Why I've Stopped Using Business Cards

Startup Tips | Solopreneurs | Stories & Experiences
Written by Riley

I’ve been to a lot of networking events. A lot! I still do from time to time. I’ve met and connected with some very interesting people at such events, and I’ve given out a lot of business cards. A lot! But after years of attending such events, one thing has never, ever happened to me...

​I’ve never been randomly contacted by someone who said,

​“Hi Riley,

How are you? I have a business opportunity that would suit the skills of a Business Technology Consultant, so I was flipping through my collection of business cards, to see if I knew any, and I came across yours. You gave it to me at an event we both attended a while ago. Would you like to meet to discuss it in more detail?”

​​Now, I’m not saying that I’ve never worked with anyone I’ve met at a networking event, on the contrary, I’ve formed some very productive and mutually beneficial relationships through networking. But business cards were never the reason why those relationships were formed. It was always because I connected with those people in other ways. Sometimes it was through social media, other times it was because I called them with an opportunity of my own, and at other times it was because we discussed an opportunity during our very first conversation and arranged to meet at a later date to discuss it.

So, this experience begs the question, “what is the point of business cards?”.

I’m not knocking business cards, they’re a convenient way of distributing your contact information to prospective clients and partners. However, I found that when I was using them they did little more than make me feel like a business person. Because business people carry cards, right?

Actually, business cards added very little value to my business, which is why I don’t use them anymore. Instead, I have a QR code on the home screen of my phone (see below) that I use as a DIY digital business card. It links to a bio page on my website where my contact details can be downloaded in vCard format. If I meet someone who asks for my business card, I ask them to snap the code. If they don’t have a smartphone or QR scanner, I suggest that we connect on LinkedIn, Twitter, or Facebook, right there and then.

I’d be interested to hear about your experiences with business cards. Please leave a comment below to tell me about them.

Thanks for reading!

My Digital Business Card

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