...do you have a have a startup idea that you need to validate & build?
...or an existing business that you need to fine tune with research & development, to be Go To Market Ready?
Hello I'm Elissa & thank you for visiting my profile! I am a 5★ UpWork Expert Vetted All-In-One startup and business consultant from Arizona, United States, and in the past 15+ years, I've have partnered with over 250+ founders around the world to achieve startup success in various stages of development:
DISCOVER, PLAN, LAUNCH & GROW STAGES.
No matter where you are in your startup journey, I provide all resources from A-Z.
***Let's set up a free (15-min) call to discuss your needs, and set up a game plan***
MY EXPERTISE AT A GLANCE:
★ Market Research & Feasibility Analysis: Actionable insights to validate and refine
your business ideas.
★ Startup MVP Development: From concepting to wireframing, ensuring your product
meets market needs.
★ Strategic Business Planning: End-to-end business plans, financial modeling, and
investor-ready pitch deck presentations.
★ Branding & Positioning: Unique strategies that make your brand stand out in
competitive markets.
★ Go-to-Market Strategy: Execution plans tailored to target demographics, including
customer journey optimization.
HIGHLIGHTS OF SUCCESS:
★ $10M+ investor funding unlocked for various clients with market-ready business
plans.
★ Led 250+ startups to success, including SaaS, tech, healthcare, and consumer
brands.
★ Empowered WIN Energy Drink to refine its buyer personas, optimize feasibility
studies, and craft an investor-winning pitch deck.
★ Partnered with LocalFarmOK to build a robust urban farm event business plan,
attracting new markets and investors.
CLIENT FEEDBACK SPEAKS VOLUMES:
“Her business plan and market insights transformed our pitch deck into a winning tool.
Within months, we secured our first round of funding!” – Local Farm OK, Founder
“Elissa's guidance on scaling our MVP saved us six months of trial and error. A game-changer
for our operations.” – WIN Energy Drink, CEO
WHY CHOOSE ME?
★ Over 15 years of startup experience and entrepreneurial excellence
★ Expert Vetted by UpWork, having coached over 250+ startups worldwide
★ "Quality and professional" work is the core standard for all deliverables
★ Proven ability to drive long-term growth while mitigating risks
★ Transparent, collaborative, and committed to your success
HOW CAN WE START?
Book a free (15-min) consultation call today to discuss your business goals. Together, let’s:
★ Solve your most pressing challenges.
★ Align your vision with a data-backed strategy.
★ Create results that make your startup thrive.
Ready to elevate your business? Let’s start now.
Business Analysis
Market Research
Research & Strategy
Product Development
Business Consulting
Startup Consulting
Corporate Brand Identity
Strategic Plan
Marketing Management
Marketing Strategy
Industry & Competitor Analysis
Consumer Research
Consumer Profiling
Competitor Research
Pitch Deck
Dave B.
Chandler, Arizona
$25/hr
5.0
7 jobs
***SEASONED CONSULTANT WITH > 500 BILLABLE HOURS IF YOU INCLUDE NON UPWORK ACTIVITIES. I help businesses reduce costs, eliminate waste, and boost efficiency through Lean and Six Sigma methods. With 40+ years in manufacturing engineering and operations, I’ve led projects that improved quality, accelerated throughput, and saved clients millions. I have also created course material and taught numerous Green Belt/ Black Six Sigma, Excel, Minitab, Design of Experiments and other statistical software classes.
If you’re struggling with delays, bottlenecks, or high defect rates, I can help you identify root causes, implement sustainable improvements, and deliver measurable ROI. If you need to take your career to a next level, I'm here to provide training and 1:1 hands on assistance.
What I Offer:
- Process Optimization & Lean Implementation – streamline workflows, reduce cycle time, and remove bottlenecks
- Six Sigma Projects (DMAIC / DMADV) – data-driven problem solving, defect reduction, and process capability improvement
- Training & Coaching – teach and mentor teams in Lean, Six Sigma, and problem-solving methods
- Root Cause Analysis – identify and eliminate recurring issues that impact cost, quality, or delivery
- KPI Development & Dashboards – define metrics that matter, and track improvements with clear visuals
- Operational Excellence Audits – evaluate current processes and design a roadmap to improvement
Why Clients Choose Me:
- Certified Six Sigma Black Belt with hands-on industry experience (not just theory)
- 40+ years of proven results in manufacturing, engineering, and operations
- Strong communicator who adapts complex methods into practical steps for your team
- Focused on measurable results: cycle time, yield, cost savings, customer satisfaction
Let’s Work Together:
If you need to fix broken processes, boost efficiency, or hit aggressive business goals, I can help. Message me today to discuss your project—I’m ready to help you deliver results.
Continuous Improvement
Six Sigma
Microsoft Excel
Process Improvement
Statistics
Tutoring
Lean Consulting
Finance
Quality Assurance
Data Analysis
Experiment Design
Microsoft Office
HTML
Cooper C.
Phoenix, Arizona
$35/hr
5.0
5 jobs
As an AI Automation Consultant, I saved American Express $2.2M/year and scaled an e-commerce brand from $33K to $110K/month. I build AI workflows, voice agents, and chatbots for enterprise brands (Amex, ASU, Insight Global).
I use Claude AI, n8n, Make, GoHighLevel, AI Agents, Voice Agents, AI Integrations, and API integration to automate lead qualification, customer support, appointment booking, social media automation, and business operations.
𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐀𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 & 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐬:
✅ Scaled an e-commerce business from $𝟑𝟑𝐊 𝐭𝐨 $𝟏𝟏𝟎𝐊/𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐡 with AI-driven sales automation.
✅ Saved American Express $𝟐.𝟐𝐌 𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫 by streamlining internal processes & system automation.
✅ Built AI chatbots for 𝐀𝐫𝐢𝐳𝐨𝐧𝐚 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲, serving thousands of students daily.
✅ Developed a custom GPT AI with 𝟓𝐊+ 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚 𝟒.𝟔-𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫 𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠.
𝐒𝐮𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐬:
1- AI Voice Agent with MCP & LiveKit, Booking + E-commerce Assistant
AI receptionists for service businesses, Outbound AI calling & lead qualification, Appointment booking with calendar integration, and Voice + SMS follow-up systems
2- AI Receptionist at Scale: Twilio, ElevenLabs, n8n & GoHighLevel
AI voice agents in Vapi & Retell AI · Make & Zapier workflows · SMS & email automation · HubSpot, Salesforce & ActiveCampaign integrations · lead capture & qualification.
3- AI Social Media Content Engine with Human-in-the-Loop (n8n)
Content automation with ChatGPT & Claude, data scraping, social media marketing automation, Airtable,Notion & Google Sheets workflows, Zapier & Make
𝟓 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐬, 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐍𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐌𝐞 𝐨𝐧 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐦:
1- I fix the process before automating it, because automating a broken workflow just makes mistakes happen faster.
2- I connect your scattered apps (CRM, email, billing) so data flows automatically instead of being copy-pasted all day.
3- I know where AI helps vs. where it's risky, so you avoid costly over-automation of sensitive decisions.
4- I build systems that don't break, with error handling and monitoring that keep your flows running reliably as volume grows.
5- I remove repetitive tasks so your team focuses on higher-value work that actually moves the business forward.
𝐀𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐞
✅ AI Voice Agents & Conversational AI
AI Voice Agents, AI Receptionist, AI Assistants, AI Phone Agents, AI Sales & Support Agents, Voice AI, Inbound & Outbound Calling, AI Cold Calling, Appointment Booking, Lead Qualification, Call Transcription, Vapi, Retell AI, ElevenLabs, Twilio, LiveKit, Conversational AI, and White-Label AI Receptionists.
✅ AI Agents & Chatbots
AI Agent Development, AI Chatbot Development, AI Chatbots, AI Research Agents, AI Appointment Booking, Customer Service Chatbots, Lead Generation Bots, Internal AI Assistants, Agent Orchestration, Tool Calling, Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), Knowledge Base Assistants, Vector Databases, and Model Context Protocol (MCP).
✅ AI Workflow Automation
AI Workflow Automation, Workflow Automation, Business Process Automation, n8n, Make, Zapier, CRM Automation, Email Automation, SMS & WhatsApp Automation, Lead Routing, Data Synchronization, Automated Reporting, Review Automation, and Human-in-the-Loop Automation.
✅ CRM & Marketing Automation
GoHighLevel (GHL), HubSpot, Salesforce, ActiveCampaign, Keap (Infusionsoft), Marketing Automation, Sales Funnel Automation, Lead Nurturing, Lead Scoring, Campaign Automation, Email Personalization, and Pipeline Automation.
✅ Integrations & APIs
API Integration, REST APIs, Webhooks, Calendar Integration, Google Workspace Automation, Slack Integrations, Airtable, Notion, Google Sheets, and Third-Party Software Integrations.
Integrations:
• Gemini AI • n8n • Make • Zapier • Gmail • Slack • Notion • Airtable • HubSpot • Shopify • Amazon • APIs & Databases
✅ LLM Application Development
OpenAI API, ChatGPT, GPT-4, Anthropic Claude, Google Gemini, Prompt Engineering, LLM Orchestration, Structured Outputs, Custom GPTs, and AI Integration into existing business systems.
✅ AI Consulting & Strategy
AI Automation Consulting, AI Opportunity Assessment, Workflow Audit, Use-Case Prioritization, ROI Modeling, AI Transformation Strategy, and Fractional AI Officer
Stop wasting time on repetitive work. Send me a "message" or "invite me", and let's build an AI automation that saves you hours every week.
Automation
CRM Automation
Marketing Automation
AI Chatbot
AI Development
AI Agent Development
n8n
AI Consulting
Make.com
Business Process Automation
Chatbot Integration
AI Bot
HighLevel
Automated Workflow
System Automation
OpenAI API
API Integration
Marketing Automation Software
Twilio API
Zapier
Karine F.
Scottsdale, Arizona
$150/hr
5.0
9 jobs
I help entrepreneurs launch, grow, and scale their businesses with clear, results-driven marketing strategies.
With 25+ years of experience in marketing and business development, I don’t just give advice - I provide actionable strategies and hands-on execution (if needed) to help you grow faster and smarter.
What I can help you with:
- Marketing Audit & Strategy
- Go-to-market strategy & step-by-step action plans
- Website creation (from concept to launch) + content management
- Social media strategy & optimization
- Content marketing
- Affiliate & partnership program development
- Performance optimization
- Branding, messaging & positioning
- Team building, hiring, and marketing management
- Product launch & development
- Business coaching for entrepreneurs (clarity, structure & growth mindset)
- Multilingual support & translations (EN/FR)
I quickly adapt to any industry and focus on what truly drives results: clarity, consistency, and smart execution.
Whether you need an audit, a strategy with roadmap, business guidance, or someone to roll up their sleeves and get things done—I can support you at every stage.
Let’s build something that works.
Hourly rate may vary depending on the scope of work. Fixed rates can also be applied per project.
Industries I’ve worked with:
Healthcare, Wellness, Tourism, Fitness, Coaching, Recruitment, Finance, IT, Real Estate, Retail, Fashion, Franchising, Consulting, and Marketing Agencies.
Social Media Marketing
Marketing Strategy
Flyer
Marketing Presentation
Strategy
Website
Design Writing
Content SEO
Content Writing
Content Website
Social Media Audit
Social Media Advertising
Social Media Content
Landing Page
Website Audit
Website Copy
Marketing Plan
Marketing
Business Coaching
Business Consulting
Kevin M.
Scottsdale, Arizona
$250/hr
4.8
118 jobs
𝗣𝗮𝘆 𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘁𝗮𝘅. 𝗞𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻. 𝗜'𝗺 𝗮 𝗖𝗣𝗔 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝟯𝟱+ 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗼𝘄𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗮𝘅𝗲𝘀, 𝘀𝗼𝗹𝘃𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘅 𝘁𝗮𝘅 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗸𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻.
Most accountants are very good at telling you what happened last year.
I think that's about 12 months too late.
I work proactively with business owners, entrepreneurs, real estate investors, and high-income individuals to identify tax-saving opportunities BEFORE the year is over—while there's still time to do something about them.
I'm not just a tax preparer. I'm a CPA, former CEO, entrepreneur, business owner, author, and strategic advisor.
I know the tax code. But just as importantly, I know what it's like to sign the front of the check.
🚀 A FEW THINGS I'VE DONE ALONG THE WAY
✔ Built and led a 60-person CPA firm as CEO
✔ Created proprietary Employee Retention Credit software
✔ Helped recover $100+ million in tax credits
✔ Generated $2+ million in annual tax savings for one healthcare company
✔ Author of the Tax Credits Are Sexy™ book series
✔ Built, bought, operated, and sold businesses
✔ Raised capital and completed multiple acquisitions
✔ Served as Controller, CFO, CEO, entrepreneur, and CPA
✔ Top Rated Upwork freelancer with 100% Job Success
I've spent my career at the intersection of taxes, accounting, entrepreneurship, and business strategy. That's why I look at a tax return differently than someone who has spent their entire career preparing them.
⭐ WHAT CLIENTS SAY
“Kevin had always been a great source to help me with accounting, but when he got the IRS to send me two checks totaling over $250,000, it saved my business.”
— Cody Tretschok
“When Kevin first told me I might qualify for a tax credit, I said, ‘We pay our CPA a lot of money. I'm sure they already took care of it.’ Kevin cared enough to keep pushing. It turned out our CPA had not taken care of it—and we received a very nice refund check from the IRS.”
— Terha Marie
📩 Think you're paying too much tax—or have a tax problem that needs solving? Invite me to your project or send me a direct message.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
WHO I HELP
• Business owners & entrepreneurs
• S Corporation and LLC owners
• Partnerships
• Real estate investors
• High-income individuals
• Businesses with complex or multi-year tax issues
The objective is simple: Reduce taxes legally. Improve cash flow. Avoid expensive surprises. Make better financial decisions.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
TAX STRATEGY & TAX PLANNING
Tax preparation tells you what you owe.
Tax planning asks a much better question:
“What can we legally do to reduce it?”
My work frequently includes:
✔ Advanced Tax Planning & Tax Strategy
✔ S Corporation & LLC Tax Planning
✔ Entity Structure & Reasonable Compensation
✔ Real Estate Tax Strategies & Cost Segregation
✔ R&D Tax Credits
✔ Retirement & Benefit Strategies
✔ Multi-State Tax Planning
✔ Prior-Year Opportunity Reviews
I don't recommend strategies simply because they're clever. They need to make economic sense.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
TAX PREPARATION & COMPLEX PROJECTS
• Form 1040 – Individual
• Form 1120-S – S Corporation
• Form 1065 – Partnership
• Form 1120 – C Corporation
• Form 990 – Nonprofit
• Amended & Delinquent Tax Returns
• Foreign-Owned LLC / Form 5472 Compliance
• IRS Resolution & Tax Problems
If your accounting or prior returns are a mess, that's okay.
Some of my favorite projects start with:
“I have no idea what my last accountant did.”
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
BUSINESS & FINANCIAL ADVISORY
• Fractional CFO Services
• Financial Statement Review
• QuickBooks Online / Bookkeeping Oversight
• Cash Flow & Profitability Analysis
• Financial Cleanup & Multi-Entity Accounting
• Strategic Business Consulting
I've served as a Controller, CFO, CEO, entrepreneur, and CPA. So I'm looking at your numbers as a business owner—not simply as an accountant.
SOFTWARE: QuickBooks Online • Drake Tax • Excel • Google Sheets • Gusto • ADP • Xero • Sage
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
WHY I STILL DO THIS AFTER 35+ YEARS
Because I love finding opportunities other people miss.
There's something incredibly satisfying about showing a business owner that the tax bill they assumed was inevitable… wasn't.
I don't believe accountants should simply record history.
I believe we should help create a better financial future.
📩 READY TO TALK?
Invite me to your Upwork project or send me a direct message. Tell me what's going on, what you're trying to accomplish, and any deadlines you're facing.
I'll tell you what I think the next step should be—and if I'm not the right CPA for the project, I'll tell you that too.
Kevin A. Marshall, CPA
Author, Tax Credits Are Sexy™
Tax Planning & Advisory
Tax Preparation
Tax Strategy
Tax Law
Taxes
CPA
Financial Accounting
Accounting
Accounting Advisory
Tax Accounting
Financial Planning
Bookkeeping
QuickBooks Online
Corporate Tax
Taxation
Tax Return
US Taxation
Business Consulting
Finance & Accounting
Certified Tax Preparer
Jake C.
Mesa, Arizona
$45/hr
5.0
5 jobs
I’ve managed campaigns for Fortune 100 brands, cut Facebook CPL by 40%, and boosted TikTok ROAS by 60%. I build high-performance GoHighLevel (GHL) automation systems that turn raw data into scalable revenue. If you are pouring ad dollars into Facebook, Google, or TikTok without a clear blueprint for measurement, you are losing money. I bridge that gap by building dynamic dashboards in Looker Studio and Power BI that transform raw data into actionable insights.
Why Work With Me?
Quantified Results: I recently helped a therapy practice double their qualified leads and optimized a holistic health client’s funnel to improve ROAS by 60%.
Military-Grade Discipline: As a former Marine, I bring extreme attention to detail and a "mission-first" approach to every automation project.
Fortune 100 Experience: I have seen how the world’s largest brands spin up multi-channel campaigns; I bring those same sophisticated attribution models to startups and local shops.
The Systems I Build:
GHL Automations: End-to-end CRM setups, automated follow-ups, and lead nurturing.
Paid Media: High-intent Meta, Google, and TikTok ad campaigns.
Analytics: Multi-touch attribution modeling and conversion tracking (Meta Pixel, Google Tags).
My goal is to work with you on a long-term retainer by delivering foundational systems that drive revenue. I am confident I can blow your expectations out of the park. If this sounds like the level of expertise you need, please respond to my proposal so we can open a chat window.
Marketing Strategy
Communication Strategy
Financial Analysis
Affiliate Marketing
Leadership Development
Adult Education
Snowflake
Bookkeeping
Accounting
Lead Generation
Market Research
SQL
Python
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