Online print houses can be a great money saving option for entrepreneurs – if they’re used for printing.  However, far too many small business people are using these services to also “design” their marketing collateral.  Your marketing collateral should reflect YOUR business and personality.  This is especially true with your business card.  While a stock photo of an outdoor scene might be pleasant enough, it is incredibly generic – only saying something about you or your business if you happen to be an outdoor outfitter. 

A business card with a generic background blends into oblivion with your potential clients.  Nothing makes it stand out from the crowd, and even worse, it sends a subliminal message that your business isn’t a serious, “real” business.  Think about it, let’s say you get two business cards from a potential service provider – say a financial planner.  One of them has a stock photo in the background while the other one has a unique, professional logo or graphic.  Which one are you going to take more seriously?  Which one looks like it’s associated with a legitimate, established and experienced business professional?  Who are you more likely to trust and do business with? 

Another downside of using the ready made templates – chances are someone else is using the same one.  I was recently at a networking event in Brighton, Michigan where I received the same card, from two individuals in two vastly different businesses.  And the graphic design of the card didn’t say anything meaningful about either of them.

Putting together a professional, unique business card doesn’t have to break the bank for a new small business, but it does need to be something that has some time and thought put into it.  Pay the small amount extra to upload your own logo or images to that online print house.  Strongly consider working with a graphic designer.  The one time expense to come up with a card that truly says what you mean to say to potential clients is more than worth it – especially considering the negative message that you might otherwise be portraying.  (For more on what your business card needs to contain, read the great article by Marketing coach Tom Harris.)

In today’s highly competetive marketplace, we all need every advantage we can get.  Do you want to be the one with the card that blends into the background?  What are some of the worst business card “sins” you’ve encountered?

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