Cory Brewer (Copy)
Cory Brewer
North Shore born  /  Founder  /  Mentor

From one truck to forty people.

Cory Brewer started a neighbourhood lawn service in North Vancouver in 2016 and built it into Beyond Landscaping, a multi-million-dollar company. Now he co-leads Novera and mentors founders on the skill that got him there: letting go.

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Portrait of Cory Brewer smiling, wearing a black polo.
Centre ice, North Vancouver
2016Beyond founded
40People on the team
4.9★Across 308 reviews
2Companies built
The story

Doing it all, then doing it right.

Cory Brewer holding the 2022 North Vancouver Consumer Choice Award plaque for Great Lawns & Beyond Landscaping.
Consumer Choice Award · North Vancouver · 2022

Cory was born and raised on the North Shore. He earned a Bachelor of Business Administration, with a minor in Strategic HR Management, at Capilano University, and in 2016 he started a neighbourhood lawn service with a single truck.

For the first stretch he did everything himself: the field work, the paperwork, the clients. It held until it didn't. Burnout forced a different question. Not how to do more, but how to build a team and systems that run without him in the middle of every decision.

The answer was delegation, learned the hard way. He hired his first virtual assistant, moved the company onto the Entrepreneurial Operating System, and started handing off anything someone else could do 80% as well. Great Lawns & Beyond became Beyond Landscaping: 40 people caring for homes, businesses and strata properties across North Vancouver, West Vancouver and Burnaby.

That first virtual assistant is still with the company. His second remote hire now runs the gardening division and leads a crew of 15.

“Freedom doesn’t come from working less, it comes from having systems and accountability in place.”

  1. Roots

    Born and raised on the North Shore. Grew up under the mountains he still skis and climbs.

  2. 2010–15

    Capilano University. BBA with a minor in Strategic HR Management.

  3. 2016

    One truck, one lawn service. Great Lawns & Beyond opens in North Vancouver. The same year he joins North Vancouver Friendship Toastmasters.

  4. 2022

    Consumer Choice Award for landscape contractors in North Vancouver, one of several the company has won.

  5. 2023

    Starts mentoring founders through the Entrepreneurs’ Organization Accelerator program.

  6. 2026

    Novera and a magazine feature. His executive-assistant agency, formerly Market Hill Agency, becomes Novera. CanadianSME profiles his path from lawn mower to leader.

  7. Today

    Beyond Landscaping: 40 people, year-round grounds and snow service, and a 4.9-star rating.

Companies

Two companies. One lesson.

One keeps the North Shore green in summer and clear in winter. The other gives founders the thing Beyond taught Cory to value most: their time back.

The Beyond Landscaping team in matching blue shirts outside the North Vancouver shop, 2025.
Founder & President

Beyond Landscaping

Full-service landscaping for residential, commercial and strata properties across the North Shore and Greater Vancouver.

Services
Lawn & garden maintenance · Landscape design & construction · Snow & ice management
Areas
North Vancouver · West Vancouver · Burnaby
Record
4.9 stars across 308 reviews · Consumer Choice Award winner
beyondltd.ca ↗
Phase 1Essential
Phase 2Enhanced
Phase 3Strategic
Co-founder

Novera

Fully managed executive assistants for founders who need their time back. Novera recruits, vets, trains and matches full-time remote EAs, then keeps supporting every placement.

Handles
Email & calendar · Communications · Projects · Payroll admin · Team coordination
Built with
Co-founder Brittany Demers, an executive assistant of 6.5+ years
For
Founders, EO members and scaling business owners
noveraea.com ↗
The playbook

How to run a company you don’t have to be in every day.

Asked what gives Beyond its edge, Cory named three things:

“Speed, communication, and accountability.”

Delegation

The 80% rule

If someone can do a task 80% as well as you, it’s time to hand it off. Cory borrows the principle from Dan Martell and treats delegation as a skill you practise, not a personality trait.

Decisions

1-3-1

Bring one problem, three options and one recommendation. Solutions travel up the org chart, not just problems.

Operating system

Run on EOS

The Entrepreneurial Operating System keeps every department aligned without routing each call through the owner.

Rhythm

Weekly alignment

The same meeting, every week. Consistent check-ins keep 40 people pulling in one direction.

Structure

Clear lines

A real org chart, defined roles and expectations you can measure. Nobody has to guess whose job it is.

Ownership

Own it early

Deal with problems while they’re small, and take full ownership when they aren’t. Keep reading, keep networking, keep getting better.

Speaking & mentoring

On his feet since 2016.

Cory joined North Vancouver Friendship Toastmasters the year he started his company and has served the club in leadership roles including VP Membership and Sergeant at Arms. He mentors early-stage founders through the EO Accelerator and talks candidly about scaling a trades business.

Talks
  • From lawn mower to leader
  • Delegation is a skill, not a personality
  • Your first executive assistant
  • Running a trades company on EOS
Features & podcasts
Table Topics
0:00

What did your first truck teach you about business?

Ready when you are

Table Topics is the Toastmasters impromptu round: one question, no notes, one to two minutes. The green light comes on at 1:00, amber at 1:30 and red at 2:00. Try one.

Off the clock

The starting lineup.

When the trucks are parked: the rink, the mountains, the community, and a very good margarita.

Lineup card · Brewer
PosRoleDetails
CTeam managerManages two competitive adult men’s hockey teams: rosters, schedules and keeping the room together.
LWSki & climbSkis and climbs the local North Shore mountains.
RWIron & pagesLifts weights and keeps a steady reading list.
LDCarry-onTravels whenever he can get away.
RDCommunityOrganizes I Can Play Sports! equipment drives for kids with special needs, and has volunteered at Ronald McDonald House Charities’ Belmont Haunted House.
GLast line of defenceFresh-squeezed lime margaritas, made for friends and the Beyond crew.
Contact

Let’s talk.

Cory Brewer in a Beyond Landscaping polo.

Mentoring, speaking, a podcast seat or a property that needs looking after. Pick the door that fits.

Mentoring & speaking LinkedIn Message Cory ↗ Follow the journey Instagram @corybrew ↗ Get your time back Novera noveraea.com ↗ Landscaping & snow Beyond beyondltd.ca ↗