Interview with Juli Erhart-Graves

In celebration of Worley Erhart-Graves Financial Advisors’ 20th Anniversary, we asked Juli Erhart-Graves the company’s owner and president, a few questions about her journey as a businesswoman in the financial industry.

Q. What is your favorite Place traveled and why?

A. Australia in 2016. My daughter had been there for five months studying abroad, so we got to see where she went to school then travel around the country from there.

Interesting Fact: For the majority of my college career, I worked full time and went to school part time, so I didn’t graduate college until I was 30. 

Q. Who or what shaped you as who you are today?

A. As most can imagine, Grace Worley had a huge impact on me, both personally and professionally. She was and is a great lady and mentor, and I would not be where I am today without her. This part may sound corny, but my childhood also played a big part in who I am today. For various reasons, I didn’t feel like I had a lot of security as a child, so even to this day I strive to create security in my life. In a way, that’s what financial planning is…a way to create some security in your life.

Q. How has the company changed since purchasing the business from Grace Worley in 2008?

A. Since buying the company, my goal has always been to grow an on-going financial services firm. Growing the firm has included forming an additional company for tax preparation, but also ensuring we continue to become more efficient and provide excellent service to our clients. To make this happen, we have added staff along the way as well. In a way, a lot has changed in the last 12 years, but our core values have not.

Q. What do you enjoy most about being a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER PRACTITIONER™? 

A. I truly love financial planning. The process of getting to know a client and their dreams; putting together the pieces of their financial life and creating a plan to help them reach their goals; and then working with them to stay on track throughout the years makes me happy. Several years back I learned about the term flow from psychologist Mihály Csíkszentmihályi. Flow is a mental state where you experience complete immersion in an activity – you lose track of time and are fully engaged in a challenge using your skills. Financial planning is my flow.

Q. Do you have any advice for young professional women?

A. My advice for young professional women is to find a mentor. Even if you do not have a formal relationship with things like mentoring meetings, find a woman in your life who embodies what you ultimately want in yours. Watch her, learn from her, pay attention to how she makes decisions and get advice from her when needed. Never forget to be your own person, but having a mentor is invaluable.  

- Juli Erhart-Graves, CFP®, Worley Erhart-Graves Financial Advisors