10 Ways to Re-Use Old Business Cards

You have them, don't you- a box or stack of old business cards that sits wastefully in your desk or perhaps they are in the box in the attic along with your old work files.  Perhaps you resigned and boxed them up along with your other desk items, maybe you were laid off and took everything you possibly could as a way of getting back at your employer, or maybe your title changed or your company revamped its logo, leaving you with leftover out of date cards.

I never knew what to do with the cards, until I had a conversation the other night with Kate. So it got me thinking, what can we do with old business cards?

1. Carry them in your purse/wallet to balance teetering tables at coffee joints or restaurants
2. Use them to jot down short shopping lists
3. Line the cat litter box with them
4. Keep them by the fireplace to use as kindling
5. Put them in the kids craft closet, kids are truly creative
6. Write recipes on them for a mini recipe box
7. Use them for daily to-do lists
8. Scrap paper by the phone
9. Wallpaper your office
10. Use them to label frozen food

Let's be "green" and recycle this expensive printed material...what have you done with your old business cards?

Comments

[Career Sherpa]

Jane,
I love those plastic sheets! I knew a guy who carried around an entire notebook filled with the sheets and cards! Whenever he went to a networking meeting he would listen for the chance to share cards/contacts with people.
He created reputation for being a "giver" not a "taker". Very powerful.
Your system sounds organized, thanks for sharing!

[Jane Rubinsky]

I have clear, sheet-protector-style card-holder pages in the three-ring binder I use to keep track of my job-hunting efforts. Both the front of the cards and the backs (on which I write when/where I met the person) are visible. I attach a small Post-It to the back (against the plastic) with the date when I follow up with that person ... and subsequent dates can be added.

Doug, I love your idea of the big bowl of business cards! Bequeathing "relationships" to one's friends and associates is a satisfying idea. At a memorial for one of my friends, everyone got to select a t-shirt from her large, eclectic collection; I still treasure the one I have.

[Career Sherpa]

Doug,
I love that Japanese etiquette for exchanging cards. It is ritualistic!

Here's a thought, don't wait until you die to put out your bowl of cards, how about a birthday or holiday party? It would be nice for your to hear how it goes!

[Career Sherpa]

Sue: a truly "green" solution to business cards is to use Poken (read the article about digital business cards: http://technology.inc.com/hardware/articles/200906/businesscard.html).

I love your question Sue. Getting a card is one thing, translating that into a relationship is another game. So, please, let Sue know what you do with those cards and how you use them to develop that relationship!

[Sue Schnorr]

Studies from the networking gurus show that over 90% of business cards are thrown out! This leads to lots of opportunity for GREEN!

More important, we should all be asking ourselves, How are we using these cards, that we all have so many of? What can we do to streamline the process of transferring names of network connections to our contact lists/address books/databases. Is there room for improvement?

Because I'm "in the business" of teaching networking skills and truly enjoy networking, I'm pretty meticulous about adding new contacts to my ACT database and my email list at Constant Contact.

I'd love to hear from Hannah's readers: Do you HAVE a process for organizing cards? Does your process lend itself to developing relationships and following up with people you met?

I'd love to hear tips from others on how they convert cards to conversations and long-term relationships.