“Personal” Business Cards

Last year, I ordered my first set of business cards from VistaPrint. I got 250 cards for free and was extremely satisfied with both the service and quality of the cards. (And now they flood me with coupons and discounts, which I can’t complain about.) After I received the cards in the mail, I handed them out to pretty much everyone who would take one. A few people asked me why I would bother to do so. After all, I don’t have a business. What use would business cards have for individuals?

Why Have A Business Card?

For me, the answer was: Networking. You never know when you are going to meet a person with whom you’d want to exchange information. The person in front of you in line at the grocery store may work in the same field as you do, and you’d like to expand your network. The guy on the pec dec at the gym might have an “in” at a company you’ve been dying to work for. A group of teenagers could be jamming on ukuleles outside of your favorite coffee shop, and you are a huge ukulele enthusiast. You may even just run into your old friend Araceli from college and want to meet up for lunch sometime. What easier, more convenient way to give out your contact information than on a business card? It certainly beats scrambling in vain for something to write with/on.

Right now, you’re probably thinking, “This sounds well and good, but have any of these situations actually come up?” Yes, they have! I have had my card passed from one person to another at a social gathering I wasn’t even attending. The person was talking about a job posting, and a colleague happened to have my card handy. I had also scored an interview after meeting a woman at my gym who just so happened to work for a local organization that was short staffed. You simply cannot predict when having a little card with all your information on it will come in handy. And when sites like VistaPrint occasionally let customers design business cards for free, what do you have to lose?

Designing Your Business Card

Your cards need not be fancy. All they need to do is tell whoever is reading it who you are and how they can contact you. Here are what mine look like. Business cards are just a tool for communication with someone else; think of it like a voicemail message, only on a wallet-sized piece of card stock.

When you leave a message on someone’s voicemail, you have a limited time to get as much pertinent information out there as possible. Ergo, it is important that you know what details you want to give out. You probably have gotten messages from people that you have had to replay a few times due to lack of clarity on their end. Nobody enjoys having to listen to three minutes of rambling over and over again. A good voicemail message is short, organized, and clear. The person on the receiving end only has to listen to it once to know who you are, why you’re calling, and how to contact you. Apply these ideas to your business card!

• Keep your intentions in mind. Are your business cards strictly to give to friends and family so they keep in touch with you? Do you want people to view your website or visit your blog? Are you trying to network with likeminded people or with those who work in your field? Is your small business just getting off the ground, and you want everyone to know about it? It is always good to know who your intended audience is; it sets the pace for your design.
• Put important contact information on your card. Whoever is reading it should know who you are and how they can contact you. It is also good to note that this information needs to be triple-checked to ensure it is accurate. If any of this information changes, order new cards with the correct information.
  Good information to include:
  • Your name
  • Address
  • Cellular and/or land line numbers
  • Fax
  • Email
  • Website URL
• Be organized. While you should absolutely customize your card to make it uniquely “you”, it should not look like a jumbled mess. Blocks of related information should be kept together. (e.g. Your address and phone number)
• Be neat/clear. Avoid using fancy looking fonts for anything other than your header (see below), because when the font is that small, they can be difficult to read. If a viewer can’t tell whether that number is a 1 or a 7, then they probably won’t try to call you.
• Keep it short. While you ought to add any additional information you feel is relevant, don’t try to jam your life story onto the card. It’s a communication tool; you end up doing the actual communicating once you’ve made connections with people.
• Make it shout! I definitely recommend using your name as the header. After all, this card is about you! Make it stand out by using an interesting (yet easy-to-read) font, increasing the font size, and using a bold color. Do you have a tagline or a logo? Add it! When people look at my card, I want them to think, “This is so Cristina” and not “This looks like every other business card I have ever seen”.
• Most importantly, you should like it. If you look at your business card and think, “I hate it. It doesn’t reflect me at all, and I don’t think it gives people the information that I want them to have” then it simply won’t be an effective tool.

Before ordering your business cards, scrutinize the design carefully. Sleep on it. Make sure the colors look nice together, everything is easy to understand, and that you’re conveying information you want to convey. Spell check. Have a friend or partner look it over for you. Once you are convinced that they’re perfect, they’re good to go!

For another perspective on the personal business card, point your browser to NubbyTwiglet’s article on the very topic.

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