Tina Winslow has a strategic mind. Her business, Art of Strategy Consulting, crafts curated digital marketing solutions for every client. Tina and her team accomplish this through their experience, marketing expertise, and ability to assess client challenges through market research. Strategic minds like Tina’s and those on her team crave information. That’s because the right information is needed to form the basis of an effective strategy.
Art of Strategy Consulting was founded in 2013 when Tina’s client workload and responsibilities became too much for one person. As the company brought its clients positive results, and the demand for digital marketing increased, Art of Strategy found natural success and steady growth. But the operational demands of growth and the expectations of investors would require a higher level of financial management to satisfy.
As President and CEO of Art of Strategy Consulting, Tina Winslow functions as the primary client interface, working directly with clients to help achieve their marketing objectives. In her own words, she is the “strategy person,” which means she reserves her time and focus for client communication. Because of her role in the company and passion for communication, you can usually find Tina doing something directly for her clients.
Tina is comfortable working in her areas of expertise. She is less inclined to spend time studying her financial performance data. Art of Strategy hired bookkeepers and accountants to help with taxes and reporting along the way, but the company’s growth necessitated a change. Tina and her associates knew they would need more in-depth financial management.
As a 3rd-generation entrepreneur, Tina understands the importance of trusted partnerships in business. The ability to identify vendors who are capable and reliable is key to overcoming the challenges of scale. It became clear that Art of Strategy outgrew its old approach to financial management as decisions became harder to make.
In 2022, The company’s board of directors encouraged and empowered Tina to find someone who could act as CFO, to help shed light on the company’s profitability and elevate their business strategy. It was not long after she began her search that Tina met Jennifer Hughes of Advantage Insights at a networking event in Dallas, Texas. Tina says she was impressed with Jennifer’s calm and steady presence, and decided to learn more about what Advantage Insights had to offer.
Tina described what Art of Strategy needed: a Virtual CFO with reporting. They needed thorough financial reporting, analysis, and consulting services to help them make strategic business and operational decisions. No matter who Tina and her investment partners decided to work with, that person or group would need to be able to function as members of the Art of Strategy management team. After learning more about Advantage Insights and its services, Tina decided they would be the perfect fit for Art of Strategy.
Tina and her team at Art of Strategy are no strangers to strategic analysis. With help from Advantage Insights, they now have the ability to apply strategic analysis to their financial reports. Management at Art of Strategy review monthly reports from Advantage Insights with guidance whenever they need it. When they need more specific financial analysis, Advantage Insights can provide that too.
According to Tina, the Advantage Insights team has been integral to their “profitability project,” ensuring structural profitability for all their services and contracts.
“Jennifer has been active in those meetings. We discuss her reports as a management group and when we need to know what the information means, they answer our questions immediately.”
-Tina Winslow, President and CEO, Art of Strategy Consulting
Thanks to additional reporting and insights, Tina has a better grasp of her company’s cashflow. She says Advantage Insights was instrumental in accomplishing this with changes to processes and reporting. Particularly, the ability to see profitability for each client and project has been revolutionary for her team. Advantage Insights has also helped Tina deal with outstanding invoices, reducing their total dramatically, making her expected income more predictable.
With Advantage Insights, Tina has access to thorough financial reporting, the expertise to understand the numbers, and the experience to know how to use that data to form effective strategies. When it became apparent that certain types of projects weren’t as profitable, they were able to make the necessary adjustments to their pricing structure.
“They translate the numbers into actionable items for me, and that is very helpful.”
-Tina Winslow, President and CEO, Art of Strategy Consulting
Art of Strategy Consulting offers a strategic edge to its clients. They take the time to understand client challenges and develop digital marketing strategies with thoughtful analysis. Similarly, the Advantage Insights team approaches its clients’ challenges with competence and diligence, taking a vested interest in their success. This alignment of values has helped to make the partnership a success.
Before working with Advantage Insights, Tina says she thought of accounting as the “no” department because that seemed to be the extent of their strategic contribution.
“Mary and Jennifer have changed how I look at financial management. Working with them is peer-to-peer. They talk to me as a company owner, not just someone trying to figure out the math.”
-Tina Winslow, President and CEO, Art of Strategy Consulting
Now more than ever, Tina says she understands the importance of timely reporting. Where she used to avoid the numbers, now she is locked in and excited to find out what they can tell her about her business. Making business decisions based on relevant facts instead of gut feelings helps Tina Winslow work with confidence and foresight.
“I’m much calmer because I know where we stand. When we have the data and a team to support us, I don’t need to be reactive. I can be a proactive, strategic company President.”
-Tina Winslow, President and CEO, Art of Strategy Consulting
Peace of mind isn’t just a good feeling. It is a state of being that enables greater focus. Instead of chasing down ongoing financial management concerns, Tina is free to focus on her clients. She still makes consequential decisions for how her company operates, but she’s making those decisions before there is a problem, not after. And as her company grows, she can scale with confidence in the financial projections she receives from Advantage Insights. Art of Strategy sought help with financial management when they needed help with operational challenges and profitability. What they’ve found is a partner that has helped them transform their business for the better.
If you want financial insights that can help you become a happier, better manager for your company, reach out. Advantage Insights offers a free consultation to lay out our tiered service packages and identify what services could truly help your business. Contact us today.
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