Archive for October 2010


How To Give And Receive Business Cards

October 13th, 2010 — 3:27am

A business card is a singularly powerful tool for self-advertisement. If lets you market yourself to a very wide audience without the hassle and prohibitive cost of newspaper advertising.

When you have business cards printed in bulk, however, be sure to get yourself a business card case. It’s crass to distribute your business card without putting them in a business card case first.

How to Distribute Your Business Card
Is there a right way to distribute a business card? Is there a wrong way of doing the same? The answer to both questions is yes. In distributing business cards, there is a right way and a wrong way. There is no right way of doing it the wrong way.

The Wrong Way: Distributing your business card as if you are dealing playing cards.

The Right Way: Never pass out business cards like you would pass around sheets of paper or playing cards. Keep them in a business card case. Additionally, present them in such a way that the recipient can read them right side up.

As the recipient takes a card from your business card case, make an effort to keep up polite chatter. If, on the other hand, you are the recipient of the card, comment as you take the card out of the business card case. Then, subtly, put it in your pocket.

When networking, remember to keep your business card case inside a pocket you can easily reach. It is not seemly to have to rummage for your cards while exchanging banters with high-ranking executives.

Keeping Up Appearances
Your business card is your advertisement. It should, thus, be representative of the image you are trying to get across. So, make sure they are never creased, wrinkled, dirty, or scribbled upon. To help your cards remain spotless and crisp, keep them inside a business card case.

Tips for Cross-Cultural Card-Giving
1. When traveling abroad, have your information printed in English on one side and in the language of the country you’re visiting on the other.

2. When giving out business cards in Asia, remember to use two hands to give and receive cards. Be sure to put the card that you receive on the tabletop, at least until the meeting ends. After the meeting, put the business cards you received inside a portfolio or a business card case.

3. If you ask someone for a business card, offer yours in return. The same rule applies for times when it is you who does the asking.

The act of exchanging business cards is as important as a handshake. After all, when you exchange business cards with someone, you trade not just contact information. You exchange the possibility of a future with each other in it. Do it with style.

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Additional Credit Card Options

October 12th, 2010 — 3:25am

A secured credit card requires you to make a deposit into a savings account to obtain a credit limit with the credit card. This deposit is held as a security for the amount you purchase using the credit card. In the event that you fail to make your credit card payment for whatever reason, the deposit covers your payment.

Secured credit cards are good for those who have bad credit or no credit at all. It is a way to begin rebuilding your credit by demonstrating that you can make timely payments. From the creditor’s perspective, the deposit you pay decreases your credit risk, so the credit feels comfortable extending credit to you.

Debit Cards

A debit card is directly linked to your checking account. When you use your debit card to make purchases, it is similar to using a check. The amount of the purchase will be deducted from your checking account within one to three days.

There are two kinds of debit cards: direct and deferred. A direct debit card requires a personal identification number (PIN) to be used when you make purchases. Purchases made with a direct debit card are subtracted from your checking account almost immediately. A deferred debit has a Visa or Mastercard logo and requires a signature for purchases. In many cases, both the direct and the deferred debit functions are present on the same account.

Prepaid Credit Cards

A prepaid credit card is a hybrid of the secured credit card and the debit card. With a prepaid credit card, you load a certain amount of money onto the credit card. Normally, this is anywhere between $10 and $1,500. The amount of money you load onto the account is the amount you are able to spend. Each time you spend money using a prepaid card, your available amount is reduced by the amount you have spent. For example, if you have $1,500 on your prepaid credit card and you spend $100, you then have $1400 available to spend.

One of the benefits of a prepaid credit card is that there is no interest rate on purchases you make. Since you are spending money that you’ve loaded onto the card, the card issuer has not extended credit to you. It is also easy to manage a prepaid card because you cannot spend more than you have put onto the card.

Prepaid credit cards also have their drawbacks in hefty fees charged for the credit card. Application fees, monthly maintenance charges, fees for adding and withdrawing money, and overdraft charges, are just a few of the charges that come along with using a prepaid card.

Each of these kinds of cards has their advantages and disadvantages. If you are shopping around for a card, weigh the pros and cons to make the best decision for your purchasing habits.

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Business Cards Makes For Good Advertisement

October 11th, 2010 — 4:29am

Anybody having a business of their own always needs a Business Card. You observe at airports or train stations, when two people meet a handshake is immediately followed by an exchange of Visiting Cards.

Just as a Resume is reflective of your qualifications and experience, your Business Card is indicative of your Business outfit or organization, and you identify.

Business Cards are used by everyone as a tool to market their organization or services. In any Business Exhibition, you will see salesmen distributing their free business cards to every one of the visitors. It compared to the amount of money spend on advertising or mailers, giving out Business Cards works out very cheap.

You can design your cards very innovative. Generally, the cards contain your name followed by your position in the organization. It also contains the name of the organization you represent as well as the address with contact details. Contact details should contain your telephone numbers including mobile numbers with a complete set of code for international dialing too. E mail Ids, along with Fax numbers and any chat IDs complete the normal requirement.

Normally, the Organization’s logo is also printed on the card with the color, font and design matching the Organization’s standard or policy. Printing cards is very easy. While a regular printer will take more than 24 hours to deliver the job, desk top printing outfits can give you printed business cards in a matter of minutes.

However, going to the printer would be a cheaper option. Depending upon the specific need, you can either opt for cheaper cards, which are available in the market. There are many varieties not only in paper, but in plastic cards too, which are relatively cheaper in comparison to paper. If you plan to print and distribute cards in any exhibition site or any public event, going for the cheapest possible card makes sense as you would have required to print in bulk quantities. For other normal business purposes, you may use the good quality paper board.

While printing, make sure that the printer takes proper care to ensure good quality printing without smudging. Your business card will change many hands and will be used by people even after a few years. Hence the card should last a long time. If you can use some innovative designs and make it look unique, the card will attract people’s attention and the chances that they will remember your organization is more.

Visiting Cards always should be carried in a case. Depending upon the size of the card, you can buy a good card case from the market where hundreds of varieties are available. Carrying a case for the cards not only ensures that the card is protected from damage to the edges or crumpling, but shows up as a part of good discipline and etiquette.

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