Category: Business Tools

How to Make Your Own Business Cards

As a business owner, it’s essential that you have a business card to hand out to potential customers anywhere, any time. Creating a unique, eye-catching card doesn’t have to be difficult or expensive. All it takes is a little imagination and some decisions on how best to produce your cards.

Templates

One of the easiest ways to start creating a card for your business is to browse templates for programs such as Microsoft Publisher and Word. These can be downloaded for free from the Microsoft website and imported into programs on your computer. From there, you can add custom text and images to make the card look just the way you want.

Be sure to include your business name, physical address, phone number and e-mail address on the card. If you have specific contact numbers or extensions for customer service, product inquiries or technical support, you may wish to include those as well. And don’t forget to put your company logo in a prominent place so people will remember at a glance who they got the card from.

business card tips
Image: Lenore Edman / Flickr

Specialty Paper

If you’re going to be printing your own business card designs, choosing the right paper is important. You should seek out sturdy, high-quality paper so that your finished cards appear clean and professional. Companies such as Avery make special business card stock just for this purpose. You might also be able to find card stock that is already divided into individual boxes, so all you have to do is print your designs and punch the cards out along a set of perforated lines.

Online Services

A wider selection of templates and printing options may be found online. Many services offer an initial free run of business cards. This allows you to get a small number of your chosen card for just the cost of shipping so you can see your design in practice before investing money in a larger run. It always pays to shop around, so take the time to research the different options to find one that’s right for your business and your budget. If you still prefer to print your own cards and just need a user-friendly template selection to get you started, a service like Business Card Star can help in your design efforts.

Having all of your information on a concise, attractive card makes it easy to connect with potential customers and remind others that your business is always there when they need it. With the variety of templates and services available, you can have the perfect business card printed in no time.

About the Author: The article is written by Jo Turnbull. There are many different printing services throughout Australia which offer affordable business card design and printing. For printing and web design services, visit your local printing company.

Affordable Web Design – Does it Exist?

The answer is of course yes. If you are starting out on your own you need a website, but you will not have the budget to build an expensive one. You may need to manage your own website expectations to ensure it is within budget. Here are a few ways you can have the website you want without breaking the bank.

1. Create a brief

This is important so that you clearly lay out what you want and do not want in your website. It does not have to be a large document, just clearly lays out your objectives of the website, the functionality which you can sometimes forget when you are in the middle of creating your site

2. Use off the shelf packages

It is not cheating if you use content management systems (CMS) like WordPress or Drupal. Personally, I would recommend WordPress as it is much easier to use than other CMS. Plus you will always be able to download the latest update so you do not have to worry about your website being out of date.

3. Keep it simple

You may want to have a fantastic website that has lots of images, videos and sharing widgets. You may also want a unique colour on your site, not one that other people have. Although this may sound good, it all makes it far more complicated and hence expensive. Choose a Pantone colour that already exists, that way you can easily recreate it off line as well, such as in a business card or any other marketing material. Use only a few relevant images, having too many on a website will slow the site down. If you want a video, don’t host it on your site, have a YouTube channel and host it there, just embed it on your website.

4. Hire graduates

If you really want to build a website from scratch, contact local Universities and ask them if they know any students who are studying web design if they want some experience working for you. Many students will have to complete a final year project as park of their degree in which they have to design and build a fully functioning website.

There are many affordable web design options out there in the market, you just have to look a bit harder to find them. Think out of the box, perhaps if you have time but little funds, work with the graduate developer you have hired. Or teach yourself how to use WordPress. There are many different themes you can use once you have got to grips with this CMS.

About the Author: The article is written by Jo Turnbull. For those in Australia, Snap provides affordable web design services throughout the country. They also offer affordable printing services in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Perth, Canberra and Adelaide.

Screen Printing Equipment Ideas for a T-Shirt Business

Finding the right screen printing setup is essential for new businesses and businesses that are looking to upgrade. Some people go by word of mouth; others do serious research. Your best bet is a combination of both. Although, it is impossible to cover all your options in one article, here are some highly recommended systems you should investigate further.

Vastex V1000 and V2000 Screen Printing Equipment

Instead of offering pre-packaged bundles, the Vastex systems are completely custom-configurable. The V1000 system is an entry to mid-level system while the v2000 system is designed for businesses with higher-end needs. Businesses can purchase equipment ranging from one color, one station to ten colors, ten stations, with a wide selection in-between. The company’s salespeople will help guide you through the process of putting together your own unique starter package by recommending other items you will need. Base unit prices currently range from approximately $2,050 to $9,376. It is worth noting that these are starting list prices only and your final purchase price will vary based on what configuration you order.

vastek v1000

Workhorse Products

Workhorse Products currently offers 13 different manual screen printing systems in their Mach and Odyssey Manual Printing series. Systems range from four color, four stations to ten colors, eight stations. The Odyssey Manual Printers series are the company’s entry-level machines; however, they are capable of handling the needs of home, small to medium sized screen printing businesses. The Mach Manual Printing series is geared more for high-end professionals and large businesses. Speed varies widely depending on which system and configuration you choose, so you should consult with one of their sales professionals. Additionally, the company does not publish pricing information on their website. For pricing information, you have to call (800) 778-8779 and press extension 1 for sales.

Printa 770 Series

Printa’s 770 series screen printing equipment is worth considering because the company offers different complete start-up packages based on what the buyer needs. All models are four colors, four stations. The 770 standard system prints up to 40 items per hour, while the 770 Deluxe and 770 Deluxe Plus systems allow operators to print up to 60 and 100 items per hour respectively. All three systems include the four-color station, curing system, supply bundles and more. The 770 systems print on t-shirts, tote bags, sweatpants, hats, jackets and more. The systems are scalable so customers can purchase additional equipment to upgrade their system as needed. Prices currently range from $5,995 to $16,995.

Selecting the right screen printing equipment is crucial to your business’s profitability. Keep in mind that your profits depend on how many t-shirts you can print in a day. The more shirts you can print, the more you can bill your clients for. The profit is in the equipment, so take your time and choose your equipment wisely.

About the Author: Raphael Alavi has run his own screen printing business for 10 years and loves creating unique designs for charities, corporations, and public groups!

Using Promotional Gifts in Your Marketing – Five of the Best

One of the best ways to create a positive brand impression is to hand out custom promotional items to your long term customers, or to people that visit your booth at trade shows.  You don’t have to spend a fortune on promotional items.  In most cases, your clients will appreciate even a small gift as a token of appreciation for their long term custom.  If you’re not sure what sort of gift is appropriate, check out the following ideas:

promotional items
Promotional items - ready to go!

1. Memory Sticks

This is probably one of the most useful promotional presents.  You can never have too many memory sticks.  A small memory stick with your logo on it won’t cost you a lot of money, but the recipient will appreciate it.  It will end up in their jacket pocket or laptop bag, and will probably get passed around the office as a handy way to transfer files.

2. Branded Mugs

People love branded mugs.  They’re another one of those promotional presents that falls into the “you can never have too many” category.   No matter how many branded mugs are already floating around the office, if you send a couple out to your best clients, they will end up getting used for many years to come.  The general rule for most offices I’ve ever worked in is: the more mugs there are in the office, the less often the washing up will get done.

3. Mouse Pads

Mouse pads are always handy.  They may not get used in the office, but people will take them home to use in the study.  Or, they might store them and pull them out when someone spills coffee on one of the old ones.  People will appreciate a mouse pad as a promotional present, and they’re a nice one to consider because they’re flat, not particularly fragile, and easy to send in the post.

4. Branded Keychains

Branded keychains are small, inexpensive, and useful.  Especially if you can make them dual purpose – for example, a keychain flashlight or bottle opener.  There’s a good chance that the recipient will clip it on to their keys right away, so your brand will always be in their pocket.

5. T-Shirts

For some companies, t-shirts make brilliant promotional gifts, but for others they’re not such a great idea.  If you work in an entertainment related industry, people will love getting promotional t-shirts, especially for a product that is either new, or not yet released.  That sort of promotional present is one that people will wear with pride.  The same is true for the sports industry – having a team t-shirt, or one with a supplement maker’s logo on it, is something that impresses a lot of people.

If you’re in a less glamorous industry, people might not think like that.  Before you order 500 t-shirts with your company logo on them, stop and think for a moment.  Would you wear one of those on a night out?  If not, would you even wear one to the gym?

Image: ingermaaike2 / Flickr

Improve Your Business with an Online Survey

Information is one of the most powerful assets that a business owner has.  The more you know about your customers and their needs and wants, the better equipped you are to serve them, and keep them loyal to your company.  One of the best ways to gather information is by running regular online surveys.

Persuading your customers to fill out surveys can be difficult.  Taking a business survey isn’t exactly the way that most people dream of spending their time, but if you provide a good enough incentive, most people would be willing to spend a couple of minutes providing you with the feedback you need.

To set up a good survey, you will need to work with your web systems development team.  Ask them to create a short, easy to use survey, and some form of advertisement that is noticeable, but not intrusive.  You want to entice your customers to click on the survey, not drive them away.

Designing Quality Surveys

There’s not much point in making your web systems development team invest time and effort into putting together a survey if the survey does not give you the information that you need.  Before you put together a business survey, consider the following points:

  • What do you want to learn through conducting this survey?
  • Why are you running this survey?
  • How will the information you gather be used?

A good survey is one that produces information that can be easily analyzed.  Asking people to write paragraphs of information about what they think of your company might make for interesting reading, but it is hard to summarize all of the feedback you get into easily understandable data.

Instead of asking your customers “What do you dislike about our product?”, offer questions that have simple yes or no answers, or answers that fit into simple bullet points – for example, ask your users to rate a list of attributes (price, size, performance, extra features) from most important to least important.  This way, you’ll be able to tell at-a-glance what your users think is important.

Keeping People Interested

If your business survey is too long, difficult to read, or slow to load, then you may lose people before they complete the entire survey.  Get your web systems development team to test the survey to make sure that it works in all of the main browsers, and that it’s easy to answer questions, move to the next page, and generally interact with the survey.  Try to keep the survey short and simple.  If you have dozens of questions per page, people may lose interest.

Picking the Right Audience

There are several ways to attract people to take part in your survey.  The most valuable feedback will come from your existing customers.  Invite them to take part in the survey by including a link in your regular email newsletter, or by promoting the survey on order pages on your website.  If you need even more participants, you could promote the survey on your home page, but try to make sure that you don’t annoy people by pushing the survey with pop-ups every time they load a new page. Discrete advertisements are best.

About the Author: This post was written by James Harper on behalf of business survey and web systems development experts Xibis.