Julia Carlson: Why You Should ‘Fire Yourself’ to Grow Your Business

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Welcome to The Way Forward presented by Barron's. Hello, my name is Ray Scalfani, and I'm the founder and CEO of ClientWise, and I'll be your host. What would it take to help more than 1,000 entrepreneurs each give away at least $1 million? That's not just a hypothetical question. It's a bold mission. And today's guest is making it happen. Julia Carlson is is a financial powerhouse, an entrepreneur at heart, and the founder and CEO of Financial Freedom Wealth Management Group. With more than 25 years of experience, she's built a firm that goes way beyond traditional wealth management, guiding entrepreneurs to grow, scale, and give in ways they've never imagined. She's also the author of Money Loves You, a book that challenges the way we think about money and abundance. Julia's passion is helping business owners not just build their wealth, but use it as a force for good. She believes that by firing yourself, you can truly step into the entrepreneurial role you were meant for and unlock the life and impact you dream of. Today, we're diving into her journey, her insights, and the mindset shifts that can change the way you think about money, business, and giving back. Julia, welcome to The Way Forward.

Wow, what an introduction. Thank you, Ray. I'm excited to be here today.

Awesome. So let's get into it. Your book, Money Loves You, presents a unique perspective on our relationship with money. I'm curious, what inspired you to write the book and what's the key message you hope readers to take away?

Yes. So, you know, I've worked with clients over 25 years now, and I have seen clients that had really good relationships with money. And then literally people that have sat across from me and said, money hates me. I'm just not good with money. And guess what manifests in their life?

Yeah, exactly that.

So it's really, I think writing this book was for me a journey of how my relationship with money has evolved and how that served me in my life, uh, with abundance. And, and ultimately the message of the book is how our inner wealth, our inner thoughts, our inner beliefs are constantly generating and creating our outer wealth.

That's pretty deep.

Yes.

And that's what the book's really about.

Yeah, it's about this journey of like really understanding our belief systems, because a lot of times our belief systems aren't really ours. They were our parents, our caretakers. And so how do we actually re-examine those, go back and, you know, mine the subconscious, I like to say, and decide, is that a belief that I want to have moving forward?

That's fantastic. I would imagine those conversations build deep relationships with clients.

Yes.

In ways way beyond just the traditional wealth management.

Yes, absolutely. I think sometimes they, they don't think they're coming for therapy.

So let me ask you, just the team that you've built is pretty extraordinary as well. Just describe the team and the culture of your firm because this approach to wealth management is truly unique in building a team that can align with clients in such a deep and meaningful way is pretty extraordinary.

Yeah, I mean, our commitment is to care deeply about our clients and their financial lives. You can't have one without the other. So it's both. And it's really important that we understand, you know, how our clients are wired, what's important to them, what their legacy is, because oftentimes, you know, we are that bridge to that next generation. You know, I've had clients you know, their children sit across from me and like, do you have a letter from my parents? Like, what did they say? Like, they just, I think the older generation just is not equipped with talking about money. It's a taboo subject. And so we are that bridge, honestly, for that next generation.

And in a funny kind of way, I would imagine kind of a translator too.

Yeah.

Yeah, that's great. So tell us a little bit, you've built this firm in what, most consider a traditional male-dominated industry. What are some of the challenges you faced along the way, and how have you overcome them?

Oh goodness, okay, so when I started my business, I was 23, and I was, I'm a 6-foot blonde.

I can see.

You can see.

Our audience now can imagine.

But they can't. And I was like, gosh, who's gonna trust a 6-foot blonde with millions? And I would say that my whole 20s, it was like the decade of rejection. Like, I heard a lot of nos.

Well, that sounds so sad. So sad. I bet you weren't rejected much. Yeah, okay, very good.

But I literally will have clients today, like, they met me in my 20s, but they actually didn't give me the money until 30s or 40s. And they're like, we wish we would have trusted you then. But, you know, it's like, you know, trying to get, you know, back then I think the industry was maybe 16% women. And I heard this week at Barron's we're at 20%. So, hey, let's celebrate that.

Yeah, to move the needle slightly.

Yeah, and I also think that the industry, you know, is very— it was born from men. And so we can't, like— I believe the way forward is we bring more women in. We show the beauty of this industry, the femininity of this industry. And for me, it wasn't until I really embraced that that I could learn how to grow a business the way that's authentic to me, as opposed to trying to grow a business like a man.

Makes a lot of sense. I like it. You know, there was a great speaker here at the Barron's Women's Conference quite a number of years ago, Gina Davis.

Oh yeah.

And she has, she's a Mensa, she's brilliant. She built a complete research arm. Her website is cjane.org. For anybody listening to this episode who has young girls and young women in their life, Gina talks about putting women in powerful positions, not subordinate, not the young professional, but really like up in front of everybody. Because if young women and girls see somebody in a powerful position such as yourself, that they're more attracted. Has that similarly worked for you in this profession?

Yeah, I mean, a thing that I hear from a lot of other, my peers, like successful, other successful women entrepreneurs is, we don't have those mentors always to look to. Like, all of the mentors I've had in this industry have been men. And so now it's like, now as a new generation, like, I want to be a mentor to other women entrepreneurs that are, that are coming into this industry so they have someone to say, hey, yeah, she can do it and I can do it too.

That's fantastic. My guess is your phone's going to be ringing off the hook. Okay, so you advocate for firing yourself. This is a really interesting concept. I've heard this concept before, but I think you really have taken it to another level. So that to become the entrepreneur that you've really dreamt of, you gotta fire yourself. Elaborate on this concept because I don't think it, uh, everyone really get it at first.

Yeah. Well, I think, let me tell a story about that. So, uh, you know, back in, this was in 2013, I probably had, um, I, you know, I was feeling like I was making it. I was probably just crossed the 7-figure, um, in revenue. I had some, I have a team. I was like, oh, I'm superwoman. I got this. I was also, Uh, I had 3 kids under the age of 6.

Wow.

And so, um, actually let me rephrase that. I had 3, I think under 9. Let me, I don't want to lie here.

2013.

Yeah. 2013. So my oldest was born in 2003. So she was 9.

Wow.

Okay.

So I had 3 under 9.

So I had 3 kids under 9 and I was, um, at a client appreciation event. I had rented out a boat and back then you didn't carry your phone with you. You know, we didn't have all the social media we have today. We weren't capturing all of that. And so when I And when I got off the boat, I looked at my phone in my purse and I had a lot of text messages and missed calls, and I learned that my oldest daughter was in a car accident.

Oh no.

Yeah, she was hit head-on by a drunk driver with my parents, and she was actually being life-flighted at that moment to a hospital in Portland. And I got to the hospital, had my assistant drive me where we stayed., with her in ICU over the next week. And I had my assist— I was physically there with her, but I also had my assistant bring me my computer so I could work, so I could send emails, so I could do trades, so I could process money. I had made myself so relevant, think that I'm the one that has to do it all in my business at that point, that I couldn't see beyond that. Like, I felt like I had to be the one to own all of that because of this very hustling, masculine way that I built the business, trying to prove that I can be successful. You're the one, right? Right. And so I wasn't allowing my very capable people around me to help. And so thankfully, my daughter and parents went on to make a full recovery. And when I went home from the hospital with her, I said, that summer, I need to be home with her. I need to help her recover. And I really thought choosing my daughter would, my business would fall apart. But guess what?

Just the opposite.

Just the opposite. I was the bottleneck in the business. I was the one that was sabotaging future, more increased success. And the fact that when I could relinquish control over to a very capable team, they stepped up, they were elevated, which elevated me. And so that is the— that's where Firing Yourself was born.

Wow. Thank you for sharing that story. Yeah. That is incredibly emotional. And, uh, what an impact. Thank God for full recovery for your parents and your daughter.

Absolutely. Yeah. And you know, I went on a journey at that point to say, I'm going to become a better business owner. Like, I, I, I need to, I need to learn skills. Uh, and you know, I w— I grew up as an advisor, not a business owner, but I loved being a business owner. And then, And so I was like, okay, I'm gonna learn these skills. And that set me on a journey to, you know, get coaching. You know, I always say we are always our best investments. And so when I invest in myself with coaching, with training, it's like I constantly become a better version.

Okay, so being an advisor is very different from being a business owner. Is there any secret sauce in making that shift besides the mindset of firing yourself? You talk about the great team around you.

Absolutely. So when you fire yourself, you know, someone's got— you better have very capable people around you. And so that's the thing is like one of my hires after that point was someone way smarter than me, had all of this big corporate, you know, executive management background. It was exactly the opposite of who I was, which is this grassroots, didn't go to college, like I'm just super passionate about what I do. And so here comes this person in saying, Julia, I see your vision. I can help you. We can grow the business. And I was like, yes.

And then my ego was like, oh my gosh, no, I have to let go.

I have to let go. I have to now allow someone else to come along and help me with this vision, which was a beautiful gift, but also very hard to let go. And I want to— a quote, I don't remember who said it, it's like, I can be in charge, without being in control. And that changed my life.

What a story. So you're stepping down, others are stepping up. Did anybody surprise you?

I think what surprised me was the people that I had on my team that are still with me today, how very capable they were, and also how generous, 'cause they had just allowed me to micromanage them, right?

Like, so now I was like— Those poor people.

Those poor people. Just get me out of the room. And so it's like, that they are so skilled. And so, and actually allowing, receiving, like, I think people that have a hard time receiving even a simple compliment, you look beautiful today. If you're deflecting that, that's an insight that you're not able to receive. And that's also an insight that you're a control freak.

Yeah. Right.

Right. Because when you can allow someone to give to you, which is, that's as humans, we wanna give and receive. And if you can't receive, you're stopping that flow and you're stopping the elevation happening. And so the, the surprise is being able to look back now and connect all these dots, cuz in the moment it felt really hard.

Yeah. Kind of clunky, I would imagine. Yes. But yet at the same time, you were doing something right in hiring all these fantastic people.

Oh yes.

So there was an entrepreneur and a leader in you that hadn't been born yet.

Correct. Yeah, like that's, I mean, I, that, that passion is very natural, but then what was beautiful is like these people that did have experience, that did see, uh, brought the order with them, right? Like they brought the principles of how to manage a team. They brought leadership principles that I had to learn. And so that was like such, such a gift in my journey.

And, and that seemed like it was a springboard for you into achieving lots of new heights. What have you learned as an entrepreneur from that moment on that has really helped you accelerate as an entrepreneur?

Yeah, you know, I think when I look back, it's, you know, there's, there's, there's this hustling phase of an entrepreneur. And it's like, because we are passionate, we love what we do, we, we want to go for it. But that also can lead to burnout and overwhelm and chaos and really big growth, but not the structure. And so what I like to say is what gets you to one level at the end of the hustle there's a letting go. At the end of the hustle, there's a surrender. And that is hard for a lot of entrepreneurs. But in that surrender is the sweetness of being able to really examine and reflect what your strengths are, and then finding people that, that are like a match to your strength. And so early on, it was like I just kept hiring people like me because I want to have a lot of fun.

And that didn't work. That didn't work. You figured that out quick.

Yeah. And so actually, the people that are opposite, you will have conflict. You will, if you have a really healthy culture, there is going to be straight talk. There is going to be, you know, I don't agree with you. Maybe we need to think about it this way. And it's iron sharpens iron. So if you have different perspectives on your team sitting around the table, it will make the whole, it will make everything better.

Oh, that's really good.

So I like to say surrender, once you go through that messy middle of surrender, you actually get to harmony.. And it's this, like, beautiful, you know, like, your people feel comfortable in your company. They can speak up. They can— we have really good, lively conversations in our offices, and we want that. And they all have buy-in to what we're doing. And if they don't, then that's the most important person I want to talk to, because they're seeing something that I may not.

Right. In fact, I've heard one of the advisors we coach has taught me that buy-in are the two dirtiest words in corporate America because buy-in implies they're having to buy your vision as opposed to being co-contributors to a vision, co-creating some vision. So just an interesting thought. It sounds like you've got great culture.

Yeah, it's like alignment. I think that's the thing is like, are you committed for what we're doing? Are you aligned with it? Are you against it? Because if you're against it, then you're like, okay, then we need to talk about this.

Yeah, that's great. So everybody has a voice in contributing? Absolutely. Good. That's really good. Okay. Let's talk a little bit about this ambitious goal that you have and the mission that you're on. I just love this. Your goal to assist 1,000 entrepreneurs in giving away $1 million each is really inspiring. So what motivated the mission? I mean, how did you envision this as you started building your own business?

Yeah, so as you know, it's interesting, as my company Financial Freedom has become kind of a grown adult, right? It's running, it doesn't need me as much. And so, you know, being an entrepreneur and a creative, I'm like, ooh, what's the next project? And so, and I have an amazing community of women entrepreneurs that are my best friends. Like we just have a lot of great time together and we dream about doing good in the world. And so, and my vision is to help, entrepreneurs grow from 7 figures to 8 figures, because that is that surrender period. That is that period where what gets you to $1 million in revenue will hold you back going to 8 figures in revenue. And a lot of it's mindset, a lot of it's strategy, a lot of it is scaling and all of that, but there's also, I think, We don't, do we stop dreaming at a point of the good that we can do in the world? And so my vision is if we can, 'cause people care about things, you know, whether it, like a nonprofit that I like to contribute to is saving girls from human sex trafficking. I was involved in Rotary and educating when my kids were young about sex trafficking. So it's really important, or, So there's so many great causes in the world. And I think that entrepreneurs really lead that cause. So, but it's not once you become successful, you give money away. My vision is helping them along the way, givers along the way, because that is also developing them in who they become as an entrepreneur.

Absolutely beautiful vision. How are you doing so far?

I think I have about 10 that are like, yes, I'm, I am on that journey with you. I'm trying to figure out how I'm going to organize it. I think, I think I need made a website for that.

Got it. Okay, well, coming soon to a theater near you.

This is like, this only came to me in like a couple months ago. Yeah, in January.

So you're building this, uh, new vision, and we're enjoying the start of your imagination of what it's going to become. Yeah. I know financial literacy has been the cornerstone of much of your work. Uh, tell us a little bit about some of the common misconceptions about money management and how you go about addressing them with your clients?

Yeah, I mean, I think that people— I think people either ignore money, avoid money, and it's, you know, of course they do that because they were never taught. And so I think it's really important that in high schools that they do need to take personal finance classes. I mean, I was— I had a grandparent and my parents that had a really healthy money mindset. I mean, I started investing $25 a month at 18.

Wow. And at 23, you're an advisor.

Yeah. And so I don't think I've, I've never not invested every month since then. So I have really good habits and that like when I started my business, I was just wanting people to understand how important it is to understand personal finance and the decisions that they make often early on in life are going to either set them up for success or not. And No matter where you, where people are at, it's, it, people can learn the basic skills, I think, to get started in the right direction. And, but oftentimes that is getting over the regrets that they've made in life. And so that's where, that's where the forgiveness work and the reframing and, and looking at your past and your beliefs about money come in.

That's great. I would also just emphasize with the business owner, it really sounds like you've got very strong, and your team does as well, technical competency around helping advisors or helping entrepreneurs navigate.

Oh, absolutely.

Yeah.

And I think with a lot of entrepreneurs, you know, they are skilled at their craft, not necessarily money management. And so, you know, for us, we really come in and act like that CFO for them and really teach them the personal finance, how to separate personal finance and business, how to then create business value, how to structure, how, you know, how to help them with entity planning. And so we have a tax specialist on our team. And, you know, this is my path, right? And so often, you know, for me building a successful business, I've had to learn all this. And so I think it's really only natural that I turn around and I want to help others do this now.

Tell us some more about some of the other services. You talk about tax and entity structure. I know business owners, entrepreneurs is really a sweet spot for you. Uh, what other services does your firm offer that sets you apart?

Yeah, so specifically to the business owners, like we're actually helping them. Do they have a career track for employees? Do they have benefits? And are they, are they, um, attracting the right talent with those benefits? And not, then, uh, we will help them create what that is for them. Uh, and so we're really, we're really doing like helping them scale, helping them doing the, you know, consulting as well.

So it really sounds like there's a beautiful intersection between business coach, business consultant, and personal financial manager. Yes. Okay. Wow.

That's pretty special. Yeah. I mean, I think your business, if you're a 7, 8-figure business owner, is, is most likely your largest asset. And so how do we help them, you know, build, build wealth inside their business? Yes. But also outside their business.

Yeah. In life and money, it sounds like. Yes. Okay, so balancing short-term financial goals with long-term objectives for many entrepreneurs can be challenging. So what strategies do you recommend to sort of maintain this balance effectively, this, this tug of war, so to speak, between short-term and long-term goals?

To have a strategy. Yeah, right. Well, here's, here's what I think what happens is we humans love to think black and white. It's like either I can have this or I can do this. It's black or white thinking, and that's hardly ever the answer. So I like to say, you can do it all, you can have it all, maybe just not all at the same time. And so what are your short-term goals? What are the long-term goals? And how do you— because you don't want a miserable life and saving for the future. You want to have a great life now. And so I oftentimes with my clients, I'm like, it's okay to go on that vacation. It's okay to take your kids to Japan. It's okay to go to Saks and invest in beautiful clothes. Like investing in whether it be memories and vacations. We are both planning a wedding for our kids right now. Like that's investing in memories and your family and your legacy and what's important to you. And so that, that, those are always amazing investments. And as long as you're, you have a plan for the future, you're, you're, you're implementing that discipline plan for the future, which means you're saving, you're doing all the right things. The future will take care of itself.

Put your advisor hat, your entrepreneur owner hat on of your own wealth advising business and answer the same question. How do you balance that short-term and long-term aspect of the business you own in this financial freedom wealth management company?

Yeah. Ooh, that's a good one. Okay. So I think where my brain goes to is investing in, you know, the marketing, investing in the people that are gonna that are excited about helping these entrepreneurs give $1 billion away, right? And that takes money. That takes money to build that infrastructure. And that takes away from, you know, the profits today, but I also think that creates enterprise value over the long term.

How so? How does it translate for you? It seems like an obvious question. Oh, okay. Yeah. The investing in people, how does that all drive enterprise value? It's interesting to note about how many financial advisors are not attracting many of the right top talent to their teams today. There aren't lots of advisors flooding the industry. McKinsey reports that there's gonna be 100,000 advisors shy in our industry with the way things are going. Yeah, that's crazy. So this investing in people, tell us about—

Yeah, for us, like we've always, we've always like, like homegrown. Like, we like to bring new people into the industry or career changers and then show them the, the how powerful this industry is. And yeah, I mean, at times it's stressful and hard and there's a lot of details, but at the other time, but on the other side of that, you, you get to see clients live their dreams and, you know, either build a business or sell a business, retire, like, you know, And to see the fruits of that is really rewarding.

Yeah, it's the nobility of the work. Yeah, absolutely. So it sounds like your team has built not only incredible culture, but you also frame the opportunity in really pulling on the heartstrings of the great work that your firm is doing. Yes, absolutely. That's great. Okay, you've got this concept. I like this concept, the anti-budget. You've developed this anti-budget system. So for an entrepreneur, it seems so antithetical to not budget, but system to help individuals gain financial freedom. Like, the anti-budget and financial freedom sounds so juxtaposed to me. So explain how it works and what the benefits really are.

Okay, so I mean, no one likes to budget, right? I mean, okay, so some people like to budget, but I don't like to budget. I feel like it's a spirit of restriction. It's what I can't do. I have seen a lot of— limiting. It's limiting. I have seen marriages being torn apart. Wives husband and wives or partners, like, just because there's just so much money fights over, over that. And so I think when it— when you peel back— I'm not saying don't track because I love tracking. I love a good spreadsheet. I love to know where my money is going. But we all value things differently. That's the bottom line. So you may, you may want a nice car. I may want a nice vacation or a nice purse. And so we all value things differently. And so And you get to spend money on what you value. And so how do you create a spending plan around your values?

Got it. That is a really different way to think about that. Is there a process that your team takes clients through that helps them think about unearthing some of those values?

Yeah. So in my book, there's a whole chapter devoted to this, but It's number one is looking at your cash flow. So, you know, how much money is coming in and how do we actually be really grateful for that? Like, let's just give gratitude for the money that's coming into our lives. So that's step one is looking at that, knowing what that is. And then step two is looking at how you spend money historically. So there's three areas where we spend money through joy, meaning I love to spend money on that. I went to the spa, I will spend money all day.

I'm headed to the Turks and Caicos every year. Here you go.

Count on it. Yes, yes. So, joy expenses, we all have comfort, like, you know, it could be our mortgage, it could be, you know, the cell phone. That's a comfort expense for me. I'm not gonna walk around without a cell phone. Right, not gonna happen. Yeah, but then there's also those annoying, like, I get my credit card bill and I look at how I spent my money and I don't even remember what that was, you know? So for clients that do need to cut back on expenses is where are those annoyance expenses for you And like, for me, I don't— I do not like to eat alone. Like, I don't like to go out to a restaurant and eat alone. Like, the first day I was here at the hotel, I was like, give me a protein bar and I'm just gonna go to my room, or I'm gonna go to the gym. Like, I don't need to go to the restaurant and spend $50 just by yourself. No, I— it's just for me, I don't like it. So that's— I mean, so we're all different, but there's gonna be annoyance for you, and that's where you can cut it out.

Subscriptions do it for me. There you go. Netflix, Hulu. We've got, I don't know how many subscription accounts in my house. I'd be happy to get rid of many of them. Okay, so let's shift gears. You have been dedicated to empowering women in finance for your entire career. It's evident. And so I'm curious what challenges you've encountered in promoting gender diversity in the financial industry, and how would you recommend, what advice or guidance would you give the industry knowing that there's a massive transition of wealth to women in the future and that advisors, men and women, are going to need to be serving more women in the future?

Yeah, so I would say first, you know, invite the women around the table. Like so many times I go to conferences and there's still this kind of feels like a boys club. Up, right? Hey, you want to go play golf? No, I don't want to play golf. I want to go to the spa. You want to go to the spa with me? So it's— and even like, um, part— our, our partners, um, you know, money managers, like even them, like, I don't want to go to a whiskey tasting.

It's not the thing.

It's not the thing, right? So it's like thinking about the activities, thinking about, um, I think also valuing a different perspective. And so I, I, one, like, it, it's that whole masculine and feminine energy. I think we're better when we have both.

Has your firm, uh, been successful in creating those kinds of activities that are attractive to women? And if so, what are they? And what guidance would you give some of the others in the industry to create the kind of culture where women would be far more attracted?

Yeah, so right now we're planning for a spring event where it's, yes, they can come and shred everything, but they can also pot a flower and go leave the event with a spring arrangement. And so it's, so that's, you know, that's a good example. Yeah, that's a good example. Most of our events, because we're very family-driven, like we'll rent out the aquarium and we had over 300 people, generations, you know, that's always a lot of fun. Yeah, we're planning a picnic. So it's It's a lot of like family-oriented, but then like specifically when I'm working with women entrepreneurs, we'll do like a retreat or we'll do, you know, an activity where it's like a roundtable talking about important topics for women, and then we'll do a wine tasting, you know, something like that.

That works well. We had a wine tasting and invited you, and I know you're very excited about that wine tasting. So thanks for coming. Okay, so looking ahead, there are loads of trends and challenges and opportunities in wealth management. How can individuals prepare, leaders of wealth management businesses, when you look ahead, what's on the horizon for a wealth management business owner like you, and how do they take advantage of some of the opportunities ahead?

Yeah, again, I think that opening the door and not being afraid of training is going to help bring our industry along. So, you know, having a career track, having a way that people see a future in your firm is really important. And I think that inclusive culture where their help, like we just did actually based off of our last workshop of what is your aspirational vision for your company. And I don't want to do that by myself. I may have an aspirational vision for my work with entrepreneurs, but I don't want to create the aspirational vision alone for my company now. And so we have actually spent 6 months going through iterations of what this aspirational vision could be for this next stage of our, of our business. And we're all like really excited about it and we're excited to start putting it into, you know, like actually making it, weaving it into who we are and how we talk with clients.

There's an old African proverb: If you want to go fast, you go alone. But if you wanna go far, you go together. Yeah. So it sounds like you're bringing the team along to go far, that it's no longer about you.

Absolutely. Yeah. And in fact, yeah, it can't be about me, right? Like this, I feel like, I really do feel like this company is now an adult child and it needs to be independent. It needs to be like, it needs to go off into the world and do the good work that I know it can do.

And that's really the sign of a successful entrepreneur, that they've built something that will outlast them, that endurance, so to speak.

Yeah, and I think, you know, something we did about a year ago was integrate a new way to, to work with clients because we've never had minimums. We want to help people that want to be helped. And so we thought, you know, is there a new way of helping people you know, without going broke, right? We're not a nonprofit.

You have to be profitable.

You got to be profitable. Yeah. And so we actually did the work of like, how much does it cost to serve a family? And looking at all of that. And we came out with a financial coaching model to really help younger families or, you know, professional families that are in those, you know, 30s, 40s that may not have the assets built yet, but they can still work with us to put their financial plans in place. And really, I think for those families, they want the accountability. If they have the plan, we can give someone a financial plan, but if they don't walk the path and put that into place, it's not going to help them. Right. And so really being that financial coach, making, making money on like a more of a subscription or a retainer model, that's, that's— it was actually hard to implement because it's, it's a change in the way that we do business, but it's actually been really exciting to see how many more families we can help. And it opens the door.

Yeah, that's fantastic. And you're doing it in a profitable way and still growing your impact. Yes. So that speaks to some of the values in your firm. And one of the things I've admired is the difference in values and principles. Your firm has both. Tell us a little bit about what those are and how they drive culture in your firm.

Yeah, so our values, I think of who we are, right? We never compromise our integrity. We treat everyone with respect. We delight our clients and we embrace our team culture. And those, those may feel internal, but those are very public. Like our clients know that because even our clients need to embrace our team culture. They're not just gonna work with Julia.

What does that mean? Yeah. So yeah, tell us more about that.

So that, that was the shift, you know, for the first 10 years of building my business, it was all about Julia. And after firing myself, they still wanted Julia. Right? So it's embracing our team. And we're all, we're going to be way better for you, way better than Julia is one, just by herself.

By herself. If there's a team involved.

There's a team. And also we don't want lone rangers on our team. We want people that want to be on a team and feel that support with with each other, feel that that's where our team principles come in. So our team principles are speak straight, listen generously, be for each other. So there's 7 team principles, and it's like every week we work on one principle at our team meeting, and we go through them, our core values, our principles, and it just helps people feel safe in our world, safe to speak up, safe to give their ideas. I think it's really cool when we get a new person on our team because they are seeing from the outside in. You know, when you're in the jar, it's hard to read the label. Yeah, right. But when you get a new person on your team, they have such rich perspective of the journey, of the impression that you lose once you're in the business, right? So we really like, okay, you know, is there anything we can improve? What are you seeing? I'm not on the front line very much anymore. So the people that are answering our phones, and like, I want to hear what conversations are, what questions are clients asking, like what's happening there. And that's how we can drive forward. That's how we know what content to create. That's what we know, like, hey, we need to do a webinar on this. Or even like we just did a market, like a 10-minute market video from our director of investments We're getting an increased call volume.

So other people are paying attention to the needs of the client. Yes. So this is interesting because you talk about the firing of yourself and you've done a remarkable job in transferring trust from yourself to the team members. And I'm, I'm curious, how did, how did that go? What was it that made it really successful? What was the language you used in helping clients understand that you're on this mission to grow your impact?

Yeah, I mean, that's— it happens over time, right? And so I think that clients that have been with me for 20 years, they've seen this journey, they see all of the growth. And so I think, you know, on one hand they're a raving fan, but on the other hand they're like, well, what am I going to lose you?

Yeah.

What do you mean? Yeah. And so it's like my— I have to be in charge of overlooking it all, right?

Like, You're the CEO of the organization.

Yeah, I'm the CEO.

Yeah.

And that, I love my role. And so I think it is having those hard conversations of, yes, you've trusted me with your story, with your legacy, with your money, but I have a very capable team here that wants to care as much as well.

Okay, let's shift gears and talk about the future just a bit. I know you're headed to Writers Island. Ooh, yes. You've got more in store. What is that all about? And what does the future hold for your firm and for you?

Yeah, so I, well, let's talk about Writers Island. So that is going to be a documentary/reality TV show that will be on a major streaming platform coming to you probably in late 2025, 2026. But it's 15 entrepreneurs on an island for 5 days writing a book.

Holy smokes. So we're going to see you on television.

See me?

Yes.

This is fantastic. And the book is going to be for entrepreneurs.

Just fantastic. Yes. Any inside baseball to what's coming in the book?

Oh, well, I've talked a lot about it actually here. Yeah. So it's that whole— I want to really develop the idea of the hustle and that surrender and really get into what it takes mindset-wise, because that's— I like— we, we are our thoughts. We are our— we hold ourselves back. We have so much potential. We are limitless if we can just get beyond ourselves.

What a— what an incredible story. Yeah. Congratulations on all of your success, and we look forward to watching your bright future unfold.

Thank you. And the billion dollars for good in the world.

1,000 entrepreneurs. At $1 million each.

That's $1 billion.

Go get 'em, Julia. This podcast was brought to you by Wells Fargo Advisors. Looking for a firm your clients can't outgrow? Wells Fargo Advisors offers financial advisors full balance sheet solutions with wealth planning, investment products, banking, and lending that meet the needs of affluent to ultra-high net worth clients. Build your practice your way and on your schedule with independent and employee model options designed to meet your needs today and tomorrow. Learn more at joinwfadvisors.com.