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. [...]
Why Every Business Needs Playbooks (and How to Start)
Ask ten business owners how they keep their company running, and you’ll probably get ten different answers. Some will tell you everything lives in their head. Others will point to a handful of spreadsheets or sticky notes. A few will admit that most of their “system” is just texting people when something goes wrong. The truth is, a lot of businesses run this way for a long time. But sooner or later, the wheels start to shake. People leave, deadlines get missed, and the founder ends up working nights just to keep the lights on. That’s where playbooks come [...]
Why Summer Is the Perfect Time to Go All In on Your Business
Let’s be honest: summer has a reputation for being slow in business. Clients are off on vacation, email replies slow to a crawl, and meetings start getting rescheduled “after Labour Day.” It’s easy to feel like this season is a write-off... something to coast through until fall kicks things back into gear. But what if you flipped that? What if summer became the most powerful time of year to tighten up your business, get clear on where you're going, and set yourself up to finish the year way ahead of where you started? Because while everyone else is checked [...]
Growth Through Feedback
When feedback is viewed as a tool for growth, it becomes an opportunity to improve rather than a criticism Think about the best mentor you’ve ever had - not the person who was always great at what they did, but the person who encouraged you to keep working and get better as you went along. How did they let you know when you missed the mark or redirect you to a more effective path? It can be hard to face your mistakes but when you know your team or client will bring it up when you’ve stumbled - nicely [...]
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 [...]
Why Mindset Matters More Than Talent
In this gig economy and remote work era where being a social media travel influencer is an actual job, oh, the times have changed. The days of climbing very slowly up the corporate ladder, doing the same thing day in and day out, while waiting for the folks on top to retire are becoming rare. Our digital world is moving at a super pace and companies are looking for the best employees who can keep up. You may have heard the saying, an organization is only as strong as its people (or some version of this saying). Truer [...]
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.
