At this time of year, we're all gearing up for buying Christmas gifts for family, friends, school teachers, and even maybe the family pet! But as a business owner, have you ever thought about treating yourself or a business owner bestie? In my guide for small business owners, I'll run through some gift ideas that you might like to treat your business ready for the new year! Some of these are items that I've bought personally and can recommend. Others are items that I've seen around online or recommended by others.
Please note that not all of these gift ideas are allowable business expenses if you buy them yourself. Item prices are correct at the type of writing (November 2022). I don't receive any incentive for promoting items listed and in some cases have purchased items myself.
GIFTS FOR FILMING & PHOTOS
A tripod is an essential piece of kit for filming and photos. As well as keeping your camera or camera steady, you can also use it as a second pair of hands meaning that you can get in front of the camera if you'd like! Tripods like this start from £14.
Lights are also an essential piece of kit if you are filming indoors, especially in the winter months when the days are shorter. This set has its own tripods which are really handy!
In terms of editing photos, if you prefer to do this on your phone, I recommend getting one of these handy little leads which connect an SD card to your phone (my link is for iPhones). I use Snapseed which is a free app. Then you're free to upload your photos to online storage, or post on your social channels!
GIFT IDEAS FOR GETTING ORGANISED
Whether you prefer digital or paper systems, I've got three ideas for you to get organised on a day-to-day and longer-term basis!
First up, a recommendation from me - a Hello Time planner which I've just reordered for 2023! I'm a big fan of time blocking and the vertical layout on the week-to-view layout allows me to see what's coming up at a glance. It's an undated planner which you can personalise with stickers, There's also plenty of notebook space to write up goals, to-do lists and other notes.
If you attend lots of events, run workshops or produce goods on a seasonal basis, you might need to have a bigger view of what's going on, so why not invest in a wall planner? This one from Butler & Hill is laminated and includes a marker so you can easily wipe and update it if your plans change!
If you prefer to manage your schedule and to-do list digitally, I'd recommend Todoist. For just £4 a month, you can create your own to-do list on an app. I use this and a paper planner to make sure I'm not forgetting anything, especially deadlines or important jobs for work and home life!
GIFT IDEAS TO BOOST CREATIVITY & CONCENTRATION
In this section, I'm suggesting items that can boost your creativity and concentration.
Especially in the colder winter months, it's important to keep warm. Feeling cold can disrupt your concentration so why not wrap up in a cosy blanket (it could even be an electric blanket that could be cheaper than heating the room you work in) at your desk, I can also recommend wearing some cosy slippers from Ciora. My top tip is to subscribe to their newsletter before ordering to get 10% off your first order!
Two more suggestions for boosting concentration, and these are for those of you that enjoy music while you work! If you really struggle with your concentration being disrupted by background noise, you could invest in some noise cancelling headphones so that your favourite motivating playlist takes centre stage.
If you share a Spotify account with a loved one that you live with, you could also upgrade to Duo. Having Duo means that you have your own account, which means no taking turns listening to tunes or sharing playlists. Great if you or your partner have very different music tastes (as me and Mr B do)!
For creativity especially when creating any kind of digital content, I would highly recommend a Canva Pro subscription (£99.99 when paid annually, or £10.99 a month). It has thousands of templates for images, videos and many more kinds of visual content and documents.
GIFT IDEAS TO BRIGHTEN UP YOUR DESK & OFFICE
If like me you love plants and flowers on your desk, but have a tendency for killing them, felt alternatives could be for you! Felt so Good have a wide selection to choose from - I love the range of cacti!
One shop for stationery lovers I have to mention is Pencil Me In. There is a shop that you can visit in Elgin, but there's also an online shop too, including personalised pencils that you can order!
Have my gifting ideas inspired you, or have you got any other suggestions?
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