In this exclusive CanadianSME Small Business Magazine interview, Cory Brewer is Co-Founder of Novera, shares how Novera is helping businesses embrace digital transformation through customer-focused innovation and modern CRM solutions. Drawing on his entrepreneurial background and passion for operational excellence, he discusses how aligning technology, strategy, and customer experience enables organizations to scale more effectively, strengthen client relationships, and adapt to evolving business expectations in an increasingly competitive digital landscape.
You started in 2016 with a simple neighbourhood lawn service and now lead a multi‑million‑dollar landscaping company—what were the key mindset shifts that helped you move from “doing the work” to building a business that can run and grow without you on every job?
When I started, I tried to do everything myself. I was in the field, doing the paperwork, and struggled to trust anyone to meet my standards.
That mindset eventually broke. I got too stretched and too burnt out to keep controlling everything, and I was forced to start letting go. That’s when I realized delegation and trust aren’t personality traits, they’re skills you have to build.
In year one, I struggled to trust someone to set the mower height properly. Today, I trust my leadership team to make decisions on my behalf. That shift didn’t happen overnight, it came from putting structure around how we operate.
Tools like the 1-3-1 helped. Instead of bringing me problems, the team brings solutions and a recommendation. Implementing Entrepreneurial Operating System also created alignment across departments so decisions don’t rely on me.
The real shift was moving from “I need to do everything right” to “I need to build a team and system that gets it right without me.”
In a crowded local market, Beyond Landscaping has earned 250+ five‑star Google reviews and multiple Consumer Choice Awards—what do you do differently to build trust with first‑time clients, and how have reviews, referrals, and your online presence driven growth?
From day one, we focused on the basics that most companies consistently fail at, speed, communication, and accountability.
We answer the phone, respond quickly, and set clear expectations upfront. That alone builds trust early, especially with first-time clients who have likely had poor experiences before.
Where we’ve really differentiated ourselves is in how we handle problems. Things go wrong in construction and landscaping, that’s reality. But we take full ownership, communicate early, and make it right, even when it costs us time or money. Sometimes that means redoing work to meet our standard.
That consistency is what drives our reviews and referrals. Clients aren’t just reviewing the outcome, they’re reviewing how we show up throughout the process.
Over time, that’s compounded into 250+ five-star reviews, strong word-of-mouth, and a reputation that continues to bring in new business without relying heavily on outbound sales. We also ask for reviews from every job, which does help the review quantity, and reward our staff for getting positive reviews.
You’ve said that sustainable growth comes from people, structure, and consistency—what does it actually look like behind the scenes to manage a 40‑person team, keep quality high, and handle scheduling, difficult clients, and quality control in a labour‑intensive service business?
Some weeks feel like everything is clicking, and other weeks are messy. That’s the reality of a labour-intensive service business. The difference is having structure in place so the business doesn’t fall apart when things get busy or problems come up.
Behind the scenes, everything comes down to people, structure, and accountability.
We’ve built clear org charts, defined roles, and set measurable expectations for each position. Everyone knows what they’re responsible for and how success is measured. That’s been a big shift for us over the last few years.
Operationally, we rely on consistent systems. Weekly meetings to stay aligned, structured scheduling processes, and clear communication between sales and production so jobs are set up properly from the start.
On the quality side, it’s about setting standards and reinforcing them constantly. Crew leaders are accountable for jobsite quality, and when something isn’t up to standard, we address it quickly and fix it. We don’t let small issues slide.
For difficult clients and day-to-day issues, it comes back to communication and ownership. Problems are going to happen. The goal is to deal with them early, take responsibility, and keep things moving forward.
We’re not perfect, but we’ve built a system where we’re consistently improving, and that’s what allows us to manage a growing team without losing control of quality.
I originally got into virtual staff out of frustration. I was burnt out trying to manage everything with local admin hires, emails, scheduling, customer communication, all of it was on me when they consistently let the company down.
My first virtual assistant is still with us today and completely changed how I think about delegation. My second hire ended up running our gardening division with a 15-person team. That’s when it really clicked for me that remote staff aren’t just support roles, they can become key operators in your business if you build the right structure around them, and trust and delegate to them.
At Novera, we focus on executive assistants because that’s the highest-leverage starting point. If you’re an entrepreneur, the first thing you should offload is anything that touches your time and attention, email, calendar, scheduling, basic client communication.
Once that’s under control, you can start layering in additional support like customer service, inbox management, quoting support, and admin tasks.
The mistake I made early on was hiring too late and trying to do everything myself. The goal isn’t just to save money, it’s to buy back your time and focus on higher-value work.
That said, virtual staff only work if you have clear systems, expectations, accountability, and communication in place. They don’t fix a messy business, they scale what’s already there.
As a founder, coach, and active member of the entrepreneurial community, what habits or practices do you believe every early‑stage entrepreneur should develop now if they want a business that not only grows revenue, but also gives them the freedom to pursue other projects and the life they actually want?
A few habits and practices have had a disproportionate impact on both my business growth and my personal freedom.
First is investing in yourself through reading and surrounding yourself with the right people. Networking, building relationships, and even becoming friends with competitors has opened more doors than any marketing tactic. You learn faster and avoid costly mistakes.
Second is learning how to trust and delegate early. Most entrepreneurs get stuck because they try to do everything themselves and burn out before they ever build a real business. A concept that stuck with me is from Dan Martell: if someone can do a task 80% as well as you, it’s time to delegate. If you wait for 90%, you’ve waited too long.
Third is building structure into the business. Freedom doesn’t come from working less, it comes from having systems and accountability in place. We invest heavily in software, define clear roles and expectations, and run regular meetings to ensure everyone is aligned and accountable.
For me, the real shift was moving from doing everything myself to building a team and systems that can operate without me. Hiring strong support, especially an executive assistant, and developing a leadership team allowed me to step out of the day-to-day. That’s what actually creates the ability to grow while still having the freedom to focus on new opportunities and the life you want.
Disclaimer:
The views and opinions expressed in this interview are those of the interviewee and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of CanadianSME Small Business Magazine. Our platform is dedicated to fostering dialogue and sharing insights that inspire and empower small and medium-sized businesses across Canada.
