Welcome! I’m elinor fish
I'm a business advisor, exit planner, and founder of Open Air Consulting, where I help travel and tourism business owners build companies that are healthier, more valuable and less dependent on their constant hustle.
Before becoming a consultant, I spent 14 years building Run Wild Retreats Inc from a one-person idea into an international travel company with employees, contractors and customers around the world. I know what it feels like to love a business deeply, push through hard seasons, scale fast and eventually realize that the business needs to work better for the owner, not just everyone else.
After selling my company in 2024, I became immersed in the world of business value, exit planning and small business acquisitions. I became a certified exit planning advisor with EPI and has completed additional training in M&A and business development.
But what makes my work different is that I don't treat exit planning as something owners only think about when they are ready to sell. I see it as a practical path to a better business now: stronger finances, clearer leadership, cleaner operations, less burnout and more options for the future.
I bring a rare mix of lived founder experience, financial insight, and genuine care for the human being running the company. My goal is simple: help owners build businesses that create more money, more freedom and a healthier way forward.
My goal is for you to never sell your company out of duress or for less than it’s worth, but rather, because you’re ready to do it on your terms and at it's highest value.
The good news is that the steps involved with preventing owner burnout are the same ones that turn your business (in which you toil every day) to an asset that makes you money while you enjoy your life. You’ve been in the years of hustle. You deserve to sit back and enjoy the rewards of all your hard work.
we work with established tour operators, travel agencies, outfitters, retreat companies and DMC's
ARE YOU A:
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You have a successful business doing between $1MM - $10MM annually and want to start making the business work for you instead of you always working for it.
Even if you have no plans to sell your company any time soon, we help you evolve into the leader you’ve always wanted to be, but were too “in the weeds” to spend any time on strategic, big-picture planning.
We help you identify the biggest drivers of value in your business and how to maximize the opportunities to increase that value.
This usually includes getting you, the owner, out of the day-to-day of operating your business.
We create your CEO Dashboard so you can track enterprise value and you can see how every strategic decision impacts your business TODAY and its future valuation. Through monthly advisory work sessions, quarterly and annual strategic planning, we help you protect the value you’ve already created and accelerate your rate of value creation through a select series of initiatives that make your company a highly desirable acquisition for the right buyer.
Doing this work today is what will help you get that high 6x or 8x multiple in the future when you’re ready to sell. -
As the adage goes, “it’s never to early to start,” and that couldn’t be more true when it comes to exit planning.
Learn the lingo and process of selling your business so that you can enter the process feeling informed, educated and prepared. We help ensure the business is attractive to buyers and transferrable after closing.
And we help you, dear owner, prepare mentally for what is often a very emotional and arduous sales process. We get it because we’ve been there; we understand how your business is a reflection of your values, passions, knowledge and expertise.
Selling a company is a lot easier when you know what to expect, how to prepare and when you’re willing to comprise.
We guide you along the complex road to a successful exit so that you can get the best outcome for everyone you care about, including you, your family, your employees and your customers.
The only way to get your “sorry-not-sorry” asking price is through careful, intentional planning and preparation. We’ll help you have a verifiable answer for every point of negotiation a buyer will bring up in attempt to get a lower price for your business. But the work starts now, not just before you go to market. By that point, it’s too late. -
You’ve reached a certain level of growth, and it’s clear the company would benefit from an outside investor bringing in fresh perspectives, leadership and capital to help you get to the next level.
Before you invite an outsider into the inner workings of the enterprise you built, learn how to view your company the way an investor would.
This starts with viewing the business as an asset, and what about its systems, people, services and customers makes it valuable to an investor. Learn how to see what makes it risky and what you can do now to mitigate those risks.We’ll ask the tough questions before you step into that high stakes meeting to ensure you have the data and answers an investor will expect.
Don’t wait for an investor to make you an offer; be clear about how much equity you’re comfortable giving up and how that impacts your future exit options and payout.
We’ll help you craft the growth plan and return on investment story that will have investors knocking on your door, begging to be let in on the opportunity you’ve created.