.png){kind=small}
A Conversation w/ R+H OPS Manager, Marguerite.
- Mar 26
- 7 min read
CONVERSATIONS IN THE R+H CREATIVE HOUSE - E02
( Founder's Note )
"If I think back to the beginning of 2025, my assistant at the time was great at handling admin, messages, emails, basic tasks, but she wasn’t building structure. The thinking, planning, and organisation were still all in my head. I was doing the bulk of the work, and the support I had just wasn’t enough.
I made the difficult decision to part ways and spent the summer reflecting on what I actually needed. I wanted someone who could do more than manage tasks, someone who could help build systems that would make the business run more smoothly long-term.
By October, during our busiest season, it became clear exactly what was missing: structure. I knew I needed someone who could step in and help me create sustainable workflows. I posted the role, had multiple calls, and then I met Marguerite. From the very start, she stood out. She led the conversation, asked thoughtful questions, and showed me she understood not just the tasks but the bigger picture. Her background in software engineering was an added bonus, it gave me confidence she could handle both the technical and operational sides of the business.
Ever since then, she’s been an incredible partner in building something more organised, structured, and sustainable. Without her, R+H wouldn't exist and we would probably be still operating as Olympia Growth."
( E02 )
In this conversation, we’ll cover what it was like to join a new company and immediately step into a full rebrand, AI, how she approaches new businesses, and her perspective on building operational structure.
( Q1 )
What was your honest first reaction joining OG (now R+H) and immediately stepping into a full rebrand?
"Honestly, I saw it as a fun challenge.
Whenever I start with a new client, my goal is to create a quick win: something that immediately reduces stress or creates momentum. That can be tricky at the beginning because clients either aren’t fully clear on where they need the most support yet, or the work initially leans more toward execution, and I need to quickly understand the business before I can make a strategic impact.
With R+H, the rebrand gave me a clear entry point. Instead of having to “find” where I could help, I could step straight into something meaningful while learning the business at the same time. And because you were rebranding, a lot of it was new for you, too, and we could experiment together.
I’ll be honest, at times I was also a bit worried about being too intense at first and that I wouldn't be able to alleviate pressure as quickly as I wanted to, because there were a lot of moving parts where I needed your input. I could see gaps and opportunities, and I really wanted to close them quickly (and impress you because I really wanted to work with you), but sometimes I couldn't close them without asking you 100's of questions.
What made the experience so enjoyable was the level of trust.
You were open to ideas, experiments, and solutions and had a very open mind."
( Q2 )
When you step into a business, what’s usually the first “gap” or inefficiency you notice right away?
"Most of the time, it’s not a complicated system issue, it’s that everything lives in the founder’s head.
A lot of founders are managing dozens of moving parts mentally, and they underestimate how much energy that takes. Tools like Notion, ClickUp, or Trello feel like “another thing to set up and learn,” but in reality, they remove a huge amount of mental load.
Even something as simple as having one place to dump tasks changes everything. It creates visibility for the founder and the team, and allows other people to actually support, contribute ideas, and move things forward without constant direction or "check-in messages".
There’s often resistance at first because it means changing habits or being more transparent, but in most cases, that shift reduces stress almost immediately.
A smaller (but surprisingly common) one: email templates. People will dig through old emails and copy-paste responses instead of setting up templates properly. It sounds minor, but it adds unnecessary friction to everyday tasks and takes up more mental energy and time than it should."
( Q3 )
Do you think AI will replace parts of operational roles, or will it make human-led operations even more valuable?
"I think it will do both.
AI is incredibly powerful when it comes to reducing repetitive work (think AI agents like Notion AI and Claude Co-work) and even identifying where systems or workflows are needed. It can take a lot of operational weight off a business, especially if you know how to use AI well, or have someone who can guide that, which is a huge advantage and can make a big difference to the bottom line of a business.
But it doesn’t always capture nuance, context, or intention the way a human does (or as quickly).
From what I’ve seen, the businesses that stand out are the ones that feel thoughtful, caring, empathetic and intentional, where clients don’t feel like just another number in a system. That human element is what creates strong relationships, referrals, and long-term loyalty.
If AI is used everywhere without intention, a business can start to feel generic or disconnected. So it’s really about balance. AI is a powerful tool, but it still needs human direction, judgment, and creativity to make it work well."
( Q4 )
Have you seen founders rely too heavily on automation or AI agents instead of actually understanding their own business processes?
"Yes, and often.
I strongly believe founders should do things manually first. That’s how you understand what actually works for you, your business, and your working style. If you skip that step and go straight into automation, you risk building systems that don’t really fit, or automating something that shouldn’t be automated in the first place.
For example, I had a client who actually loved doing review calls with her clients and seeing how they reacted to the brand and website she created. From an efficiency perspective, we could have automated parts of that process, but it would have taken away something that gave her energy and fulfilment. And clients also loved that she took the reviews seriously and spoke to them about their ideas. It is one of the things they commented on the most after working with her.
So, not everything should be about saving time and automating. Human touch and input still matter a lot.
I also believe you should experiment with what you enjoy in a business and what type of business will work for you. Just because everyone is shouting that you need to automate, doesn't mean that you need to give up parts of your business that you enjoy.
The whole point is to remove friction in the places you don't enjoy the work."
( Q4 )
Do you think hiring an operations or business manager should be one of the first investments a solopreneur makes once they have stable income?
"I actually don’t think you need to wait for a fully “stable” income.
Once you start getting traction or making some profit, it can already be valuable to bring someone in to help you think about structure, systems, and how you’re building your business. That early input can completely change how you operate and help you avoid building up operational debt.
A lot of people assume they need to go straight into a monthly retainer, but that’s not always necessary.
I’ve also seen the downside of jumping straight into heavy system-building.
Sometimes I come into a business, and everything is chaotic. We spend the first few months building the structure, which improves things, but the founder still feels overwhelmed because they’re still deeply involved in everything.
And once the structure is in place, ongoing support can really start making a difference.
An operations or business manager on a retainer doesn’t just build systems; they should help you step back, think strategically, and focus on the parts of the business you actually enjoy. At that point, it becomes less like hiring support and more like having a partner in the business."
( Last Q )
What’s the most chaotic or challenging moment you’ve experienced so far with R+H or a past client)?
"One of the most challenging situations I’ve had was with a past client who wanted urgent operational support and automations, but wasn’t able to show up consistently. She spoke a lot about commitment, effort, and building something meaningful together, but in practice, she missed meetings, changed priorities frequently, and couldn’t provide the information needed to move things forward.
That created a lot of pressure, because I could see the deadlines and what needed to be done, but I didn’t have the inputs required to deliver properly.
Over time, it became clear that the expectations and reality didn’t match. That kind of misalignment usually leads to frustration on both sides. I made the decision to end the collaboration because situations like that often result in unfair outcomes, even when the root issue isn’t the work itself.
It was a difficult experience, but it reinforced how important clarity, boundaries, respect, consistency, and mutual accountability are in any working relationship."
Thank you so much for reading.
And a huge thank you to Marguerite for taking the time to share her thoughts and for such an open, honest conversation. Truly, without her, ROWEN + HARRINGTON wouldn’t exist in the way it does today, and the rebrand of Olympia wouldn’t have been possible.
If you’d like to learn more about her work, feel free to connect with her directly on Instagram > https://www.instagram.com/with.marguerite/
Over the upcoming weeks, we will be sharing more conversations with team members, partners, and creatives in the industry, but if you are (or know) someone who aligns with this perspective, tag them in the IG comments or reach out directly. We’d love to invite them to have a conversation with us.
Want the conversations delivered straight to your inbox?
R+H
