Meredith Moore is the founder and CEO of Artisan Financial Strategies, located in Alpharetta, Georgia. She holds a Bachelor of Industrial and Systems Engineering from Georgia Tech, where she has served on numerous boards, and is a 2017 graduate of Leadership Atlanta. Having won numerous awards and taken a leadership role in many community activities including mentoring, Moore brings a passion for lifelong learning to her role as Founder and CEO of Artisan Financial Strategies.

Q: What inspired you to found Artisan Financial Strategies and what were the main challenges you faced?

I was looking for an industry that promoted my entrepreneurial spirit, without a large buy-in. I had just finished paying for college and came out of Georgia Tech without any debt and really wanted to keep it that way. Financial advisory lent itself to my competitive nature, while having the platform to create meaningful impact with families and a way to truly connect with people. After all, money, and issues we have with it, can be a very sensitive private topic.

Q: What's your business model, and how have you grown your revenue?

I have a planning-centric financial advisory practice. We believe that all engagements begin with the designing of the blueprint or centralized financial plan. From there, all decisions can more easily and clearly be made – risk within investment account, ways in which monies are to be passed to heirs, defining where to save money and for what exact purpose, etc. I’ve grown revenue with new planning engagements and the implementation of actionable items from the financial plan, such as money management, life/disability/ long-term care insurance placement.  Every client’s plan is different and therefore implementation is. It’s common that most privately held business’ biggest assets are their business and real estate. The concept of traditional financial planning for them looks very different than that of a VP at a Fortune 500 company.

Q: What are your goals for the future?

My goals are to work with only 50 of my favorite clients and create the time to take a trip each quarter.

Q: Can you talk about one woman who has impacted your life?

Looking back, I significantly lacked mentors. I definitely needed them, but didn’t know how to go about finding them. I had always been an of “out of the box” kind of woman and didn’t feel a connection to people that thought as big as I did, or that I felt saw my potential in the way that I did. This is why, today, I mentor other women founders and women financial advisors as much my calendar possibly allows.

Q: What are your favorite books?

Traction – Gino Wickman
Compound Effect – Darren Hardy
Fierce Conversations – Susan Scott
The Leader Who Had No Title – Robin Sharma

Q: What's your advice for female founders who are just starting out?

Don’t expect to do everything overnight, but create consistent quarterly game plans and just keep at it. Before you know it, you will be surprised at what you accomplished. Also, surround yourself with mentors and people that think big, instead of “Debbie Doubters.” This will reinforce your path and make it easier.