I was 47 years old when I launched my wedding and event planning business. I didn’t have a business plan. I didn’t have a marketing budget. I had just been laid off, I had a severance package, and I had a burning belief that I was meant to do something more. That’s it. And somehow, through hard work, the right support, and a willingness to keep going when it was hard, it became the most rewarding thing I’ve ever done.
The Myth of the ‘Right Time’
There’s no perfect age to start a business. There’s no perfect moment when all the conditions align and the path is clear and risk-free. The ‘right time’ is a myth that keeps talented people on the sidelines indefinitely.
I’ve coached planners in their 20s, their 40s, and well into their 60s. Every single one had a version of the same fear: ‘Am I too late?’ None of them were.
What Life Experience Gives You That Youth Can’t
When you start a business later in life, you bring something younger entrepreneurs don’t have: perspective. You’ve navigated difficult situations. You’ve managed relationships. You’ve learned how to communicate, negotiate, and problem-solve in real-world contexts.
In event planning, those skills are everything. Clients trust planners who feel calm and capable. That kind of presence often comes with lived experience.
What Held Me Back (And Why I’m Glad It Didn’t Stop Me)
I was overwhelmed. I didn’t know how to run a business. I reached out to successful planners for coaching and no one would help me. When I finally found someone just launching a coaching program, I didn’t ask the price, I just knew I needed the help.
That investment in coaching changed everything. Not because someone handed me a business, but because I stopped trying to figure it all out alone.
What’s Really Possible
I now have a business I love, clients I’m proud of, a team I trust, and the freedom to say yes to the work that lights me up and no to what doesn’t. Over 100 million dollars in client revenue. A coaching platform helping planners around the world. A podcast. A speaking career.
None of that happened overnight. All of it started with a decision to begin.
This Is for You
If you’ve been telling yourself the moment has passed, I want you to hear this directly: it hasn’t. The fact that you’re still thinking about this dream means it’s not done with you yet. Start. Today. Not when it’s perfect. Now.
One of the most unexpected lessons in starting later in life is how much easier it becomes to let go of what doesn’t matter. When you’re younger, there’s often pressure to prove yourself, to chase every opportunity, to say yes out of fear that another won’t come. But later on, you begin to recognize that clarity is more valuable than urgency. You get better at filtering noise, trusting your instincts, and building in a way that actually aligns with your values rather than external expectations.
That shift changes everything in business. You stop trying to copy what everyone else is doing and start focusing on what actually works for you. You also become more resilient, not because challenges disappear, but because you’ve already lived through enough of life to know that setbacks are not the end of the story. They’re just part of the process. And that perspective becomes one of your greatest business advantages.
— Ready to take the next step? —
Ready to stop waiting and start building?
Join the waitlist at https://coaching.
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About Naif Productions:
Naif Productions is a strategic event planning, design and production firm specializing in corporate, live coaching sales events, social, non-profit, and weddings. Based in New York City, we produce events worldwide from Fortune 500 clients and coaches to families and charities. Naif Productions specializes in helping clients attain their goals, realize return on investment, and achieve the most unique, creative experiences.
About Annette Naif:
Since 1986 Annette Naif has been designing and producing custom events, helping clients create their unique style that translates into a memorable and profitable experience. Annette spent 17 years producing events in the motion picture industry where she helped coordinate numerous productions for film and episodic television programs. Since then Annette’s been running her own event production company, coaching other event planners, teaching an event operations and production course at NYU, and now is the CEO & Creative Director of Naif Productions.
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