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You Need Business Cards

paulstamatiou.com

21 pointsPStamatiou28 comments

I have specific business cards for all my different projects (software, music, a volunteer position) and we're making cards for our upcoming launch as well. It's just the easiest way to give someone your contact info when you're out and about, and makes a more professional impression when networking.

gruseom, it's not about someone being a "suit", it's about making it easy to transfer your contact info in different situations. Sometimes a little piece of paper pre-printed is easier than finding a pen and paper or expecting someone to have a blackberry/iphone on hand. Plus, they're cheap. Not having a business card means throwing away offline word of mouth opportunities. To me, I want to see smart people focused on making a great product. The impression you give also factors into what people think before even seeing your product.

I actually just ordered a holder for my moo cards, since I've forgotten once or twice recently to stock up before going out...

You might need business cards, but do you really need to put the phrases "blogger" and "tech maven" on them? I think it would actually be more tasteful and relevant to say "has HUGE penis" and "awesomest person evar!!11" on them. Okay, maybe not :)

Just stick to your name, your company's name, and some contact information. Nobody cares that you're a blogger. Nobody cares about meaningless-but-grandiose titles either.

So what does everyone put on theirs? Single founder type people? I put "Founder, DedaSys LLC" on linkedin, but that sounds kind of stupid too. On my web page, I put "owner, operator, lead programmer, chef, and chief janitor", but that sounds kind of corny as well...

Just your name and your company's name. Your "title" is meaningless. If anyone asks, there's your conversation starter.

"Just your name and your company's name. Your "title" is meaningless. If anyone asks, there's your conversation starter."

Damn right.

I do too many varied things at my company to have a pithy-yet-accurate title.

When people ask I tell them, "I make stuff."

My title is not what I want anyone to care about. What matters is what I and my partners are doing.

Chief Self-Promotion Officer. ;)

I don't need business cards as much as I need a business!

We are doing A/B testing with our business cards, because we couldn't decide on which design we liked more.

Post images and set up a poll here?

a general business card images thread would be nice.

I picked mine up from the printers yesterday: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qoIvd3zzu4Y

This looks like a great movie, downloading it at this very moment.

You don't need business cards. You need to get the other persons contact information and then followup as soon as possible. You can't rely on giving them a card and hoping they get in touch.

show of hands - how many ppl made bcards for the first time, just for startup school?

(i wasn't there)

For those of us on a student budget, VistaPrint.com cost me about $7 for 250 cards (and that includes the $2 it costs to take their logo off the back).

I'm never using them again. I ordered from VistaPrint and then started getting flooded with spam and phone calls (someone tried really hard to convince me to buy their website and SEO package).

You know, I've ordered from them 3 times and never had this happen. But then, I generally give fake phone numbers, so that may have been it. No email problems though.

I'll definitely check out overnightprints next time though.

I ordered some business cards from them as well. Not outstanding results, but adequate and functional. I'd prefer to shop around to find something nicer when these run out.

That said, I've never gotten any phone calls from them, and if they have been contributing to my incoming spam, I've never noticed it.

I should have been clearer. I meant physical mail spam. It's far more annoying than email spam since I have to sort it by hand and then actually dispose of it.

Here's a tip: place everything including the original envelope into the usually enclosed pre-paid return envelope and drop it in the mail. let them deal with throwing it away.

From the last thread on this, overnightprints.com has great prices and business cards with rounded corners, which is deliciously web 2.0.

always check retailmenot for coupons, you can get free shipping

I wish this was posted just before startup school so I wouldn't have arrived with two business cards in my wallet and boxes at home.

Pet rant: I hate business cards the way I hate suits. Just because you like them does not mean I need them.

I'd rather be (and be around) the kind of person who is way too focused on making a great product to give a fig about paraphernalia.

and if you can't remember the name of that person on the way back from wherever you met them.. that's why i keep cards handy.

Eh, business cards have a lot more value than you give them credit for; calling them 'paraphernalia' makes me question how much biz dev experience you have. Also, I recommend you visit the book store and flip through a few design books with focus on identity systems...

It's also rather naive to assume someone is going to remember your name, phone number, company name, and email address because "you're special" and have the next billion dollar IP.

Lastly, how else are you suppose to get free lunch?! cmon, join teh party!

Edit: your questions surrounding "biz dev" are certainly well founded. Strangely enough, though, I've never had trouble writing down an email address or keeping in touch with someone I've met.

Alternatively, you could just be sure to get their business card and then you can reply to them. Asking their email and typing it into your phone works well too. If you need someone to remember you, you should be the one to tAke the initiative and contact them later anyway.

That's not to say that business cards are bad, just that they're non essential.

My favorite business card is Daniel Oceans. Clean, simple, and to the point.

http://www.liongraphics.com/BusinessCards/Images/Hollyw6.gif

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