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Business cards are a must if you are promoting yourself. In fact business cards are one of the easiest and most affordable tools in business . If you do not have business cards already here are some tips and ideas.

The internet has a lot of sites that offer great prices and fast turn around. My personal favorite is Vista Print (http://www.vistaprint.com/). They are constantly having sales and have loads of customizable options. Even with the slowest shipping rate I had my cards within a month. People often rave about Moo Cards (http://us.moo.com/) and when I first saw the mini cards I wanted them for myself. I placed a order that had to be printed three times and still was never right so after the company refunded my money I tried again and picked one of their artist lines and it went through. I just found waiting for over a month for a simple font design to be rejected three times annoying. Checking out individuals who print via Etsy (www.etsy.com) is also an option.

Printing locally is a great option if you are in a rush and do not have the time to wait on shipping. You can also see options in person.

Printing yourself is easy if you have a nice printer and graphic knowledge. You can buy perforated card stock at most office supply stores. All you have to do is set up your printer program and upload text and info in a graphic program.

There is basic info you cards should contain. First is your shop’s name and website with contact email. After that you can include your name. If you feel funny giving your card out to strangers with both first and last name you can just use your first name and last initial. If you want to include your MySpace or FaceBook page remember the cards are going to potential customers, do not include your networking sites if they include you getting naked on vacation and drug usage! Phone numbers are also not needed, if you do need to give someone a phone number leave the back blank for phone number input. This rule does not apply if you are doing local business and the products need to be ordered in advanced. I run a small vegan baking business that deals with local customers, my phone number is included on the card. I also am against putting your home address on cards (I have seen it before). I rent a P.O. Box for business needs and use that on my cards.     

These are just the basics. If you have any more ideas please share them.