Free Business Cards and Free Shipping - Does it Exist?

Each and every day, thousands of people flock to the internet to order business cards.

It wasn't always this way of course. In the "old days" people used to walk into their local print shop, look at some templates and card options, give the printer their contact details, and they'd walk out with a stack of new cards.

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The possibility of getting them for free couldn't really exist under those circumstances.

It certainly can today. With printing becoming more affordable with volume, and many of the top websites being able to print volumes FAR exceeding (as in tens of thousands of times) the print volume of a local printer, online print houses began offering free or almost free business cards to lure customers in.

Part of the reason they are able to do this, is quite simply, repeat business.

After all, if you get one thing printed with them, chances are you'll return when you need postcards, or letterhead, or any of dozens of other personal or business products these online printhouses are able to provide.

And chances are you'll re-order cards in near future as well.

You might even tell a few friends about the great deal you just got, and then they'll go and order.

In essence, the complimentary business cards offer is really just a clever "loss leader" to help companies get their foot in the door. Once they do, they've earned a customer that may return to them for years and years and for more and more print services.

Another reason many companies are able to offer free business cards is the ability to charge shipping and handling on these orders, which in many cases helps them recoup the cost of the printing. In some cases, they may even make money on the transaction! Imagine that... make money by giving something away!

Other companies -- either unable or unwilling to give away cards for free -- decided instead to offer free shipping to win over customers. In order to compete, they may offer more in the way of quality, service, or option.

So... if some companies offer the cards for free, and other companies offer free shipping... the question that naturally follows is, "can I get free business cards AND free shipping?"

Actually, you can!

Offering free business cards with free shipping has proven to be a great way for companies to get publicity, often in the form of press releases that circulate around the web through news sites, social media sites like Twitter and Facebook, and others.

The problem is that these offers go fast. To limit their financial exposure, the companies only offer the deal to a limited number of customers. Get there first... and they're yours. There's an element of luck and timing in getting to these deals.

A few companies, however, have found that giving away the cards and shipping them free is a powerful way to earn customer loyalty. On the plus side, they leave these offers on the table for longer periods of time. On the negative side, the quantity of cards they'll give away to each customer is generally pretty small.

Deciding between free business cards with a nominal shipping charge, and one of these smaller, or rarer deals that offer both for free, all depends on what you need.

The bottom line is that there sure are some great offers out there! So take advantage of them!

Free Business Cards and Free Shipping - Does it Exist?

Politely Does It - How to Make Effective Requests in Business Situations

When dealing with people in business situations it is, of course, essential to be as polite as necessary. English has a rather unique, diplomatic style when spoken - it is important to not sound too direct when you are making requests as this can sound impolite and more like a demand. Modifying your language is a very effective tactic in business dealings when you are trying to establish a friendly and cooperative atmosphere, especially when negotiating in meetings or asking for assistance from colleagues. Polite use of language will take you far. However, there are different levels of politeness and how you use them depends on three things:

1) Your relationship with your listener. Is he or she your boss or a counterpart or a colleague you consider a good friend?

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2) How important you consider your request to be. If something is very important and/or urgent you may need to be more polite than usual.

3) How much inconvenience your request could cause the listener. For example, if you are asking a colleague to work your shift, you are more likely to get a positive response from them if you are more polite than usual and appreciate the hassle it may cause them.

So, what are these different levels of politeness? Well, you can scale them from 1 to 5 in terms of directness, ranging from very direct (not so polite) to very indirect (very polite):

1) "Help me file these papers (please)."

This is very direct and sounds more like a demand.

2) "(Please) will you help me file these papers?"

This is less direct and perhaps more suitable if you are asking a friend for help.

3) "Could you help me file these papers (please)?"

This is neutral and therefore the most suitable for the majority of business situations.

4) "Do you think you could possibly help me file these papers?"

This is indirect and therefore much more polite. This phrase is suitable for people you don't know very well.

5) "I was wondering if you could possibly help me file these papers."

This is very indirect and the most polite request of the bunch. This phrase is best kept for situations where the task is urgent and/or inconvenient to the listener.

Generally, the more indirect the phrase, the more polite you will appear and the more words you will use! It might seem that the indirect phrases are overly polite and in many cases that is true, but bear in mind that they are still effective tactics in gaining help from colleagues or business associates. Everyone likes to be spoken to with respect and courtesy and what are a few extra words if it means you get the assistance you want and need?

Politely Does It - How to Make Effective Requests in Business Situations

How I Setup My Business Bank Accounts

Breaking down the process into small individual tasks

The small tasks involved in starting a new business can often times add up to become a seemingly overwhelming process when looked at in their entirety. It is important to remember that most of these tasks really are small, and looking at them as such makes things seem a lot easier. In this article I will focus on what I looked at in my situation in order to setup my business banking accounts.

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Prior to setting up my banking accounts

To get to this point I had to complete a series of other small tasks in order to have everything ready for setting up my business banking accounts. This included setting up my business address, completing my limited liability company paperwork and receiving my LLC paperwork back from my state's secretary of state office, and applying for and receiving my Federal Employer Identification Number from the IRS.

Since at this point in my business creation I do not have any real income being generated, I needed to keep all my initial expenses as low as possible. In this case it means finding a business banking structure that will not have excessive fees and preferably have no fees at all. The last thing I want right now is to spend money setting up my business on things like recurring unnecessary banking fees.

What I needed in a business banking account

I started out with a little research using the internet on what was required to setup business banking accounts. There is quite a lot of information available which can be easily found, so I will just document my steps in the decisions I made for my particular setup. There were a few things besides low monthly fees that I wanted from by business banking account.

1. A local convenient branch location

2. A national chain with many locations

3. A good on-line banking service

4. The ability to add on a multitude of business services down the road

5. Low or no recurring monthly business banking service charges

A convenient branch location

The good news is that I was able to find all of these things in my community. I needed a local convenient branch location because I do not want to have to travel all over the place to perform my banking tasks. This is a matter of time-management for me, and in the past I have chosen poorly with personal bank accounts because I thought I would do most everything on-line and not really need something close or more convenient. While I do perform most of my personal banking on-line, I still find myself wishing I had chosen a closer bank when there are times I needed to physically go to the bank. Depending on the types of deposits I will need to make, I envision myself needing to physically go to my business bank in the future much more than I need to for my personal banking needs.

A national chain with many locations

I wanted to choose a national bank with many branch offices because if I decide to personally relocate or setup a business in another location, the chances of having a local branch of the same bank is much more likely with a larger national financial institution. This would mean I would be able to keep the existing accounts with the same bank and not have the hassle of starting over with new accounts at a different bank in order to maintain the same convenience of having a close branch location.

A good on-line banking service

Having a very good on-line banking service is definitely one of the major considerations I had in choosing my bank. In today's day and age, I want and expect very good on-line banking services including on-line bill pay, statements, account funding transfers, consolidation of all accounts into a centralized site for easy viewing, and most importantly built in functionality to download my accounts easily into financial software such as Quicken or Quickbooks.

The ability to add on a multitude of business services down the road

The ability to add additional business banking services or having a business bank which is easily scalable was also a consideration I had concerning the bank I would choose. This is an area which was not the highest priority at this time because I figured that if the bank I chose met the other qualifications then they would also have the ability to easily scale my business accounts to meet the needs of my business down the road. Merchant services and other business financial services would be some of the things I envision needing in the future.

Low or no recurring monthly business banking service charges

Last on my list would be one of the most important considerations I was having at this point early in my business setup. Low or no recurring monthly business banking service charges with the need to only maintain a low balance in my business banking accounts is a must at this time. I would not be opening my accounts with a lot of money, and I did not want what money I was depositing into my accounts to be eaten away at by service fees. I needed an account that would allow me to have a low minimum balance at the same time avoiding as many fees as I could. Many banks have accounts with no minimum balance requirements and no monthly fees for personal banking accounts, but this is usually not the case with many business banking accounts.

So how did I do?

I ended up opening a business banking account with Chase Bank. They had a convenient branch location close to my home and right across the street from my business UPS Store mailbox, which incidentally is my official business address at this point (See my article on Getting My Business Address.) They met my listed criteria for convenience, and also are a well recognized national financial institution with many branch offices throughout the nation. This means the likelihood of finding another branch close to me if I chose to relocate is much greater. They have a very rich on-line banking service that met all of my requirements for on-line banking abilities, and easily integrated with my Quicken software. They offered many business financial services which were available to me, but at this time I do not require them. It is nice to know I can get these services in the future with them. Most importantly, they were able to structure my accounts so that I do not have any monthly service fees or minimum balance requirements, NONE!

How did I avoid fees?

They had a program where I could open a business classic checking account which would normally have fees unless I maintained an account balance that was more than I would have been maintaining. I could avoid the fees by applying for a business credit card account and linking it to my business checking account. As long as I made at least one transaction a month on the business credit card account then I would not have any business checking account fees. I know the question many will be asking. What about the business credit card fees? Well I made sure the business credit card did not have any annual fees or other hidden fees also. It did not. Believe me I asked many times. There were also other benefits to having a business credit card which initially I did not place as much value on. These benefits included establishing a credit rating for my business which was independent of my personal credit history. This is important because in the future, the business may one day be able to obtain loans without personal liability of the loans by me for the business. Another benefit of having a business credit card is better protection for on-line purchases and fraud when using a credit card versus using a debit card on-line.

Making sure I have at least one transaction a month on my business credit card was easy enough. I simply set-up my internet hosting provider to use my business credit card for the monthly hosting fee of the business. This ensures that even if I choose to use my checking account checks or debit card, which was also free of fees, I will always have at least one charge on the credit card to meet the bank's requirements for waving all of my business accounts' service charges. Not a bad deal in my opinion.

What paperwork did I need to setup my accounts?

First I have to say the customer service for setting up my business banking accounts was top notch! I just walked in to the branch office without any appointment and a representative from the business banking department met with me immediately. I made it clear from the beginning that I was small-time when it came to my business at this point. They still treated me like I was a larger business. They took the time to explain everything and answered my many questions. I was approved on the spot for a business credit card with a very nice limit. I plan to never even carry a balance on the card, but it was nice to see I qualified for a respectable line of business credit.

All I needed to set-up my accounts were my personal identification, the employer identification number I received from the IRS, the certificate of filing from the Office of the Secretary of State from my state, and my LLC operating agreement. All of these documents, except for the personal identification of course, were part of the LLC package I received when I filed for my LLC using LegalZoom.com. Everything was in order and I had everything with me to complete the task without having to make any additional trips to the bank for further documentation.

Conclusion

By breaking down the tasks involved in setting up a business, you can decrease the seemingly complicated event by making it merely a series of small uncomplicated steps. In this step of setting up my business banking accounts, I knew what I wanted to accomplish and what I needed before I ever walked into a bank. By having my paperwork in order and by doing a little homework before hand, I was able to complete this task without it being a headache or a frustrating event.

How I Setup My Business Bank Accounts

Start A Chip Dip Business! Sell At Special Events! Over 60% Profit! Low Startup Costs!

You can start your own chip dip mix business for less than 0.00. I have been selling dip mixes for years and have made very good money with very little work. These are dip mixes made of various herbs and spices that you mix with sour cream and mayo. They are great with chips, pretzels, pork rinds, fresh veggies, and sandwiches. With these same mixes you can make dips, cheese balls, spreads, salad dressings and they are great on baked potatoes.

You can easily add dessert mixes to your roster of products also. These are dry mixes that you mix with cream cheese and whipped topping (like Cool Whip). They make a wonderful no-bake cheesecake, fruit dip, bagel spread, cream pie, parfait or mousse. Both the dip mixes and dessert mixes come in a small zip lock bag. They last up to a year in your cabinet at room temperature.

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All you do is buy the mixes from a dip mix company and stick your own labels on the bags. Presto! You now have a dip mix company. You can sell your products at flea markets, festivals, farmer's markets, craft shows, fairs, and any other type of special event. All you do is make up samples of each flavor and provide inexpensive pretzel sticks for the customers to sample the dips. One taste and they sell themselves.

Try to buy your dip mixes from a company that will teach you the business. Find one that has a start up and operations manual for you to use. This is the sign of a really professional company that is really committed to your success. A manual will show you all of the tricks of the trade for learning the best ways to conduct your business while you are still learning. Don't just buy the dip mixes from a company and then go out on your own to try to learn the business. Find a company that will help you sell and do things right with your new company. There is nothing difficult about this business, but you need someone to show you the way. It just helps you learn the business a lot faster with fewer mistakes.

You sell the dip mixes at 3 FOR .00. Your profit is about 60%. In other words, you will make a gross profit of about .00 per sale. Without needing any sales ability at all. The product sells itself when the customer samples the product.

There are many advantages to a dip mix business:

- You can work your own hours - part time or full time. Make up samples days in advance of your event. Completely flexible schedule.

- This is a fun business. All of the events you sell at are fun events. You have a good time, plus, you make money too. What could be better?

- No ongoing fees. All you do is buy the mixes at wholesale from a dip mix company and put your label on the package. That's your only requirement. Much cheaper than a franchise.

- Start up costs are less than 0.00 for an assortment of dip mix flavors.

- It's a very mass appeal product. Everyone likes at least some flavors of dip. Plus, weight conscious people can make a "light" version of the dips by using fat free or light versions of the ingredients.

- No need to worry about the product going bad if it doesn't sell quickly. All flavors sell, some just sell faster than others. No need to worry about having to throw some away.

- Dip mixes weigh very little and take up little space in your vehicle. You can store thousands of dollars worth of product in one large plastic tub. Also easy to move in and out of a building for a quick booth set up.

- Dip mixes are pre-packaged food. That means in most, if not all states, you don't have to charge sales tax, keep track of tax or pay sales tax.

- You can easily add other staff members to expand your business into other locations. You can have several booths at different locations just by staffing the booths and making up more samples. Training your staff is a no-brainer because the sampling of the product does the selling for you. Your staff just takes the money and makes change.

- The best thing is the profits. About 60%, even more for the dessert mixes (which will sell at 3 for .00).

It's a simple, profitable business with products that sell year round. People need to eat, even during a recession, and the public loves dip mixes. For such a small investment, it's hard to find a better bargain for starting a small, home based business.

Start A Chip Dip Business! Sell At Special Events! Over 60% Profit! Low Startup Costs!

Your Business Name - Is it Old-Fashioned?

The top ten baby girls' names in the UK in 2007 were Grace, Ruby, Olivia, Emily, Jessica, Sophie, Chloe, Lily, Ella and Amelia. For boys, the top ten were Jack, Thomas, Oliver, Joshua, Harry, Charlie, Daniel, William, James and Alfie. That is a completely different picture from the 1950s, when Susan and David were the most popular names, closely followed by Margaret, Janet, Barbara, Judith, Robert, Brian, Philip and Stephen.

What has that got to do with naming your business? Well, if you call your boutique Margaret Fashions, or your hair salon Barbara's, then you are not going to attract today's teenage girls and young women through your door. They will regard your name -- and thus your business -- as old-fashioned. If your target market is the 18-24 age group, then lots of them will be called Lauren, Jessica, Sarah, Samantha, Matthew, James, Christopher or Alexander. Calling your fashion, jewellery or hairdressing business by a name that was popular in the 1980s will resonate with this group; you will sound like one of their friends, someone who understands them.

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Fashions change in words and language, just as they do in clothes and personal names. Words and expressions go out of fashion because society has changed and the name is no longer seen as relevant. The UK relationship organization Relate was previously called The Marriage Guidance Council, but couples who weren't married thought the services of the charity weren't available to them, hence the change of name. The Spastics Society, which helps people with cerebral palsy, became Scope because spastic had become a derogatory word. Charities these days like to stress what disabled people can do, rather than their limitations. Managers of the Leonard Cheshire charity said that the name was a barrier to the achievement of the organization's goals, since four out of five people under the age of 35 have no idea who Leonard Cheshire (a British WW2 hero) was. They suggested the alternative names of Equability UK and eQual UK but so far, pressure from Lord Cheshire's family has kept the status quo.

Young people speak a completely different language, and if you want them as your customers, you too have to be fluent in this lingo. Their friends are their crew, the opposite sex is buff or fit and things aren't fab or excellent, they're mint, cool, bad or wicked!

Your Business Name - Is it Old-Fashioned?