07 - Stephen Snyder | Mighty Process Server

Full Transcript
0:00Stephen Snyder:And he got pretty irate about it and ended up doing a drop serve on him and just saying, you know, you're being served. Yeah, you know, it's not really a choice that you have. You're being served. And so I dropped him and started walking away and I had this feeling to turn around. So as I turned around, this guy was coming at me with a beer bottle to hit me. So I'm a fairly big guy and this guy was a smaller guy and I just kind of block. I ended up calling the police.

0:34Intro:You're listening to Process Server Daily, the show where hustle meets strategy in the high stakes world of process serving. From elite pros to the new servers taking massive action, these are the voices of a rising industry. Hosted by the founder of 1, 2, 3 Legal Support, Mighty Mike Reed. This is your backstage pass to building a profitable process serving empire. Let's get into it. Steven Snyder, welcome to the show.

1:09Stephen Snyder:Thank you for having me.

1:11Mighty Mike:How did you get started in this industry?

1:13Stephen Snyder:Back in 1991, I was at church with a friend of mine who was a process server. I didn't know that's what he did for a living, but he and I were just talking one day in nursery because I was the person in charge of the nursery and his kid was in there. So we were just chit chatting and I said, you know, I've been kind of looking for a part time job, you know, to do something on the side to make some extra money.

1:35Mighty Mike:Yeah.

1:36Stephen Snyder:And he says, well, I know something that you might be interested and that's processor. And I'm like, what is processor? Never heard of it before. And he. So he's the one, his company hired my friend and my friend was quitting because his job promoted him and he didn't need to work extra hours anymore. So I said, okay, let me go talk to Tom and see if we can work out something. And so I did and, and he hired me and I started working in south of San Jose in the Morgan Hill, Gilroy, Hollister area. And then I just got to thinking, you know, I bet there's other companies that need someone in this area too, because I was the only one. Pretty soon it just blossomed and I had, you know, a bunch of companies sending me work. You know, I was a kind of like an independent contractor for them. I didn't do any work for attorneys or paralegals, you know, directly. I was just working for other companies. So that's kind of how I started.

2:23Mighty Mike:You have a lot going on right now and you have Full of great experiences. But first, tell me about your worst experience working in the field.

2:32Stephen Snyder:I have been assaulted once. I think it was probably mid-90s. I was trying to serve some papers to some small claims papers to an individual that owed some money to a jeweler. He bought a ring or something and didn't pay for it. Well, I knocked on the door and I spoke to the guys son and I told him what I was there for and I asked him for his father to serve him and he said his dad wasn't there. And I said, well, according to California civil procedure, I can serve the documents to you. And. And he got pretty irate about it and ended up doing a drop serve on him and just saying, you know, you're being served. Yeah. You know, it's not really a choice that you have. You're being served. And so I dropped him and started walking away and I had this feeling to turn around. So as I turned around, this guy was coming at me with a beer bottle to hit me. So I'm a fairly big guy and this guy was a smaller guy and I just kind of blocked him. I ended up calling the police and they came out and sighted him. And then I went to the court hearing for him to, you know, for his plea. How he's gonna plea? Well, he didn't show up. The judge issued a bench warrant for 20 grand.

3:51Mighty Mike:Oh.

3:52Stephen Snyder:I immediately went back to my office, prepared a small claims document, filed it with the court and we served him in small claims. He showed up to that and then we just kind of talked and you know, found out that he, you know, cost him a lot more than what the jeweler bill was. Just to try to defend himself. He learned something the hard way. I let him off. Except for 150 bucks.

4:14Mighty Mike:That's crazy. So you let him off with $150?

4:17Stephen Snyder:Well, he was quite remorseful at this point.

4:19Mighty Mike:Oh yeah.

4:21Stephen Snyder:He learned his lesson.

4:22Mighty Mike:I guess so.

4:22Stephen Snyder:Yeah. And he had a misdemeanor on his record.

4:25Mighty Mike:And man, as a server, when you're knocking on the door and you're going to walk away from the door, like always be aware of like what's behind you and what's coming at you.

4:33Stephen Snyder:Yeah. Especially when you're dealing with someone like I was dealing with. Became very irate. And he was young, Kind of want to keep your eyes in the back of your head a little bit.

4:43Mighty Mike:What would you have server Nation take from your story the most?

4:47Stephen Snyder:Just be aware of your surroundings. Be smart.

4:50Mighty Mike:Steve, tell me about your greatest experience working in the field, I think that

4:55Stephen Snyder:the greatest experience is when I'm able to deal with persons directly, like what we call in pro per, someone that's representing themselves, and we're able to be successful in helping them get something that they're owed. For example, I had a plaintiff come to me with a $30,000 judgment, and he didn't know how to collect from this guy. We did a few things, including recording the judgment, and it attached to the fellows to the defendant's property, so that when he refinanced or sold it would force him into paying the judgment. And so it was just a matter of preparing the abstract of judgment, recording it, and then within a few months, this gu ended up refinancing his home, and my client got $30,000 judgment.

5:41Mighty Mike:Oh, wow. I've been able to take people to the point of judgment very successfully, like getting them getting their papers filed, getting them served, getting a judgment, and then kind of other than evictions, obviously getting a writ and lockout, but other than that, it's been pretty kind of like, I don't know, you got to find their bank account. So for servers like me, how I've been in the past, would you be a good contact then to say, hey, I know this guy. Go ahead and contact this guy. He'll be able to find their bank?

6:09Stephen Snyder:Well, we actually, I do have a service for finding bank accounts. I work with a private investigator out of Montana, and they've got some kind of software that they've developed, and they can find bank accounts.

6:21Mighty Mike:That's cool.

6:23Stephen Snyder:And then once we find out what. What that bank account is, then then as a registered process server in California, I can prepare a notice of levy and get the documents ready for do a bank levy.

6:33Mighty Mike:Tell me about what you're working on right now that has you most fired up.

6:37Stephen Snyder:I've been in the business since 1991, and I've learned how to build a business, and I own several of them. Hawaii process service, Utah process Service, Idaho process service. I could go on and on and just keep expanding my business, but personally, I don't have the time to manage them all. So what I've been excited about doing is finding young process servers that are not found on the web. They need help to build their business. And so I work in conjunction with my company, findmylegal.com and helping new process servers build their business and get noticed on the Internet, because that's pretty much key. People, when they do a search, they go onto Google and they look up the city, the State and then the word process server. And if your website is ranked on Google, they'll find you. And we help the young process server build their new business.

7:29Mighty Mike:Well Steve, that is worth being excited about. Would you say it was findmylegal.com yes. Findmylegal.com so Steve, what advice would you give for the struggling server out there right now?

7:39Stephen Snyder:What I would do is I would Google Legal Professional directory and get your name on as many free websites as possible. There are others you can pay for which rank very high on Google.

7:51Mighty Mike:Hey, quick break from the episode to tell you about something that's changing the game for process servers across the country. It's called Mighty Process Servers and yeah, you can join absolutely free inside. You'll get full access to every course, every download, and the educational tools that we use to help process servers build profitable companies. We meet every Tuesday at 1pm Eastern for our live Mighty Mastermind call. Come join the conversation. You can connect with other professionals, post on the discussion board, direct message members and become part of one of the most engaged communities for process servers. Don't wait. Go to mightyprocess server.com and join today. Those who get verified, get listed and start bidding on jobs same day. Now let's get back to the show. Okay, welcome back to the show, Steve. Are you ready for the rapid fire round?

8:53Stephen Snyder:Excited about it?

8:56Mighty Mike:If you could recommend one app, what would it be and why?

9:00Stephen Snyder:You know I'm a pretty simple guy. I just use Google Maps. It just tells me where to go. After I finish a serve, I put in the next address and tells me where to go.

9:08Mighty Mike:You know what they say? Keep it super simple. Kiss, right? Yeah, that's awesome. So what case tracking software would you recommend as the best?

9:16Stephen Snyder:For many years I used QuickBooks. I just kept track of how much people owed me. That's primarily because I worked for other processor companies.

9:24Mighty Mike:What is your favorite skip trace tip or trick?

9:28Stephen Snyder:I use a company called IRB Search. Usually check someone out there first. If the information on there not really clear, delve into some things deeper like maybe going to the post office to verify some addresses with the postal verification form.

9:42Mighty Mike:That's great.

9:43Stephen Snyder:And then I also check Facebook, check out to see where people might be working because they always are real proud of where they work and they put down where it is and then you can link to it.

9:51Mighty Mike:Yeah. Another great Facebook tip or trick that I've found is if you feel like they're super secretive, but they don't, but they usually will have their relationship status and they'll say married to Jane or whoever. You can go into Jane's and a lot of times Jane isn't as secret. And then go to their profile and then you find out actually what street they live on based on photographs. I feel like the servers, sometimes we become professional stalkers and we can find anybody. That's kind of the goal is to find them, just to give them the papers and that's it. But you still found them.

10:22Stephen Snyder:And so yeah, any little bit of information that you can get will start to pinpoint where this person is. And that's the whole idea with skip tracing.

10:31Mighty Mike:That's right. You know, I feel like maybe the theme of this episode is going to be keep it super simple and keep it back to the basics because it's so important to at least know what you need to do. IRB is a great resource. It's one of my skip tracing softwares that I use as well. What is your favorite tool for defense?

10:48Stephen Snyder:I would say common sense.

10:52Mighty Mike:That's good. Yeah, the common sense isn't too common anymore. What book would you recommend?

10:57Stephen Snyder:That's a good question. I think any kind of book that can help you to focus on the day's activities. You know, if that's the Bible or the Book of Mormon or whatever you know, you read, you know, to spend some time in the morning before you go out and take some time on reading something that's going to be uplifting to you so you can clear your mind and so that you can be aware of your surroundings, you know, during the day.

11:19Mighty Mike:There are many different books that help you become better, a better person. I feel like as a server and just having a well balanced life is really important. As a process server, we spend a lot of time on the road, in the car, maybe sometimes a lot of time away from our family. And I think starting your day off right, whether it's reading scriptures or meditating and those different types of things to help zero yourself, give yourself a foundation to build on is very important. Thank you for that. Steve, would you say that you have a mentor?

11:51Stephen Snyder:Well, you know, I always try to. If I have a question about something, I'll usually go back to my source company. You know, I've, you know, if I have a question about something, I'll go to another process server that, that I respect. You know, I've used Tom Bowman's office and I've used attorney Server said, you know, they're, they're pretty experienced too. And so, you know, I usually bounce some ideas off of other process servers. That have been in the business a while. So as far as process serving, I went to California, you know, to get my CCPS license when I first started out and the speaker there said that after you serve someone, get in the car and drive away. Don't try to do your notes right there. And I think there's wisdom in that because if this guy figures out what you just did to him, he just served him papers and he reads, he might come pretty upset and try to give them back to you. So if you're gone down the street, it's going to be harder for him to get to you. So I always try to try to drive a few hundred, maybe a couple hundred yards down the road and then write my notes.

12:53Mighty Mike:Yeah, that's been a good one. That's something that I learned as well. That's really great tip. A great thing that every server needs to learn. You don't spend time sitting in front of the house. You don't spend time in a place that you may be in danger. I mean, if you're looking down at your notes, you're not really watching the house or watching the person that you just served, just turn around the corner. I have a two corner policy. When I leave the house, I go one corner, another corner and then I can pull over like I'm going till I can pull down a side street somewhere because that's safety is number one. Safety is the most important thing.

13:23Stephen Snyder:Exactly.

13:25Mighty Mike:What would you do if you woke up today, had all the same skills and knowledge, had no clients, a smartphone, a car, and only $100, what would you do in the next seven days?

13:36Stephen Snyder:As far as process serving goes, I would first get myself a website. You can do that for under a hundred bucks. If I was a brand new server, that's what I would do, is get myself a website and then develop it and help you move forward in starting a processor company myself during, during my 25 plus years, I have been diversified in other types of businesses. I'm also a tax preparer. I've driven Uber. You know, sometimes your business is a little slow at sometimes. And so you want to make sure you're diversified so that if your company does tank that you got some, you have something else to fall back on.

14:13Mighty Mike:Steve, what I take most from your story is the idea that as a process server you can't completely depend solely on getting a job every day that you're going to go out and serve, that it might be good to go out and get another. I know when I first started I went and got my notary, got my notary license. It wasn't a whole lot, but if it gave me three or four extra jobs a week, then it was worth it. So that's great. Preparing taxes, that's. It doesn't necessarily correlate. But what's interesting is I bought a domain name, e file today.com thought, you know, I'm going to just run with this E filing thing. And then I started realizing the efile is almost more recognizable to the tax filing industry than it is for the legal industry.

14:54Stephen Snyder:Well, the knowledge I've gained from all the different employment has just been beneficial. So, you know, because there are, there are things that are, that I've learned with being a tax preparer that have helped me with being a process server and vice versa. Whatever you can do to gain knowledge, that's important.

15:11Mighty Mike:That's great. Steve, you've been dropping some awesome major value bombs on us today. Teaching us that keeping it simple is most important. Building a foundation for each day, finding ways to market yourself to other process serving companies and then feeding off of each other, building a network, being able to get your name out there is really important. Steve, what is the best way that we can connect with you and then we can say goodbye?

15:38Stephen Snyder:Depending on which company you want to hire, go onto the web and look us up. My company in California is Hollister Process Service. You can phone me on my cell phone. I'll give that to you. 808-557-5615. If you have any questions about wanting some help building your new processor company, I'd be glad to sit down and talk with you. No charge. And we can just go over what your goals are and then I can, I can make some suggestions on what you can do and if you want to use my services to help build you a website, I'd be to help you out.

16:10Mighty Mike:Wow. Server nation. If you heard that you just heard that Mr. Snyder is willing to personally help you build your business. Steve, thank you again. You have a great day. We appreciate you being on.

16:22Stephen Snyder:I'm glad that you had me on. It was an awesome experience.

16:27Outro:That's a wrap on another episode of Process Server Daily where the legal support industry levels up. Want to grow your process serving business with the best marketing tools, the most engaged community and the highest ranking directory online. Visit mightyprocessserver.com claim your listing. Join our free community. Surround yourself with process servers who get it and build something real. From the field to the courtroom. This is Process Server Daily. Until next time. Stay safe out there and live mighty.

07 - Stephen Snyder | Mighty Process Server

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