If No One Knows Your Name
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I attended a community craft fair and food event last weekend for funsies. I did not intend to make it a business outreach activity, however, when I got there, I immediately realized how many Women Entrepreneurs were present. The vendor booths operated by women easily outnumbered those operated by men at least three to one. As you may recall, I facilitate a virtual community for Women Entrepreneurs called Freya’s Arbor. It’s dedicated to the support of the whole woman as an antidote to the hustle-glitter-”Boss Lady” culture that requires us to do everything, perfectly, all the time, in heels, with flawless hair and makeup. Instead, it is a come-as-you-are, take up space without apology, authentic-is-better-than-polished kind of vibe. With the high concentration of my target audience at this event, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to connect. I would like to share with you some observations to make your own connection-opportunities seamless and effective:
Business Cards: Have them. Yes, lots of people are using digital business cards and QR codes, etc. Unfortunately, those take far more time and effort than handing someone your business card and receiving theirs in exchange. At a packed, fast-paced event, it’s wildly impractical to stop ans scan digital cards or swap QR codes with every single person. It just takes too long. Paper business cards were the perfect thing.
Also, I am completely guilty here. I had maybe five or ten business cards with me because I did not consider in advance the people I might be meeting at this event. So item #1: have good old fashioned paper business cards.Put Your Name on Them: I collected 27 business cards on Saturday and at least 10 of those did not have an individual’s name on them. Stark truth incoming: As a business owner, you have to connect with other humans to succeed. And to do that, they actually need to know your name. It is one of the most basic pieces of information we can exchange with each other. Double check your own business card right now. Is your name on it?
I confess to having been guilty of this one, too. Not too long ago, I had some new business cards printed with a gorgeously updated design. When I handed out the first one, the recipient looked at both sides and asked, “Your name isn’t on it?” Gah! Palm to forehead moment, and new new business cards ordered the next day.Make sure everything is accurate: I am a big fan of QR codes and use them quite a bit in print materials. They are a quick and easy way to give people a lot of information very quickly. Unfortunately, several of the QR codes on the business cards I picked up didn’t work. You can actually verify on your computer screen before you approve your final print proof to make sure that the QR code works. Don’t click “print” until you’re sure that it does. And go test the ones you’ve been handing out right now!
Include contact information: This probably seems crazy, but a few of the cards I gathered lacked actual contact information. There was a cute logo, a tagline, maybe an Instagram handle or some other social, but no webpage, no phone number, and no email address.
Email: If you are so protective of your email address that you won’t put it on your business card, get a new free one from Gmail today solely for this purpose, please. [email protected] is a perfectly acceptable email address format. Check it once a week or every few days, if that’s what you need to do. But your bank, your attorney, and your CPA are not going to contact you through your Instagram handle.
Phone Number: Again, if you are so protective of your phone number that you don’t want to put it on your business card, you can get a free one from Google Voice. The business phone number I have used for years is not from a phone company or a carrier; it’s a Google Voice number. I could tell you about the benefits and features of that for an hour, but go check it out for yourself. Then make sure it is on your business card.
Webpage: It is very easy and inexpensive to have a webpage. I created this super duper basic one for free in about ten minutes - https://sites.google.com/view/joans-business/home. It doesn’t have a custom domain and it’s clearly not graphic designer quality. But you can do this easily, for no cost. You can even go to tinyurl.com and shorten the web address. In 20 seconds I had this - https://tinyurl.com/JoansBusiness
Many networking organizations and vendors will supply you with a simple webpage for free. There is no reason your business can’t be live on the internet and searchable by search engines.
Make it legible: Some business cards had beautiful fonts that forced me to squint and turn them to try to decipher what they said. One of them had a very pleasing tone on tone color scheme with a tiny font size and insufficient contrast for me to make out the words until I used my phone camera to magnify it.
You should absolutely be delighted by your business card because it’s what you are handing out to the world to remember you. Be sure that they can read it after they walk away!
I generally write about ideas and concepts that are far more complex than business cards, but I encountered enough friction in this one day to consider that maybe more than a few of us could use a refresher with some tips on doing it well. As I recently told a political candidate regarding her yard signs,
“It doesn’t matter if you’re the most qualified if no one knows who you are.”
The exact same is true for your business – and your business card.
For more information about Freya’s Arbor, the virtual community for Women Entrepreneurs, please visit FreyasArbor.com.
If you’re interested in all that is available to you with a Google Workspace subscription, please visit TheGeniusCultivator.com/do-more/resources-wip.
If you’d like to discuss how you can make your business both more fulfilling and more profitable, book a meeting with me at TheGeniusCultivator.com/book-time
