Your Calendar Is a Reflection of Your Priorities: Edit Ruthlessly
You can say whatever you want about your priorities, but your calendar doesn’t lie. It’s the clearest measure of CEO time management there is. You can talk about focusing on strategy or investing in your people, but if your week is packed with reactionary meetings and admin tasks, you’re not leading… you’re surviving. Your calendar tells the real story. Your calendar is your mirror. It shows how you make decisions, how you avoid discomfort, and where your business is leaking energy. If it’s crammed with noise, it’s time for a reality check. Because here’s the thing most CEOs won’t admit: [...]
If It Feels Hard, You’re Missing a System
Running a business shouldn’t feel like dragging a tractor through mud. If every week feels like a scramble, you’re not bad at what you do… you just don’t have enough structure holding things up. Most owners think ease comes from working fewer hours or hiring more people, but that’s not it. Real ease shows up when everyone knows what’s going on, where to find what they need, and what “done” actually looks like. Ease isn’t luck. It’s built piece by piece. The way you organize the back end of your company matters more than most people want to admit. [...]
Letting Someone Go: The Hardest Part of the Job
Letting someone go is the hardest part of running a team—but sometimes, a bum just belongs on a different bus. In this post, we talk about how we handle offboarding at Northern Primrose with dignity, clarity, and a 24-step process that’s always evolving. We also unpack the role of feedback, why cultural fit matters, and why “I take feedback well” isn’t always true in practice. At Northern Primrose, we’re in the business of building efficient, values-driven teams. We help businesses streamline, scale, and succeed—not just by putting bums in seats, but by making damn sure they’re in the right [...]
A Day in the Life as a Virtual Executive Assistant
Days at Northern Primrose vary from VEA to VEA, however, our structure, vision and values are the same. We provide top-level administrative and operations support so our clients can focus on growing and scaling their businesses. We provide affordable solutions to clients who aren’t ready for full-time administrative support, but recognize that they need to delegate their administrative work in order to scale and grow. As an Operations Strategist, it is my responsibility to ensure that clients' operations are running smoothly, that junior executives are up-to-date on task details, and that we are efficient in delegation while offering solutions [...]
Work from Home Life – From One of Our Own, Claire Myra
Working from home sounds like a dream, especially when you’re used to starting your workday extra early to get yourself ready, commuting to your workplace, and spending money on food.I want to talk about the ups and downs of working from home. Sometimes working from home isn’t as glorified as it seems. It can become lonely, boring and distracting some days.Take it from me - I’ve always wanted a work-from-home job because to me it meant lounging in my sweats, not worrying about putting makeup on, and saving money on gas and food. I work from home now and although [...]
Strategy Meets Execution
Growth is exciting, but without the right mix of strategy and execution, your company is like piling up fancy dishes for a dinner party and forgetting to wash them—impressive at first, but eventually, it’s just a mess. Too often, I see visionaries within companies (usually the CEO) come up with incredibly big plans, only for those plans to die a slow death on the side of their desk, waiting for “when things slow down.” Years pass, and those great ideas stay just that—ideas. Don’t get me wrong—those ideas ARE great. But if they never make it out of the planning [...]
How To Reduce Online Meeting Fatigue – and Increase Productivity
We all know those days of back-to-back meetings with nary a minute to switch gears and reset between video calls. And those long meetings. The ones so long you come out of it barely remembering what was discussed in the first half of it.
9 Hacks Every Small Business Should Use In Their Operations
These tools and tips will elevate your game, increase productivity and improve your business operations for the long haul.
4 Common Challenges of Small Businesses – and the Solutions
Any small business owner can attest that building a successful business takes time, consistent effort, flexibility and solution-focused thinking. And while owning a business can be incredibly rewarding, it can come with some rough terrain that can create setbacks and disappointments.
How To Win at Customer Service – and Protect your Reputation
Any small business owner can attest that building a successful business takes time, consistent effort, flexibility and solution-focused thinking. And while owning a business can be incredibly rewarding, it can come with some rough terrain that can create setbacks and disappointments.
How to improve your leadership style
Here’s a secret that some businesses don’t know: the executive assistant is a valuable resource in understanding the health of a company’s leadership….
10 business lessons I learned in 2023
This month marks the four-year anniversary of Northern Primrose. When I started the business in 2020, it was just me with one client…
Why you need a strong backend office strategy before considering selling your business
For an entrepreneur, making the choice to sell a business is a big decision. It involves many considerations, and it’s potentially the most significant transaction you will ever undertake that impacts your future…
Is working remotely full-time a dream job? It depends
The idea of working remotely full-time can seem like a dream job, but it can be challenging for some people…
