Bill Cates [00:00:00]:
For many advisors, the benchmark of a successful financial practice is $1 million in annual production. Now, some advisors hit that mark and then reach what Dan Sullivan used to call the ceiling of complexity. Other advisors never make the million dollar mark. And some don’t aspire to that level of production. No judgment. But for those who do, why stop at a seven figure practice when it’s possible to create an eight figure practice? And that’s what today’s guest has done. And even if you don’t aspire to that level of production, I think you’re going to find this interview extremely valuable. It’s filled with ideas, perspectives that you can apply to your own situation.

Bill Cates [00:01:01]:
But first, by now you’ve probably heard about my newest book, the Hidden Heist. Stop Robbing Yourself of Lasting Wealth. An irresistible tale of financial redemption. This book is unlike anything I’ve written before because it’s a parable book co authored with Jeff C. West. It’s suspenseful, it’s insightful, it’s surprisingly fun, a lot of comic relief, I have to say. And the story explores the beliefs and assumptions that keep many from building wealth or seeking financial guidance in the first place. It shares essential financial lessons without ever feeling like a textbook and definitely not designed to replace you.

Bill Cates [00:01:40]:
In fact, you’ll be pleased to know that the Hidden Heist makes a strong case for hiring a financial professional, so it supports the important work you do. One Advisor just ordered 25 copies of the Hidden Heist to give to his clients and prospects. We’ve had other advisors order up to 75 copies. Several advisors have told me that they’re hosting Money Story conversations with both their teams and their clients, with two main goals in my first, to make sure that their team’s Money talk self talk doesn’t hold back the growth of the practice and second, to bring more empathy and create more meaningful conversations with their clients. Not to do financial therapy that’s not your job, but to help help your clients feel more fully understood and appreciated. The ultimate goal, I think of most clients who seek work with financial professionals like yourself is to gain clarity, confidence and peace of mind. Therefore, I think it behooves you to demonstrate empathy and take actions designed to create that all important peace of mind for your clients. This enjoyable read combines a great story with an important message.

Bill Cates [00:02:50]:
It’s available in hardcover, paperback, Kindle, Kindle Kindle and Audible. Kindle and Audible. If you’re curious, just go to thehiddenheist.com thehiddenheist.com Everybody likes a good heist. Now, this episode of the Top Advisor podcast is made possible by Oberly Risk Strategies. They’re a specialty insurance broker focused on insuring high net worth individuals and families across the United States, specifically through home, auto and umbrella. More about Oberly in a few minutes. And now on with today’s show. We know that in this great industry of ours, men outnumber the women by a huge margin.

Bill Cates [00:03:31]:
And yet this great transfer of wealth that we’re in the midst of is mostly going to women. Some estimates have women controlling more wealth than men by 2030. I believe that not only does our industry need more women advisors, it would be wonderful to start seeing more and more women appearing on those leaderboards.

Bill Cates [00:04:07]:
Well, today we have such a person. My featured guest today is Julia Carlson. Julia is the founder of Financial Freedom Wealth Management Group, a firm in the top 1% of our industry. She’s the author of a fascinating book, Money Loves you. And in her newest book, let’s get yout How Entrepreneurs Scale to eight Figures by Letting Go and Leading With Vision, is set for release on February 13th of 2026. Julia guides entrepreneurs to help them grow beyond the hustle to build companies that thrive without their constant presence.

Bill Cates [00:04:50]:
That’d be nice, wouldn’t it? And create a legacy of generosity. Julia has a bold mission that we’ll have her tell us about a little bit later, and that is to help 1,000 entrepreneurs scale to eight figures while giving $1 million each to causes they care about, therefore fueling a 1 billion movement for good. Yeah, I can’t wait to hear about that. So, as you will see, Julia not only helps with all aspects of creating and implementing financial plans, she also helps many of her clients grow their businesses. I’d call this a great one, two punch and a clear and tangible differentiator that we all look for these days. So with all that preamble, Julia Carlson zooming in from Newport, Oregon. Welcome to Top Advisor podcast. Hello.

Julia Carlson [00:05:41]:
Thanks for having me, Bill. And you sent me this book and I’m so excited to dive into It. I love a good parable story, and especially thinking about helping our clients with their money mindsets and stories. It really can hold people back. So I love what you’re doing.

Bill Cates [00:05:57]:
Oh, thank you. I appreciate that. Yeah, everybody loves a good heist, I like to say, right? Get in on the heist. All right, so look, so many questions I want to ask you. You’ve done so well, and you’ve done it with pretty good balance and, and. And staying a really nice, generous person, all in the process. So let’s start with a brief.

Bill Cates [00:06:16]:
Just a brief overview of your practice. Give us a little history of your firm, how you got started, if you don’t mind. And then, you know, an executive briefing on your team a little bit. The structure and the culture.

Julia Carlson [00:06:27]:
Okay, sure. So the money business has been my only. Only business. I started working at a bank when I was 19 as a tell. Had an investment department. And, you know, I grew up. My parents had a very healthy relationship about money. They taught me about investing.

Julia Carlson [00:06:45]:
I actually started my first mutual fund account when I worked at McDonald’s when I was a teenager. And I realize now how uncommon that is. But at the time, it was very normal for me. So I was very curious. I would talk to the financial advisor as he would visit our branch each week, and found myself then becoming an assistant inside the investment department. And I got licensed when I was 20. I was a registered assistant. And then by 23, I thought, okay, I’m ready to be a financial advisor.

Julia Carlson [00:07:17]:
I really wanted to help people. And they said, great. The bank, they said, if you wait and the advisor moves or leaves, you can have that position. You see, I’m in a very rural area in Oregon, and so there just was an opportunity. And so a little while later, I decided to leave the bank. And then I worked with a kind of an insurance company that was captive. So even though I learned about investing, I learned more about insurance. And that was until 2009 and going through the Great Recession, having all insurance products, you know, it wasn’t a service to my client.

Julia Carlson [00:08:00]:
And I didn’t know any different at the time, but I’m like, man, there’s got to be a different way to, like, how do we more holistically help my clients?

Bill Cates [00:08:08]:
Right.

Julia Carlson [00:08:08]:
And so I left that, the insurance company and started what is now Financial Freedom Wealth Management Group. And so. So I think, you know, starting at the. At the, starting over, essentially after that recession was really hard. I was actually, I just had my third baby. And so it was a lot at that time. But you know, we, one family at a time that we helped, adding one employee, team member at a time and you know, a lot in between here. But today we have a team of about 20.

Julia Carlson [00:08:45]:
We serve about just probably around 1400 families nationwide. You know, our offices, we have four office locations in Oregon. But since the pandemic, like, we’ve really expanded virtually across the nation, which has been fun. We are team led. So I have, I have a president, Jason, who is a partner in the firm as well now. And we have four people on like our executive team and then a management level and then the advising. So we’re very structured, a very rich culture. We’re very like, our core values are embracing, our team culture.

Julia Carlson [00:09:28]:
And we actually teach this to our clients as well. Treat all people with respect, never compromise our integrity and delight our clients. So we, it’s very much alive and in our culture. And, and we also like giving generously is, is ingrained in, in that too, which I can talk more about.

Bill Cates [00:09:49]:
Yeah, well, definitely going to get into, into that billion dollar mission you’re on. A quick follow up to that. You know, in this industry of ours, we have a lot of folks that grow up on the insurance side, the protection side. That’s what they know. That’s mostly what they know. They learn a little bit about investment, but, you know, they kind of know what they know and they lead with that. And there’s other people that grew up on the investment side. They may bring an insurance specialist occasionally.

Bill Cates [00:10:17]:
Sometimes they see insurance as the stepchild, which I think is a mistake. Personally, I’m just curious about having both.

Julia Carlson [00:10:25]:
Yeah.

Bill Cates [00:10:26]:
Talk about that.

Julia Carlson [00:10:28]:
Yeah, I think I, you know, because I was like, I learned that first I was, you know, very much passionate about that. And then, you know, going through this, the recession where people needed to access their, their money and you know, if it was in insurance products, you know, just inherently is harder. And so I think for me, so I probably swung one way and then I swung the other. And now I found this balance of like holistically, what is best for the client, how do we protect what they’re doing, what they’re building, what their legacy is. And so I think it all is there’s a place for everything. And there’s like, the beauty is we get to integrate all of this into a plan for our clients.

Bill Cates [00:11:10]:
Yeah. And definitely the trend is that way. I mean, I interviewed a gentleman yesterday who, he says I was a stockbroker and I did a little internal double take. It’s like I hadn’t heard that term in quite some time. Right. You just don’t hear that as much anyway, so let’s move on to this eight figure practice of yours. So was it some clear decision that drove you to create this size of a company or was it more or less? It kind of happened by virtue of doing good work and for the right people along the way.

Julia Carlson [00:11:49]:
Yeah, I mean I’ve always been pretty visionary and like had big goals and, and big dreams. I wouldn’t say that this was what I saw back then, but I also like, I, I knew that by instinct. You know, I’m a hard worker. I, I always am like thinking about how to, how to do things differently or how to bring a vision to, to life. And so I think it was like probably three years into building, like 2013 maybe. I like, I had hired some other advisors. So it wasn’t just me doing all of the advising piece. And our business doubled in, in one year.

Julia Carlson [00:12:31]:
We went from like 700,000 to almost one and a half million in maybe like 12 to 18 months.

Bill Cates [00:12:39]:
Wow.

Julia Carlson [00:12:40]:
And I was like, wow. The power of bringing on people, bringing on other leaders. I think that was a thing is. And that’s like the precipice of my book. The new book, let’s get you fired is like that’s what I had to do. I had to get out of my own way and I had to fire myself. And, and firing. Being fired is hard and it’s supposed to be.

Julia Carlson [00:13:04]:
And it’s like. So I had to evolve and change and rise as a leader so I could have other leaders working for that was frankly better in areas that I wasn’t, you know, I’m a very grassroots, you know, entrepreneur that doesn’t have a lot of, you know, formal education and training. But I learned as I went. And then I have other people that have MBAs and different specialties on the team. And that was the magic. It was like allowing other people to rise with me is. Then I saw the power of like, oh gosh, like we can build anything here. And so that kind of got, got, got us going.

Julia Carlson [00:13:42]:
But it, you know, it’s been a slow rise. Like I’ve been at this for a while and so it’s, you know, we’ve had, we’ve done no acquisitions. It’s just, you know, a little bit every day a little bit better.

Bill Cates [00:13:55]:
Important point. No acquisitions because just pure organic growth doing a great job for people. Yeah. So who is a right fit client for you, for you guys these days? And as a, obviously there’s more than one advisor. Is there kind of a firm right fit client, or is that more segmented to who the advisor is and how he or she wants to build their book? What does that look like?

Julia Carlson [00:14:21]:
Yeah. So we, you know, as a firm, like, our goal is to help our clients pursue financial freedom. And then so in the beginning, it was like casting a wide net, I think, as a lot of us do. And then over time, I think what we’ve gotten really good at as a firm is that, you know, retirement planning and then, you know, walking someone through that retirement and then being that partner throughout their retirement years. So I would say that is the bread and butter and the core work of financial freedom. And then about five years ago, I started this journey of helping, like I’ve naturally attracted business owner because I am a business owner. And also in rural Oregon, we have a lot of small business owners. So, you know, that’s always been part of our, our clientele.

Julia Carlson [00:15:13]:
But I’ve started working with them at a deeper level of like, exit planning. And part of exit planning is actually building a valuable business, building something that doesn’t rely on the owner and, you know, thinking about how do we get this IP out of the owner’s head and like, build it into systems and structures in their company so they can harvest this valuable asset. And so, you know, at first it went to exit planning, and then I realized in the exit planning, oh, man, these businesses aren’t ready to exit. We got to figure out how do we create the value and how do we unlock this wealth in their biggest asset. And so that’s then moved into actually being like strategic consultant for entrepreneurs. And we’ve set up a separate business for that. So it’s, you know, it’s all under the freedom brand, if you will. But it’s.

Julia Carlson [00:16:06]:
But it, but it is actually for strategic consulting that we’re doing with our entrepreneurs now and helping them in that business.

Bill Cates [00:16:17]:
I love that. I want to. And I want to dig deeper into that because I think that is a true differentiator. Advisors are looking for what makes us different. Some of the things that they come up with, I find are just, I don’t know, they’re. They’re interesting, but they’re not really. Not necessarily tangible value. That’s something that clearly brings tangible value.

Bill Cates [00:16:38]:
So with that, would you say that most of the folks you’re trying to bring on are small business owners who want to grow and eventually exit or. Not necessarily. There’s still a mix.

Julia Carlson [00:16:48]:
There’s absolutely still a mix in the, in the whole Company as. Because what I found is to working with entrepreneurs, it’s a specialty. Right. It’s like an all in. So, you know, of our team, there’s about three to four of us that just focus on the entrepreneurs. So we’ve kind of carved out like a special area to say, okay, these are. We’re dedicated in this, like, private entrepreneurial client, where the rest of the company is just more like, you know, we get a lot of referrals, so it’s just taking care of them, you know, with our marketing. And so it is like two distinct audiences.

Julia Carlson [00:17:29]:
But I am living in this entrepreneurial world because that’s what makes me happy. And you know, when you’re financially independent, you only want to do what makes you happy.

Bill Cates [00:17:40]:
Well, indeed, any. At any point, you only want to do what makes you happy. When you become financially independent, you have a little more opportunity. So. So if an advisor in your firm is introduced to or somehow meets a small business owner, does that person get referred to another advisor to work with them or. And vice versa or. Not necessarily. In other words, are you handing off referrals to each other to make the right fit?

Julia Carlson [00:18:10]:
Absolutely. So we all work as a team. The clients are the clients of the firm. And so oftentimes, if, um, if we have someone that needs that, it comes into the firm as an entrepreneur and they need more advanced services, you know, more than a retirement plan or they want that. Right. Then they’ll be introduced to the art. Our team or me. And then we start talking about how we can help them with our systems of.

Julia Carlson [00:18:38]:
Of building and scaling companies.

Bill Cates [00:18:40]:
Yeah.

Julia Carlson [00:18:41]:
And so. And then vice versa. Like if I brought someone on as a private entrepreneurial client, and then they want a retirement plan or they want insurance, I would actually refer them over to one of the other advisors.

Bill Cates [00:18:53]:
So a lot of folks are coming in now for just this, scaling their business work. They might not even know of you as a financial advisor at first. That’s some of the clients coming in that way.

Julia Carlson [00:19:04]:
Exactly. Yes. Yeah. And that’s where I’m building a more personal brand in that through my social media. So, yes. You know, I think something that I’ve done that’s been a gift to myself is, you know, my identity was all tied in my business. It was like, Julia and financial freedom are one. But what’s happened over the last couple years, it’s like, okay, who’s financial freedom without Julia? And then what does Julia care about? And so that’s actually been really beneficial because it’s actually made financial freedom More independent and have its own personality.

Julia Carlson [00:19:40]:
And also, you know, taking, taking me out of the, the day to day, which is actually makes it a more valuable business.

Bill Cates [00:19:48]:
Yeah. So let’s stay with the financial side for a minute because most people listening are financial advisors who want to attract more clients. Obviously one thing you’ve done is create this other avenue of value and differentiation which helps attract. But in general, what are the rest of your advisors? What is the firm doing to meet more ideal clients?

Julia Carlson [00:20:13]:
Yeah, so we really honed in on this retirement niche. And so, so we’ve created like a really valuable retirement readiness checklist. And so it’s our, essentially our magnetic way of bringing in right fit clients. So those will live on meta. We will put ads behind it where people will download this retirement readiness checklist. And then in that they, to download it, they have to give us their email. And so it’s a value exchange there. And then we’re able to nurture those prospects coming in and they have to answer questions.

Julia Carlson [00:20:58]:
They have to answer, I think five questions like where are they? How far out are they from retirement? How much assets they have, what’s their income level? Have they ever worked with a financial advisor? Because another thing that we have found is people that come to us, they’ve actually not worked with another financial advisor before. They’ve maybe like invest, you know, kept everything in 401k plans. They’ve worked with one employer their whole life. And they’re coming at this point of I don’t know how to put all these pieces together for retirement. And that’s. And then we do a webinar specifically for those retirement readiness prospects and then offer a complimentary consultation with one of our advisors. So that’s kind of like our funnel, if you will, our prospect to client journey. And then the other piece is just referrals from current clients that share the love.

Bill Cates [00:21:54]:
Yeah, there you go. Well, referrals near and dear to my heart. People call me the referral coach. So I get that. And I really like what you said about the retirement rate checklist because in, in my coaching with advisors, I often work with them to do something similar. It’s have a tool, right, that, that, that you can lead with. I, or your clients can even refer you through the tool. They can pass the tool on to others.

Bill Cates [00:22:21]:
And what does the tool do? The tool exposes a gap, right? A gap in their readiness, a gap in their thinking, a gap in their planning, which then they raise their hand and say, tell me more. Right. Is that kind of how it works?

Julia Carlson [00:22:34]:
Exactly. Yeah, yeah. And it’s very holistic. It’s not just financial part of retirement. It’s like, what’s the emotional part? Like, what are you going to do? Relationship? Are you retiring at the same time? What does that look like?

Bill Cates [00:22:47]:
Oh, very nice. Yeah. Get some thinking and then in areas they haven’t thought before, and if you get them thinking in those ways and you’re positioned to help them with that thinking, then the next step is to talk further. Right. So it makes sense. Total sense. Yeah, man. I’ve got a lot more points of discussion I want to talk to you about.

Bill Cates [00:23:06]:
I want to particularly go into a little more detail around this, going beyond financial planning and helping clients build their business first. But first we need to hear a quick word from the folks at Oberle Risk Strategies who make this show possible. One underappreciated and frequently not discussed pillar of a financial advisor’s value proposition is as we’ve already covered, a little bit insurance and in this case more specifically, home, auto and umbrella. With respect to personal insurance, many of your high net worth clients may be struggling with large price increases, poor customer service, limited options and general confusion in an ever changing marketplace. This is an area that you’ll want to help your clients get right. Because mistakes can be costly. I’m excited to introduce Oberly Risk Strategies to our community. Oberle is a specialty insurance broker focused on insuring high net worth individuals and families across the U.S.

Bill Cates [00:24:07]:
I’ve gotten to know their team and what really stands out for me is that Oberle treats your clients exactly how you treat your clients. Meaning they’re responsive, they give great advice, they build relationships and conduct themselves with high integrity. I’ve been impressed and I think you and your clients will be too. If you think Oberle might be a fit for one or more of your clients, I’d encourage you to reach out to them. Go to Oberle. Well, first of all, the company name again is Oberle Risk Strategies and it’s the website is Oberle. O B e r l e-risk.com private client. Let me say that again.

Bill Cates [00:24:49]:
Oberlerisk.com forward/private-client and all that’s in the show notes. So just go to the show notes and you’ll. And you’ll get it. All right. And we’re back. So, Julia, do you see your. You’ve kind of answered this already, so hopefully this question still makes sense. I was going to ask you if you saw yourself as a financial advisor who helps her clients scale their business or the other way around.

Bill Cates [00:25:18]:
And you kind of answer that, right? You, at this moment, you see yourself as a financial advisor, helps your clients scale their business. That’s your role. That’s pers. That’s your personal brand. Are we getting that right?

Julia Carlson [00:25:31]:
I. I would probably say I see myself as an entrepreneur that has this expertise of a financial lens, like when I’m helping my entrepreneurial clients.

Bill Cates [00:25:42]:
Gotcha.

Julia Carlson [00:25:43]:
Yeah, I think it’s like a. The financial advisor tools that I’ve learned are like in. In my back pocket. And so. And that’s, man, like, our ideal entrepreneur client is, you know, someone coming up on a million in revenue to 10 million in revenue somewhere in that. In that journey. Because, you know, that’s. That’s been what I have learned, right? How to scale this business and grow it.

Julia Carlson [00:26:07]:
And I find that a lot of CEOs and founders, like, this is like unturned, unchartered territory for them. So for them to have an advocate, a thought partner, a strategist that comes alongside and says, hey, I see you. I know you. I am you. It’s really valuable. And so that’s. That’s kind of how I lead. That’s how I would say that first.

Julia Carlson [00:26:33]:
That. That comes first.

Bill Cates [00:26:35]:
Makes sense. And for the other advisors in your firm, when they’re out talking to prospects clients, are they talking about this other part of the business? Are they talking about this other division? When it makes sense, we also can bring this value to your life, to your world? I would think so, yeah.

Julia Carlson [00:26:53]:
Yes. I mean, if it’s a business owner client, and they’re, you know, searching for those, like, you know, they say something that says yes, like this would be something that they may be interested in, then they would, like, refer them over.

Bill Cates [00:27:06]:
Gotcha. Gotcha. Well, you know, it’s funny because I often talk to advisors just when you’re meeting with, let’s say, accountants, estate planning attorneys, some of those folks aren’t particularly good at building the relationships and having client engagement processes in place and let alone prospecting and marketing processes. And so I think that’s one way that any advisor can bring value to their. To their clients, to their centers of influence. Right. You’re. You’re an entrepreneur, you’re growing your business, you’re doing all the things that a lot of other people could learn from.

Bill Cates [00:27:39]:
So I think that’s. You found a great way to differentiate. In fact, it’s turned into a new passion. So, which leads me to your book. Because your book’s aligned with this. Your new book, Money loves you. Your other book I just. I just love the title.

Bill Cates [00:27:55]:
It kind of fits in with the hidden Heist, my latest book, and just our mindset around money and how we view and relate to money. Right. All right, so the title is let’s get you fired. How entrepreneurs scale to eight figures by letting go and leading with vision. The book, you know, challenges entrepreneurs to fire themselves some. I’ve tried to fire myself many times. It’s not easy. My boss won’t let me.

Bill Cates [00:28:21]:
Wait. I am the boss. Oh, it’s very confusing. So is this a book that. I know. I know you apply it to other types of businesses, but it seems like this is a book that applies to financial advisors, does it not, and how they want to grow?

Julia Carlson [00:28:38]:
Absolutely. Yeah. I mean, it’s my story and what I’ve learned, and so, you know, a lot of the stories and examples are from my journey, and so other financial advisors would absolutely get a lot out of this. But essentially, yeah, like, the firing yourself is letting go of doing all of the things that we think we have to do as the founder, as the advisor, and really letting go so you can step into this visionary leadership role that most founders want to be in. But what happens is they get kind of buried in all of the. To dos and running the business and also working with clients. And so it’s a. You know, it’s a.

Julia Carlson [00:29:20]:
It’s a lot. And so it’s like, how do you start? So the. The book has two main parts. It’s like the first part is. I call it the entrepreneurial spiral. It’s like who you become in building a business in. In that, like, to me, that’s like the biggest gift. When I look back over my journey, it’s.

Julia Carlson [00:29:39]:
It’s who I’ve become, going through all the hardships, going through the challenges, like in rising through all of that. And then the other piece is, like, the actual stages of a business. I call it the hustle phase, the surrender phase, which is the firing yourself phase, the harmony and then legacy and how you kind of move through that framework, and then there’s different tools and different things to do at the different stages of business growth.

Bill Cates [00:30:11]:
Does the book touch on hiring the right people? Because it seems to me that’s. That’s the linchpin in all this. Right. You’ve got to have the other people that you trust and can do the work as you step back.

Julia Carlson [00:30:25]:
Yeah. So there’s like a hiring chapter in let’s surrender, and then there’s a bigger hiring part in Harmony, because, you know, when you’re a smaller team. It’s like, okay, you’re the person hiring. And like, now I fired myself from hiring because guess what? I love people and I always want to see the best in them.

Bill Cates [00:30:46]:
Hire anyone. Right. I love you. You’re a great person. Come on in. Work for me.

Julia Carlson [00:30:50]:
And I’m also, like, in strengths finder. I’m an activator. So I come in and I activate people. And then you know that, that, that actually is like, you want them to be activated by themselves, right?

Bill Cates [00:31:04]:
Yes. Yes, you’re right. Right. Self activators. Now, this book, the new book, get yourself, let’s get you fired isn’t available till February 13. How do people get into your world now to make sure they know when the book comes out and just to learn more about you and what you do.

Julia Carlson [00:31:25]:
Yeah. So My website is thejuliacarlson.com and I’m on LinkedIn. I post a lot on LinkedIn and I also post a lot on Instagram because that’s like my personal play area for my brand and then. But LinkedIn’s more, you know, professional, a little bit understood. And, And I will also say, like, the. I. I wrote this book on a reality TV show, so that’s kind of fun.

Bill Cates [00:31:54]:
Yeah. So tell me more about that. Tell us, tell us this kind of little backstory here. Okay, but this is fascinating. When I heard this. So you wrote this book on a reality TV show. Now, how many times has anyone ever said that in this world? Probably, very probably the other six or seven people that were with you, right?

Julia Carlson [00:32:15]:
Yes. Fourteen other authors on this private island, Right.

Bill Cates [00:32:20]:
Mostly women, too, was it not, if I remember correctly?

Julia Carlson [00:32:23]:
Yeah. There was one man, a plastic surgeon that was there. Yes. And so we were all. They brought us all to this island and the goal was to, can you write a book in five days? And, you know, they like, while being on a private island. Like, who wants to write a book when you’re on a private island? But it was true.

Bill Cates [00:32:43]:
It was.

Julia Carlson [00:32:43]:
They did a great job. Like, no alcohol was involved, which is probably good.

Bill Cates [00:32:48]:
Any. Any mushrooms or anything like that?

Julia Carlson [00:32:51]:
No, no mushrooms. Although when I came back, I had my. Develop like an editor, and she’s like, were you on plant medicine when you wrote this? Because they put us, like, in this deep. They did. Every morning we did meditation, we did prayer. Like, they put us in a very, like, grounded, almost like, spiritual place for, like, these books to really just come through and have our creativity opened. And it really worked. And so, you know, all the framework and Stuff came through and I think at the end of the island adventure, I had maybe about 25,000 words and it’s almost 50,000 words.

Julia Carlson [00:33:33]:
So, you know, I came back and I added content, added stories, polished everything. And it is what it is. Like it’s almost ready to go. The four matters now. So I’m super excited about it.

Bill Cates [00:33:47]:
And, and if some. I know there’s a website, forgive me for not having be prepared to give that. Where can people learn more about this reality show and this adventure? You went on and see what the other authors did as well.

Julia Carlson [00:33:59]:
Yeah. So the website is Writers Island.

Bill Cates [00:34:02]:
Yeah, Writers Island. I’m going to put that in the.

Julia Carlson [00:34:05]:
Show notes and it should be out the first quarter of next of 2026.

Bill Cates [00:34:10]:
Ah, okay. But I know they can go to that website now because I was there. All right, good. Love it. All right, so I’ve heard you say eight figures is easier than seven. You know, it’s kind of like that old statement, it’s easier to make your second million than your first million. So I’m starting on the second million first. So I know that statement surprises people.

Bill Cates [00:34:34]:
You know, many founders hit a wall at 5,500k and then another wall at 1 million to 3 million range. So what are some of the key levers they need to pull financially, operationally, to scale beyond that plateau? What opens up to that next level?

Julia Carlson [00:34:53]:
Yeah, so I think it’s two pieces. It’s first, you as the leader. It’s the mindset that it’s possible. It’s like just like our weight, our mind has set points. And so if we think it’s going to be hard or if we think we’re going to hit a plateau, or if we think the same things that got us to one level are going to get us to the next, you know, that’s what you have to challenge. And so, you know, the mindset is so important as an entrepreneur that like, what gets, what gets you here won’t get you there. And so you, you hire coaches, you put yourself in rooms with people that are where you want to go. Like, you have to keep expanding you as a leader and invest in yourself in that way.

Julia Carlson [00:35:42]:
So that’s number one. And then number two, like the structure of the business. Like, you know, I think when you’re growing five or six people is probably maximum that a founder can like manage unless they’re super skilled in management skills, which I am not. And I find most founders don’t want to be managing, they want to be creating. And so, you know, you have to, like, once you get to five or six employees, you kind of have to bring in someone and bring in like another layer of, of of management so that you can elevate. And so like right now I have Jason, my. I have one direct employee. Like he, you know, he manages everything else.

Julia Carlson [00:36:26]:
And so it, it really protects what I’m good at and the role that I should be playing and, and then allows him to like, own control the, the firm, if you will.

Bill Cates [00:36:40]:
So I love it. It’s brilliant.

Julia Carlson [00:36:42]:
It’s. Yeah, it’s like, it’s. It’s like each stage is a little different, but it’s like the first, you have to just know it’s possible. And it is.

Bill Cates [00:36:50]:
And to not make the automatic assumption that’s going to be. It’s going to make my life complicated in a mess. Right. Because I think that stops people. Doesn’t that. That idea of growth a lot talk about 10x your business and all kinds of ways to talk about scaling. Okay, yeah. But that feels very complicated and overwhelming to people.

Bill Cates [00:37:09]:
And it sounds like your approach is a way to do it without that happening.

Julia Carlson [00:37:14]:
Yeah, hopefully. Yeah. Yes. I mean, it’s really putting in the structure and the discipline because in discipline is where you find freedom. And so when you can get the firing yourself and the surrender. And I like to say it’s like it’s getting out of control. Like, I don’t need to be in control to be in charge. I can still be in charge, but I don’t have to control anything.

Bill Cates [00:37:36]:
Control’s an illusion anyway, isn’t it? You said from discipline creates freedom. One of my mantras, if you will, is that from structure comes freedom. Right. Because it solidifies, it organizes and then it frees you up to then to be more creative. I love it.

Julia Carlson [00:37:55]:
I love that.

Bill Cates [00:37:56]:
So you’ve created a couple of tools. I just want to touch on those briefly or call them frameworks. The Freedom Dashboard and Fire Yourself framework. What are those exactly?

Julia Carlson [00:38:09]:
Yeah, well, I’ll start with the Fire Yourself framework. That, that is the, like the, the, the hustle, the surrender, the harmony, the legacy. So it’s like going through these stages and again, there’s different resources and tools based on the revenue of your firm, so. Or the company. And so that’s like, that’s, that’s where we kind of come in to help entrepreneurs is identify where they’re at and then figure out, okay, they’re in hustle. That here’s what you need to do in hustle. If you’re in surrender, here’s what you need to do. So it’s, it’s that framework.

Julia Carlson [00:38:46]:
The, the Freedom Dashboard is essentially, you know, what I have found is a lot of founders, when we come in, there’s a little bit of chaos and messiness, if you will. And there’s nothing wrong with that. Like it got them care. But to, to start moving ahead there, there has to be accountability within the company. And what happens is the founder tries to manage it all and really not allow their staff or their team to own the outcomes with them. And so what the Freedom Dashboard is, it’s, it’s, it’s for the whole team. But we’re really putting on like the metrics that we want to measure. So it could be for, you know, content creation, for the marketing, could be how many prospects are coming in, how many first appointments are happening, how many, how much new business is coming in, what, you know, so we’re just tracking all of the metrics of the business and actually giving the tracking to the different employees on the team.

Julia Carlson [00:39:52]:
So the founder is not doing anything. The founder is just showing up and seeing the data. But the team is actually has the expectations right there. Because a lot of times missed expectations is where things go wrong between the.

Bill Cates [00:40:07]:
Founder and the team or any other relationship for that matter. Missed expectations, Right. All right, now let’s get into something I know you’re passionate about is another example of you thinking big. So you’re leading the $1 billion for good movement, inspiring 1,000 entrepreneurs to give $1 million each as they grow their eight figure companies. And how does giving fit into building a successful and sustainable business? I mean, sometimes we just give to give because it’s a good thing to do. But there can also be a ripple effect for our growth, I think, in the giving is there not? Or maybe I’m, I got that wrong. What do you think?

Julia Carlson [00:40:52]:
No, I absolutely think that’s true. And, and two, it’s like, you know, what are we building all this wealth for?

Bill Cates [00:40:58]:
Right?

Julia Carlson [00:40:59]:
Like how much is enough enough? And you know, I think there’s a powerful quote where like if you’re in a position, I can’t remember the quote, but it’s like if you’re in a position to give and you don’t, it’s worse than stealing.

Bill Cates [00:41:12]:
Wow. Okay.

Julia Carlson [00:41:14]:
Yeah. So for, for me, like, and I don’t, I don’t want my entrepreneurs to arrive and then give. Like, I actually want them to give all along their journey. And that’s organically what’s happened for my husband and I is like you know, there’s been things that we’ve wanted to invest in, things, you know, things that are near and dear to our heart, that we’ve wanted to, to give. And so, and through that, like, this depth of relationships happen, this depth of, like this purpose for, like, why would I want to go for something bigger? Oh, because I can create more impact. I can help more families. I can help like one of, one of, one thing I love to support is rescuing women and children from, from sex trafficking. And like, this is so.

Julia Carlson [00:42:07]:
There’s so much of this happening in our world. And so if I can give to organizations that are training, you know, heroes coming back from war to go into these areas and save women and children, like, why would I not want to do all that? And so it’s just like activating that more purposeful work beyond the money, beyond the beyond, you know, just the business. And it’s, it just expands what I have found, the vision of it.

Bill Cates [00:42:36]:
I love it. Wow, this is great. Now I remember why I was looking forward to this interview so much. What you’re doing on the financial advisory side and what you’re doing on the growing business side and the giving side. It’s a beautiful thing. So I’m going to hold up two books here to the camera. Julia’s first book, Money loves you. It’s Transform your relationship with money and Grow youw Wealth.

Bill Cates [00:43:07]:
I love the title. It’s an interesting book. You know, people misquote the Bible saying, you know, money is root of all evil. The Bible actually says the love of money is root of all evil. And actually I think it goes deeper than that. I think what it really means is the unhealthy attachment, the unhealthy relationship to money is the root and the cause of evil, right?

Julia Carlson [00:43:28]:
Yeah, absolutely.

Bill Cates [00:43:29]:
So talk about a great one, two punch. Money loves you and the Hidden Heist with my co author Jeff C. West. So I highly recommend both of those books. Naturally, Julia and her new book is let’s get you fired. How entrepreneurs scale to eight figures by letting go and leading with vision set for release on February 13th. I just want to say thanks. I’m not going to say thanks a million thanks a billion for being our featured guest on today’s show and the important work you do for your clients in our industry.

Julia Carlson [00:44:04]:
Yeah, thanks for having me. I really enjoyed our conversation.

Bill Cates [00:44:07]:
Yes, it’s great. This episode of the Top Advisor podcast is made possible by Oberly Risk Strategies, a specialty insurance broker focused on insuring high net worth individuals and families across the US specifically through Home, Auto and Umbrella. Check them out as a resource partner at oberly-risk.com private-client or just look up Oberly Risk strategies to you, the listener of this podcast. A small favor. If you like the episode or like the podcast in general, please leave a five star review on the platform you’re listening to the show. I think 75% of our listeners do it on Apple Podcasts where I know you can leave a review. Thank you for that. Don’t forget to check out my new book, the Hidden Heist and also pay a visit to our resource page.

Bill Cates [00:44:59]:
It’s jam packed with free resources that help you attract and retain more right fit clients. Go to referralcoach.com resources that’s referralcoach.com resources and while these are free to you, I think you’ll find them quite valuable. This is Bill Cates reminding you that ideas do not make you more successful. Only acting on those ideas will bring you the success you desire. Thanks for stopping by today. Okay.