Anyone else shimmy through the holiday season with the motto of “One for you, two for me?”
Just me? Oh.
Well, I *am* a firm advocate of treating yourself, too. There’s no denying that the fourth quarter is a special kind of hectic for entrepreneurs. In addition to treating yourself to nights of quality sleep, hot baths, and some solid nutrition, Team Lucky Break votes that you treat yourself to some tools to make your 2018 a wee bit easier, too. I asked the team to pull together a few of our favorite recommendations for your personal holiday wish list and I love what they came back with. Fire up your Amex and treat yo’ self!
Melissa is Lucky Break’s Operations Manager. She lives in Windsor Locks, CT and is a mama to the cutest two-year-old on the planet (If you also have a two-year-old, then my apologies. But have you seen Ryan?). When she’s not managing all of our projects and working to keep me on track, she’s building a paper empire over at Print Therapy.
Meet Melissa’s entrepreneurial BFF’s…
1. Hatch Notebook: It’s a notebook to jot down, flesh out, and turn ideas into products. Find it here.
2. Self Journal: A three-month planner set specifically to help you achieve three set goals. Find it here.
3. Bumble and Bumble Pret-A-Powder: The world’s BEST dry shampoo, for when you’re on day three of non-stop work and have to leave the house. Find it here.
Sweet Shannon is my Sweet Sister from the Dirty South. Notice that I capitalized all those letters because that’s actually a formal title, and my fourth-grade teacher (Hi, Ms. Norman!) taught me that you *always* capitalize formal titles. Anyway, Shannon is the keeper of the creative at Lucky Break… she makes all of the things 37x prettier than they would otherwise be. When not making Lucky Break (and our clients) look sharp, Shannon is chasing after her two kiddos (Georgia and Ryland), being craftier than Melissa and I put together, and making moms everywhere look good with her newly-launched brand Hettie Joan. She lives in Huntsville, Alabama.
1. Dymo LabelWriter 4XL Thermal Label Printer: This has been a freaking life changer in so many ways and I don’t know why I didn’t invest in one sooner. Find it here. PRO TIP: Sign up with eBates and you can earn 3% cash back on it. *wink*
2. You Are a Badass 2018 Day-to-Day calendar: I haven’t finished this book yet but I really like it so far. And I love day-to-day calendars on my desk. So I totally want this. It’s literally on my Amazon wishlist. Find it here.
3. Amazon Echo: These things are amazing and we have not only bought several for our house, but given quite a few to friends and family as gifts this year. It’s revolutionary as a hands-free personal assistant, music device, entertainment source, etcetera. Find it here.
Hi… it’s me. So what do I do for Lucky Break? I build all of our curricula, execute each of our client consults, and dream up new projects (70% of which Shannon and Melissa say “no” to!). When I’m not running a business, I’m trying desperately to keep up with two teenage girls (Mercy, why didn’t someone tell me how busy that was going to keep me?) and perfecting my Southern pie recipes. 2017 delivered a family move to Atlanta and I’m completely smitten with living in the A!
1. Vitruvi Essential Oil Diffuser: Diffusers have a reputation for being *ahem* less-than-pretty. Vitruvi creates beautiful ceramic diffusers that look chic in any room. I diffuse all the live long day. A “focus” blend when I’m building new classes, a nice lavender when I’m feeling flustered, peppermint when migraines start creeping in. I’ll take all the magical essential oil voodoo I can take, thankyouverymuch. Find it here.
2. Bose Revolve speaker: It’s NPR in the morning and Drake + Jay-Z in the afternoon at my house. This petite speaker packs a powerful punch and I toss one in my suitcase when I travel for work, too. For my fellow ADHDers, background noise helps you focus. I know that seems weird, but I also swear that it works! Find it here.
3. Felt Laptop Sleeves from Byrd & Belle: They’re soft yet durable, minimalist and modern, and made from start-to-finish right here in the US of A. Find them here.
I hope that Santa brings you something special under the tree. Have a recommendation for other entrepreneurs? We’re all ears… please leave a comment below!