YOU'RE MAKING MILLION-DOLLAR DECISIONS WITHOUT REAL DATA.

Scale, sell, acquire — you can't afford to guess.

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I'm Rita Ono. I spent 18 years in finance, Big 4, HBO, NBCUniversal, Amazon Ads, and CFO through a media company acquisition, and I've seen the same pattern with every seven-figure creative founder.

Your business looks fine on paper, but you feel lost.

You want to scale, but you've been winging it and it's not working. You're thinking about acquiring another company, but you have no idea if you're actually ready. You want to sell someday, but you don't know what it takes to get there. You're not behind, but you don't have the financial visibility to know which move to make next.

I help creative founders build the infrastructure to scale with intention, acquire with confidence, or exit on their terms.

If this sounds familiar, let's see if I can help.

THE PATTERN + REAL PROBLEM

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Every creative founder I work with discovers the same thing.

Your finance problems aren't finance problems. They're visibility problems.

Bookkeepers track expenses. Tax accountants file returns. Neither shows you which parts of your business are actually building value, and which are draining it.

You can't scale what you can't see. You can't sell what you can't prove. And you can't acquire without knowing your own numbers first.

When founders finally get visibility, they stop guessing, and start making moves.

The 4 pillars that separate founder-dependent businesses from ready-to-scale companies.

The businesses that scale profitably, attract capital, and give founders freedom all do four things right. Most creative businesses fail at least two of them, and don't realize it until they're bleeding cash or fielding acquisition interest with no clean books to show.

I call it the 4-Pillar Framework.

  • Without clear positioning, you're in "convince mode" on every sales call. Clients shop you like a vendor instead of seeking you out as a partner. When positioning is right, clients understand your value before the conversation starts and acquisition interest comes inbound.

  • If every project is custom, you're reinventing the wheel for every client. Your team can't build mastery because no two projects are the same. When you have a standardized core offering, your sales team closes deals without you and revenue grows faster than headcount.

  • No proprietary IP. No recurring revenue. No systems that compound value over time. You're trading time for money at scale, which means your business is capped by your personal capacity. When you build repeatable frameworks and strategic partnerships, you multiply reach without multiplying effort.

  • You're paying expenses before clients pay you. You don't know which projects or clients are actually profitable. Your books are cash-based, so you can't see what's coming. When you fix this, you have positive cash flow and real-time clarity on margins, financials clean enough that an investor or acquirer would take you seriously.

HOW TO WORK WITH ME

Start with clarity. Scale with confidence.

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My clients start with the Business Readiness Assessment to see where they're vulnerable. From there, we determine what makes sense based on what needs fixing and how fast you need to move.

Business Readiness Assessment

$3,500
See what your gut already suspects, confirmed in data.

You're thinking about your next big move, scaling, selling, maybe acquiring. But you don't know if you're actually ready. You can't see which parts of your business are building value and which are holding you back.

The assessment tells you where you're exposed, what's fixable, and what to prioritize first. You'll walk away knowing exactly what's standing between you and your next stage, and whether we're the right fit to get you there.

What you get

A written diagnostic across four pillars: Positioning, Scalability, Leverage, and Earnings, with a prioritized action plan and a 90-day roadmap. Includes a kickoff session to pressure-test the findings.

Who this is for

Founders running creative businesses who are ready to make a move but want to see clearly before they do.

After our business assessment, I’ll recommend one of three paths.

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Path 1

Strategic Foundation

Starting at $5,000/mo
Complete financial infrastructure buildout with integrated execution (2-4 months)

Your numbers exist, but they don't answer the questions that matter, profitability by project, by client, by show. You can't make strategic decisions because your financials weren't built for where you're going.

I design the system. My trusted partners (controller/bookkeeper) build it. In 2-4 months, you'll have infrastructure that actually supports scale, acquisition, or exit, not just tax compliance.

Good for founders ready to stop flying blind and build the financial foundation their next stage requires.

Path 2

Strategic Finance Partnership

$5,000/mo
Your ongoing strategic thought partner once the foundation is set.

Your business is complex — multiple projects, multiple revenue streams, maybe multiple shows. You need to know what's actually working. Which projects make money? Which clients are worth keeping? Where to double down and where to stop bleeding?

I help you see the story behind your numbers so you can make real decisions, like where to hire, what to cut, what to invest in, based on data.

Monthly strategy sessions to stress-test your biggest decisions with someone who knows your numbers. Between calls, I'm a text away when the decision can't wait.

Good for founders running complex creative businesses who want a partner in their corner, someone who sees the story in the numbers and helps them act on it.

Path 3

Growth & Capital Strategy

Starting at $10,000/month
Strategic finance partnership for M&A, fundraising, or major transformation.

You're preparing for the biggest financial moment of your business. Maybe you're getting ready to sell. Maybe you're raising capital. Maybe you're acquiring another company. Maybe you're restructuring to finally become the business you should've been all along.

This isn't the time to figure it out alone. You need someone who's been in the room when deals get done. Someone who knows what buyers and investors actually look at, and what to look for when you're the one acquiring. I know how creative businesses get valued, and undervalued. I'll make sure you don't leave money on the table, or overpay for someone else's mess.

Good for founders facing a high-stakes inflection point. You're selling, raising, acquiring, or restructuring, and you need your financials to be bulletproof. Books must already be clean. If they're not, we start with Strategic Foundation first.

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Ready to find out where you're vulnerable?