Your Business Card – How to Make it Work for You

Avoid these Business Card Mistakes (see video)

When you are designing your business card you've got a small piece of real estate (white space) to use. So it makes sense to get the most bang for your buck. Your job is to make it work for you the very best it can, and to avoid the common business card design mistakes.

But first, do you need a business card anyway? I know many entrepreneurs who don't use business cards now, depending on instant messaging or connecting on social media. It won't be hard to find business owners in the digital world who say that physical business cards are antiquated. After all, you can beam contact information from one smart phone to another (if the devices are compatible).

Why Would You Still Use a Business Card?

There's two perspectives to consider. As someone who often receives business cards, it helps me to have a physical card.

• I can jot down a quick note if I want to remember the person for a specific reason.
• It gives me a visual, something to connect with the person I met.
• I can hand off business cards to a team member to help with follow-up.
• I can easily pass a business card to someone else to whom that person might be useful.
• My team can use the card's contact information to connect our social media accounts.

As someone who hands out a business card if there's a reason to do so (I don't hand them out like free candy), I know I have a better chance of getting a follow up call or request if the person I've met was interested enough to ask for my card. And once we are apart, the visual reminder is easier for that person to find than “somewhere in my phone.” I

If the person who wanted my card is not great remember names, it doesn't do any good for me to beam my info to their phone. They can't recall my name and can't find me easily. I've had people call me and say, “Thank God I had your card, I couldn't remember your name!”

If you are doing business locally, cards are still exchanged (more so than in the virtual world). I also believe that a well designed business card can serve like a mini-brochure for your business. 

• Use the back to showcase products or list your services
• Encourage people to use your card to later connect with you on social media
• Give people access to your email, mailing address (or physical location) and telephone.

In this 6 minute video, you'll see an on-the-spot makeover of a business card. This talented jeweler could have made her card work much better to showcase her designs and provide a place to browse her products, too. 

The bottom line is that you want to take every chance to be memorable, and having a well designed business card gives you another way to connect. That's how business is done, through connection. (If you dread networking, you can get a checklist here that will help you be an expert networker!) 

Make sure you have used all the real estate on your business card, and when it's a good match, offer to exchange cards. It is a professional and quick way to say, “Let's get to know each other more.”