Jullien Gordon from Career Change Challenge presents a fantastic one-minute video lesson on why personal business cards are essential for personal branding. The video is part of Brazen Careerist’s Rock Your Career project on YouTube where you can get concise tidbits of career advice from young leaders. Click here if you can’t see the video below.
Jullien emphasizes the idea that having your own business cards is one of the most important things you can do for your personal brand (especially if you’re looking to change jobs or careers). He also mentions two types of business card products that I also recommend.
Vistaprint
My favorite place for business cards is Vistaprint. I’ve used them for the past 10 years because of their low cost, easy-to-use website and quick delivery. And when I say low cost, I mean low cost. New customers get 250 premium quality, color business cards free! You just pay for shipping. Click here to order yours. They also have a ton of professional business card templates, but I always keep mine very simple.
MOO Cards
Other people swear by MOO Business Cards. I’ve heard good things about people using them, especially their mini cards. And the people who love them really love them. They’re more expensive, but the designs they have are beautiful and more sophisticated than anything Vistaprint offers.
What to Include
If you’re just now making up a set of personal business cards, you may be wondering what all you should include on them. Here are a few ideas that you can run with.
- Your name
- Your title, tagline, or motto (for example you can use blogger, writer or consultant OR fundraising professional)
- Your blog address, if you have one
- Your email address
- Your phone number (if you want to give it out)
- Your social networks (if you want to give them out)
As a visual example, here’s what my Vistaprint business cards look like below. I totally need to update them, but you get the gist.
Do you have personal business cards? How have you used them to advance your career?
