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 [...]
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 [...]
Say It to My Face (Nicely)
Northern Primrose started as just me—a solopreneur, accountable only to my clients. Fast forward five years, and while we still prioritize client feedback, we've expanded our approach. Now, we actively encourage our team to both give and receive feedback. Feedback is essential for growth—whether between colleagues or between leadership and the team. Continuous improvement stems from continuous feedback. When these conversations flow easily, collaboration thrives, and that’s where the magic happens. Building a Culture of Feedback vs. a Culture of Silence Creating a feedback-driven culture—especially in a remote workplace—is a challenge. Too often people choose silence, hoping issues will [...]
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 [...]
5 Most In-Demand Virtual Executive Assistant Skills in the Digital Age
Being a virtual executive administrative assistant is about way more than responding to emails and coordinating busy calendars. It's about being the wizard behind the scenes who can do everything from strengthen client relationships to improving business operations – as well as utilizing tech to the company’s advantage. Mastering virtual executive assistant skills is essential for thriving in this multifaceted role. The best virtual executive assistants know that tech skills aren’t just handy to have but essential to a company’s growth in this fast-evolving digital era. An executive administrative assistant who is well versed in AI tools, email marketing and [...]
5 Ways a Virtual Executive Assistant Can Help Grow Your Business This Year
Want to grow your business? Hand off your least favourite tasks to a virtual executive assistant so you can focus on the big picture
3 Tips to Get the Most Out of Your Executive Assistant
Consider these tips to increase productivity and get more out of your executive assistant.
5 Top (and free) Project Management Tools We Use With Clients
In the last 10 years or so, the rise of virtual teams brought the demand for cloud-based project management applications to the masses – and thankfully so, as they’ve become necessary tools in today’s digital world.
5 Social Media Tasks Your Virtual Assistant Can Do Daily
Many business owners have a love-hate relationship with social media. At minimum, they may see the value of having a social media presence and so will share a post from time to time for basic upkeep. Their potential clients may not necessarily follow them on social media, but they will poke around to see when was the last time the business posted something, what kind of posts they share, and if their tone of voice and what they offer aligns.
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…
