I do, though I"m not very good at carrying them around. Folks do still ask me for a business card at least a dozen times a year, if not more. And I still get business cards from other vendors fairly regularly.
At various times in my career, I had cards. I don’t think I handed out more than a dozen over a 37 year career. Then again, I didn’t deal very often with customers or such - I’ve mostly been a worker-bee.
They all ended up in the trash.
The best uses I’ve found for mine to over the years have been stopping table-wobble in a bar and making a roach insert when rolling a joint.
I would submit that you do have business cards, just in the guise of a bookmark - which makes perfect sense.
For the last 25 years i have been in the “back office” of most every job I’ve had. Business cards were issued to me, but i never used them. I finally asked the company to quit supplying them every time my job title, address or phone number changed as it was a waste of (very little) money. I still have hundreds from the position I held 10 years ago.
When I started, my company bought two boxes of business cards for me and the person making the order messed up my title. She said they’d correct it next time. Eight years later and I’m down to one and 99/100ths of a box so I guess this is my title forever now.
You can also cut them into a boomerang shape. lay it flat on a desk or book with one side hanging off and flick it to send it flying (and returning)
There’s a bit of a learning curve here, but I think I’ve got it down. Thanks!!
As an artist, my business card is a bit unique in that most of the information on there isn’t to contact me (I certainly don’t want any more phone calls than necessary), but a way for people to find my portfolio and follow social media for more art/updates. I think business card use is dependent on your industry, and anyone who is freelance like me will be heavily dependent on them.
It pisses me off how unprofessional other artists are about it, though. A lot of their cards are simply bad looking, and a lot just “forget” to bring them along to conventions where they are a necessity. I guess you didn’t want me keeping up with your stuff and buying your next artbook when it comes out, huh? And too bad for anyone who wanted to hire you later for a gig. These artists are just shooting themselves in the foot.
I have them but only give them out when on-site at a client for a meeting. I will provide one to each of the people attending the meeting. I no longer give them out at conferences or industry trade shows - that is a one-way ticket to becoming that random person’s personal point of contact for any and every issue they have with your company (We’re a Fortune 500 with 22K employees). Any business card I receive, I generally will use to locate the person on LinkedIn and on very rare occasions I will add them to my contacts on my device but that is very, very rare.
Frankly I have tried various mobile based apps but none of them have replaced that simplicity of handing over a tiny piece of paper with your contact information.
I have some homemade ones that I keep at my desk. I occasionally give them to visitors to my workplace. It beats writing down my name/phone number/email address over and over.
I’ve never had business cards. And at this point in my career, when I’m too close to retirement to bother looking for a new job, why bother?
I’m a lawyer and have always had a business card.
These days, I work for a prominent attorney, so when I meet clients I routinely hand them my card to confirm that I am indeed one of his associates, since we are often meeting for the first time at court, instead of in my office.
When I worked for myself, and was always trying to network, I had business cards that had the QR code already mentioned on the back. The QR option was threefold: either scan it and it creates a contact in their phone, scan it and it dials the office phone number, or scan it and it takes you to the company website. I opted for the last option, since it seemed intrusive to put my contact in somebody’s phone or make a call without a warning that this is what the QR code does. I figure going to the website wasn’t so invasive.
Ike…
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One of the “perks” of setting up my own LLC after I retired was that I had a reason to print business cards. I use them, occasionally, when I meet someone in a non-social occasion and want to give them my name and contact information. It is a lot easier than writing my email address on a scrap of paper-and far easier for the recipient.
I don’t use them a lot, but when I do it surprises and pleases the person I am talking to.
At a minimum, it gives me and the recipient something to write a note on if that is necessary.
And of course at business meetings that I still occasionally attend, it is standard practice for everyone new at the meeting to give out cards that people keep in front of them during the meeting. When there are several new faces at the table, it is appreciated to make people’s interactions easier.
Yes, although it’s more of a personal card these days as I’m involved in multiple companies.
My business card is also a bit of a calling card, it’s meant to be memorable and is made from real carbon fiber with white printing on top. They cost me around $4 each but the overall results are worthwhile in terms of the reaction.