Joel Craven

CFP® - Founder/Advisor

I grew up around the financial services business. My father, Steve Craven, was a financial services professional for over 45 years prior to his retirement in 2018. My own professional path started at UW-Madison, where I earned a degree in Accounting and Information Systems in 2002. I worked for Grant Thornton LLP in financial consulting and auditing for three years. I found that the work was rewarding but the travel was brutal. I realized I wanted a life like my dad’s – he rarely missed a sporting event or family function. He had the freedom to enjoy his life while still doing work that really mattered.

So I opened my financial services firm in 2005, and we consolidated our staff and office space in 2007. The two businesses merged upon my father’s retirement in 2018, which is when I bought him out so he could enjoy his well-deserved retirement, after helping so many families do the same for decades. I’ve taken on the promises he made for all those years, plus my own clients that I’m privileged to serve in Wisconsin and beyond.

Here’s my core philosophy: Everyone deserves a solid financial plan. The tools and strategies normally reserved for people with the most net worth should be available to every family, no matter how much they make or how much they’ve saved.

On a personal note, my wife, Kara, and I have two children - Carter and Nalia. We live in Blue Mounds and have our kids in the Mount Horeb School District. We enjoy mountain bike racing and everything else that rural Wisconsin has to offer. I am honored to serve my community by sitting on the Mount Horeb School Board.