Today we’d like to introduce you to Annette Sonnenburg.
Hi Annette, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I was a single mom for most of 15 years living in the Seattle area. I had two kids and didn’t receive any financial support, so I had to figure out how to pay the high expenses of childcare so we could survive. I remember studying late at night to pass my securities exams to try to get pay increases at the broker dealer I was working for at the time. Eventually, I was promoted in the compliance department and then hired away by another firm which led me to work for an entrepreneur that formed many startups beyond his broker dealer. I became the CFO of a securities broker dealer, a large nightclub in Manhattan, a movie production, and a real estate development, and of course, a fractional CFO for many others later on.
I decided to expand so I started a business and hired additional employees and built my accounting firm. Shortly thereafter in 2008, I found my prince, a single father of five, and moved to Utah to get married. I continued building my business and finished my college degree while taking care of seven kids with my husband. I always have a lot going on in my life!
By 2024, my husband and I were becoming empty nesters and loving it! We had seven grandkids (a major priority for Nana!) as our family continued to grow. However, my business had really grown as well, and I was working all the time. Although I have always been a religious person as a Christian, I had more recently been on a spiritual journey as well, working with a mentor, reading books, praying, meditating, lifting weights with a personal trainer, and learning everything I could about the things that are really important in this life. Things had to change, so I decided to sell the accounting portion of my business and keep the fractional CFO services.
This is when I rebranded under Ascension CFO Services, LLC. I love the strategic advisory side of the business since business owners need support for making those difficult decisions about hiring more people, how much and how efficient their marketing expenses are, etc. I’ve been focusing on helping business owners meet their goals now for about a year and a half and I love it! I now have three employees and hope to continue to grow in a much healthier way!
The more I met with business owners, the more I realized that they needed more guidance beyond running their business to be successful. I decided to share what I had learned from all of my studies for optimizing mental capacity, physical health and fitness, emotional stability, and tapping into spiritual intuition. I decided to offer this to my clients through balance and accountability coaching. Truthfully, changing people’s lives through coaching and advising is really my passion, and helping businesses grow and scale is all a part of that same journey!
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
When I had the accounting firm, it was so difficult to find employees. It’s difficult to balance how many employees are needed during the busy seasons to meet upcoming deadlines and I found myself working around the clock. Dealing with this issue really gave me a more extreme perspective of what business owners deal with when they aren’t sure about timing of hiring employees as they grow and deal with turnover.
With my CFO service, I’m growing and scaling like any business and experiencing some growing pains. As the owner, I’m still the one training and pushing to get all the people in place so I don’t end up working evening and weekends. I promised myself I would be intentional about maintaining life balance when I sold the accounting firm, and it has still been challenging.
Just because I advise others, doesn’t mean I don’t have my own challenges!
We’ve been impressed with Ascension CFO Services LLC, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
We offer fractional CFO services or think of it has hiring a part-time CFO, and for a small fraction of the cost of hiring a CFO. This means we become part of the business owner’s advisory team to analyze the financial data of the business, track performance and cash flow, determine the strengths and weaknesses of the business, and work with the business owners on what needs to be done to meet their business goals. This could be to grow and scale, sell their business, step out of the day-to-day operations, or any other goals of the business owner like making enough to send their kids to college, go on a trip, pay off their mortgage, etc.
As a business owner myself, I know the struggles of business owners and I’ve been able to help other businesses grow, become more profitable, and prepare for an optimized valuation for a business sale. Cash flow management is key, and I give presentations at conferences to teach business owners how to stay in business! I’m also careful to discuss these issues with business owners in a way that is easy to understand by staying away from using accounting terms that they may not understand and try to use examples to illustrate what is needed.
We can help many types of businesses, and we specialize in law firms, bloggers/influencers, and service businesses, but we also assist construction/developers, eCommerce companies, and various nonprofits.
What sets us apart is our approach to assisting business owners in optimizing the mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual areas of their lives as well. These areas affect everything in our lives, especially our businesses. We offer the coaching to both clients and others that are not utilizing the CFO service.
Our Ascension brand and logo are definitely intentional. The Ascension name represents businesses and individuals ascending upward in their lives to the next level, and yes, the spiritual connotation is also intentional. I also love the daily reminder to myself that in order to ascend, I can’t let my business take over my life. The mountain logo is all about ascending, but like climbing a mountain, you need an expert/guide to help you get there. I even give out carabiners and trail mix when I present at conferences!
I’ve now had the opportunity to present at conferences across the country, teach entrepreneurs at UVU, be on a panel at BYU, and be on a podcast to share insights to help business owners. I love offering help wherever I can and look forward to many more opportunities coming up!
Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs or other resources you think our readers should check out?
I read about 30 books per year on self-improvement, business strategies, learning from history, and developing special talents or gifts. My favorite self-improvement authors include Joe Dispenza, David Hawkins, Michael Singer, Joe Vitale, Rex Rian, Eric Edmeades, Bradley Nelson, Joshua Foer, Michael Gelb, Dave Aspray, Joe Silva, Vishen Lakhiani, and more.
Some business authors I like are Ryan Holiday, Tony Robbins, Joe Navarro, Reid Tilestone, Bill Perkins, Illens Dort, Gino Hickman, and Donald Miller.
Patrick Bet-David Consulting does conferences on scaling, sales, strategy, etc. and I’ve attended those, read his books, and I’m part of his mastermind group. I learned about him from his Valuetainment podcast.
I’m also a recent member of Acquisition Headquarters, which has service providers that support mergers and acquisitions and are resources for each other. We attend multiple conferences and meetings each year, like Acquicon, which actually started here in Utah even though it is nationwide.
Other networking groups I participate in include BNI and Empower Breakfast.
Also, I’m a sponsor and attend the Richard James conferences for law firm owners, which provide important information on marketing, growth, sales, and intake strategies, and operations efficiency.
Staying fit is also really important to me, so I lift weights and train with a personal trainer (Lift with Leesa), take supplements, etc.
Like I said, I always have a lot going on!
Pricing:
- Hourly Consulting – $250/hour
- Monthy Flat Rate – depends on the business
Contact Info:
- Website: https://ascensioncfo.com/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ascensioncfo
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@AscensionCFOServices
