From the ‘Show Me’ State to Showing the World How It’s Done

Sometimes entrepreneurs emerge at an early age. For Julia Langkraeher, it was the moment she decided to teach baton-twirling to young girls in her small Missouri hometown when she was only 10 years old. Given her obvious leadership qualities, it’s no surprise that she would go on to graduate magna cum laude from Columbia College, give her class graduation address, start her own successful international business, and become the first U.K.-based EOS Implementer.

“Growing up in rural Missouri gave me a great foundation in the values of being myself, helping others and working hard,” says Julia. “It also made me determined to travel, explore the world and embrace my entrepreneurial side.” That she did, moving to London in 1999 to work for a retail real estate company that developed new revenue streams in European shopping centers. When she eventually faced the choice of moving back home to continue a corporate career or staying in the U.K. to start her own business, she chose the latter. And she’s never looked back. 

The Philosophy of ‘Grow’

Julia grew her first business, Retail Profile Europe, from a tiny start-up to a company with £30m in revenue across the U.K., Germany and Russia. That company is now considered an early pioneer in the pop-up retailing craze. Julia eventually merged it with a competitor and decided to embark on the next chapter of her career: helping her fellow entrepreneurs. 

“I love working with entrepreneurs because I’ve experienced the highs and lows of being one myself—from failures and restarts to international growth and mergers,” says Julia. “I live by the philosophy of ‘grow, because standing still is not an option.’ That’s why entrepreneurs trust me to help them learn, evolve and move forward all over the world.”

In 2014, Julia completed another big merger: combining her business and consulting experience to found Bold Clarity, a London-based company providing facilitation, coaching and training to entrepreneurial leaders, CEOs and leadership teams around the world. As that business continues to thrive, so does Julia. She’s now a Certified EOS Implementer, speaker and YPO Certified Forum Facilitator who has coached and trained the owners of multi-million-dollar businesses in 20 countries on 6 continents.

It All Started With Traction

Like so many Implementers and EOS clients, Julia’s introduction to EOS started when a friend gave her a copy of Traction. “I loved the simple and holistic approach the book outlined, and I could immediately see how it could help entrepreneurs like me,” she says. “I also couldn’t help but think that if I had done it all purely myself, my company could have been valued at a higher multiple!” 

Soon after reading the book, Julia met Gino Wickman and became the very first U.K. Implementer. She’s now helped over 50 entrepreneurial businesses scale and grow by implementing EOS with a verbal contract and a personal guarantee: If she doesn’t deliver value, the company doesn’t pay.

Shooting From The Hip With EOS

Today, Julia’s accolades keep piling up. In 2019, she was named as one of the U.K.’s Top Ten Women’s Entrepreneurs. She’s been featured in the Daily Telegraph, the Financial Times and the Sunday Times. And she’s a popular keynote speaker on leadership, negotiation, business partnerships and international business expansion—including for the EO Global Leadership Conference and the Academy of Chief Executives.

Julia has earned a reputation as an expert communicator who doesn’t pull punches. On her Twitter account (@JuliaLangkraehr), she states what she does in a refreshingly direct way: “I help frustrated business owners get what they want from their businesses.” She’s passionate about helping entrepreneurial companies reach their full potential, and she prides herself on creating healthier, more unified teams wherever she goes. 

The results speak for themselves. Julia has helped over 3,000 entrepreneurs worldwide, helping their businesses achieved greater control, better results and increased profitability. One technology business she worked with went from losing £600,000 a year to making a half-million-pound profit after running EOS for just 20 months.

“To me, running a business without EOS is like trying to navigate on guesswork versus sat-nav,” says Julia. “In a lot of ways, I help clients overcome anxiety and reduce stress. A repeatable, robust and scalable process everyone can understand and enjoy makes building a business more fulfilling, more lucrative, and a lot more fun!’’ 

We couldn’t have said it any better. Congratulations, Julia!