Young entrepreneur finds niche advising other business owners

Julia Carson Founder and CEO of Financial Freedom Wealth Management Group, specializing in tax strategies for retirement and distribution planning, and exit planning for business owners.

Russ Alan Prince: Founded the Financial Freedom Wealth Management Group at the age of 23 at the turn of the century. Please tell us about your decision to become a business owner and the development of the company since its inception.

Julia Carson: I started working in financial services at a local bank when I was 19 years old. By the time I turned 20, I had a securities license. Years later, I went to my bank boss and said I was ready to become a financial advisor. Her reply was that I could get a job when my current advisor retired or left. I retired and started my own independent company.

My vision when I left banking was to take care of people and provide financial planning and investment management. I wanted to help them become financially independent, and I was aiming for the same goal myself.

Looking back on my career and business growth, and this is true for most businesses regardless of industry, I see two phases. His first decade was what I call the Hustle period. During that time, I had several support staff, and I was the sole advisor, also working to build the business.

The second step was to expand my company and become a better business owner. I had to learn how to recruit, manage, and build teams with people who had different strengths than mine and a culture that reflected our shared values. These are very different skills than being a financial advisor. But these are the same challenges that all business owners face.

We have no minimum requirements for our clients because we are serious about helping our clients find their own financial freedom. I firmly believe. Whether someone comes to us with $10,000 or $10 million, we will do everything we can to help them. We expect you to treat us with respect and embrace a team culture that is focused on achieving abundance in all aspects of life without compromising integrity.

prince: Your client is a niche group of business owners, how did you start working with this client?

Carson: Being a business owner myself and wanting to help others in a similar position naturally gravitated towards business owners. I have faced the same challenges in building my business. I have worked with them to grow and maintain their non-business wealth. And as they became more successful, so did I, and I have more toolbelts to help grow their business. , or have succession plans to sell to key employees or other buyers if the children are not interested.

prince: How are you working to empower business owners in times of uncertainty like we are currently experiencing over the last few years?

Carson: I think the most important thing in times of uncertainty is being able to be your mentor and talk to them when they need you most. I often feel like I am. They can’t talk to employees or even spouses who may not really understand the business. Often what they really need is another business owner. or talk to an advisor.

In those situations, remind them that you plan for the worst and hope for the best. Often when we make these fears public they can understand it logically. If so, we have a plan. I tell them, we are ready for it, so don’t think about the worst. Use your energy and think about the best possible scenario in front of you.

On a more practical level, over the past few years, I have spent more time making sure my business owner clients understand their tax liability for their scheduled payments. Business may have had a great year for him in 2019, but it took a big hit when the pandemic hit. Many business owners thought they had to make the same quote payment when their income could no longer justify it. If you work with a CPA, you may not speak until the end of the year. We try to help them with proactive tax planning so they don’t pay more than they should or don’t pay enough when their company’s net income increases.

Russ Alan Prince He is Executive Director of Private Wealth Magazine (pw-mag.com) and Chief Content Officer of High-Net-Worth Genius (hnwgenius.com). He consults family offices, wealthy and fast-growing entrepreneurs, and hand-picked professionals.