As the holidays quickly approach I thought I'd share something a bit fun and lighthearted and different than what I usually share. Seeing as how I work with mainly business women, most of whom work from home at least a portion of the time, I wanted to share some of my gift ideas to make the holidays special for them. I also asked for ideas in The Biz Studio and got a lot of great ideas there as well, so I'm putting all of them together for this first ever edition of the work-from-home business woman's gift guide!
Help them plan
If there's one thing business owners are always looking for, it's more time. The more organized they can be - the better. There are a lot of really fabulous planners out there, here are a few I've used or know are really popular and people find a lot of success with them.
Productive! - This planner is designed by my business coach, Shelagh Cummins, and is all about figuring out what your power moves are and working towards them. They've just arrived in Canada for shipping so check them out.
Leonie Dawson has a whole package that I order every year. It comes with a planner, but also with workbooks that are designed to get you thinking about what you achieved in the previous year and how you're going to make the next year exactly what you want it to be, in both your life and business. It's pretty and all the graphics are hand drawn by her.
Planner Pad - This is a planner I've purchased several times over the years and works on a funnel down approach. You list everything you have to do at the top of the week and funnel it down to when it will actually get done.
Passion Planner is a planner I haven't personally used, but know a lot of people who really love it. They like that it balances the personal side of what needs to be done with the business side, It also includes sections that help you figure out what you want to do and how to break down the steps to achieve them.
Pretty paper and pens
Entrepreneurs like pretty stationary and fancy pens. Like, we really love them. Whether it's a gift card or a pretty journal, these are almost always a great gift idea (with the exception of a few people who have fully embraced the paperless way of life :)
Scribe Delivery - My husband got me this for my birthday and I literally squeal when I get my package every month. So many fun notebooks and pens!
A gift certificate for the things they are regularly ordering - Vista Print, Staples, etc
Pens! Lots of pens! (I think I could get 365 new pens every year for Christmas and still have days where I can't find one) ;)
Technology
We entrepreneurs use our tech a lot, and if you're anything like me, they wear our way faster than you'd like. I'm going to admit to my Apple bias here, but I'm sure there are great equivalents in Android and whatever the other tech is that I pretend doesn't exist.
A new phone - we spend time on our phones, A LOT. Having the latest and greatest just feels good.
A new tablet - I don't even have a tablet any more to be honest, and a tablet is a great place to do a lot of the readings we're always doing to stay on top of our industries and our business game.
A new lap top - just like our phones, we spend a lot of time on these and there is little more frustrating that having them crash or tell us there is no more hard drive space. A brand new shiny laptop that runs quickly and without stress is an entrepreneur's dream.
A smart watch - I always notice when people are wearing these and they just seem tech forward. I'm not necessarily one to run with the crowd but I'll admit, there's a lot of envy there.
No more cleaning, no more cooking
A huge theme that comes up is having someone else take care of the cooking and cleaning (a lot of my examples for these are local, but I'm sure you can find something similar close to where you live).
There are all kinds of great local services for cleaning that you can look in to and you can also check out personal chef services (The Magic Fridge is a local one run by a friend of mine) that take the stress out of shopping, cooking and cleaning up after you cook.
There are also lots of services like Hello Fresh (that link will give you $50 off your first order) and Chef's Plate that will mail you all the ingredients for a set amount of meals per week, taking the stress of planning and shopping out of your weekly schedule and also making the recipes really easy to follow with relatively little prep required. There's also Supperworks where you can go and assemble everything you need for your own meals or pay a bit extra and they'll assemble everything you need.
But if they do need to cook, they might love some cooking classes.
Pampering
A gift certificate to their favourite spa or for a massage was high on the list for many of the entrepreneurs in my group.
A day away at a spot like Le Nordik or Scandinave Spa for example.
A massage from a local clinic is also always appreciated, such as Byward Massage Therapy Clinic or the Massage and Treatment Clinic in Orleans.
Bring on the drinks!
Beer, wine, coffee, tea - we like a variety of drinks as entrepreneurs, whether it be for during the day or for when we put our feet up at the end of the day. Here are a few ideas when it comes to the drinks department. I'm a big fan of subscription services in this category. :)
Beer subscription service - we get Brew Box here in Ontario but there are many great ones.
Nespresso is a popular coffee machine with lots of varieties of coffees - even better if more comes to your door every month.
How about a box of wine delivered to you every three months? If only I liked red wine this would be perfect for me.
Meaningful bling
A piece of jewellery that speaks to our goals and dreams is a thoughtful way to commemorate all the hard work business women do.
I know for one I would love a bracelet like this from Citrus Silver with my word for 2018 stamped on it (my word for 2017 was Open and I think I'm going to write a blog post soon to share my 2018 word with everyone!)
Health, fitness and wellness
For the business owner who wants to stay fit but doesn't have the time to make it to the gym a lot, this one year membership to the 15 Minute Workout Club will be a way for her to easily in sneak those effective workouts.
Help one of your favourite business owners celebrate her creative side and send her off to this weekend women's retreat (I'll be there!) in February where she can play and connect and create out in the peaceful country air.
A sweet ride
I may not have added this on to the list but an amazing amount of suggestions were new cars. So if that's in your budget this year you may want to consider:
A Tesla
A Jeep (like MacGyver drove. That's been my dream vehicle since childhood. ;)
I had fun thinking of all the ways we could celebrate the entrepreneurs in our lives - maybe this sparked a few ideas for you. Leave me a comment letting me know if you'll be adding any of these to your shopping list!
To note: A few of these are affiliate links, most are not, but all are things I truly believe in and nothing is included just to make a buck :)