Thoughts on Business Cards

As we were putting the final touches on the marketing chapter of our book, we wanted to sprinkle in a little advice about business cards. It is one of the first things you do after committing to the idea of the business. It is as if holding your own business card in your hands holds you responsible for making the business a reality!

Here’s an excerpt from the book:

Wendy:
“The world is changing at a fast pace. When I started my retail store Wendy's Country Things and Herb Garden in the late 80s, after creating a name, a business card was a sign of making it real. Business cards and/or small postcards give people something tangible that show you have given this business some thought. Using services such as VistaPrint.com, you can get nice‐looking cards without incurring a huge expense. I've seen too many people spend too much money on the accoutrements of starting a business. They could have bought five pairs of shoes at Nordstrom’s instead! In today's world, with a good color printer, you don't have to go out and spend $600 on stationary and envelopes. You can start your online messaging with a blog rather than a Web site.”

Michelle:
“When designing your business card, make good use of the front and back of the card. Use the front for the standard logo and contact info, but use the back to give some definition to your service – top five tips, three types of service you offer, or a coupon to use at your store or restaurant. I find this info to be very helpful in remembering what a person is all about after meeting them and taking their card.”

We’d like to add your best business card advice. Standard sized or big? Glossy or matte? What makes a business card stand out? What have you done to make your card stand out? Any good resources you could share with our friends? Add your comments below.

Promote Yourself! Add Your “Profile” to this post…
One of the most popular discussion strings we’ve seen on the Internet today is in response to a post on the Constant Contact User Forum, simply asking people to introduce themselves. So many people posted messages – their comments went on for pages!

We’d like to invite you to do the same on this blog. So, we invite you – the sassy ladies (and guys) in our community – to post your own profiles as comments on this blog entry. No crazy forms to fill out – just click comment, and add a quick note, your name, describe your company briefly, and link to your website or email. Let’s start chatting amongst ourselves, people!!