BE A HOLIDAY HERO FOR THE ENTREPRENEURS IN YOUR LIFE

Entrepreneurs offer a unique blend of passion, purpose and drive. Fortunately each share a set of common challenges as they build their businesses. Here are our top ten gift suggestions guaranteed to make you a hero this holiday season.

  • Better Brainstorming

Give the gift of better brainstorming with a custom home or office wall, dedicated to exploring ideas, playing with new concepts, erasing mistakes, or just having fun. Idea Paint lets you create a giant whiteboard,  perfect to create, erase, and repeat. New IdeaPaint clear allows you to create a whiteboard on just about any surface, on any colour.  

  • A Caffeine Fix

For those late nights and early mornings, give the entrepreneur in your life a reliable caffeine fix. Coffee makers continue to evolve, both in terms of performance and design and there are lots of stylish options, making it a perfect gift for either home or office.  Ratio Coffee does a beautiful job of blending design and function, or you can try something more customized by picking their favourite colour from the Pantone Coffee Pot collection. Pair it with a Craft Coffee subscription for the perfect gift.  For entrepreneurs on the go, Awake Chocolate makes a perfect stocking stuffer, providing the equivalent caffeine as what you’d find in a cup of coffee – only in a chocolate bar.

  • A Style Upgrade

For new founders, any moment could be the one you meet your next investor. Make sure your entrepreneur looks pitch-perfect at all times with clothes and accessories built for busy schedules. J.Crew makes well-fitting, anti-wrinkle shirts that stand up to long days while still looking fresh and crisp, even if you’re not. Or try these functional pocket squares from Meet Hank, which are as practical as they are stylish, doubling as a holder for your mobile phone or other small accessories.

  • Exercise Hacks

A common complaint among entrepreneurs is difficulty finding time to hit the gym. Entrepreneur hours make it hard to get more exercise than a walk to the photocopier. You can eliminate excuses by integrating physical activity into their day-to-day activities with things like treadmill desks (yes, they actually exist) or active chairs, like this one, which can help strengthen core muscles and increase overall movement. Or try a product that encourages quick, five-minute stretching breaks, like these Yoga Wheels, which are perfect for repairing the damage of a day spent hunched over a computer.

  • A Healthier Heart (and stomach)

Hectic schedules make healthy eating next to impossible. Most entrepreneurs struggle

constantly with finding enough time to make good choices when it comes to grabbing a quick lunch. Gifts that provide fast, healthy, easy options are the best (and sometimes only) way to make sure your entrepreneur is eating his veggies. Things like a  Desktop Garden, or a healthy meal delivery subscription service take the work out of staying healthy & fit.  

  • A Recharge

Send your entrepreneur on a solo holiday, and give the gift of space. There are lots of retreats for over-stressed minds that offer (and enforce) stillness, silence, and a chance to recharge. The Sha Wellness Clinic in Spain is guaranteed to send your entrepreneur home refreshed, recharged, and ready to get back in the saddle. For a budget-friendly alternative, try a pack of yoga sessions or a month-long membership at SoulCycle.

  • A get-out-of-jail free card

Family, friends or partners of entrepreneurs are used to a hectic, ever-changing lifestyle. How about a custom-designed get-out-of jail free card for those inevitable last minute bail outs. For instance: “This coupon entitles you to one late arrival to our Weekly Status Meeting/Sunday Dinner/Date Night.” Trust us, this gift will go a long way to providing much-needed peace of mind during stressful situations.

  • Digital Notebooks

Perfect for scribbling ideas or updating to-do lists, notebooks are often an entrepreneur’s best friend. But you can turn a traditional tool into a holiday hero with Moleskin’s new LiveScribe book-to-tablet technology. Scribble in your notebook and see it instantly transcribed on your phone, tablet or laptop, eliminating the need to transfer data from one device to another. Plus, the range of options is ultra stylish, letting you choose from a variety of colours, sizes and styles, for a perfectly customized gift.

  • The Slam Dunk

No doubt the most requested item on Santa’s list this year will be the Apple Watch, and with good reason. There are literally dozens of ways which the watch can enable entrepreneurs to save time, increase productivity and generally simplify daily tasks like emails, meetings and directions.  For the Android lover, Samsung’s Gear S range has options that allow you to connect to a variety of external devices, take and make calls, send texts and emails, and keep track of calendar appointments. An added benefit of wearable technology: the ability to stealthily check emails without having to pull out your phone during meetings.

  • Bring the Outdoors In

For the times when they spend more time inside than out, brighten their day by bringing the outdoors in. Instead of traditional (and finicky) options like orchids or terrariums, opt for plants that require basic care. Try a self-watering planter, or a Smart Garden Kit that basically grows by itself, using technology to monitor vital signs of your buds.

Regardless of which gift you choose, ultimately what matters most to any entrepreneur is your support. Which is free, but more valuable than anything you can buy with your debit card. Happy holidays!