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 [...]
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…
