How to Create Business Cards

1)  Business Card Blueprint

On a piece of paper or computer, do a draft of how you would like your business card to look.  You can google the search term ‘sample business cards’ to get ideas (http://www.google.com/).  If you are still developing your company’s identity (logo, colors, etc.), you may want to get advise from experts such as NYC Business Solutions (http://www.nyc.gov/html/sbs/nycbiz/html/home/home.shtml).

2)  Select Business Card Printing Service

The following website has great reviews of several online printing companies ranging from high quality such as http://us.moo.com/ to a wide range of value and economical options http://business-cards.choosewhat.com/business-card-printing-companies.  Once you select the service, you can design your business cards online with providers’ online tools, your own design program or a third party.

3) Website and Social Media

•  Your website URL:  If you don’t have a website yet but plan to build one in the future, you can buy the domain from online vendors such as http://www.godaddy.com/ and park the page until you can develop it.
• Your facebook page:  You may want to create a facebook page for your company and include the URL on your business card (facebook.com/YourFacebookPage).  Note that facebook names pages with large URLs.  In order to obtain a custom URL after you created your page, go to http://www.facebook.com/username/.
• Your Twitter account:  You can also include your twitter account in your business card (for example, @YourCompany).
• Other Social Media:  You can include other social media accounts according to your preferences and business objectives. 

4)  QR Codes

The following article can help you decide the best way to approach a QR Code for your business card: http://us.moo.com/ideas/better-connections-with-qr-codes.html

To create a QR Code I used http://www.qrstuff.com/index.html free service.  The following website can verify the info included in the QR code:  http://zxing.org/w/decode.jspx

5)  Business Address and Phone

For mailing address purposes, you may want to use a mailroom service that provides a street address (rather than just a PO Box).  It will look professional and provide confidence to clients.  Companies such as http://www.ups.com/ offer this type of services.

A business phone with a toll free number and automated answering service is also a helpful.  Companies such as http://www.ringcentral.com/ provide good service.

6)  How does this fit into my Business Plan?

Designing and printing business cards consumes time and resources.  A business plan financial section should include the budget for business cards within marketing materials.  Also, the timeline in your business plan should include how much time and resources will be allocated to this task.