OVER A DOZEN INCREDIBLE CHRISTMAS GIFT IDEAS FOR CREATIVE ENTREPRENEURS AND BUSINESS OWNERS
The holidays are upon us again. You could say I’m thriving over here.
Gift-giving is my love language, so it’s safe to say that I look forward to this season all year long. They don’t call it “the most wonderful time of the year” for nothing. But I’d be remiss if I didn’t call out how weird this season can be for some–especially for those of us with small businesses to maintain.
Here’s the thing: It’s weird to be an entrepreneur. It’s tumultuous. It’s empowering. There are seasons of plenty and seasons of few. It’s devastating. It’s thrilling. Being an entrepreneur is a lot of things, but more often than not, it’s isolating.
When you feel stranded on entrepreneur island, it can be challenging to connect during a season of togetherness. Make the business owner in your life feel seen and understood with a gift made just for them. And hey, maybe the business owner is you (don’t worry–I won’t tell). At the end of the day, what’s the most valuable thing in the life of an entrepreneur? Time. And that’s only because the technology to grow a third arm is unavailable at the present time. Clone machines are also in short supply–I already checked the inventory at Sharper Image.
Time was on the mind when creating this gift guide–how to free it up and savor what the season has to offer. The business owner in your life is going to be head over heels obsessed.
GIFTS, VOUCHERS, AND DIGITAL PRODUCTS
Attorney-approved contract templates by The Artists’ Lawyer: If they’re rocking a less than legit legal strategy, a contract sourced from Google isn’t going to do much in the courtroom–read: lengthy litigation. Help them save time and gain peace of mind with a contract template from the shop.
ShowIt website template by Tonic Site Shop: Make their website look like a million bucks. Tonic is the ultimate destination for ShowIt website templates with drool-worthy design. As longtime clients of The Artists’ Lawyer, I’ll never miss an opportunity to support them.
Bookkeeping by Bench: Few things stifle the creativity of an entrepreneur more than bookkeeping. Analytics, spreadsheets, numbers on numbers… Ack. Make tax time less tedious for the business owner in your life. Bench will do the bookkeeping so they can get back to the work they love.
Get bookkeeping help with Bench
Email marketing by Flodesk: Remember that time you heard them say, “Pretty emails convert like crazy!”? Turns out, they were right. Flodesk is our first choice for aesthetic email marketing and intuitive design, and powerful analytics.
Build pretty emails with Flodesk
Payroll by Gusto: Every entrepreneur knows how important it is to be paid on time–especially during the holidays. Help them do right by their staff with Gusto, the ultimate platform for payroll, benefits, and human resources support for thousands of businesses and their teams around the world.
Social media scheduling by Plann: Content planning made simple. With Plann, social media scheduling is a chore no more. With integrations for LinkedIn, TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram, this tool is the one stop shop that every entrepreneur needs to get content into the world.
GIFTS FOR NEW ENTREPRENEURS
Online courses: There’s a steep learning curve when you’re new to running a small business. Fortunately, there’s hundreds of courses out there taught by savvy entrepreneurs who’ve been there before. When you’re starting out, online courses can be a lifeline, especially when you’re unsure of what to do next—or whether you’re on the right track in the first place. The simple mistakes you make as a beginner can add up fast, for your reputation and your bottom line. Despite how long I’ve been an entrepreneur, I never get tired of taking online courses. There’s always something out there to learn, and how often do we get a peek inside the minds and businesses of the people we look up? There are thousands of educators out there with online courses for purchase, but two of my favorite entrepreneurs who teach about business and creativity in the online space are Jenna Kutcher and Amy Porterfield. For more bang for your buck, hundreds of online courses can be found through a membership to Skillshare.
Browse membership plans with Skillshare
Business cards by Moo: Turns out, mom was right–you don’t get second chances at first impressions. Business cards and stationery are one way to get it done right, the old school way. Plus, who doesn’t love that “too legit to quit” feeling that comes with cracking open a fresh box of business cards? Moo offers business cards, stickers, and stationery for business in an easy to use online interface.
Shop stationery with Moo
Semi-custom brand: Branding as an entrepreneur is crazy valuable. Not only does it give clarity on both sides of the business–for clients and those on the inside–but it provides an aesthetic direction for a brand identity to come to life. For all of the reasons above, branding work can cost a pretty penny. The biggest companies in the world pay millions of dollars for it to be done well. To put it simply, your brand is everything as a business. Designers and brand strategists out there create visual brand identities for purchase without the preamble. It’s a great, affordable option for new businesses looking to be anchored in an identity they can stand behind. Davy and Krista create some of my favorite semi-custom brands for less than $500.
Shop Davy and Krista’s semi-custom brands
Canva templates: Once new branding is in the bag, any entrepreneur would want their sparkling new visual identity to touch every piece of content they share with the world. This is how brand recognition is built! Graphic designers share their templates for Instagram posts, collateral pieces, and more for an affordable price on Creative Market. Colors, logos, and fonts can be changed to align with the visual identity of a brand using Canva, Photoshop, or Illustrator.
Shop templates on Creative Market
GIFTS IDEAS THAT ARE ALWAYS A SAFE A BET
Self-care: Entrepreneurs are skilled in building something from nothing–sometimes, running themselves into the ground is an unfortunate side effect. In other words, self-care can be in short supply for folks running a small business. Spa treatments, skincare, a one-night staycation–they’d love you for it! No entrepreneur would ever turn down a massage. Just saying.
A nice notebook for once: Because their big ideas deserve more than a scrap of scratch paper, don’t you think? My favorite notebooks are from Moleskine–Van Gogh, Picasso, and Hemingway all jotted into a Moleskine at one point or another (true story!).
BUTTON: Shop Moleskine notebooks
Books: For all the time a business owner spends in front of a screen during the day, scheduling time to read (even fifteen minutes!) is a welcome respite, especially when one of these books is on the list.
– Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert
In a nutshell? Find inspiration. Take action. Live an endlessly creative life.
– This Is Marketing by Seth Godin
Consider this the Marketing 101 course from your freshman year of business school–in book format. Also worth reading “All Marketers Are Liars.”
– Building A Storybrand by Donald Miller
There’s a simple framework out there that makes any story compelling, satisfying, and worth our time. Turns out, we can put that same framework into practice in our businesses (and reap the results).
– Atomic Habits by James Clear
Bad habits begone! Need I say more? Required reading to master your mind for serious results.
– Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook by Gary Vaynerchuk
Spoiler alert: Give, give, give, ask. Say hello to the newest marketing strategy to add to your arsenal.
Headphones: All the better to hear you with (on their next Zoom call). Or midday jam sesh. Or guided meditation. For calls on the go, I’m a big fan of AirPods. But for long brainstorming huddles or content creation flow state, an over-the-ear headphone design may be preferred.
Looking for more? Sign up to receive newsletters from my lifestyle brand, Magi Fisher, to shop curated gifts this holiday for intentional entrepreneurs, those with discerning taste, and the one who has everything.