Fashion hacks for Summer

1.Keep your clothes loose. The looser, the better. The less fabric you have actually touching your body, the cooler you will be. Believe it or not, a loose and and flowing maxi dress will keep you cooler than a pair of shorts and a skintight tank. 

2. Skip the padded bra in favor of a soft, unlined bralette. Three inches of foam padding + a hot summer day = major boob sweat.

3. Avoid flimsy fabrics if you don't want your clothes to stick to your body. Lightweight fabrics are great for hot weather, but they need to have a little structure so that they don't just cling to your body the second you start to sweat.

4. Layer with open-weave knits. That way you will be able to feel every glorious, cooling breeze.

5. Choose clothes in natural fabrics. Cotton, for instance, is much more breathable than polyester or rayon. It's also better at absorbing sweat and dries faster, which means you won't feel sweaty as long as you would if your clothes were made of synthetic fabric.

6. Take a nice, hot shower to lower your body temperature, and wash off any dirt and dead skin cells that could be making you hotter. A cold shower might feel more satisfying in the moment, but your body will react by actually raising your internal temperature. You'll find yourself sweating again before you've even left the house.

7. Make sure your clothes are as fresh and clean as you are. Rewearing your clothes between washes is a great way to avoid doing laundry, but even light wear leaves dirt, sweat, skin cells, and cosmetics trapped in the fibers of your clothes, which makes them less breathable and you hotter.

8. Avoid embellishments — particularly heavy embellishments like beading or anything made of metal. Embellishments weigh your clothes down so they are closer to your skin, trapping body heat. They're also just another layer between your skin and the next cooling breeze.

9. Bring shade with you wherever you go by wearing a wide-brimmed hat or carrying a lightweight, woven scarf in your bag. Drape the scarf over your shoulders or head whenever you feel like you are getting a bit too much sun. It's so lightweight that you'll barely feel it. 

10. Only wear unlined jackets, skirts, and dresses. Not only is a lining one more layer between your skin and the air, it's often synthetic, which mean it won't breathe well and will leave you feeling like you are walking around inside your own private sauna.

11. Stick to light colors. Dark colors absorb light and make you that much hotter while light colors reflect light and help keep you cool.

12. Wear as little jewelry as possible. Earrings are fine because they don't really touch much of your skin, but necklaces, bracelets, and rings can often be more trouble than they're worth once temperatures start to rise. Lightweight chains stick to your skin, heavy necklaces trap your shirt against your chest, metals get hot, and bracelets cover your wrists, which are a major cooling point on your body.

15 Tips for Business

Always make sure there is and will be enough cash in the bank.

Period. The most common business-failure mode, hands down, is running out of cash. If you know you’ve got a cash flow or liquidity problem coming up, fix it now.  

You can’t fire bad employees fast enough.

You just can’t. Just make sure you know they’re the problem, not you (see next tip).

The problem is probably you.

When I was a young manager, my company sent us all to a week of quality training where the most important concept we learned was that 90 percent of all problems are management problems. When things aren’t going well, the first place to look for answers is in the mirror. 

Take care of your stars.

This goes for every company, big and small. The cost of losing a star employee is enormous, yet business leaders rarely take the time to ensure their top performers are properly motivated, challenged, and compensated.

Your people are not your kids, your personal assistants, or your shrink.

If you use and abuse them that way, you will come to regret it. Capiche?

Learn to say "yes" and "no" a lot.

The two most important words business owners and founders have at their disposal are “yes” and “no.” Learn to say them a lot. And that means being decisive. The most important reason to focus – to be clear on what your company does – is to be clear on all the things it doesn’t do.

Listen to your customers.

It boggles my mind how little most entrepreneurs value their customers when, not only are their feedback and input among the most critical information they will ever learn, but their repeat business is the easiest business to get.

Learn two words: meritocracy and nepotism.

The first is how you run an organization – by recognizing, rewarding, and compensating based solely on ability and achievement. The second is how you don’t run an organization – by playing favorites and being biased.

Know when and when not to be transparent.

Transparency is as detrimental at some times as it is beneficial at others. There are times to share openly and times to zip it. You need to know when and with whom to do one versus the other. It comes with experience.

Trust your gut.

This phrase is often repeated but rarely understood. It means that your own instincts are an extremely valuable decision-making tool. Too often we end up saying in retrospect and with regret, “Damn, I knew that was a bad idea.” But the key is to know how to access your instincts. Just sit, be quiet, and listen to yourself.

Protect and defend your intellectual property.

Most of you don’t know the difference between a copyright, trademark, trade secret, and patent. That’s not acceptable. If you don’t protect and defend your IP, you will lose your only competitive advantage.

Learn to read and write effective agreements.

You know the expression “good fences make good neighbors?” It’s the same in business. The more effective your agreements are, the better your business relationships will be. 

Run your business like a business.

Far too many entrepreneurs run their business like an extension of their personal finances. Bad idea. Very bad idea. Construct the right business entity and keep it separate from your personal life.

Know your finances inside and out.

If you don’t know your revenues, expenses, capital requirements, profits (gross and net), debt, cash flow, and effective tax rate – among other things – you’re asking for trouble. Big trouble.

You don’t know what you don’t know.

Humility is a powerful trait for leaders, and that goes for new business owners, veteran CEOs of Fortune 500 companies, and everyone in between. More times than not, you will come to regret thinking you knew all the answers.

Behind every failed company are dysfunctional, delusional, or incompetent business leaders. The irony is, none of them had the slightest idea that was true at the time. Even sadder, most of them still don’t. Don't end up like one of them.

Happy New Month of June

Hi people, am back! I have been so busy making a baby and taking care of her. It was a wonderful experience and I enjoyed every bit of it. My little bundle of joy gives me so much happiness that I think my heart would burst if that was possible from JOY. Now back to business.