So you started your creative business & got trapped.

You're making money but always feel broke.

A woman with shoulder-length hair sitting in a modern office, smiling and looking at the camera, with a large window and potted plant in the background.

I'm Rita Ono. I spent 18 years in finance, including as CFO through a media company acquisition, and I've seen the same pattern with every seven-figure creative founder.

You're saying yes to custom work that doesn't scale. You're paying expenses before clients pay you. You don't know which projects are actually profitable. You're making $100K+ decisions, like pricing, hiring, which projects to take, all without real data.

I help you see which projects are actually profitable, where cash is going, and what's keeping you founder-dependent, so you can finally make decisions with confidence instead of gut feel.

THE PATTERN + REAL PROBLEM

A person walking on a city sidewalk with parked cars on the right side and historic buildings on the left. The person is wearing a beige trench coat and carrying a bag.

Every creative founder I work with discovers the same thing.

Bookkeepers track expenses. Tax accountants file returns. Neither helps you make smarter decisions about what to price, who to hire, which projects to pursue. 

Meanwhile, you're stuck in the custom work trap. You say yes to every client request because you need the revenue, but custom work doesn't scale. Your team can't develop mastery. Your margins stay thin because every project is a new negotiation. When acquisition interest shows up, you're scrambling to explain a business model that only works when you work.

I've spent 18 years in finance, Big 4, entertainment (HBO, NBCUniversal), and as CFO through a media company acquisition. Your finance problems aren't finance problems. They're visibility problems.

When founders finally get visibility, they discover their business model was breaking for months. That's why cash was always tight. They just couldn't see where it was going.

And the longer you wait, the more expensive it gets. Whether you're trying to scale, bring on a partner, or field acquisition interest, you're scrambling to build in 90 days what should have taken 3 years.

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.

Silhouette of a woman against a brick wall with shadow cast on the ground.

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
Strategic assessment using my 4-Pillar Framework

What you get

Written report showing where you're strong, where you're vulnerable, and what to fix first. Includes kickoff session to verify your situation, quantified 4-Pillar score, and prioritized 90-day roadmap showing what's keeping you founder-dependent.

Who this is for

Founders running seven-figure creative businesses who know something needs to change but aren't sure where to start. You're profitable on paper but cash is always tight. You've hired people but you're still the bottleneck. Revenue is growing but margins are shrinking.

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

A woman sitting on a beige sofa in a well-lit room with sheer curtains, black pants, a white T-shirt, a laptop, a closed notebook, a glass of water, and sunglasses on a white table in front of her.

Path 1

Strategic Foundation

$2,500/mo
The bridge from Assessment to strategic partnership (3-6 months)

Monthly implementation oversight as we build your financial infrastructure. I coordinate your execution partners (controller/bookkeeper) execute your Assessment roadmap. I review their work, answer questions, and ensure systems support strategic decisions. You graduate to Strategic Finance Partnership once books are clean.

Good for post-Assessment clients implementing the roadmap while books and systems get fixed. Your margins are unclear, books need cleanup, and you need expert oversight during the build phase before strategic partnership makes sense.

Path 2

Strategic Finance Partnership

$5,000/mo
Your ongoing strategic finance partner once infrastructure is in place.

Financial clarity to make confident decisions on pricing, hiring, and growth. Through monthly strategy sessions and quarterly planning, I help you identify what's actually profitable and think through your most important moves.

Good for founders with clean books ready for strategic partnership. You're moving from gut-feel to data-driven decisions and need someone who understands creative business models to be your thought partner on financial strategy.

Path 3

Growth & Capital Strategy

Starting at $8,000/month
Strategic finance partnership for M&A, fundraising, or major transformation.

Intensive strategic guidance through major business shifts. Bi-weekly strategy sessions, deep financial modeling, and ongoing partnership as you navigate M&A prep, business model redesign, margin optimization, or fundraising. You get strategic partnership for high-stakes decisions and complex transformations.

Good for businesses undergoing significant strategic transformation, whether that's preparing for M&A, restructuring for profitability, diversifying revenue, or scaling for capital. You need intensive strategic finance partnership but don't need someone embedded in daily operations.

A woman in a white shirt sitting at a table, holding a glass of coffee near her mouth, with a tablet in front of her, in a bright room with large window curtains. 
Ready to find out where you're vulnerable?