For close-knit communities, neighborhood BBQs are a huge part of summertime. Friends, neighbors, and loved ones gather for an afternoon and evening of good food and better company—often with their families in tow, which means a bunch of rambunctious kiddos, lots of giggles, and more reason for you to prep your backyard for summertime fun.

Upgrade Your Deck and Comfortable Outdoor Furniture

Rebuild or renovate your deck to accommodate upwards of a dozen people or more, with loads of comfortable outdoor furniture, like chaise lounges and wrap-around deck benches. Make sure the cushions are plush and comfy, and a roll-away shade protects against inclement weather while still allowing your guests to enjoy each other’s company.

Line Your Home with Summertime Blooms

Have you ever seen those beautiful homes with gorgeous flowers lining all sides of a house? Do this with yours. Plant summertime flowerbeds alongside your home for a colorful presentation that your guests can admire.

Fence in Your Backyard as a Safe Kids Play Place

Parents will thank you! Put a fence around the perimeter of your backyard and add a playground at one end, complete with a sandbox and weather-proofed picnic table. This will give kids a safe place to play, while their parents are free to enjoy conversation without worrying what their youngsters are getting into.

Keep Your BBQ Setup to the Side, Out of the Way of Guests and Their Kids

Designate one part of your deck for your BBQ setup, like your grille, accessories, and grille covers. This will ensure no kids run into your BBQ stuff, while adults won’t get breeze-blown smoke in their faces. Looking to serve more than steaks and off-the-grill goodies? Snag a hot chicken warmer to keep those rotisserie favorites ready to serve with a side of BBQ sauce.

Create an Enclosed Firepit for Lounging and Conversations into the Night

After everyone has eaten and enjoyed awesome dinner conversation, suggest moving to an enclosed firepit area for more talk and maybe a glass of wine or two. Let the kiddos munch on smores.

Tip: Install outdoor lights around the kids’ playground to give them the option of continuing to play while you and your adult guests enjoy the roaring fire.

New small businesses can not afford to make costly mistakes, which in addition to losing money could jeopardize customer relations and harm your product brand beyond repair.

It is far better, to keep reading and learn about the most common, and disastrous mistakes, that most new entrepreneurs make and what you should do instead.

Doing Everything Yourself and Not Delegating

Sure as your business’s leader you need to train and inspire your team, but that does not mean you need to do every single thing yourself.

While in your early startup stages you probably will wear many hats and do many tasks from accounting to cleaning the bathroom. But as your company grows you need to bring on new employees who can take over these functions.

In order to succeed with these new hires, you must learn how to both lead and manage people. Otherwise, these new hires will prove to be a drain on your time and resources.

Not Using Your Failures as Valuable Lessons

Every startup has failures along the road to success. Use each of those failures, no matter how disheartening, as an opportunity to learn, grow and modify your business plan for future success.

Too many beginning entrepreneurs are paralyzed by fear of failure and thus don’t experiment and dare to try new methods in sales, marketing and operations. This level of daring is necessary to achieve innovation in your company.  So lose your fear of failure and instead embrace it as a detour on your road to success.

Not Protecting Your Personal Assets from Business Debts

Many business owners I have met regret, often too late, of not setting up a business entity such as an LLC (Limited Liability Company) to separate and protect their personal assets from their business property.

Without this legal business structure in place, all of your personal assets, including your family home, are at risk for business collections, debts, and lawsuits. Instead early in your startup set up an LLC, use this promo code for Legalzoom, and get peace of mind that your assets are safe from the risk of business liabilities.

Neglecting to Put Agreements in Writing

Handshake deals are easy to make but hard to enforce if you have a disagreement with a supplier, employee, partner or customer later on.

Having a well-written, legally binding contract detailing your agreement and each parties responsibilities saves you from misunderstandings and expensive court cases in the future.

As a fast-growing company, it can be tempting to ignore these legalities because you think they slow your progress. But they do not. In fact, they always save money and often save time because clarifying both parties understandings move projects forward more quickly and on track.

Risking Your Intellectual Property

You have created a unique product brand and worked hard to build its success.

Thus it is vital that you protect those non-physical assets like your company name, brand, logo design and product design with legal instruments. Dependent upon the type of intellectual property that you want to protect you many need either a patent, trademark or copyright.

Know that in today’s ultra-competitive marketplace intellectual property theft is growing rapidly.  Don’t wait until someone else copies your brand or knocks off your product, be proactive and get the proper protection in place at the start of your launch.

Not Asking for Help from Professionals

Just as preventative maintenance is good for your health, getting expert advice from lawyers, accountants, and tax professionals upfront will improve the health and longevity of your new firm.

Consult with professionals about possible legal and tax issues to build strength into the foundation of your new company. These professionals will recommend important steps such as how to set up the right tax structure for your particular situation and the laws regarding hiring employees in your state.

Heed this advice from a business consultant who has witnessed far too many small business failures that could have been avoided with a bit of knowledge and upfront action. Good luck entrepreneurs.

If you are into the world of business just as I am you probably have heard about MLM by now. MLM stands for multi level marketing, which has been popular among people for many decades now. There are millions of people worldwide who belong to companies that can be classified as MLM companies, and if this is something you are considering too, I would like to point you in the right direction to choose top mlm company and join.

It is not a surprise that there are many MLM companies already on the market you might want to join. Many of them are established enough and they withstood the test of time. i am talking here about companies such as Herbalife or Avon for example, as even I remember growing up hearing both of the names.

If you are planning to join one of the MLM companies, you need to make sure that you are really excited about the product that they have to offer. After all, this will be something you will be selling to others, so if you are comfortable with the product you sell and even use it yourself and enjoy doing it you shouldn’t have problems making those sales that matter.

Another thing to consider is with whom you will be working, in other words your sponsor. In MLM, there will be always somebody directly above you, the person who referred you to the program. It is extremely important that you enjoy working with them and building your business together. Make sure that you choose somebody who is approachable and with whom you find it easily to communicate.

Lastly, you need to ensure that the company you work with is doing well financially. There is no point joining a so-called sinking ship. Look around and you will find many already established companies that you can join easily. There is no point here to reinvent the wheel. There are already some proven ways to make you money and doing so does not have to be a daunting task. Just keep checking out what works for you and you should be absolutely fine.

If you’re lucky enough to have money to invest, you could make far worse decisions than putting it into property. Prices may fluctuate a little over the years, but there is, as a rule, always demand for somewhere people can live, especially if you’re able to opt for a property in a city like London or Edinburgh.

If you’re going to take this option, you need to prepare and do some research. It’s a much more hands on process than you might find with other investments, and you might need to know how to renovate a house, how to credit check a tenant, and be on call for emergencies at the house 24 hours a day!

Today we’re presenting a beginner’s guide to how buy a property to let, to make sure you’re getting off on the right foot.

Where to Buy

If you’re buying to let, it’s important to get a good deal on the property you’re buying. Don’t forget, you won’t see any profit until you’ve paid off the capital you’ve sunk into the house or flat, so the lower the price tag the sooner the rent stops paying back that sunk cost and starts going into your savings or current account.

Buying at auction could get you a real deal but you need to be sure you’re not taking on more than you can handle. Many houses end up sold at auction because they’re in a less market ready state than ones sold through a standard estate agent, often because the owner is deceased, out of the country or otherwise unavailable to tend for the property. You may need to adjust your budget for the additional cost of bringing the property to a liveable state for tenants.

Standards

If you are converting a property for the rental market you need to make sure you’re spending your money on the areas renters value, not wasting it. Luxuries aren’t necessary unless you’re trying to attract the very top end of the market.

You need to concentrate firstly on making sure the property meets it’s legal standards, which means checking for structural issues and ensuring appliances are all serviced and safe. Refitting the bathroom is a good idea if it’s showing its age, but it’s more important that it’s functional than trendy.

Furnishing the house to a slightly higher standard than Ikea’s lowest tier of furniture is a good idea, as it doesn’t increase your budget much but the additional effort will stand out to tenants who have seen the same identikit furniture in every property they’ve viewed!

Finding Tenants

Advertising for tenants, credit checking them and ensuring they sign a binding contract can be testing, and if you get it wrong you might end up with people who damage your property, or don’t pay the rent on time.

The best option might be to opt to work with a letting agent, who have the experience and infrastructure to get this right for you, and while this will eat into your profits you might find it a worthwhile in exchange for the security it gets you.

If you’re someone who has the desire to start his or her own business, then keep in mind that there’s a lot to think about and consider before you do. Winging it and hoping people are suddenly interested in your company isn’t going to cut it.

You need to document a business plan and know exactly how you’re going to run your company once you get going. There isn’t going to be a lot of room to make errors or second guess yourself once you’re up and running. Take the time to think through if being an entrepreneur is truly your dream job and if you’ll be happy in this role.

What Need You’re Fulfilling

You can’t assume that people are going to flock to your business as soon as you open up your doors or begin selling online. There has to be a need in the market for your products or services, and you have to define a target audience you’re going to go after who may be interested in making a purchase from you. If the need isn’t there, then you risk flopping and having to shut your doors or find a new approach.

Finances

You can’t start a business without having the proper funds lined up for how you’re going to quickly get your company off the ground and stabilize. It’s also going to be your responsibility to manage your own books and do your own taxes. Make this task easier on yourself by completing your taxes online through a company such as tax return. Use technology to your advantage to help you take care of important matters in a timely manner and better manage your finances.

Office Location

It’s likely that you’re currently working out of your home or don’t have a real office location yet if you’re just getting started as an entrepreneur. Think about where you want to be located, how much you want to budget for rent each month and the number of seats you’ll be filling throughout the years. Consider where your customers are and if it’s possible to find a prime location at an affordable price that will help you draw in more interest to your business.

Future Goals

It’s going to be tempting to want to focus in on the now and present moment when building a business, but keep in mind that being an entrepreneur also requires you to think about the future. It’s important you set goals for what the upcoming years hold and where you want to take your business going forward. Have a vision mapped out for where you’re heading and how quickly you want to grow and expand your operation.

Conclusion

The truth of the matter is that there’s a lot to contemplate and think about before you commit to becoming an entrepreneur. Review these ideas in detail and come up with a solid plan of attack before you move forward. While it’s a fun way to live your life, keep in mind all the hard work and dedication this job will require of you before you fully jump onboard.

Whether you own your own business or are simply representing one, when you travel abroad for your job you are the face of the company in question. You are the one who is in charge of the company’s success and failure, which is a lot of pressure to take on. It is for these reasons why you need to do all you can to remain level-headed, settle in, and make the most of the opportunity. This means more than trying to secure deals, it means finding the right balance even when you are abroad. Just because it is a business trip, after all, does not mean that you do not have off-time. To make the most of your trip, both professionally and personally, all you need to do is follow this guide:

Making Your Trip More Comfortable

There are a few different aspects to making the most of your working trip abroad, and the first one you need to concern yourself with is your own comfort. Travel is taxing on the body, so better yourself from the start by following these tips:

Be Loyal to an Airline

If you travel a lot for work, try to go with the same airline as much as possible. Gaining points and airline status means you will have access to their lounges, which offer a much more comfortable and dignified space to wait for your plane. If you travel regularly, there is no reason to sacrifice on comfort.

Making Your Commute More Comfortable

Noise-canceling headphones will be your lifeline when it comes to commuting, whether you are traveling by plane, train, boat or bus. If you are in public, being able to drown everything else out will be a critical part of relaxing and enjoying your trip just that little bit more. Other ways you can make your commute more comfortable is to wear layers, so you can always be the perfect temperature, and even bringing protein bars to satiate your hunger, and moisturizer to keep your skin feeling great, will go a long way.

Unpack at the Hotel

If you are going to be staying for a long period of time at a hotel, be sure to unpack. Put your clothes away, hang them up, and generally try to make the room as homely as possible. This simple act of putting your stuff away in the closet or wardrobes is an act of possession. The sooner you feel at home in the room, the better you can relax when you get back from meetings, socializing, or exploring.

Bonus: If you can, book a short-stay rental, which essentially allows you to live in an apartment or house for the duration of your stay. It can be an economical choice that allows you to really settle in if you are expecting to stay a week or longer. Not only can you feel more settled, you can cook your own meals for a bit of variety.

Making Your Trip a Career Opportunity

When you travel for work, you are the representative, which is why to make the most of the opportunity, you should know these top tips:

Know the Cultural Norms

When you set up meetings with those in a different country than yours, it is important to be aware of the cultural norms and niceties. In some countries, punctuality is vital, in others, personal conversation is a necessary prelude to any business conversation. Know what your clients or potential clients expect, so that you don’t come off as rude.

Be Constantly in Contact Without Roaming

Traveling abroad often comes with the rather unfortunate side effect of being disconnected. Even if you can connect to Wi-Fi at your hotel or in the boardroom, that still leaves all other areas up in the air. You want to be able to call and receive calls at a moment’s notice, but relying on roaming will result in high fees. Instead, use an international calling card. Viber’s Viber Out feature allows you to call anyone in the world for very low fees. Though this means you cannot receive calls in the same way, at the very least it means that you can lower costs and keep in touch with your client yourself, no matter where you are. International calling cards prices are much preferable to paying roaming charges, and will help you make the most of every opportunity that comes up.

Take Work Outside of the Boardroom

A great way to further your relationship with those you meet, both for your own company and for networking possibilities, is to take the work out of the boardroom. Go out for lunch, or schedule a dinner, and try to connect with your clients on a more personal basis. This is a great way to make a good first impression, stay social when you are abroad in an unfamiliar city, and make important connections for later on.

How to Make the Most of the City You Are Visiting

Of course, it’s not all work and no play, which is why you need to try to squeeze in more time for yourself as well. You can do this a few ways:

Walk to Where You Need to Work

The best way to truly see a city is to walk in it, so give yourself extra time before any meeting or conference and walk to your destination. If it’s too far away, of course, you could try to take public transport a part of the way and walk the rest. Either way, it’s a great way to really get the feel of a city and still be productive.

Add an Extra Weekend

If you can, try to schedule your work trip so that you can stay an extra day or two after your work wraps up. You will likely have to pay for your accommodation, but at least you can get a free flight back home out of it. Take the time to really explore the city, or rent a car and explore the outer areas. There are so many ways you can make the most of your trip when you have a few days to yourself, so make the most of them!

Traveling for work is both a blessing and a curse, but by following this guide, you can be a better professional and traveler all in one go.