals in the comments, and followers near San Jose have messaged her to request her services.
She aims to do at least two signings per day, charging anywhere between $75-$200, and sometimes an even higher rate, depending on the type of document that needs to be notarized and how far the appointment is from her home office in San Jose.
Some signings take a few minutes, while others can take over an hour. On average, Nguyen says she works "less than six hours a day."
"I try to keep regular hours and work between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m., but I will also often take signing appointments on weekends," she adds. Nguyen hired a full-time assistant in March to help with scheduling and billing.
Her only regret is not starting her notary business sooner.
"I love that I can set my own schedule, support myself financially and my parents if they ever need help," says Nguyen. "All of that together, along with having the opportunity to help people every day, just makes me feel really fulfilled as a person."
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