Your best ever business card

What does your business card look like? Is it memorable? Does it say what you do? Does it show what kind of a person you are? Does it fit with your brand? It should do. My business card has a photograph of me on it (that’s so people remember who I am); it has my motto on it too: ‘sharing what I know to help others to grow’ (that’s so people know what motivates me); it has my name and address and website (for obvious reasons); it is branded with the same colours and the tree logo that I use on my website (to brand me) and finally, on the back it has a list of things that I do (to show what I do).

A business card is just a rectangle of cardboard but is a very powerful tool. It is also the one thing many of the people you meet will take home with them and, you hope, refer to at a later date.

A better business card

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if you could make your business card even better, even more powerful and memorable? Best of all, wouldn’t it be cool if your card could be useful too?

I know several authors who have made business cards that look like bookmarks. Add a few tips to your bookmark and it becomes more useful still. But, the trouble with bookmarks, in my world anyway, is that they get lost inside unfinished books.

An even better business card

About eight years ago I met networking guru, Andy Lopata, and when I asked for his business card he handed me a slim, envelope-sized booklet called It’s Not Rocket Science that gave me 12 networking tips. Years later, that booklet is still on my desk. Andy and I have stayed in touch and done much work together including work on his bestselling book And Death came Third.

Inspired by Andy’s book I created my own booklet, called So, You Want to Write a Book? My book contained 10 tips for writing a book, which made it useful. It had my photograph on it, my branding, a list of my services and a page of glowing client testimonials. Now, this was a business card and a half. I began to give it away at my workshops and keynotes instead of a business card. Today, that same booklet can be read online on my website, for free. Take a look here.

One step at a time towards greater things

A booklet may be your best business card. It’s a book, albeit a small one, and any author will tell you that the day they published their first book was the day the world began to see them as an expert in their field. Of course, if you write a bigger book you share more of your knowledge and will be considered even more of an expert, but a tips book is a great place to start. What’s more, you can even sell your tips booklets and make some money from them too.

My friend and client, Barbara Rogoski, runs a business called Authentic Matters. Her recent tips book, called Reiki Works! 55 practical ways Reiki brings healing to all stages of your life was her first step towards publication. Creating it gave her the confidence to move towards bigger and better things.

Not only has she created her tips book but she has also contributed a chapter to a brand new book, out last month, called How to Achieve a Heaven on Earth. Selected from thousands of entries, Barbara’s piece about the meals for the homeless service she set up in The Hague sits alongside work by Al Gore and Tony Blair. Now, Barbara has a tips booklet and a full-sized book to her credit and is working on a full-length book of her own.

Ask yourself three questions:

1. Are you ready to improve your business card?
   Are you ready to write a tips booklet?
   Are you ready to contribute a chapter to another book?

These three steps will give you the confidence, the kudos, the experience and the expert status you need to move towards writing a full-length book.

If you would like me to advise you on how you too can take the first steps towards publication then you know where to find me. Jo@joparfitt.com

Have a good month

Jo