SPOTLIGHT: Financial Focus

For the last 23 years, Barbara Williams has been helping people plan their financial future. For 21 of those years, she has worked side by side with Gloria Foote, her partner at their Carlsbad-based financial planning and investment firm, Financial Focus.

The two met while working as financial planners at First Liberty Securities, a Carlsbad-based financial planning company.

"We really had a connection as far as the business ethics and the goals of where we wanted the business to go," Williams said. "It has been such a blessing. We really realized how much more powerful we are together than separately."

The company, which has clients that vary from individuals and trusts to families and businesses, has steadily built on its foundation of ethics and customer service, increasing its revenue by 10 percent in the last two years to reach more than $1.05 million in 2004.

The company, which has five employees, grows its client base by nearly 5 percent each year.

Many of Financial Focus' 500 clients are referrals and some are even children of previous clients, she said.

"It will be fun to see the kids coming in here that we helped work on their college accounts," Williams said.

The company projects its revenues to reach $1.1 million by the end of 2005.

RESUME

Name: Barbara J. Williams. Tide: Partner.

Company: Financial Focus.

Address: 1903 Wright Place, Suite 150, Carlsbad.

Phone: [phone]. Founded: 1986.

Prior experience: Financial planner for 23 years.

Average hours worked weekly: 40.

Source of startup capital: Self-funded. 2004 revenue: $1,050,000. 2003 revenue: $1 million. Number of employees: 5. Web site: www.ffol.com.

BACKGROUND

Born: Oct. 5,...