MONTHLY OPerationS RETAINERYour whole ops department, without the payroll.
True North is a monthly retainer for creative founders who want someone else running the backend, so they can get back to the work they love and the growth they've been putting off.
Your business is growing and somehow you've become the whole ops department.
Well I know that is NOT what you signed up for
If you've ever finished a week and realised you spent most of it chasing invoices, onboarding a contractor, fixing a workflow that broke mid-launch and answering "where's that doc?" for the fourth time, thennn you're not alone.
This is what happens when the offers evolve, the team expands and the momentum builds. Every new hire, launch or shiny new offer stretches how the business runs, and it all lands on you because nobody else owns it.
You could hire someone in-house. That's a salary, a recruitment process and a leap you're not sure you're ready for. You could get a VA, but a VA does the tasks and someone still has to own the operations. Which lands you right back where you started.
ORRRR there's a third option…
meet true northA monthly retainer that becomes your ops department.
Strategy from me with an Ops Manager in your tools and your business, and the everyday running of things off your plate for good.
Maybe your systems were set up months or years (no judgement!) ago and they mostly work, until a new offer, hire or launch stretches them a little too far.
Maybe you've got a VA doing the tasks but nobody owning the bigger picture, so you're still the one deciding what happens and when.
Maybe you've got a team now and the wheels are on, but only because you're personally holding every single one of them.
Whatever the situation, your business has outgrown the way it's being run. And you've outgrown being the one running it.
the processTrue North gives you a proper ops team:
harriet (ME!)strategy, operations lead
The founder of HEO HQ, I’m the one you work with on the big plans, I get to know your business plans in detail and then delegate to the team to delivery.
lauraoperations manager
Once the big plans are made I hand you to Laura who handles the day to day operations, sets up systems, manages the team, sorts the tech tools, you name it she’s got it covered.
project assistant
If your requirements need more admin based support we’ll place an assistant in your business ops to support Laura in the running of your tech and systems.
And YOU can just get back to the work you love (and the growth you've been putting off) while the backend just... runs.
What happens in your retainer?
Your ops department runs on a monthly rhythm. It looks like this »»
First time working together?
Your first month is your onboarding month, and it's where we get your bearings before your ops department opens.
Pre-start: I'll send you an onboarding form so I can dive in and understand how you, your team and your business tick. Your Slack channel opens and we'll get logged into your tools.
Week 1 – Diagnose: I'll welcome you in with a 60-min kick-off to learn the business and set our priorities. Then the digging starts: your Ops Manager gets into your tech, and I'll sit down with your team where needed.
Weeks 2–3 – Diagnose + report: Your audit lands, covering Client Experience, Team Delivery and Tools. We'll jump on a 45-min roadmap call to go through it and lock in your next 3 months of priorities.
Week 4 – Your Ops Department opens! We start on priority number one and settle into the rhythm above.
Already done Get Your Bearings with me? You skip the audit. Your roadmap's ready, we get you logged in, you meet your Ops Manager, and we open the doors.
Your monthly call with me
For 60 minutes a month we look at what's shifted in the business, what's coming up, and what needs to happen next. The priorities we set on this call become your Ops Manager's deliverables for the month.
Your Ops Manager in your tools
They're in your project management tool, your CRM, your email platform, etc. Building, fixing, maintaining, keeping things moving with your team. They own the month's deliverables and the everyday business bits, so nothing waits for you.
Weekly check-ins in Slack
Every week your Ops Manager posts what's done, what's in progress and what they need from you. No meeting required. I'm in the channel too, so decisions get made quickly and nothing gets stuck.
End-of-month wrap-up
A note in Slack from your Ops Manager covering what was worked on, what's outstanding and where we're heading next. Your roadmap stays live, so you always know what the next three months look like.
tech tools we work in
Booking True North means booking me
I've spent half a decade in the backends of creative businesses from floristry studios to photographers, consultants, agencies a real mix! So I've got a very specific set of ideas and opinions about how they should run, backed by years of building the stuff, which is what you're paying for.
I lead your department, I learn your business inside out, sit down with your team, and write your roadmap, I’ll make the call on what happens next. I'm in your Slack channel and I'm in the weekly decisions with your Ops Manager. Nothing gets built without me knowing why.
My team are the hands, the doers who make magic happen. They're in your tools every week and I've hand-picked and trained them to do it the way I would. You get multiple brains in your business ensuring your ops are the best they can be.
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"You have completely transformed behind the scenes of my business.
"You are so on top of everything and I feel like my business runs so smoothly behind the scenes now. It's also been a HUGE help having you suggest which tasks to delegate to Emmelie, it's helped me really pick apart my business and find which parts I actually wanted to outsource."
—Becy Stabler, Belle Art Photography
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"I had no idea what was available and at my disposal in terms of set up and organisation"
"Working with Harriet was eye-opening! She truly is are a master of her craft. To have the admin and client side of my business sorted is such a relief — something I knew was a mess but just couldn't find time to fix."
—Jen Evans, Liberty Lane Floral Design
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"You've made my systems much smoother and smarter "
"I trust you to have an eye on everything going on and keep me on track, as well as continually find ways for me to work more effectively. You've saved me time and pain doing admin tasks I don't like to do. You make new goals less daunting by breaking them down, and you've made working with a VA so much easier."
—Hannah, Hannah Spicer Consulting
Let’s open your ops department
True North is from £1,500/month, with a 3-month minimum so we can get properly into your business rather than skimming the surface. Your exact scope and price are agreed on a discovery call.
✨ True North: from £1,500/month
Me, leading your ops department. An Ops Manager running it day to day.
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Your onboarding month (or a fast-track if you've done Get Your Bearings)
A 60-min monthly call with me to set the direction
Your dedicated Ops Manager in your tools, every week
Tech setup and maintenance across your CRM, project tool, email platform and automations
The everyday business bits: onboarding, scheduling, invoicing follow-ups, recurring admin
Weekly check-ins in Slack, with me in the channel too
A live roadmap so you always know what's next
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The size of your team and whether you need them managed inside your tools
How many tools you're running and how much is broken
How much of the everyday admin you want off your plate
Whether you need a Project Assistant alongside your Ops Manager
How many priority areas you want moving at once
A solopreneur with a tidy Dubsado and a bit of admin sits at the "from". An agency with five contractors, three tools and a launch every quarter sits higher.
Frequently asked questions
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Nope. That's the point. True North covers the everyday running of your business (onboarding, scheduling, invoicing follow-ups, recurring admin) as well as the systems it runs on. If you've already got a VA you love, brilliant, your Ops Manager will work alongside them and make sure they've got proper processes to work in.
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Your Ops Manager. They're your person in Slack and in your tools, every week. I lead the department: I'm on your monthly call, I'm in your Slack channel and I'm in the decisions with your Ops Manager. On Elevated you'll also have a Project Assistant picking up build work and admin, managed by your Ops Manager so you never have to.
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Whatever you're running. Dubsado, GHL, ClickUp, Honeybook, Asana, Mailerlite, Flodesk, Zapier and plenty more. If it's a tool we haven't met yet, we'll learn it. If it's a tool you probably shouldn't be using, we'll tell you.
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True North keeps your business running and evolving. It doesn't cover bookkeeping, copywriting and marketing delivery. We like to stick to what we’re best at which is operations.
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Totally doable, we’ll just scope it into your 1st 3 months with us.
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Because month one is your onboarding month. We audit, roadmap and open your ops department. Months two and three are where it starts to pay off. Anything shorter and you'd be paying to get set up without seeing the good bit.
You've built a brilliant business. It's time it ran without you holding it up.
Whether you've invested in your backend or you've been slapping things together as you grow…
True North gives you an ops department that owns the lot. The systems, the team, the everyday bits, the stuff currently living in your head. Led by me, run by your Ops Manager, so you get your time back for the work you love and the growth you keep putting off.
Scaling gets breezy, your clients get the best of you, and you finally get the freedom (I promise!) you've been working so hard for.