We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Calleesha Teel. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Calleesha below.

Hi Calleesha, thanks for joining us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

After graduating law school in 2018, I moved to Georgia after passing the Georgia Bar. I worked a temporary job for about six (6) months, and was unable to find any employment so I moved back to North Carolina. After a few months of doing document review, I was able to secure a job at a Collections firm in July 2019. I worked there until Covid hit in 2020. After that, I was unemployed for a while and worked temporary document review jobs until I secured a position in my hometown, Greenville, NC. It was another temporary position, and I had been researching different avenues to pursue on my own since it was so hard to get a job during that time. I keep a dream book with all of the different ventures I’ve come across over time that I eventually want to pursue and I saw where I had written ‘Loan Signing Agent’. I began doing research and buying different materials I needed while still in Greenville. By the end of my 3rd month in Greenville, I was ready to go and eager to start making income on my own – so I started Seal with Teel and started my own law firm. It was a nerve wrecking decision because there was no guarantee that I would be successful, but I knew I had to try. It took a few signings for me to catch the flow and learn different things that I want to implement. I still try to do the same thing now, in making the process more interesting and enjoyable for each signer.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I’m from Greenville, NC. I went to Winston-Salem State University to pursue my B.A. in Political Science, I graduated in 2013. I took two (2) years off and worked as a 911 Operator for the Winston-Salem Police Department and Winston-Salem State University. I always knew I wanted to go to law school, but I knew I wasn’t ready right out of undergrad. I decided to apply after the second year I had to miss Thanksgiving and Christmas with my family due to work. I attended North Carolina Central University School of Law, where I obtained a dual-degree (JD/MLS) in 2018. I took and passed the Georgia Bar in July 2018 and moved down there in September of the same year. Once I couldn’t find a job, I moved back to Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Once Covid happened, I decided to become a certified Loan Signing Agent and to establish my notary business – Seal with Teel.
Seal with Teel provides general notary services, mobile notary services, and loan signing services in Charlotte and surrounding areas. As a loan signing agent, I go to the homes of people who decide they want to Refinance their home loan or they want to do a Reverse Mortgage. I go through the packet with them and provide them with an overview of what each document means that they are signing. Seal with Teel provides each signer with their package in their own packet with my business card inside. When available, signers are also gifted with a Seal with Teel cup and pen.
I was doing loan signings pretty much full time during Covid, and it was extremely lucrative. After a few months of doing loan signings, I decided that I also wanted to become a Notary Public Instructor. It was hard to find any information on how what the process was online, so I reached out to the Secretary of State directly. I had to get hired at a community college first before being able to take the Instructor training with the Secretary of State. The first school to hire me was Guilford Technical Community College; however, by the time I was able to take the Instructor Course, I had moved to Charlotte, NC.
I decided I needed benefits, and was able to secure a job at a Real Estate firm in Charlotte, NC. I still continued to do loan-signings part-time, and started teaching at GTCC later on that year. Since then, I have began teaching at Gaston College, Western Piedmont Community College (no longer teaching), and Southern Piedmont Community College as well. I include all classes on my website (www.sealwithteel.com) and provide the links for registration as well.
I work extremely hard to make sure that my classes are informative and fun! I did not like being bored in class, and I hope to minimize that experience with my students. My classes are interactive through practicing notarizing documents, the asking of questions to the class, and a review game (Kahoot!). I try to make the best out of what can feel like an overload of information – the goal is for it to be as digestible as possible.
I think my knowledge and expertise sets me a part and helps me stand out. Working at a Real Estate firm provided with me with even more insight on what each document meant and how the process works as a whole – I was a closing attorney with that particular firm for six (6) months, and I completed multiple closings daily. I’ve also been a student, so it helps me figure out what would be the best way to maintain the attention of your class and how to convey information in a clear and succinct way.
I want to provide anyone that encounters Seal with Teel and/or Prof./Dr. Teel, with a quality experience. I am currently putting together a class that will allow other loan signing agents to learn how to complete Refinance documents. I know firsthand the struggle of getting started, and just because I struggled doesn’t mean other people should. I try to be as knowledgeable as possible and to keep up with any new implementations that apply to being a North Carolina Notary Public.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

How did you build your audience on social media?

Shortly after starting my business, I knew I would have to create content for social media. I tried for a couple of years, but I could never do it successfully. One day I was on social media and saw a flyer my cousin posted for her trucking business (Manifest Global Logistics) and I knew for a fact she didn’t create the flyer (lol). I asked her who did it for her, and she told me she had a Virtual Assistant through Try Pineapple. So, I decided to do the same thing, and now I have amazing content being posted daily through my VA, Monica! I would not be able to focus on other things or timely grow my business without her! It was one of my best investments. My advice to any one starting out, invest in yourself as much as you can. It may be hard when you are first starting, but anything that you can delegate, do it as soon as you can!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.sealwithteel.com
• Instagram: @sealwithteel
• Facebook: Seal with Teel
• Linkedin: Calleesha Teel

Image Credits
pictures with notary book and at the table – @richershots (IG) other headshots – @studio.wellmade (IG)