The Holidays bring a variety of stresses. One of these is what gifts to get. We want to give something unique. We wrack our brains trying to come up with a gift that people can actually use and appreciate.
When gift-giving takes place in an office setting it brings even more stress. Often we don’t know the person very well. We don’t know their specific tastes. We aren’t sure what they already have or what they could really use.
This year try to think outside the gift box. What you give doesn’t have to be a physical present. Many people don’t have room for another nick-knack, but there are gifts that people can use and will really appreciate: time and ego stroking.
A busy executive and his assistant(s) are always looking for ways to improve their efficiency. They need more time. Give them that time by hiring a virtual assistant. A virtual assistant can handle the formatting and data manipulation in a spreadsheet. A virtual assistant can compose business correspondence or arrange travel plans. There are a multitude of tasks that a virtual assistant can do that will give your gift recipient the gift of time.
Bring them into the spotlight with gifts that are all about them.
People who have written essays and books would appreciate having their work turned into electronic books so that they may share them with the rest of the world. Help them go beyond the limited readability scope of an MS Word or Adobe PDF file and make the leap to EPUB. As an EPUB (or other popular ebook format) their work can be more widely enjoyed on a greater variety of electronic devices. Imagine their delight at seeing what they’ve written on a Nook, Kindle, Kobo, or iPad.
People (even shy people deep down) like to hear good things being said about them. This can even be crucial when it comes to business. Consider an audio gift of a “This Is Your Life” presentation. Give them a custom-made audio tour for their website or business. There are plenty of audio ideas that will make the receiver feel great.
Time is something we can all use more of. Ego-stroking is always welcome.
Contact us to discuss your gift-giving needs and budget.
Darla Mittler is the President and CEO of Darla Mittler Document Magic. For over 20 years she has been helping people organize and streamline their businesses
What a lovely idea! We should all add a virtual assistant to our Christmas lists, especially since I hear your company isn’t closing over the holidays
Thanks Vanessa. People don’t usually think about giving intangibles as gifts. I think most writers would be thrilled to receive a gift certificate for formatting, e-book conversion, or editing and proofreading (hint, hint). Yes we are open over the holidays. Virtual assistants are always there.
I know this wasn’t what you were hinting at (I think, haha), but Fireblade Publishers will officially cut the price of an edit in half from today until (and including) 1 January 2013 – on condition the author has already hired DMDM for the formatting and paid a deposit to your company.
Authors, you’d better take advantage before we go on holiday from the 20 to 26
Wow thanks! And a great gift for the author on your list.
I think formatting and editing are the worst parts for most authors. It really is the perfect gift (especially the formatting if you’re anything like me when it comes to that)
I could say the same thing about editing and proofreading. Blah.