For business owners and professionals, gauging how their business card stands out from the stack of pile is critical. Competition, after all, is stiff these days, so it is crucial to know how your card stacks up against competition.
Initially, business cards originated in the 15th century in China. Over the years, many other business owners learned of the Chinese calling cards and adopted them. Eventually, these cards landed on US soil in the 1890s. These days, you cant find a business and working person that dont have his own business card. In the past, people simply buy some cheap paper and print their contact information on it in black and white. But today, everybody is hooked in the trendy and fashionable way to showcase ones contact details.
Even the rich and famous celebrities, business tycoons, and politicians once used simple business cards. Here are some of them with their first business card:
1. Bill Gates. Back when Bill Gates was not yet famous, he uses this simple business card to hand out to potential clients. The red and yellow card contains simply his name, position and address. Microsoft was still located in Albuquerque that time.
2. Steve Wozniak. He is co-founder of Apple Computer, Inc. His business card is one of the coolest cards today. It is made from high quality stainless steel and features laser cut details.
3. Craig Newmark. The man behind craiglist.com has a business card that looks the same as his website. The business card templates are simple, neat, and organized. A classic example of a simple yet effective business card.
4. Eric Schmidt. As the Chairman of Google, naturally we expect to a lot of this guy. But there seems to be some minor glitch in his card with Chairman spelled as Chariman. Well, this just points out that everyone, even the CEO of the Google, needs to spell check once in a while.
5. Donald Trump. Who doesn't recognize this man? This American business magnate is one of today's millionaire ranked in the top 488 in the world. Aside from his inheritance and real estate, Trump makes a sizable income from his TV show The Apprentice. Also, he earns as much as a $1 million for a single appearance in a lecture alone. Other sources of his income include cologne and bottled water. Even though his name is all over the place these days, Trump still has a handful of his business cards to give to anyone unfamiliar with him.
6. Walt Disney. Before founding Walt Disney Company, Disney was a cartoonist. His very first business card, way before he was made famous of his mouse cartoon, was from Laugh-o-gram Films.
7. Barack Obama. The most powerful man in the United States today, Obama can have any business card design he desire. But as of now he has yet to produce his presidential card. But when he was still a senator he did have a simple yet professional looking business card.
These famous people have their business card in their wallets at all times. They may be famous and successful, but still they trust on the marketing power of business cards. They still carry their cards with them anywhere they go. You might want to do the same to stay on top and get ahead of your competitors.
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