Julia Carlson is the Founder and CEO of Financial Freedom Wealth Management Group where she specializes in tax strategies for retirement and distribution planning, as well as exit planning for business owners.
Russ Alan Prince: You founded Financial Freedom Wealth Management Group at the turn of the century when you were 23. Can you tell us about your decision to become a business owner and the evolution of the firm since its founding?
Julia Carlson: I started in financial services working at a local bank when I was 19 years old. By the time I was 20, I had my securities licenses. After a couple of years, I went to my boss at the bank and said I was ready to become a financial advisor. Her reply was that when the current advisor retired or left, I could have the job. That wasn’t going to work for me! I left and started my own independent firm.
The vision I had when I left the bank was that I would take care of people and offer them financial planning and investment management. I wanted to help them become financially independent while also aiming toward the same goal for myself.
When I look back on my career and business growth, and this is true for most businesses, regardless of industry, I see two phases. The first ten years were what I call the hustle phase. During those years, I had a couple of support staff, I was the only advisor, and I was also trying to build the business.
The second phase had to do with scaling my firm and becoming a better business owner. I had to learn how to hire, manage, and build a team of people who had different strengths than me and a culture that reflected our common values. Those are vastly different skills from being a financial advisor. But those are the same challenges any business owner will face.
Because we are truly committed to helping our clients find their own financial freedom, we don’t have a client minimum. We firmly believe that when it comes to a human being needing help, the amount of money involved is irrelevant. Whether someone comes to us with $10,000 or $10 million, we’re going to do everything we can to help them. Our core values call for treating all people with respect, never compromising our integrity, and embracing our team culture which focuses on reaching for abundance in all aspects of life.
Prince: The clients you work for are a niche group of business owners, how did you begin working with this clientele?
Carlson: I naturally gravitated toward business owners because I’m a business owner myself and wanted to help people in a similar position. I’ve faced the same challenges in building a business. I’ve worked with them to help grow and preserve wealth outside of their business, so they don’t have all their eggs in one basket. And as they became more successful, so did I, which gave me more tools in my tool belt to help them scale their business. These days, I do succession planning to help small businesses transition from one generation to the next generation, or if the kids aren’t interested, to sell it to key employees or some other buyer.
Prince: How do you work to empower business owners in times of uncertainty such as what we have currently been experiencing the last few years?
Carlson: I think the most important thing in times of uncertainty is to be a sounding board and available to talk when they need you most. Business owners often feel like they’re balancing on a high ledge. They can’t talk to their employees or often, even to their spouses who may not really understand the business. A lot of times what they really need is to talk to another business owner and advisor.
In those situations, I remind them that we plan for the worst-case scenarios and expect the best. We talk about what their biggest fears are. Oftentimes when we bring those fears out into the open, they can see that logically, whatever negative scenario they’ve envisioned most likely won’t ever happen. And if it does, we have a plan. I tell them, don’t think about the worst happening because we’re prepared for that. Use your energy to think about the best possible scenarios before you.
On a more practical level, over the last few years, I’ve spent a lot more time making sure my business owner clients understand their tax liability toward making estimated payments. A business could have had a great 2019 and then got hit hard when we went into the pandemic. Many business owners thought they still had to make the same estimated payments when their income no longer justified it. If they work with a CPA, they may not talk to them until the year is over. We try to help them with proactive tax planning to ensure they’re not paying more than they need to or paying enough if their business net revenues increase.
Securities offered through LPL Financial, Member FINRA/SIPC Financial Freedom and LPL Financial do not offer specific individualized tax advice. We suggest that you discuss your specific tax issues with a qualified tax advisor.
RUSS ALAN PRINCE is the Executive Director of Private Wealth magazine (pw-mag.com) and Chief Content Officer for High-Net-Worth Genius (hnwgenius.com). He consults with family offices, the wealthy, fast-tracking entrepreneurs, and select professionals.