Danielle Primrose's 25 years in retail exposed her to all aspects of running a business, from marketing and human resources to business development and strategic planning.
Since becoming the president and CEO of the Better Business Bureau (BBB) for Mainland B.C. and the Yukon in May, this experience has served her well as it allows her to understand the needs of the very groups the organization deals with on a daily basis.
"The retail industry is fascinating because you have an opportunity to do very many different things, just like a small business owner," she said. "It afforded lots of opportunities to hold many different, diverse roles."
Over the course of her career, Primrose progressed from in-store marketing manager at the Hudson's Bay Company through to human resources solutions manager at Mark's Work Wearhouse.
In her current position at the BBB, whose mandate is to promote an ethical marketplace where buyers and sellers can trust each other, she knows just how key relationships are in building a business, calling them a "cornerstone" of any enterprise.
"I've dealt with customers my whole life; I get what they want," she said. "They want you to be truthful to them and they want to be treated fairly and in a responsive way."
However, she said, there are many companies who don't understand this.
"There are businesses out there that don't see the importance of being responsive to a customer concern," she said, explaining that if customers don't feel as though they are being heard, they don't come back.
"I get to educate [companies] on the importance of that, and that's inspiring to me."
Throughout her retail career, Primrose was afforded many opportunities to train others, which she found extremely satisfying. In her current role, she said she now has the chance to train both consumers and businesses.
"If I can influence them to see the value of promoting an ethical marketplace, how great is that?"
Her goal is to double the number of BBB-accredited businesses in five years, taking it from 3.5% to 7% of the total market in Mainland B.C. and the Yukon.
The organization's current focus is on recruiting businesses in Richmond. Primrose said the growing Asian community there is an untapped market and the BBB has hired an accredited sales consultant to help develop relationships in that area.
In the next year, the plan is to target small towns, and the BBB is currently working on a strategy for developing its presence in the Thompson/Okanagan region.
Primrose considers Elaine Hay, president of Campbell, Edgar Inc., a retail staffing service based out of Vancouver, to be a professional mentor. She has worked with Hay for nearly a decade in a variety of capacities, including as both a client and a candidate.
Hay said Primrose's widely varied experience gives her a great business background with an unusual combination of skills.
"She has really solid operational skills, which the bureau certainly can use, but she's also spent some time in the human resources side of the world," Hay said. "That's kind of unusual in an executive; usually you have one that's a bit more focused one way versus the other, and in this case she's got both."
Primrose's decision to move into the non-profit sector was a conscious one as she felt it was the time in her career to start giving back to the community. While she is excited to develop relationships in her new role, she loves the fact there is still a business side to it as well.
"Non-profit doesn't mean make no money; non-profit means do what you can do to build revenue that you can reinvest in the programs and the people that deliver those programs," she said, adding that being able to work on the organization's operational side was very important in her decision to move into this sector.
Primrose was raised in Calgary by her mother, an oil industry consultant and entrepreneur. Her mother is a role model and taught her the value of always being true to yourself, admitting mistakes and listening to your inner voice when it comes to making tough decisions. Because of this, ethics play a huge role in her life, which ties in to the BBB's vision of promoting trust between businesses and consumers.
Most ethical dilemmas, she said, arise in the event of not sticking to your gut feelings.
"Know who you are and really understand what makes you tick," Primrose said, explaining this applies to both personal and professional situations. "Trust your instinct."
She has been successful in her career, she said, because she has always looked ahead and planned where she will go next. She credits having three- to five-year plans for being able to stay focused and move forward, and said it is critical to know what you want, stay the course and always seek out opportunities in every situation.
"Ask for the job, don't wait for the job," she said. "Always have a plan, whether it's short-term or long-term. You've got to know where you're going.
"This doesn't mean things will always go according to the schedule you hope," she added.
Primrose has been with her husband, Daryl Fox, for 20 years. Together, they love to entertain and travel, and because Daryl is newly retired, he can sometimes go with her when she travels for business. Primrose has a personal goal of learning how to play golf so they are able to spend more time together.
She and Daryl are also self- proclaimed foodies. When asked to recommend some good restaurants, she laughs.
"I can't really promote businesses," she said. "I have to remain neutral."
