Palacio Podcast
Businesswoman Julie Larkins is Giving Back All She’s Received
Businesswoman and Civic Leader Julie Larkins tells a story about one of her first bosses. A chain-smoking diet coke-binging boss, the woman was known for tirades or as Larkins described her, “A real challenging boss.” Fear was her calling card. It didn’t seem to matter to Ms. Larkins.
“It gave me the opportunity to look and see ‘How did she get where she is?’”
Julie Larkins became a “sponge” soaking up as much information, guidance, and experience as she could. The result is a career as a successful entrepreneur with over 25 years of business, marketing, and sales experience. She is currently CEO and Managing Member of CDR Financial Services LLC, a leading billing and accounts receivables management services (ARMS) company with offices in Long Beach. Larkins is the founding Member, along with her husband Walter Larkins, of Education Equals Opportunity Too (E=O2) a program that incentivizes at-risk middle school youth to achieve a 3.5 GPA with the reward a laptop and printer.
Julie Larkins
PalacioMagazine.com sat down with Julie Larkins at her company office to talk about the importance of mentoring, defining leadership and giving back all that she has received.
The Mentoring of Julie Larkins
That first boss of Julie Larkins set a bar for what she would get from all her future bosses.
“I tried to take the positive out of that and I became someone she depended on and we became really good friends and she became a mentor.”
The boss that everyone feared “downloaded” all her knowledge to Larkins. She was the first of many mentors to follow including some who were members of her family.
“My siblings were mentors. I was the youngest of all the children and I looked at what they were doing it, how they were doing it.”
Larkins would learn to model others so she could use their behavior and dress as inspiration. While others were showing up a work in shorts or jeans, she was dressing up.
“Everyone in management was wearing a suit and I wanted to be them. So every single day, even though I was the lowest man on the totem pole, I would wear a suit.”
If she saw people who were successful, she would try to “mimic what they were doing.” Julie Larkins wanted to know how they got where they were on the career ladder. From all the successful people she met, Larkins learned a simple lesson for success.
“It was all about hard work, dedication, commitment, and having a vision…knowing where you wanted to go.”
That philosophy has worked well for Larkins driving her success as a businessperson. But there came a time when she began to think about that success and what it meant to her.
Julie Larkins Makes her Next Act
Julie Larkins wanted to live in Rancho Palos Verdes. She would go and imagine what it would be like to live there. Then, it became a reality. For seven years, she and her husband lived in their “dream spot.” But something was missing.
“I thought to myself ‘Wow, I need to refocus on what my goal is going to be here because it’s not about being here, having the view, having all of these things. It’s about being you.’”
Julie and her husband, Walter, moved to Long Beach and became engaged in civic affairs.
“The money no longer mattered. It wasn’t the money, the view, it was about giving back.”
And giving back they do. Her company, CDR Financial Services LLC, “…trains and hires candidates from US Vets, America’s Job Centers, participates in the Welfare to Work Programs that provide jobs to the long-term unemployed.”
“I believe that everybody is worth doing that for. There’s not one person that isn’t worth our time and our commitment.”
To hear more from Julie Larkins about the contributions of these workers and her incisive take on Leadership, listen to her interview HERE.
Here’s a partial list of the Boards of Directors that Larkins either currently is a member or had served on in the past. This is part of her giving back all she’s received.
Past President – Leadership Long Beach
Member – Long Beach Chamber of Commerce
Member – Women’s Business Council
Member – HFMA – Healthcare Financial Management Association
Treasurer and Board Member – California Association of Collectors
Member – ACA International
Member – International City Theatre
Member – Steel Magnolias
Member – Business Leaders United
