Elisa Au

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Elisa Au is passionate about pouring her professional expertise into her Cultivate clients. She has earned a world-class net promoter rating by offering distinctive listening skills, marketing savvy, and practical business insights. Elisa is also an impressive 3x Karate World Champion and is the most decorated karate athlete in USA history.

Translating her extraordinary athletic talent into a successful business venture, Elisa owned and operated multiple martial arts schools in the Chicagoland area. Starting with a solo location, her business grew to five locations with more than twenty employees and 1000+ members. While scaling her business, she learned how to integrate unique individuals with varying perspectives into a powerful team.

As a Cultivate advisor, Elisa is an attentive listener who quickly discerns what clients need. She earned this skill as an owner, working with parents who wanted the very best for their child. Elisa’s analytical mind and business background allow her to be an effective advisor. Grateful clients have confirmed that her assistance in organizing and systematizing has given them more time to breathe.

As a former business operator, Elisa came to Cultivate knowing that she had experience to share, and it has been rewarding to help clients at every stage of their business. Elisa recently helped a client build a Quickbooks dashboard and create a complete hub for tracking sales, expenses and profit. Elisa also helped her client analyze data and build a pro forma to forecast the next 12 months of her business. Having Elisa’s ongoing, dedicated assistance gave the client clarity, control and confidence. Whether helping clients use social media, create goals, or navigate business software, Elisa enjoys the freedom to work with clients in a way that suits them best.

Elisa recently emerged from a seven-year athletic retirement (and two kids later) to make a run for the 2020 Olympic Games. (She came pretty close, and at age 40!) Elisa is honored to be a member of the World Karate Federation’s Athletes Commission. Besides teaching and coaching karate, Elisa gives public classes on self-defense and is a popular public speaker.