Virtual assistants or virtual employees aren’t restricted in their capability to complete tasks, however it is usually the responsibility of the employer to create clear plans to ease the management process. There are many possibilities with free and paid memberships that allow a business to do just that. Some of our preferred software to use

One of the questions that might come to mind is how to let your VA do the work. Hiring a virtual assistant comes with hesitation, whether it is the right option for your business or if they are ‘smart’ enough to do what you are asking. A lot of these hesitations can be because the

Learning is a negotiated process between teacher and student; the teacher conveys essential information through structured lessons, the student absorbs and applies what is being taught. Learning requires two hands to clap! However, different learning styles require different training techniques. Today, we’ll be covering 4 popular learning styles, and targeted methods to accommodate each respective one.

If you are ready to add virtual staff members to your team, you may need simple and effective SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures). But you may wonder, where do I start? Let us give you the tips you need to create the perfect SOP.  Know Your Goal: What is the goal of this SOP? What is

Have you thought about hiring a virtual assistant but do not know where to start or how to create a procedure that will translate through a screen?  When creating a system you need to ensure that you highlight all aspects and provide a step by step guide to complete the procedure. Even if you think

Technology has changed the world in many ways, in particular the business world. Running a business is far easier than it was 20 years ago. However, with the extensive amount of tools available to entrepreneurs, it’s easy to pick the wrong ones. Having a Virtual Assistant (VA) is a 21st Century solution to mundane tasks;

Social media has become an imperative business function in today’s digital world. It allows companies to create networks, market their business services or products and engage with their customers. Without a valuable social media presence, companies risk losing potential customers as 55% of consumers learn about brands on social media. However, certain aspects of social media

There is no denying that having more money offers more utility than having less of it. For ecommerce platforms, profit maximization is their primary vehicle for achieving business-security and future scalability.

Whatever industry you work in or strive to work in, it is important to have the skillset needed to succeed. While it has become pertinent to have a stronger focus on soft skills and the influence they play in your working life, it is not yet the time to give up on the hard (technical)

The COVID-19 pandemic has altered the very structure of the market. But this doesn’t have to be a bad thing; As Seneca had once said: “Each new beginning starts from some other beginning’s end.” As the traditional retail sector collapses, new profit producing opportunities soon arise, and one of those opportunities is “e-commerce”. Instead of

Video-marketing is one of the many prolific tools in a company’s arsenal. If broadening your audience is your main objective, video-marketing should be numero uno on your list of priorities!

Traditionally, businesses have situated their operations within sprawling, office-spaces. If you’ve ever worked in a large office in the early 2000s, then you’ve seen it all! Individual workstations are demarcated into isolated cubicles; it was initially believed that silence, and privacy were the foundations of creativity. However, what was once considered the hallmarks of office-design,

Every business is built on the back of its employees. However, there is one more integral piece to this equation: your customers! Many cost centres are allocated to answering the “what, when, where why and how”. Customers are the lifeblood of every company. Without them, there wouldn’t be any business to begin with! Contrary to

Outsourcing can provide a large array of benefits to you and your company. Just because you have the autonomy to run and control every aspect of your business, does not mean you should. Creative equipment and programs have proven difficult to master. Stop spending your valuable time and money trying to become an expert in

There’s only so much time in a day. Time spent is time lost, and entrepreneurs have to make the best of this scarce resource. Unfortunately, they are often encumbered with a myriad of unexciting tasks that commands their precious time and attention away from an already demanding career. And managing one’s finances is no exception.

Today’s entrepreneurship environment is… complicated. Never before have you had access to such an immeasurable range of strategies, techniques, methods and ideas for growing your business. The landscape of technical skills in the business world is so overwhelming in its extensivity and complexity that it can inadvertently overshadow other, equally important skill areas. Technical skills,

In Australia, many licensed tradies are juggling between the responsibilities of working for themselves and working for external employers. These duties are part-and-parcel of working in each respective industry. Organisations are constantly sub-contracting the services of professional tradies. In Australia, over 30% of the entire labour force falls under the “tradies” category, with 1.1 million

Being a tradie is an unforgiving job. Seeing a tradie toil under the blistering summer heat is a common sight to behold. It is a labour-intensive, back-breaking role far outside the creature comforts of an air-conditioned office. But behind the scenes, tradies have to self-manage and organise their ledger of projects on their own! Contrary

The ongoing pandemic has hit businesses hard, and Hippo was no exception. With the vast majority of our clients being business owners, big companies, and entrepreneurs, once they had to stop working, so did we. It was a hard time for everyone.  However, instead of seeing the temporary closure as a loss, we turned it

Connecting with others and having solid relationships is a basic human need, as necessary as food and shelter. We spend more of our waking hours at the workplace, and yet there’s no overt encouragement for colleagues to get to know each other and build strong bonds. Many expect it to happen naturally, but without good

To the layman, Affiliate Marketing is just another throw-away term that the business-savvy toss around. Stereotypes aside, affiliate marketing is SO much more than that. Gone are the heydays of traditional marketing, as legacy institutions (television, radio) lose their market presence as digital marketing takes over. Affiliate marketing is a crucial element among a litany

Have you ever worked in the healthcare sector? If you had answered “yes”, then I am sure you have gone through the rigmarole of memorizing endless legal protocols that come with the territory. If you answered no, the example above applies to almost every single industry. As burdensome as it sounds, it ensures both the

Working from home is now the status quo. Shared office spaces, and cheeky banter over lunch with one’s peers soon became rituals of a forgotten past. Objectively speaking, working from home should reap many economic benefits. Gone are the long hours waiting in idle traffic as you head to the office, and the costs tied

COVID-19 has forced the majority of businesses to migrate their physical operations to a digital workspace. On a positive note, this has created excellent opportunities for Virtual Assistants working from home, as companies seek to systemise their processes by hiring more remote staff. However, the internet is an enigmatic domain, filled with malignant actors lurking

We have answered the question of how to start an online business, but what about business growth? If you already have a company that works on the internet, no doubt you want to scale. Well, there are several ways to get started.  Network Building a relationship and partnership between companies is a great way to

Online is where the future of business lies. Without an online presence, companies struggle to pull customers to the degree that those who engage with the internet do. The online business structure has become a booming trade, with e-shops, direct creator-to-consumer delivery with no brick-and-mortar intermediary, and websites designed to help people sell their wares.

There’s a change in the winds of modern marketing, and its name is authentic branding. With the overabundance of information and false advertising nowadays, it’s unsurprising that this fresh approach based on sincerity is taking off.  Authentic branding is about companies keeping true to their brands, setting out values for themselves and staying honest to

Entrepreneurs, regardless of industry, often have at least one thing in common: their personality type. An entrepreneur is the natural outcome of combining high levels of ambition and the desire to be in charge, with a healthy sense of competitiveness sprinkled on top. There’s a well-known way of categorising these kinds of people: Type A. 

Have you ever been in the position that you were concerned that if you streamline a process at work, that you may be made redundant. Will a program take over the job you once held? This is a similar thought pattern of someone who is handing over some of their time consuming tasks to an

The End of the Financial Year is creeping up on us, and it represents a time of stress for businesses and individuals alike. Paying tax, filing for returns, straightening up the books – it’s a chore that can quickly become a nightmare. But it is manageable. Hippo has some tips to help this EOFY and

The moment a new hire joins the team, employers have a distinct opportunity to make or break that person’s future at their business. The current job-market is more employee-centric than before, making it simpler for new workers to leave for greener pastures if they don’t feel the environment is right for them. But, there is

There is an idea in the business world that leaders and managers are polar opposites. Business owners prefer to be seen as a leader rather than a manager by their employees – but is that right?  In the mind of workers, managers are no-nonsense people of authority. Their goal is to ensure that employees meet

Nowadays, hashtags have become near synonymous with social media. They’re a neat way to categorize pieces, enhance exposure, or simply lend context to your post. Nearly every platform has a hashtag component. Whichever social media platform your business uses, hashtags are something worth considering.  Hashtags have gained real traction in the marketing world. They now

Employee engagement is a cornerstone of having a thriving business. When it comes down to it, having employees who both enjoy working with you and are passionate about your organisation is make-or-break for the company. That’s the ideal outcome, and the end goal for employee engagement.  There’s numerous studies on the benefits of an engaged

When your entrepreneurial career begins, you have to decide what kind of entrepreneur you’re going to be: a business owner, or a business operator. Thinking that those things don’t sound too different? Think again, because changing your mindset could be what truly helps your business set sail.   Operator  The operator mindset is most common for

Occasionally a team member begins to underperform or produces a lower quality work than the company requires of them. This can be a gradual change or a quick one. There are often underlying causes, such as the team member dealing with changes in their own life, or they have encountered a problem in their work

With working from home becoming more and more common, the arguments against it are fading. Since COVID-19 forced a lot of us to recreate our offices in our houses, many have seen the benefits of working remotely. However, there are still pesky and damaging myths about working from home that some still hold onto.   

The popularity of podcasts has grown exponentially in the last several years. It’s reached the point where you’d be hard-pressed to find someone who hasn’t listened to one before, even if only peripherally. And with Joe Rogan’s latest $100 million deal for the rights to his podcast on Spotify, businesses should take notice! This popularity has

When someone decides to live life as an entrepreneur, it likely materialises in their mind as a glamorous experience. And honestly, it should be. Once the HIPPO Bullseye has opened your mind to the possibilities, it becomes clear that you can work all the exciting parts of your business without the drudge-work dragging you down.

It’s the question every entrepreneur lives with: how do I have a balanced life while running my business? Well, without a proper answer, your business may end up running you. That’s where we come in.  HIPPO exists to help businesses and owners find that answer, and our first stop on the way towards a better

At some point in every business’s existence, there’s an overflow of work and not enough time or staff to do it all. The owner is under pressure and there’s too much to do in too little time. It’s stressful, it’s tiring, but most of all, it has a simple solution. . . Outsourcing Outsourcing: What