(BPT) - Sponsored by Office Depot OfficeMax
As a small business owner, the holiday season is often your most profitable - and busiest - time of the year. With a third of all retailers making 50 percent of their profits during the holidays1, keeping up with the customer demand alone can be a challenge. Now add that to going to holiday parties, finding gifts for family, friends, clients and colleagues and taking time off to actually relax and enjoy the seasonal festivities - 'the most wonderful time of the year' quickly becomes 'the most stressful time of the year.'
So, what's the solution when looking to take advantage of the busy shopping season AND trying to enjoy some time with your friends and family? The answer is to combine small business and personal holiday tasks as much as you can.
Here are a few tips to help you enjoy this time of year with less stress, thanks to the services and products at Office Depot and OfficeMax.
1. Do as much one-stop shopping as you can
Time is valuable. Find places to shop that carry a variety of items that not only make great gifts for family and friends, but also for clients, bosses and co-workers.
At Office Depot, you can find essential supplies and services, and great gifts for everyone on your list, including yourself. One example is the TUL® Wireless Charging Notebook. A perfect gift for a student, business pro or busy mom on-the-go, this professional-looking leather-discbound notebook now has a built-in wireless charging spot on the cover that is compatible with any Qi-certified Android or Apple smart phone. This notebook can also be tailored to meet your unique style and functionality needs. Punch in business cards and photos or accessorize with a variety of add-ons like a task pad or ruler - you can make it yours. Complete the gift with the TUL® Fine Writing Solid Metal Barrel Ballpoint Pens, which are precision engineered and beautifully crafted, with a professional and luxurious look.
2. Tap into the latest technology
With a hectic holiday season and new year ahead, invest in some new tech for your business. Buy products that are multi-functional and long-lasting to keep you and your business efficient at all times.
The HP Pavilion Convertible 2-In-1 Laptop is a great example. You can take both work and play to the next level with this 2-in-1 laptop, which allows you to touch, tap and glide through its intuitive interface while enjoying versatile typing and viewing positions thanks to the 360-degree hinge. You can surf the Internet with ease with this laptop, and its superior solid-state drive holds plenty of songs, photos, documents and other files. The HP Wide Vision HD webcam allows you to video conference with crisp, clear audio performance, and the dual speakers with HP Audio Boost help bring music and video to life.
3. Get practical
Give the gift of an improved, ergonomic work station. If you're like most people, you've tried everything to make your daily work position more comfortable. The VARIDESK (TM) ProPlus Manual Standing Desk Converter does just that. The sturdy base sits on top of an existing desk, and the upper deck acts as the display surface for monitors. The easily adjustable design offers 11 different height settings, so you can experiment with different levels to find optimal comfort, and to vary your posture while working.
So, you have the desk, now what? No one wants to waste time during the holidays putting furniture together. Office Depot and OfficeMax offer a complete service solution that's equipped to handle customers' business and home office furniture needs.
Your friends, family, business partners and colleagues - especially fellow small business owners - will all appreciate the practical gift solutions and services you can find either online or in-store at Office Depot and OfficeMax. This holiday season, you can even take advantage of free next business-day shipping on qualifying orders of $45 or more. Don't let the holidays stress you out this year. By shopping smart, small business owners can take advantage of a profitable holiday season and conquer their to-do lists so that this holiday season can be the best one yet.
1 October 2018 QuickBooks Self-Employed Survey (http://quickbooks.intuit.com/self-employed)