Small Business Financing Concepts

You have probably seen advertisements for “Free Business Cards” someone online. How could they possibly afford to give away free business cards without making someone, somewhere pay?

It is a good question, and one I wanted to know myself. I choose a company that offered so called “Free Business Cards” and began to browse their website.

I first noticed that they didn’t just have the free business cards offer, but they also sold upgrades to the free package. Is that how they make their money? Only off of the upgrades?

This particular company also sold magnetic business cards, plastic business cards, metal business cards, and other types of business cards. In addition to the business cards, they also sold company letterhead, custom printed envelopes, and other types of office stationery.

The free business cards offer was beginning to make a little more sense.

I would guess that the percentage of people taking the free business cards are mainly business people. Those people probably also need envelopes, letterhead and other office stationery. Maybe they make their money on the upsell.

But are they really free?

I decided that I should go ahead and order some of these free business cards. This way I would know for sure whether or not the business cards are really free.

I decided which company I would order from then went to the order section

The first thing I had to do was design my business card. After my design I got to the order section, are they really free after all the work I did?

When I got to the final checkout, there were many options, more upgrades available. I chose not to get additional cards. Then I had to choose not to have my free business cards laminated.

After all of this, I found out that “Free Business Cards” are really free!

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There is a saying that the pen is mightier than the sword, and history has proven it true. The ball point pen was invented in 1938 by the Hungarian journalist Laszlo Biro. Since then, it has been responsible for changing the annals of history. Wars were won and lost because of a pen. Deals were made and broken because of a pen. A single pen made businesses flourish although for some, it sealed their doom. But most importantly, a pen can spread love or hatred among people. A pen is that personal. It is used by everyone, everywhere. The business of making and selling personalized pens is always a good idea. This is a money making venture where you make a specific design or look for a pen that fits a certain person.

1. Personalize Your Business

In any business success, the key is to know what your customer wants and give it to them. For your shop to flourish, you need to know what makes a personalized pen really personal to an individual. Your personalized pen shop should have specific guidelines to know your customer.

2. From Whom, For Whom, And For What?

To make a personalized pen unique, you should first know your customer and who they are buying the pen for. Also, determine the reason why your customer would like to give a customized pen. The pen can also be personalized for the customer himself. The most common market for this type of business is people who are looking for the perfect gift.

2. Personalized Pens As Gifts

- Birthdays
- Anniversaries
- Truce / Make Peace
- Congratulations

3. Pen Design – The Ultimate Mark of Personalization

Now that you know the reasons behind the transation, you proceed to the design and type of pen. Personalizing your pen is the fun part of this business. Here are possible specifications that you need to know. It is advisable for this business to have all types of pens refillable so that the pen can be used for a longer period of time.

a. Type of pen
Ballpoint pen
Fine-line marker pen
Artist’s pen
Fountain pen

b. Color
c. Size
d. Shape
e. Ink Color
Red
Blue
Black
Multi-colored pen

f. Scented or Unscented Ink

Scents:
Rose
Apple
Strawberry
Lemon

g. The budget

Lastly, you need to know what your customer is willing to spend. By doing so, you can adjust the personalized pen’s design so that it could fit your client’s budget.