Have you ever thought about how we celebrate our friends when they get a new job, buy a house, get engaged/married, or have a baby, but we don’t really celebrate new businesses?

I’ve been SO blessed to have the most supportive friend group who have encouraged me as I venture out in business. And I thought maybe the reason we don’t know how to celebrate our friend’s new business is that we don’t know how to, or what to give them.

So this is my version of a business baby registry. You can take these ideas, or use them as a springboard for gifting your business bestie.

Home Gifts

Being an entrepreneur usually means we are a one-woman show, doing it all. And if we are living with other people, or have a family, chances are we are working and striving to keep our home somewhat functional.

In the first year of my business, I had a busy season and I didn’t even have enough time to cook dinner for Zach and me. So we lived off mac n cheese and take out for a few days. (Which is okay, but not what Zach and I wanted for our family.)

I also did not have ANY time to clean my house. So I know from personal experience that these items below would have been a LIFE-SAVER for our family.

Meal services

• Hello Fresh
• Home Chef
• Blue Apron
• You can also set up a meal train for your friends to deliver so the business owner can focus

Cleaning services

• Find a cleaning service
• Or come offer to clean up for them!

Decluttering + professional organizer

I will always scream from the rooftops about my friend Sarah from Hello Clutter. She is local to North Carolina but also offers virtual consultations. You can gift a session to your business owner friend so they can get rid of clutter and say hello to a clean space.

Home Office Gifts

As we are building out our businesses things like office supplies become necessary. But I’d check with your business bestie before you get some of these things.

• Printer, paper, and ink
• Basic office supplies: pens, paper clips, mouse pad, blue light glasses
• Coffee or tea (try a subscription program or supply from David’s Tea)
• Planners (my favourite is from Rifle Paper Co)
• Laptop bag
• Ring Light
• Tripod
• Book Shelf (This one is easy to assemble and my personal favourite)
• Laptop shelf
• Multiple USB Port
• Hard drives
• Water bottle

You could offer to print some of their marketing materials as well–business cards, postcards, brochures. These might sound trivial, but being able to have someone help with the basic office needs can go really far!

Gift a Business Book

Education is really important for business owners, same with mindset. These are a few books that I really enjoyed reading at the beginning of my business and I love recommending them to others. You can gift these books to your business bestie to help encourage their mindset and further their education.

• E Myth
• You are a Badass at Making Money
• Deep Work
• Atomic Habits
• Profit First
• Essentialism
• How to Win Friends and Influence People

Business Tool Subscriptions

Giving your business bestie something that they can use to help ease a load of subscriptions in the first year as they kick off their business.

These are some of the tools that I use daily in my business and I know would be helpful for your business bestie.

• Moyo Studio Mockups *affiliate link
• The Noun Project
• Profit Sheet by Elizabeth McCravy *affiliate link

Gifts on a Budget

If you have a tight budget, but also want to support your business bestie, here are some free things you can do TODAY to support them!

Not all gifts for your business bestie have to be monetary. Being able to cheer them on goes further than you may realize. And it makes running a business a little less lonely!

• Share their work (frequently!!!)
• Tell your friends about them
• Refer, Refer, Refer!
• Engage with their work on social media to help their marketing

Is there anything else you’d add to this list? I’d love to know! And if you’re a business owner, let me know the best way that you feel supported by your community, and I can add those in for next year.