Selling Business Cards - You don't have to own a print shop to sell business cards.
What you are about to read is a twist on an old business. In fact, there are several twists. One, you can start this business with NO money out of your pocket making it one of very few businesses you can start with no money. You'll find several more inside the 100% Club. Two, like I said, it is an old business but fortunately for you so is the thinking of the established print shops that will be your main competition. Three, well, read the rest of this page.
Not many people think about business cards as a "new" business. However, if you give it a moment's thought you can probably think of, for starters, 50 businesses that use business cards. Heck, most business cards are so common and mundane you don't even notice them. This idea changes mundane into exciting.
The beauty of this idea is you double your money every time you sell one thousand cards. And, yo will be selling cards by the thousands rather than 100's. However, should you decide to break the lots into 100's, i.e. 250, 500, you'll increase your profits. You'll sell business cards by the 1000's because at retail your clients pay between $110 and $120 per thousand, but you can get them for $40 per thousand for single-sided and $50 per thousand for double-sided.
Now take the idea of selling them 250 or 500 at a time and the math tells you how can up to quadruple your return with not one penny out of your pocket to get started.
The type of business card you are selling isn't the old black and white one sided card. Rather, it is full color with photo. That my friend is attention grabbing.
Take a look at these two resources to get an idea of not only your cost but the ease of production. Believe ease of production will be your best friend in this business because everything will be done for you. Translated, that means no cost out of your pocket.
http://www.overnightprints.com
You do everything over the Internet except deliver the cards. How is that for ease of production?
You want to deliver the cards in person so you can talk to everyone in the office who hasn't oredered from you. In other words, you want to pick up more orders (or should I say more money) off the order you are delivering. Always look for ways to increase your profits.
To increase your profits, you should get business associates selling for you. You can pay them a commission of 10% to 20% which is standard in this industry. Ask the owners of stationery shops, gift shops, grocery stores, etc. to offer your service through their outlet(s). You will want to print order forms to leave so they can take the order on the spot. Post flyers on the premises so their customers know about your service.
If you are Internet savvy, you can receive orders through your website.
So you don't get stuck paying for the order out of your pocket (I said you can do this with no money out of your pocket. This is how.), get a deposit of 50% before you actually process the order. A return customer is considered repeat business so if you are feeling generous you can make the order then collect the whole price at time of delivery.
A good place to start advertising your business is through the local Realtor's Board. Real estate agents must have business cards. Dentists are especially marketing conscious. Lawn and Garden shops, local contractors, plumbers, electricians, heating and air condition shops, auto repair shops all make great leads.
Your local yellow pages and local Internet city portal are great sources of leads. Contact your city business licensing department to see if you can get a list of newly registered companies and their contact details. Contact these companies and send them your brochures.
In my city two businesses use the attractive photo cards as frequent visitor cards. When the card has 10 (this number can be whatever the merchant so elects) places punched or marked, the customer gets the next sandwich (or whatever) for free. A florist or garden/lawn care business could offer a free flower or free lawn mowing for example.
The point is, turn your imagination loose and you'll soon be the sole source for their business cards.