Creative Business Shower Ideas To Celebrate Entrepreneurship

Inspired by Elon Musk’s business shower tweet, here are some business shower ideas to support new ventures and celebrate entrepreneurship.

Business showers are a fresh, inspiring way to rally around entrepreneurs at the start of their business journey. Unlike baby showers, which celebrate new life, business showers focus on celebrating and supporting a new business.

Elon Musk suggested the idea, famously saying, “Instead of baby showers, let’s host business showers. When a friend starts a business, we can all come together, celebrate them, and bring resources for their business start.”

Elon Musk’s suggestion to replace baby showers with business showers has inspired many to adopt this new tradition. His idea resonates deeply with the entrepreneurial community, especially because starting a business can be as daunting as raising a child.

This concept has even sparked the keyphrase “Elon Musk business shower” or “Elon Musk baby shower business shower,” showing how Musk’s words have resonated with people seeking to support their entrepreneurial friends.

His quote captures the essence of a business shower: offering practical support and encouragement to help entrepreneurs launch successfully.

“Instead of baby showers, let’s host business showers. When a friend starts a business, we can all come together, celebrate them, and bring resources for their business start.” ~ Elon Musk

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What is a Business Shower?

A business shower is a gathering to honor and support someone starting a new business. Beyond celebrating, it is a time to provide entrepreneurs with resources, ideas, and advice.

This unique event also emphasizes community involvement in a startup’s success, creating a foundation for the new venture to thrive. The business shower meaning goes beyond just a celebration — it’s a chance to provide tangible resources to help build a business.

Business Shower Ideas: What to Do at a Business Shower

Wondering what to do at a business shower? Here are some activity ideas to keep the celebration engaging and meaningful:

#1. Networking sessions

Give guests a chance to connect and share contacts or ideas, enhancing the entrepreneur’s network. Set up designated networking stations with themed topics relevant to the business (e.g., “Marketing Connections” or “Supplier Introductions”).

Guests can rotate through these stations, exchanging contact information, sharing resources, and offering potential referrals. For instance, if the business is a new café, a “Local Suppliers” station could introduce the entrepreneur to local farmers, coffee bean suppliers, or bakery owners.

This creates a collaborative environment where attendees contribute directly to the business’s growth.

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#2. ‘Risky business’ brainstorming

This fun “risky business shower” activity involves guests discussing potential challenges the business might face and offering solutions. Organize a fun, informal brainstorming session focused on identifying and addressing potential risks the business owner might encounter.

Divide attendees into small groups, give each group a hypothetical risk scenario (e.g., “What if a key supplier doubles their prices?” or “How to handle unexpected competition?”), and let them brainstorm solutions.

This “risky business shower” activity generates innovative ideas and allows the entrepreneur to hear different perspectives on handling challenges. At the end, groups can share their ideas, creating a supportive problem-solving atmosphere.

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#3. Sharing business goals

The entrepreneur can present their vision, goals, and challenges, allowing guests to offer input and advice. Arrange a short presentation where the entrepreneur shares their business vision, specific goals, and any hurdles they anticipate facing.

For a new online boutique, you could discuss plans to reach 1,000 followers on social media in six months or challenges in finding affordable shipping solutions. This allows guests to provide feedback, suggest strategies, and even pledge to help (e.g., by sharing social media posts or introducing them to shipping providers).

You can also create a Vision Board with inspirational quotes, power words, affirmation cards, blank checks, and more to help you create your ultimate business vision. Including a Q&A session afterward encourages interaction and lets guests feel involved in the business’s journey.

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#4. Gift-giving and support circles

Just like a baby shower, attendees can bring practical and supportive business shower gifts for the new venture.

Guests can bring business shower gifts to directly support the business, such as a high-quality planner, a subscription to design software, or even a new logo design created by a graphic designer friend.

After the gift-giving, create a “support circle,” where each guest shares how they plan to help, such as offering advice on a specific topic, being an initial customer, or providing industry contacts.

For a new pet grooming business, one guest might gift professional pet grooming shears, while another might offer to help with social media marketing.

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#5. Virtual business showers

A virtual business shower allows friends, family, and colleagues to gather from anywhere to celebrate and support a new venture.

Virtual business showers often include activities like online games, networking rooms, and even digital “gift openings.” Host a virtual business shower over a platform like Zoom or Microsoft Teams to gather supporters from various locations.

Begin with a digital networking breakout, where participants are assigned to small groups to introduce themselves. Next, hold a digital gift-opening session, where guests share screen-shared digital gifts like software subscriptions or marketing templates.

You could also include interactive games, like a business trivia game where guests answer questions about the entrepreneur’s new venture. This format allows everyone to feel connected and involved, even from afar.

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Business Shower Gift Ideas

If you’re hosting or attending a business shower, here are some thoughtful business shower gift ideas:

#1. Office supplies & tech gear

High-quality planners, pens, webcams, and headsets make a great business shower gift. For virtual business showers, consider tech-focused gifts, which are always helpful for online meetings and collaboration.

For a Remote Consulting Business: A high-quality webcam, noise-canceling headset, and ergonomic keyboard can improve virtual meetings and day-to-day operations.
For a Creative Studio (e.g., graphic design or photography): A stylus pen and sketchpad, or an external hard drive for storage, are practical gifts.
For a Boutique or Retail Business: A digital point-of-sale (POS) card reader, receipt printer, or even a label printer for shipping labels can help streamline transactions and logistics.
Virtual Business Shower Gifts: Tech-related subscriptions (e.g., Zoom Pro account or cloud storage like Dropbox) are always welcome for remote business owners.

#2. Business service subscriptions

Gifting a subscription to a design tool, an SEO platform, or bookkeeping software is highly valuable to new entrepreneurs.

For an E-commerce Business: Subscriptions to an e-commerce platform like Shopify or a marketing tool like ActiveCampaign can help manage an online store, email campaigns, and customer outreach.
For a Content Creator or Freelance Designer: A subscription to a graphic design or video creation tool can enhance their ability to produce and manage high-quality content.
For a Freelance Writer or Blogger: A Quillbot Flow or SEO-focused tool like SEMrush helps with editing and content optimization.
Other Examples: Gifting accounting software like QuickBooks or a scheduling tool like Sprintful App can be useful for entrepreneurs managing their finances and appointments.

#3. Entrepreneurship courses & books

Courses on entrepreneurship, books on business strategy, or biographies of successful entrepreneurs can be inspiring and informative.

For a Tech Startup Founder: Books like The Lean Startup by Eric Ries or Zero to One by Peter Thiel offer insights into launching a successful tech business. Online courses on software development or product management, available on platforms like Udacity or Coursera Plus, can also be valuable.
For a Food & Beverage Business Owner: Books like Setting the Table by Danny Meyer (on hospitality) or Restaurant Success by the Numbers by Roger Fields, provide industry-specific insights. Culinary management courses or cooking MasterClasses could also be helpful.
For a General Entrepreneur: Inspirational biographies on Elon Musk by Ashlee Vance or business strategy books like Good to Great by Jim Collins can motivate and guide new business owners.
Other Examples: You could purchase a membership to MasterClass’ courses on business and leadership topics taught by renowned experts.

Create Business Shower Invitations & Flyers

To set the tone, design unique business shower invitations or a business shower flyer. Include details about the event, like location, time, and what to bring.

For a Social Media Influencer or Blogger: A creatively designed invitation that doubles as a social media post template can serve as both an invite and a marketing tool.
For a Local Café or Boutique: Create flyers with the café or shop’s logo, opening date, and special promotions for their opening day. Guests could distribute these to help promote the business in the community.
For a Virtual Business Shower: Design digital invites with interactive features, such as clickable links to join the event, social media handles for sharing, or even QR codes that link to a “gift registry” of business needs.
Add Memes or Lighthearted Themes: Including a business shower meme related to the entrepreneur’s field can bring humor to the invitation, making it memorable and encouraging RSVPs.

These business shower flyers help communicate the event’s purpose and let guests know how to contribute (for instance, with a link to an online business shower gift registry).

Supporting Entrepreneurs through Business Showers

The business shower is quickly becoming a growing tradition that celebrates and supports entrepreneurship. A prime example of this concept is Warrior Rising, a nonprofit organization that hosts business showers for veteran entrepreneurs.

These specialized events provide veterans valuable mentorship, resources, and funding, helping them launch and grow their businesses. This highlights the adaptability of the business shower concept, showing how it can cater to diverse groups of entrepreneurs who need additional support.

Whether it’s a Warrior Rising business shower for veterans, a virtual business shower connecting remote attendees, or a general new business shower for entrepreneurs, these events are designed to bring communities together to offer encouragement and support.

They’ve gained popularity, spawning social media trends and business shower memes. A business shower goes beyond just gifting and celebrating. It’s about fostering a supportive culture for startups and entrepreneurs.

From creatively designed business shower invitations and practical business shower gifts to engaging activities like networking sessions and brainstorming, these events help entrepreneurs build the foundation for success.

They represent a cultural shift toward recognizing and celebrating the courage and vision it takes to start something new.

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Priya Florence Shah

Priya Florence Shah is a bestselling author and an award-winning blogger. Check out her book on emotional self-care for women. Priya writes short stories and poetry and chills with her two-legged and four-legged kids in her spare time.

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