Leaders Perception Magazine is currently running an interview series called – What Are The Top 5 Mistakes People Make When Starting A New Business?
Today, we had the opportunity to interview Jamie Hunt-Parrent who is a Notary Public/ NationwideSigning Service Owner at Purple Notary Signings.
Interviewee Name: Jamie Hunt-Parrent
Company: Purple Notary Signings
Jamie Hunt-Parrent’s favourite quote: “Formal education will make you a living; self-education will make you a fortune.” Jim Rohn
The Interview
Thank you so much for joining us today! Tell us a little bit about yourself. What is your backstory?
Jamie Hunt-Parrent : From an early age, I craved experience. My last two years of high school I worked at the sales and marketing firm where I gained knowledge on personal sales, setting goals, and was able to open my own location two summers in a row once I was in college. After that, I sought out non-corporate “mom and pop” businesses where I could assist them where their personal knowledge ended. Most businesses owners open a business because they love what they do (hair stylist, yoga teacher, etc) not because they know how to run a business. While most of the time they took my advice and thrived, at times the did not and I watched two businesses I put a lot of time into growing come to end. During the pandemic, after another business I was helping grow was looking like it might be closing, I decided to pivot yet again. This time, instead of finding other businesses, I created my own based on the climate of the economy and my community. I became a notary to help with the refi-boom and then created a nationwide signing service to make sure everyone’s needs were supported in finding a notary.
In your opinion, what makes your company stand out? Any examples?
Jamie Hunt-Parrent : Most people don’t realize they need a notary until it’s the night before they need something notarized. They struggle to find someone, and to vet if they are qualified to take care of their needs. On top of this, when a notary is needed, it typically isn’t the happies the day of someone’s life. Outside of buying a new house (which is still very stressful even though its exciting), some people who need notaries are dealing with ailing family members, sick or injured in the hospital from a car accident, or need to update their living trust. Purple Notary Signings takes care of the whole person, not just the notarization, to ensure they feel taken care of and a little less stressed after the appointment.
What are the TOP 5 mistakes people make when starting a new business? Please share advice/examples for all of them.
Jamie Hunt-Parrent : 1) Starts off looking at the short game, not the long game.
A lot of new business owners try to take care of a lot of the tasks on their own at the beginning. This is ok when you are just getting started, however, when business starts to pick up it leaves you scrambling for time management since you now wear every hat. It’s best to have a bookkeeper, a website developer, a graphic designer and, almost most importantly, a truly “knowledgeable in your field” tax perfessional from the start. This will be a larger start up cost, but will save you when you start to get busy.
2) Learns from free resources instead of investing in their education.
Learning from free resources isn’t bad. They are great tools to get you help in a pinch or to answer that random burning question, but it is not a substitute for education. The top people in their fields are always paying for more education. Keep finding everything you can and don’t stop. Everything you learn exponentially helps your growth.
3) Doesn’t invest time or money into a coach.
Looking at the top performers anywhere (business, athletes, politicians, etc) they all have multiple coaches. Sometimes, they even have duplicate coaches in the same area because one specializes in a certain niche. There will never be a time in anyone’s life where they need to stop receiving help.
4) Refuses to read books.
We all have a top list of people who we wish we could have dinner with to learn from their greatness. How much would you pay for that opportunity? Well, turns out, you most likely won’t have to pay more that 14.99 (or even free if you have a library card) because most of the “greats” have written their life stories, what brought them to greatness, or their business encounters in books for us to learn from. For the price of an Audible membership, you can hear from someone new every week giving you the best advice of your life.
5) Sees failure as a negative.
Failure happens. 45% of businesses fail within the first 5 years (Bureau of Labor Statistics). Personal issues will arise, perhaps a global pandemic will come out of no where or a labor shortage knocks you off your feet. The businesses who make it are the ones who pivot. Hard things will come, and you will fail. Projects will fail, maybe even a branch or an employee you were putting a lot of time and energy into leaves. However, it is the ability to learn and come back that separates companies that close.
Leaders Perception magaizne would like to thank Jamie Hunt-Parrent for the time dedicated to completing this interview and sharing their valuable insights with our readers!
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