Bizbuzz by BizCard.com

It may be small, but when you use it in restaurants, a restaurant business cards can become an all-powerful tool. Why is this so? This is because there are simply too many benefits that you can derive out of it, especially when you’re in the restaurant industry:

1. It can act as your small billboard. Do you hate your bulletin board right now? Does it look bulky to you? Then you better switch to a restaurant business card magnet. It’s practically small, so you can place it anywhere you want to and it doesn’t occupy too much space. What’s more, you will have a fun way of reminding one another about your responsibilities in the restaurants.

2. You can have a new cool way of announcing your business. Don’t ignore the kinds of tags you’re going to use for your takeout. Rather than settle for only a small piece of paper, which can get thrown away by your customers, why don’t you attach a restaurant business card magnet instead? It is very sturdy, so there’s practically no way that it will be easily torn off by anybody. And besides, who dares to throw away something professional-looking yet cool item like your business card magnet?

3. You will have an instant business card for your customers. Save the hassle of customers perpetually asking you about your contact number. You can simply attach the business card magnets at their tables and let them know that they’re free to take them once they’re ready to go out of the restaurant. By now, there’s hardly any way they’ll forget about your contact information, especially when they’re at home.

A restaurant business card magnet comes in different forms and sizes, and you can surely pick one that suits your restaurant image and brand. Of course, the best way to go is to have someone customize it for you.

As a former Realtor and Broker I remember going through all of the training courses, in which you where constantly reminded to build a strong referral system. Realtors generally try to use every avenue available to them to build a customer base, with the holy grail being customer referrals. By the time you attain a level of reputation in which you no longer need to walk the neighborhoods to get your listings, you almost don’t want to stop.

The process of trying to attain referrals creates bonds and relationships that can last a long time. It also creates a work ethic and a new sphere of influence that will grow with you and support you when you need them. Case in point, I had a mortgage client call me four years after I had refinanced his loan. He called primarily because he remembered that I didn’t rip him off. I gave this client the best rate on the market and only charged .75 points with no fees.

I know most brokers would be screaming at their agent for charging such a small commission. “We are not working for free” is the standard response I get. The other response I would get is we have to feed our families as well – while this may be true it’s worth noting that ¾ of a percent of a $600,000 loan amount is still a decent pay check for a single transaction.

My typical response in these situations was to remind my broker that the process does not necessarily end with the completion of a single transaction. While some agents were busy squeezing every penny out of their clients, I was building lasting relationships that would continue to pay dividends far down the road.

In the real estate business it’s relationships that make the difference, not the immediate check you get from a transaction here and there (though that is what pays the bills). It will not build future clients for times such as the one we are in now. When I first started in Real Estate I was ridiculed for not charging as much others in the office, but now those others are out of business and I have a database of 300 clients that I can call to generate business immediately when I need it.

So to all the realtors out there who are trying to create more stable business that will be profitable over the long term, here’s my advice to you: be ethical, participate in as many community events as possible and don’t forget to keep handing out your business cards. A small investment today can create a huge return later.

A lot of entrepreneurs start their business with a grand idea and the goal to create a global empire. This is mostly true for founders of web companies. Most “Startupreneurs” want to build the next Google or Amazon. The web gives anyone access to a wide audience, and technology makes it easy to go from concept to product with very little upfront investment. So when companies like Facebook go from dorm room to a 10 Billion dollar valuation in less than 5 years, it is easy to see why founders believe they, too, can do it.

Rarely do you come across a mechanic who talks about how he is going to build the next Ford or Bentley Motors. They understand the metrics are different and building a large scale automobile manufacturing company requires a significant amount of upfront investment. Meanwhile they usually start their own repair shops, and go from there. Only a low startup capital is required and reaching profitability is not as hard. Some shops only change tires/oil and are able to grow their business steadily without requiring additional investments.

If the same model was applied to web companies, more enterprises would be able to generate money and quickly become profitable. A good example is the new wave of, what we could call, Affiliates 2.0. These are websites that harness the inventory of much larger companies and offer internauts a user friendly interface to find and purchase goods. They usually take a small transaction fee. Although tiny, the referral stipends quickly add up and could mean the difference between shutting down a business, or being able to work on it full time and not have to worry about making rent.

Take TicketStumbler, the event ticket comparison engine, for instance. It scans databases from distributors such as Razogator and Stubhub and lets users compare prices for the perfect seat at sport games, concerts and other local events. Another company is FrugalMechanic. They allow users to compare used or new auto parts prices from different suppliers. Instead of calling 40 vendors or junk yards, users let FrugalMechanic do it instantly, hence saving them time and money. Both companies are profitable. These are just 2 random examples, there are several more. These companies may not necessarily turn into a Google or a Yahoo, but they do not envy those with 600 employees and 4 international offices.

Not every company needs to become the next Big Thing. While waiting for the next game changing concept to magically happen upon us, we can build profitable web enterprises by serving niche markets. Affiliates 2.0 are not necessarily disruptive companies, but their founders are 1)providing services others are willing to pay, 2)doing what they love, and 3) building profitable businesses in the process.

When the economy starts going south, many businesses start to look towards the old-fashioned concept of do-it-yourself. DIY tasks that once seemed impractical are quickly making their way to the top of the agenda, even for the people on the top rungs of the ladder.

People all across the industrial spectrum (medical, dental, pharmaceutical, beauty stores, landscapers, etc) are increasingly trying to micro manage every small task. This has led many key individuals in the companies to be bogged down with a multitude of tasks, which invariably causes them to disregard the top-level system view of their business.

Here at Bizcard.com we notice this do-it-yourself attitude among many of our North American clients. One could presume that this mentality is what made America great in the first place — however one might also contend that this attitude is hurting the economy far more than it is helping, even at the micro – or individual business level.

Most high-level executives would agree that creating business cards, post cards and fliers on office computers should not be a top priority for the managing individuals in a company. These companies perform best when executives are focusing on its products and customers. Yet today people still print these products on their home or office computers, with low quality paper and inferior inks.

Your best bet is to keep letting the pros (who have half a million dollar printers) print your marketing materials. Let them make your company shine, with custom items such as embossing, foiling, specialized and industry specific designs. While you’re focusing on getting more clients, improving your business and getting our economy going, we’ll focus on creating the professional quality print marketing that will help make it happen.

Visit www.bizcard.com on how we can handle your marketing for you.