Add to Flipboard Magazine. The summer is a fantastic time in many ways. While we try to console ourselves during the winter with feasting and Christmas, it’s the summer when we really get to be out in nature and enjoy ourselves. It’s no surprise, therefore, that during the warmest months of the year, people want to escape the confines and the home and get active. But what sports are out there that’ll have you adventuring all day? Let’s take a look at some of what’s on offer.
Saddle Up: It’s Time To Go Mountain Biking
Mountain biking has evolved considerably over the last 20 years, and for people who haven’t kept up with the latest advances in the field, it can be a bit of a wake-up call. It turns out that the mountain bikes of yesteryear are long gone, especially if you’re willing to dump a bit of money into a proper bike. Whereas the bikes of the past would leave your hand feeling numb and your bottom feeling raw thanks to a lack of impact absorption, modern bikes have great suspension that helps to absorb many of the hits, both big and small. Rather than going offroad being a painful experience, it’s now something that you can genuinely enjoy. Staying in the saddle all day and riding offroad is a distinct possibility, so long as the weather holds up.
Then there are the trails themselves. While a trail center probably won’t keep you occupied all day, it’s worth mentioning that the range and quality of trail centers have improved massively over the last couple of decades. The great thing about trail centers is that they are a sure bet. You know that they’re going to be rideable and that you won’t have to spend our pushing your bike up to the top of the hill, only to have to walk it down again because of the difficulty of the terrain. Trail centers also benefit from bike friendly facilities. This includes things like cafes, bike workshops, toilets and coffee shops, especially at locations popular with non-mountain bikers.
There are downsides to trail centers, of course. One of the problems is that you never really get to explore the wilderness in a way that you could if you are out in nature. Often trail centers are cut into pine forests, meaning that the trails themselves are great, but the views are a little samey. What’s more, you don’t really get that adventuring feeling like you do when you’re out by yourself on your bike in nature. Riding in the wilderness is a different experience entirely, and thanks to improvements in trails up and down the country, it’s now more mountain bike-friendly than ever before. It’s still a good idea, however, to do your research first and find out whether anybody else has traveled the route you’re planning on riding by bike. Sometimes routes can look great on paper but can be ruined by unmarked features or by there being too many walkers.
What About Hiking?
One of the downsides of mountain biking is the amount of time it takes to get setup and the money it costs. Quality mountain bikes start at around $2000 and go up from there. What’s more, getting the suspension serviced every 100 hours or so is a very costly procedure and will set you back a fair amount. Then there are all the other costs, like having the right tools and kit. If you’re not interested in spending a lot of money on a hobby, then biking might not be for you.
The costs of hiking, however, are a lot lower. Even if you decide to buy all the best equipment, you’ll still have plenty leftover to spend on things like accommodation. What’s more, with hiking you have more freedom. There are many trails closed off to bikers, but few trails are closed to hikers. (Usually, these trails are part of trail centers). What’s more, as a hiker, you’re able to visit more epic destinations. Bikers aren’t able to reach the top of mountains usually, but for hikers, it’s a regular occurrence.
Finally, hiking isn’t something that relies as heavily on the fitness of the whole group. Most people are able to keep up with the fittest when walking, which is something that can’t be said for biking.
Kayaking On River Rapids
Being out of the house all day adventuring is something that can be done on water too. Kayaking, like biking, has experienced a bit of a renaissance over the last decade, especially since the Beijing Olympics where it was watched by millions.
If you’ve not done it before, you’ll need to do a bit of preparation. First, you’ll need to find a kayak. There is no best kayak for beginners because the kayak you choose depends on your use. If you’re planning on being out on the river all day long, then you’ll want a touring kayak – a kayak that is usually a lot longer than other types and that is better in unsteady waters.
The most important thing to remember about kayaking is that it is an extremely physical activity that depends on a lot of upper body strength. If you’re not used to it, it can be a bit of a shock. It’s worth spending a few days practicing being in the water before attempting things like rapids to acclimate your body. Over time your muscles will adapt to the movements, but it takes time for this to happen. Just jumping in a kayak and going out for the day probably isn’t a very good idea.
There’s also the fact that kayaking is very dehydrating, especially if you’re wearing a lifejacket and helmet on a warm summer’s day. Make sure that you take plenty of water with you on your trip so that you don’t have to rely on the kindness of strangers.
Once you get the basics nailed, kayaking opens up a whole new world from the water. Some of the most popular kayaking destinations in the world include the Colorado River as well as the Dordogne in France.
https://www.pexels.com/photo/code-coding-computer-data-90807/ Add to Flipboard Magazine. In business, you can have a lot on your plate. Not only do you often have to be the brains behind the firm, but you also have to ensure it runs smoothly too. You can’t be expected to be good at everything, however. Whether you’re a numbers guy or a words girl, you may find that some of the areas in between are a big mind boggling to you. When that’s the case, you’re often best off outsourcing it. This can certainly be the case when it comes to technology. There are so many advances in tech happening all the time, not only will you save time and money by outsourcing certain areas, but you’ll also rest assured that an expert is taking care of things for you.
Printing
If your business has a lot of printing needs, you might find that you can save yourself a lot of work, as well as the time and money, by outsourcing your work to a printing company. Whether you have marketing material to produce, or you use a lot of paper based products in the service you provide, using a professional service will save you on paper and ink and ensure that the result is executed to a high standard.
IT
Unless you are a whizz with information technology, you may want to think about hiring an expert IT company to take over the majority of your IT management. If you have a large business with complex IT needs, it could save you a lot of hassle. If you are in need of a network setup, it would make things a lot easier for you as you will have specialist assistance available as a part of your agreement.
Micromachining
Depending on your type of business, you may be interested in outsourcing micromachining services. If you have a product that you make and want to ensure that you have a company that can execute your laser cutting services, you could save money and issues in the long run by using a firm which is experienced with the technology. It could also save you the initial outlay too.
Social Media
If you’ve never really understood how to create and execute a social media strategy, it could be one of the technological areas that you could benefit from outsourcing. Social media, marketing, and content agencies can ensure that you have a solid social media strategy and keep the conversation going online. If you don’t have the time or the resource to take care of it yourself, you may find a lot of value outsourcing this service.
Website
Owning a website is crucial to most business operations in this day and age. However, it’s not always that easy to create something yourself. If you have specific requirements, but you’re not that skilled with web design yourself, you may want to outsource this. You could also then benefit from the ongoing services website companies can provide, like support, management and even email support too.
Add to Flipboard Magazine. For many, looking after your company will consist of being a personable individual, always with the door open and an open attitude to your employees. This is a great approach to take, but in being open in every sense of the word will leave you open to many things, some things that are worse than the trust you crave. In fact, so many people in an organization will never act with the best of intentions, and they will be the first to leave the company in dire straits. While trust is a vital component, protection is even more so. If you protect your business from every angle, from the tech to the personal, it means that you are maintaining a great line of defense. This should be at the front of your mind whenever you are making a big change in the organization, from scaling up, to letting go of an employee. But how can we do this, and what consists of “total protection?”
Helping your employees to work withefficiency and skill is essential to the development of any company. We teach our staff skills they can implement on a daily basis, and this helps to keep the company maintaining quality output. But what we should be teaching is a sense of self-sufficiency. Instead of dishing out orders and asking people to follow them, we should be deploying the right working practices. For example, the ability to spot someone committing the act of fraud might not be the top of your priority list when it comes to upskilling your staff, but this is something you, as the leader, would and should be acutely aware of. And by teaching the warning signs to your employees, via interactive workshops, you can promote a much wider net of knowledge in preventing fraud. Something like the protection of sensitive data is best understood by giving each of your workers an inherent knowledge of how best to protect the information using their own skills. Self-sufficiency is a far more essential tool now, as businesses expand and teams are harder to manage, so by encouraging people to develop their own knowledge rather than rely on their leaders, it benefits you, and it benefits the company. You are encouraging free-thinkers rather than followers, and this is a far more organic approach to building a line of defense.
Tech is constantly evolving, and with each passing month is a new way to infiltrate a system and to steal reams of sensitive data. Being innovative with your methods is the best way to make your organization thrive on the protection front. There are many antivirus programs and firewalls, and these should all be part and parcel of your tech setup. The big issue for many is the budget, but there are simple security methods you can use. If your company is just starting out, money might be tight, but if you are dealing with important data, and that data is stolen, you will pay a lot more money in fines! A tech budget needs to form part of your overall financial structure because your business is completely reliant on it. Without this, your business will go down the tubes. Being a bit more sophisticated in your security methods doesn’t have to break the bank, but it can involve a bit more personal security. The standard approaches include changing passwords on a regular basis, running scans on a Friday night before leaving, and one simple thing, ID badges! If you have an ID badge with a strip that you can scan, you can see on a database who is in the building at any one time. Once the budget increases, you can get much into more sophisticated methods. Security cameras with intercom or communication capabilities can be set up by a lot of electrical companies like Electrical Connection, and you canfind Electrical Connection here, and upgrade systems as and when you need it. The big factor in introducing better security will mean your company can implement better methods of protection, keeping your employees and your data, secure.
Last, but definitely not least it’s you that needs to get into the habit of protection and precaution. You are the leader of the company, and you dictate the standards set. The phrase “lead by example” comes to mind, and it’s an old saying, but it’s a very salient one when it comes to developing security strategies. You can teach employees how to look after certain items of information, or you can dish out information every week, but will people listen to it if you don’t bother? The real reason companies leave themselves open to protection issues is because they aren’t operating with one vital thing, communication. And it’s a massive cliché, but many businesses are now operating with a more holistic approach to their staff. But you need to set a precedent. How you lead and how you practice what you preach should set an example for everyone else. It’s very easy for a lot of leaders to adopt the “do what I say, not as I do” approach to business. This helps nobody because it makes for a very incoherent organization. Communication should be a constant, and this is developed by a better sense of unity with your employees. You are leading a company, and you need to promote this idea of protection because it’s vital, yet if you aren’t doing this, you’re sending out the wrong message to your employees.
Protection is a human value, yet we are very reliant on tech to do the job for us. It is an essential part, but the other two parts are just as important. By implementing the three different areas, from yourself to the tech and getting your staff to be more self-sufficient, you will secure the future of your business; you will have a secure and protected business; and you will be secure in the knowledge that you are doing everything in your power to look after your company.
Add to Flipboard Magazine. Investments in your office offer you a big ROI, but what offers you an even bigger one is investing in your employees. By investing your time, efforts and money into your staff you get a return on a whole host of things. You induce a relationship and trust between you and them. You better their skill set. And you benefit financially from this bettered set of skills through the work they produce. So, overall, investing in your employees is worthwhile. And it is certainly something you should consider doing the next time you feel your business needs a fresh injection of something.
If you feel that your business cannot seal important deals then your employees could be the answer. You, yourself may be well versed in the field of deal-sealing, but what happens when you’re not around? What happens when you’re off site? The reason why your business is struggling so much in the deal-sealing department is because important clientele may be visiting your office when you are called away from it. To nip this problem in the bud simply invest in training for your employees. You should get them training that ensures they are able to seal a deal when it is asked of them. When your employees are subjected to the Impel Dynamic style of corporate sales training, for instance, you know they are gaining the knowledge and skills needed to seal a deal. On such a training course they would be taught about the art of selling. This would mean they always know how to sell your business. And they would be taught in the art of negotiation. This would mean that if they were ever drawn into a discussion with an important client they could negotiate on your behalf. You should always try to invest your time into distilling knowledge of deal-sealing into your employees whenever you can. For instance, you should make them aware thata deal can be sealed in as little as seven seconds.
There are alsosome unique ways to invest in your employees that you may never have thought about before. Such techniques, when implemented, will not only help your employees but they will also help take your business in a new direction. Investing financially in regards to helping to personally brand your employees is one such technique. By spending your money on things such as uniforms or personal company web presences for your employees you do a number of things. You help to induce a feeling within your employees that you want them to be a part of the team. You also show yourself to external forces that you are a business that appreciates its employees. Therefore, you are boosting employee morale and boosting your business’s marketing campaigns too.
But you shouldn’t just take to investing in your employees only when you feel your business needs to go in a new direction. No, you should try to invest in them at all times. You should always show appreciation to your employees by showing you are willing to invest in them. This is because an employee that garners appreciation is going to want to work harder to garner even more.
When the world of technology starts to bloom, we all benefit. Both in business and in life, the new technological advances can mean that things get easier, quicker and even more enjoyable. Whether you are looking for ways to automate your business or improve your home life, look to tech. Technology continues to create products that work wonders in both business and benefit your lifestyle overall. So if you need an upgrade in either area, these advances should see you through.
Automated Home
First up, if you want to add a cool tech angle to your home, you’re going to want to think about investing in a home hub if you haven’t already. These super cool and easy to use control panels actually automate your home. From controlling the temperature in each room and switching on lights to opening the garage door and switching on the stove, you can control a whole bunch of functions in your home from a tablet or smartphone.
Everything’s Online
In business, it’s no longer necessary to operate with anything physical. If you’re a business owner or a consultant, you can get 99% of your work done online – sometimes even 100%. Whereas years ago, you had to have paperwork and files in your office, now everything can be kept online. Not only can you get all of your old documents scanned into online storage, but you can also pop anything new into cloud storage and access it in a flash.
DIYs A Breeze
If you’re a big DIY fan or even use certain machinery for work, you could make things quicker, easier and more efficient by looking into boss laser cutters. To cut wood and acrylic, you could find this an easier tool to use that hand-sawing or even using something like a disk saw. Committing to DIY projects doesn’t have to be a drag. Even if you have a wood making hobby, new technologies are continuously flourishing to make the cutting process much easier for you.
Photo Fun
Whether you create photos or videos as a part of your job or you’re a budding shutterbug in your spare time, drones might be the kind of technological advance that excites you. Not only can you add impressive panoramic footage into your work, but you can also enjoy the action and adventure of exploration too. If you are into photos as a hobby, you can also now edit and store all of your images online within a few minutes. Years ago, Photoshop used to be a tremendous skill that not anyone understood. Nowadays, there is photo editing software that is more user-friendly, along with simple filters that can jazz up your shots in seconds.
Remote Operations
As a business owner, you often feel the pressure of having to get everything done yourself. It’s easy to see why bigger companies have set departments for things like finance, sales and customer service. But, when you work for yourself, you can easily solve the problem by outsourcing certain tasks to remote freelancers. With the presence of things like Skype, you can now connect with those across the country that can virtually carry out tasks so that you don’t have to.
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