Starting your own business at 60: It can be done

When starting a business, there are many risky factors that can come into play causing most to feel wary and even a little lost—even more so when you’re 60 years old. That’s where Judith Lawrence found herself just a few short years ago.

For almost 30 years Judi worked as a legal secretary but was taken aback when she was abruptly told that her position was finished. What followed is what most would expect—a period of time with no direction, no idea on what the future would hold, and a lot of mixed emotions bubbling over.

But Judith persevered.

Fast forward to just a few short years later and Judi is now the founder of Center City Notary, LLC, which is a notary company operational 24/7/365.

“The company provides notary services to the general public including professionals, businessmen and businesswomen, physicians, attorneys, etc. I am also a Certified Apostille agent. This is a trending business that few people know how to operate,” says Lawrence.

The company, however, grew into something much more.

“In 2019, I approached Arthur Werner, founder and President of Werner-Roca Seminars and told him about my idea to start a school to teach notaries not only about how to become a notary, but how to become an Apostille Agent, how to start a business and more,” adds Lawrence. “Art is a well-known speaker, based in Philadelphia, who lectures CPA’s and EA’s across the country on taxation and financial and estate planning. He immediately agreed that my idea was a good one. It took us several months to become PA state certified but today we are educators certified by the Secretary of State of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and LIN has launched.”

Philadelphians interested in learning more about the business can do so by visiting the official website, lawrenceinstitutefornotaries.com and to also review and sign up for upcoming classes, with one coming up on March 27.

“Starting a business, especially a business open to the public, is the hardest thing I have ever done but the most rewarding professional journey I have ever embarked on,” says Lawrence. “I generally like 98% of the people who walk through my doors. I try to treat them all, no matter who, with respect and I try to make sure we give them a good finished product.”

What many can learn from Judi’s story is that the desire to find meaning in life can lead you to many interesting places. It doesn’t matter what age, circumstance or part of your life you’re in—with a will to learn and create, anything is possible.

“My personal message to anyone who wants to create a business is if you are prepared to work hard, no matter how old you are, you can do it. There are resources online and mentors available to help you. Now that LIN is up and running, it is our goal to make sure that our students learn the right way of doing things. We want to create a community online where students can obtain mentoring services and continue to learn. We offer a network where notaries can join to meet other notaries, a network where vendors can join so notaries know where to find them and an affiliate network so people can post our link for students to see. We hope to expand this throughout the country”