Importance of Business Card

Namecards / Business namecards are of great importance nowadays as sometimes when meet people we do not have a great deal of time to build a immediate rapport, Even when you do have time to talk, people are not always going to remember everything they learned about you.

People you meet everyday — clients, other students, parents, and accqaintances — may not know things about you that you'd like them to know. When business people meet they exchange business cards. These small pieces of paper usually contain a person's name, the name of their business, and a title or description of the work they do, and a way to contact the person, such as a phone number or address and email addresses.

Create a business card for yourself. Your card should help others know and remember you. Ideally it should convey a sense of who you are, what you do, or your interests — cheerleader, class president, avid reader, or the only boy in a family of seven girls!
A business card generally focuses on a single facet of an individual or business. You may be a cheerleader who also raises rabbits and tutors younger students afterschool. Create a business card for just one of those aspects of your life or extracurricular activities.


Steps
1.First, decide what you want your business card to tell others. Do you want to focus on your activities with your hobbies or do you want to announce that you are a professional in a particular field? It may help to list everything about yourself then pick one topic.

2.Describe yourself. After deciding on what aspect of your life or activities that you want to focus, make a list or write a description that tells about that part of your life.

3.Decide if you want a "serious" or formal card or something more light-hearted or informal.

4.Using the Business Card Checklist, list the major components of your business card. Mark out any components you wish to omit from your card. If appropriate, come up with a title for yourself. To put everything you want on this small card you may need to come up with different ways to say the same thing. Look for shorter words in place of long ones. Use a single word in place of two or three different ones. Experiment with abbreviations.

5.Look at sample business cards you or your class have collected. Identify those that have a style you might like to imitate or borrow.

6.Sketch out some rough ideas of how you want your business card to look — including any graphics you think you want to include. (Your software may come with a collection of clip art; if you have access to a scanner you may be able to scan artwork from clip art books; if you have access to graphics software you may be able to draw your own graphics.) ( My suggestion is to always consult someone from the design field to maximise the professional namecard look.) Exchange business cards with people you meet

When you give your business card, attach the following checklist with your answers.
1.What is the focal point of this business card, part is supposed to catch the reader's eye first?

2.What job, role, or activity does this business card describe?

3.Is this supposed to be a formal (serious) or informal (casual) business card?

When you exchange business cards with others give them the following checklist to complete.
Business Card Checklist
Many of the items in this list are optional. You must decide which ones are appropriate for your business card.
-Name of Individual.
-Name of Business or Organization.
-Address.
-Phone Number. -Fax Number.
-Email Address. -Web Page Address.
-Job Title of Individual.
-Tagline or description of Business or Organization.
-Logo.
-Graphic Image(s) (including purely decorative elements). -List of services or products.

The items listed below are to aid in designing your business card. Some may not apply.
-Horizontal or Vertical Layout.
-Emphasis on Business or Organization (name and/or logo).
-Emphasis on Individual.
-Emphasis on Title of Individual.
-Emphasis on a particular part of the contact information (phone, address, email, etc.)
-Size of Logo or other graphics — large (dominant) or small, etc.
-Number of Colors.
-White space (blank spaces) toward the middle or toward the outer edges.
-Conservative typeface (such as those used in the stories in your textbooks) or Fun, Informal typeface (such as crooked letters, funny shapes, odd sizes, or type that looks like handwriting) or a mix.

1.When you first look at this business card what catches your eye first? (the graphic, the name, the color, etc.)

2.From reading this card, what job, role, or activity do you believe this person does?

3.Is the business card easy to read? Is the type large enough? Is there too much information or not enough information on the card?

4.Do you feel that this is a formal (serious) or informal (casual) business card?

5.Do you like this business card? Why or why not?

Conclusion
"The business card... is kind of an extension of yourself. It's a little bit of giving yourself to someone else."— Ken Erdman, founder of the Business Card Museum, Erenheim, PA

It is not easy to condense yourself down to the size of a business card but doing so may help you to focus on the most important aspects of yourself. It can also help to develop your vocabulary as you search for new words to describe yourself. It should also be clear that it is almost impossible to tell everything there is about a person from a single piece of paper.