Hidden Gems: Meet Janessa West of Mobile Notary St Louis

Today we’d like to introduce you to Janessa West.

Alright, thank you for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us how you got started?
After raising my kids as a single parent in Southern California, I moved to St Louis in 2018 in search of a different pace of life. I quickly found it here in the ability to purchase my very first home and create a new life for myself with great friends and experiences.

When the pandemic hit, it shut down my main source of income. I had to become resourceful and figure something else out. Being an entrepreneur, I had other business experiences to fall back on. While living in California, I started a Mobile Notary & Loan Signing business. It occurred to me that this type of business would be more important than ever during the pandemic. I quickly jumped into gear to become a Missouri commissioned Notary Public. I set out to market my business to local St Louis Title companies for mobile real estate loan closings only to find their offices empty and closed due to Covid.

On to a new plan! I jumped into action and did what I know how to do best. I worked on creating an online presence with Google Business and built and optimized a website for my Mobile Notary business. In no time at all, Mobile Notary St Louis was in business! Customers were calling with a need for mobile notary services for all types of documents throughout the St Louis area.

I knew there was a need for mobile notary services, especially during a pandemic. As time passed and restrictions loosened, and people started getting out and doing more things, business continued to flourish! It became so demanding that it became necessary to add a team of Notaries to help handle the volume of appointments. Customers weren’t just calling from St Louis. They started calling from as far away as Troy and Wentzville, St Charles, Florissant, and out to Eureka and Arnold! Calls even started coming in from customers in Metro East Illinois. Within 12 months, we had repeat customers, and within 18 months, we had a team of 10 Notaries and were continuing to grow.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I would say it has been a rather smooth road. I would also say that St Louis is a great place of opportunity for small businesses to start and flourish. There is amazing community support here for small businesses and business building assistance from local sources. It’s not to say there haven’t been some struggles along the way. Growth always presents struggles, but they are good ones to experience. I would say one of my main struggles has been keeping up with my daily tasks in running and building the business. From website maintenance to marketing to customer service, booking appointments, answering questions, sending out Notaries and going out on appointments myself. There is much to running a business and working in it as well. Finding the right technology to help me keep up with things has been an obstacle I know I will resolve with more research and time. As the business grows, all these things become more intensive and need more support.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Mobile Notary St Louis Janessa West – Founder | Owner | Notary Public | Marketing Master

I could go on with the titles – any small business owner knows how this goes! We end up wearing all the hats! I am thankful that I have been an entrepreneur since 2004 and have had many different experiences with my own businesses and assisting other businesses. I like to say that the success of my business is my constant growth of marketing knowledge. Without successful marketing, a business will fall flat.

What sets me apart from others is my experience of failure and success. One of these can’t be known without knowing the other. It was a long and bumpy road to success, but I wouldn’t change anything. All lessons learned have added to my knowledge and expertise, allowing me to grow. I also offer my customers top-notch customer service. When they call, they speak to me directly. I answer their questions and make sure they are properly prepared to have us assist with their important documents.

Regarding specialty work – I would say assisting clients with getting their documents Notarized and Apostilled in any of the 50 United States is my specialty. I have connections with Notaries throughout the country in every state and can get documents from any state Notarized and Apostilled at the state or federal level. I can assist with any documents.

And secondly, I would say my specialty work is assisting other Notaries in building and growing their businesses. Having established

Contact Info:

• Website: www.MobileNotaryStLouis.com
• Instagram: mobilenotarystlouiscity
• Facebook: mobilenotarystlouis

Image Credits
Janessa West