Business Cards

I've had mixed opinions about this from someone who is taking business classes and someone who already owns his own business. Which is better, perforated business cards you can do at home (what I currently have) or paying someone to do them professionally? Is it that big of a difference to cusomters?

 

Get your cards made professionally.You only get one chance to make a first impression when handing a potential client a card. Would you spend 4-8k a year with someone who handed you a home made, perforated, irregular edged, jet printed card? Not to mention the cost of ink cartridges and the time to tear them all apart.You can get professional cards just about anywhere for 18-30.00 per thousand. Spring for the extra $$ for full color & logo if you can afford it as well.It's deductible as an advertising cost anyway...jmho...

 

I do my own and have gotten many compliments about them. They're a heavy, gloss stock that separate cleanly when I break them from the page. As for cost, minimal doing myself. Two different printers though wanted over $100 to do a thousand when I checked on prices. And since I have moved a couple of times in the past 10 years, it's nice to be able to change my phone number on it or anything else if I want to.

 

I also do my own. In fact my wife is in the process of designing a new one for me. Cost is minimal, except for her labor, just kidding.LOL

 

I just had 2500 full color (photo) type cards done. Less than $50.

www.vistaprint.com/oct

 

You don't have to have perforated business cards. They have what they call "clean edge" business card stock at Staples. Go buy those, and use your current design.

I would have to say that proffessional cards do look better, but homemade ones are much cheaper. My first year (last year) I made my own (I have some design experience). This year I had them designed, and I like the ones that were done proffessionally better. I've paid my designer $150 for business card design, and logo design. Now that I have a good design I just print them on my own printer, which saves me on printing costs. I use the "clean edge" business card stock and they look just like the proffessional ones.

 

Hi rojasm,

If you are on a low budget and can make them yourself, then why not? Although that post by Metro must be very tempting!

 

I don't think you can do them cheaper then if you had them made by www.vistaprint.com . I just bought 500 magnetic business cards from them and they were delivered in 3 days and look great. I had 5000 business cards made somewhere else before I found out about Vista Print. I paid a lot more too.

 

thanks everyone for your opinions. I haven't actually started yet...I'm going to school full time, got two jobs, and am trying to remodel my new house. I'm going to school to be a fire fighter and plan to start my business then. I just want to have everything ready ahead of time so when I'm ready, I'm ready. Thanks again