Business cards are both the wave of the future and the way of the past.
A year or so ago I wrote a column about how to increase business using something as simple as those little billboards with your name on them-the ones you carry around in your pocket or purse your business cards. It was all about creative touches like stapling your business card to every check when paying a bill by mail, or clever ideas like not giving your card to a person who asks for it until you're sure he or she didn't ask just to get away from you. Or what to do if you don't have a card with you, but need something better than a cocktail napkin to write your phone number on. In the column, I said if you had a great idea on using your business card to find more customers or a card you thought was extremely creative, to send it to me. I mentioned that if it were truly unique, I'd use it in my upcoming book on networking and the use of business cards.