Canadian Small Business Women

Connection, Synergy, Community

39 ways to hand out your business cards

Jemi

Welcome to the world of networking. Business cards are the most inexpensive way to get your name out there. They are small, thin, and easy to give out. Your name, contact, website, and slogan tell the prospect all they need to know about you and your business. You can get 500 for less than $60 in colour. This means when you have successfully handed out your 500 cards, that’s 500 people that didn’t know about you before. There’s no telling what this can do for your business. If you try these 39 ideas on a regular, you’ll see more traffic to your website, and more referrals coming your way.

  1. Post them on community bulletin boards (churches, laundromats, grocery stores, etc)
  2. Place them in thank you cards, birthday cards, anniversary cards to your clients with your handwritten notes
  3. Make sure you have more than enough to hand out at networking events
  4. Attach business cards to all your bags with products
  5. Place them at the bottom of gifts
  6. For an event place them in goodie bags to hand out
  7. Punch a hole in the corner of each business card and attach them to sucker to hand out
  8. Look for businesses that have a community table where you can place a stack of business cards for their customers to take
  9. Deliver them to mail boxes
  10. Before presentations, attach them to each folder
  11. Make sure you have an electronic copy as your signature of each e-mail
  12. Use your electronic copy as a banner for your social media platforms
  13. Place them on windshield wipers
  14. Place them in bathroom stalls
  15. Add them to your invoices
  16. When you are out running errands, use this opportunity to meet new prospects and exchange numbers. Hand out your business card
  17. Have a card display attached to your car with your business cards
  18. Attach your business cards to balloons at an event and hand them out
  19. Keep samples in individual bags with your card in each of them. Get their information in exchange for your samples
  20. Have a referral system with professionals similar to you but are not your competition. You keep their cards, and they keep yours and together you spread your business
  21. At networking events have your card in a clear plastic name tag
  22. At an event, hand out water bottles. Punch a hole in the top right hand corner of your business cards and tie with a string to each water bottle
  23. Glue your card to clothes pins and pin your card everywhere
  24. Stick your card onto a magnet and hand them out
  25. Give a few cards to friends and family to hand out for you
  26. Ask your good customers for referrals. Give them cards to hand out for you and for every business transaction that comes from a customer, give them a discount.
  27. Throw a party, hand out your cards to your guests
  28. Place them in individually wrapped bags with candy and hand them out
  29. Get mini cards and hole punch them for your customers to add to their key chains
  30. Canvas to restaurants and small businesses, and introduce yourself and your products
  31. When you leave a tip, give your business card with a thank you note
  32. Give your child(ren) to hand out your business cards at events. No one can resist cute children!
  33. Wear a clear lanyard  around your neck at all times with your business card
  34. Keep business cards in stands on tables or counters from businesses in your area. Make sure you make good connections with these business owners and recommend their business whenever you can
  35. Place them in books at your library related to your business
  36. Stick them in free newspapers
  37. Go door-to-door and introduce yourself with your business cards and products
  38. Stick them on a hat as a creative way to attract interest to you
  39. Bring a brightly covered basket of your products in crowded places and when people ask you about them, give them your card

Hope these ideas will inspire you to get out there and meet new prospects! For more information call Jemi Echevarria at (647)785-5851 or e-mail her at jemiechevarria@gmail.com.

The Four P’s of Time Management

Praveeni

As entrepreneurs there’s one thing we always wish we had more of – time! Running your own business is a full time 24h/ day job! Finding a way to balance everything we have going on in our lives can be challenging. Time management is a key skill that all entrepreneurs should work to gain and improve. Here are a few things to keep in mind when managing  your time:

  1. Plan
    Before you can manage your time you need to know exactly what you want to get done. It’s always good to have a short term (daily) and long term (weekly) plan for your business and your life in general. Take time to write down what tasks you’d like to have done and completed. It’s important to set daily and weekly goals for yourself.
  1. Prioritize
    Once you have your goals for each day set out you need to figure out which ones are more important. Prioritizing your tasks is a key component of time management. For example if you have a task that requires more time or concentration try to focus on that at the beginning of your day when you’re fresh and ready to work. It’s always better to get the more challenging/less appealing tasks done and out of the way first.
  1. Push
    Once you’ve started your daily tasks, make it a point to push through them and complete them. One of the biggest challenges of being your own boss is not having anyone to report to or watch over you- this can lead to procrastination and a less than stellar work ethic. So once you start on your tasks make sure to stick with it and complete them.
  1. Party
    Remember to set a side a few hours everyday for some unplanned fun. This could be some quiet time for yourself, time used to complete extra tasks or even time to meet with friends. The thought of planning for the unplanned may seem a little redundant it’s always good to have a few extra hours in your schedule. Although we work hard as entrepreneurs we need to be able to take a break and enjoy the perks of being our own boss as well.

Praveeni Perera is the CEO and co-founder of Professional Edge Consulting a corporate training company based in Ottawa offering training and coaching services to clients around the world.  She can be reached via Website, Twitter, Facebook or her Blog.

BUSINESS IN THE FRONT, PARTY IN THE BACK: How to Organize a Booming Back Room

Rose

Is your storefront is a business fail in the front, but a big whopping party in the back?  It is most likely in need of some organization.  Your storefront is probably suffering from “back pain” because there is way too much going on in your back room.  It’s the kind of pain that is crippling your bottom line and driving away customers.  If this is the case, you should seriously consider getting the assistance of a professional organizer.

A common problem in retail environment is that 99% of the effort in setup goes into the design, layout, merchandising and window dressing of the store front. The Back Room (or store room) on the other hand, is far too often neglected and treated like the “red-headed-stepchild”– receiving no love but carrying the chores of housing all the excess merchandise, visual displays, company directives, and files, along with acting as a business office and lunchroom.

A well-organized backroom is essential to effectively ordering, processing, storing and transitioning merchandise into sales.  A well-organized backroom will turn your business into a well-oil machine with few aches and very little pain.   Your store’s backroom is basically the nerve-center of your operations, so it should receive as much or even more attention.  Too much time is wasted trying to find things.  Too much time is lost in unproductive hours resulting in a weakened bottom line.

Professional organizing services often cater specifically to independent and small businesses with a focus on areas of storage, function, process and flow.  Here are some tips and techniques that you should consider when organizing your backroom space:

  1. PLAN MAPPING—Create a plan of action by assessing the space usage, and dimensions. Design a floor plan that will maximize storage and accommodate the various types and sizes of items and boxes to be stored.  Think “seasonally”.   Store merchandise to move quickly and efficiently throughout the seasons and holidays.  Purge merchandise every 6-12 months.  Display a floor plan indicating the layout areas and inventory.  Orientate your staff with the layout.  Update as back room plans change.
  2.  SPACE STORAGE—Build space that adds flexibility with adjustable, movable fixtures to accommodate space as you need it.  Utilize wall space.  Build upwards, while keeping in mind your employees who may need certain items accessible.  Free standing shelving units as best back to back forming a center aisle in larger back rooms.  Identify if an item actually needs to be stored in the back room or whether the item needs to be stored off-site.
  3. PROCESS FLOW—Your back room should be organized to flow easily and efficiently.  The user-friendly backroom will allow incoming merchandise and paperwork.  Refine your paper process designating areas for filing and incoming invoicing etc. Ensure adequate open area for assembly, packaging and unpacking.  Discard unnecessary and excess packaging and paper right away or by end of day.  Create a listing of fast-moving merchandise and moving the items closer to the entranceway for easier access and shorter travel time.
  4. FUNCTION FLEXIBILITY—An essential element of organizing backroom space is functionality and flexibility.  The space should focus on distinct usage with a regulated flow and flexibility in movement as well as usage.  Clearly identifying and labelling areas will offer consistency and fluency in the space.  Incorporating solid storage capacities such as filing trays, locked cabinets, wire/plastic bins for loose items and dry goods.  Group like items together and by category.
  5. MEET GREET EAT—A store’s back room often serves as a meeting room, a business office and a kitchen.  The space should be a clean, organized space that is a welcoming host for staff quiet time, making phone calls, computer communication, vendor appointments, writing and manager/staff meetings.

 

A store’s Back Room needs to be a supporting partner in your small business.  It should help not hinder its growth or success.  Promoting a prideful space that is bright and energetic will motivate and boost morale among staff.  Decorate your Back Room with color, sales training postings and inspirational posters.

Remember that maintaining the back room is everyone’s responsibility.  As an owner delegate, assign and review tasks focusing on staff strengths.  An organized retail space can really be a big pay-off for your business providing an easy and stress-less environments.

Organized and booming, your store’s Back Room will be less of a clutter party with more business both in the front and the back.  Today is a good day to be ReallyOrganizedNow!

Rose Nixon, is Your “Anything” Organizer, Chief Professional Organizer and Principal Owner of ReallyOrganizedNow(RON), A Professional organizing company that brings Mindful Solutions for Stress-Less Living.  Rose knows that Life can be stressful enough without having the added burden of Disorganization.  Rose also knows that when you’re Organized you Smile more.  You are more pleasant to be around.  You enjoy people, places and things with greater ease, comfort and focus.  Rose helps active women and families find solutions and support to Stress-Less and Live More. She helps them BE ReallyOrganizedNow. Are you ReallyOrganizeNow?  Rose Nixon is the is an active volunteer in her community, offering support to several causes and organizations.  She is a business owner, aspiring blogger and author, and an ambassador of creative expression. 

Contact Rose on social media

https://www.facebook.com/reallyorganizednow

https://twitter.com/roseKNOWSron

http://www.youtube.com/user/ReallyOrganizedNow/videos 

http://about.me/reallyorganizednow

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