2020 has been a hard year for all of us but for small business owners especially, it has been extra stressful while also full of opportunities.  This holiday season we thought we'd put together a gift guide for all those small business owners making it work every day.  As guitar builders, repairers and sellers, there's a lot on your plate!  So, here's some gift ideas just for you.

1.  A cool holder/stand for your phone - the reality is that as a small business owner, you're pretty well tethered to your technology.  Texts, DMs, comments and questions are flying in all the time.  This stand for your phone keeps it out of your way but also visible PLUS it looks killer.  (Bonus points to any of you CNC owners who can build one yourself, but that seems like a case of the cobbler's children have no shoes ...)

2.  This idea is on the pricy side but ties into that technology thing ... a social media counter.  Social media is the biggest tool in a small business owner's tool kit - a free way to interact directly with customers.  While I can see some arguments for not getting to deep into the weeds regarding number of followers, having a tangible visual of one metric of your business could be motivating.  Plus it has that cool flappy paddle retro display thing going.

3.  Office supplies that make filing fun (?)  The last thing any craftsperson or maker wants to do is the no fun administrative side of business ownership.  So maybe an organization system that looks good helps?  Besides decorative file folders, our label maker is a huge "highly recommend" as well.  (Our model is discontinued but this one is similar - just make sure you get the labels with the removeable backs that split in half to make your life way easier!).  

4.  Ergonomic supports - we have this wobble stool in our cart.  It is height adjustable for standard desk or countertop heights.  It's a good "perch" and the wobble aspect helps engage your core and keep back pain at bay.  As a former accredited interior designer, I could go into a lot of the studies/science on this stuff but I think you get it - sitting a lot and also poor posture from stooping over a workbench are no bueno.   

5. And for when the back pain does set in,  another item in our cart is this marblized foam roller.  It has a nice look for when it's just sitting around and maybe it can help release some of those on-your-feet-on-a-hard-floor-all-day-with-bad-posture aches.  We also have this acupressure mat which is a nice way to relax for 15 minutes and rejuvenate.  I guess that's the whole self care thing - which is super important for a small business owner!  

6. Who wouldn't love a cool banner or pennant or poster to hang up in your workspace, akin to Marge Simpson's "Hang In There Baby" cat poster inspiration.  I've had my eye on these banners from Oxford Pennant for a while, I especially appreciate the Wilco collaboration "I Am Trying To Break Your Heart" one (try saying that without singing it, not possible!)  Bonus points if you gift a custom logo banner (we have one from Vistaprint that we used for the Phoenix Guitar Show.) 

7.  Some other workspace perk-ups: make it smell nice with incense or candles.  I love the Spice Orange scent from Divine Scentsations and am interested in trying out some of the Golden Gem's candles like Sonora which had me at vetiver and cedarwood.  A nice smelling workspace might seem silly but it can make a huge difference!  If you have natural light in your workshop, I am also a huge plant proponent.  An easy one I have had forever is the ZZ plant (Zamioculcas Zamiifolia, just remember ZZ Top).  It likes to be ignored, can tolerate a lot and if you forget to water it for a while, it goes dormant but stays green.   

Besides all these items above, what are JT and I asking Santa for this year?

Well JT is a hot sauce MONSTER - he puts it on everything and basically drinks it like water.  He's perfected his own habanero hot sauce but also loves pretty much anything in the medium category from Heatonist.   I heard about these cool guitar string rings from Instagram from Strings for Hope.  They have a lot of pretty stuff and it's a great way to reuse all those old strings (plus each purchase helps survivors of addiction, domestic violence, and human trafficking).  

 Happy gifting to all in 2020!  We of course have guitar parts galore and of course some cool merch as well, so send our website along to anyone who's not sure what to get you!