We recently partnered with HigherRing to help staff the GreenGain program, and it was a strong experience from start to finish. The work was smooth, responsive, and human.
I sat down with HigherRing founder Michelle Hirons to unpack their model, who they serve, and the systems thinking behind how they support purpose-driven organizations. If you are looking for reliable back-office support from people who care about your mission, this conversation will give you a clear look at how HigherRing operates.
What are you most passionate about?
As a founder, I am head over heels with this idea: every dollar purpose-driven companies spend should go to suppliers, systems, financial providers, and service partners who share their values. This creates a flywheel of goodness—strengthening the businesses and people who care about social impact, clean water, clean air, and building a better tomorrow.
That’s why I advocate loudly (and sometimes annoyingly!) for switching away from systems with harmful business practices like NetSuite/Oracle, Intuit’s QuickBooks and Mailchimp, JP Morgan Chase, and Uline—to better companies with sustainable operations and ethical business practices that don’t actively work to tear down democracy or our environment. Every contract, every software subscription, every box of packing materials is a choice about what kind of economy we’re building.
I also believe we need procurement preferences that favor stakeholder capitalism companies at the federal government level and, if that isn’t possible, at the state government level. We’re beginning our advocacy outreach in the states where we hire. Just as there are carve-outs for veteran-owned, women- and BIPOC-owned companies, there should be carve-outs for B Corp-certified companies that improve communities and the environment with their business practices. If we’re serious about systems change, we must use our purchasing power intentionally.
We’re proud to share that we are a California Public Benefit Corporation, a certified B Corp since 2018, a Living Wage Certified business, a WBENC-certified women-owned business, and a 1% for the Planet member. We are also a proud member of the American Sustainable Business Council, where we donate pro bono services for the Business for Democracy working group. We also offset our estimated emissions as part of our commitment to environmental responsibility. Beyond the certifications, we’re real people trying to build a better model for how work gets done—one that creates meaningful careers, serves mission-driven organizations, and proves that you don’t have to sacrifice quality or ethics to run a successful business.
What does your organization do, and whom does it serve?
HigherRing provides back-office operations for purpose-driven companies and nonprofits, filling part-time and full-time positions with skilled and mission-aligned professionals from parts of the country where sustainable job opportunities are limited.
We specialize in three areas with different levels of experienced team members from tactical (Level 1) to strategic (Level 3):
Customer support—from small 10-hour/week roles to entire teams Fractional operations specializing in ecommerce/wholesale operations, marketing & sales operations, and executive assistance Full-charge bookkeeping, financial operations, and financial advisory Many of our clients use multiple services.
We also help implement, troubleshoot, optimize, and work within client systems such as Pipedrive, HubSpot, Gorgias, and Xero. Lately, we’re doing a lot of work to implement and train agentic AI-enabled phone systems for 24/7 interactive coverage.
Our unique business model means we work within client teams, often for years, augmenting roles we manage, mentor, coach, adjust, and continually optimize with systems thinking and best practices shared across our client experiences. If a role needs to be transitioned, we identify and train the next talented resource. Our managed approach means clients receive exceptional performance with minimal effort, while our employees have the support they need to thrive in their roles and a team to help them navigate challenging situations.
What makes our model especially valuable is the flexibility we offer clients. Companies can start with managed services—where we handle hiring, training, and oversight—and if they’d like to bring their full-time team member in-house, they can do so through our placement program. We’re proud that over the past two years, we’ve successfully placed nine people directly with clients.
We’re proud to work across the impact economy. Our clients include clean energy and clean-tech companies, sustainable housing and community design firms, edtech and health tech innovators, and outdoor activity and hospitality providers. We support marketing and leadership consultancies, cybersecurity experts, home design firms, and sustainable community organizations. We also work with household product, apparel, and food & beverage companies committed to ethical practices, as well as family offices and financial products firms looking to align their back-office operations with their values.
How does HigherRing define sustainability?
For us, sustainability starts with how we treat our team members. As a B Corp, we hire our team as W-2 employees with full benefits and company ownership opportunities. In a world full of 1099 contracting and low-wage offshore hiring, we’re proud to build our workforce in areas of the country where sustainable job opportunities may be limited, yet great people are abundant.
Taking it further, we proudly practice Open Book Management, training each person in detail on our financials and how their performance contributes to our success. We also do profit sharing. This isn’t just about being generous—it’s about building the kind of sustainable organization that retains great talent, which ultimately makes us stronger for our clients. When our employees build deep expertise and relationships with clients over years rather than months, everyone wins.
Working from home offices all over the U.S. means we’re not contributing to daily commutes or the cycle of purchasing work clothes. No office space needs to be procured and no energy in a separate space is needed.
What are some best practices HigherRing uses and/or can recommend?
We’ve learned—sometimes the hard way—that clear and proactive communication is everything. Our management team gives feedback in the moment, jumps into challenging situations for quick resolution, and treats everyone fairly and equitably.
We also intentionally seek out clients in the impact space, so our employees can take pride in their work every day. That alignment matters for retention and performance.
And although we’re an understanding and empathetic employer, we’ve learned that the employee-client match is not always a perfect fit. Like any business, sometimes we have to make tough choices to ensure we have the right people on our team. Because here’s the thing: it’s easy for clients to walk away from our services. We have to prove our value every single day, and that requires a team that’s genuinely committed to the mission, with strong communication skills and a genuine sense of partnership for success.
If you’re a Connecticut organization looking for back-office support from people who genuinely care about your mission, we’d love to talk.