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Business cards are a great way to leave a lasting professional impression long after an introduction. When it comes to quality business cards, it’s all about the details. Small details turn can a forgettable business card into a memorable one, giving you the edge over your competition.

The Cut

Poorly cut business cards show potential clients that you have subpar standards. They’re highly unprofessional can provide a negative reflection on the way you carry out your business. If it looks like your toddler took a pair of scissors to your business cards, you might consider demanding a refund. The same is true if your cards have frayed edges or worn sides. A professional, clean cut is non-negotiable.

The Personal Information

Business cards convey important contact information for potential clients and should always be kept up-to-date. It’s imperative to order new business cards as soon as the information on your current ones is no longer accurate. Never try to recycle old cards with penned in corrections, as that implies your company is cheap, unprofessional, and does not pay attention to detail. If any updates are made to your business, your business cards must be updated simultaneously.

The Business Logo

Your business likely has a brilliantly designed logo, but unless that logo conveys a major household brand your customers will not remember your business name. A logo can help to recall the memory of potential business associates even if your company name does not, so always remember to include your business name with your logo if it is not in the logo itself.

Colors

Mustard yellow could be your favorite color, but putting it on a business card will cause some of your potential customers to ditch the card immediately. This doesn’t mean that your card has to lack color completely. The trick is to make it subtle and keep the contrast high. Colors should be tasteful and easy on the eyes. It’s easy to be put off by poorly colored cards, which will cost your business money in the long run. You don’t want anything to keep your customers from reading the important information displayed on your business cards.

Font

Font plays a big part in whether or not your clients can read your business card. Make sure you consider your client’s interests ahead of your own, as some fonts can be very difficult to read. Even the more formal fonts of calligraphy can pose a problem to some customers. Keep it simple to reach your target customers.

Business cards are continuous advertising. They are also a reflection of your business choices and your attention to detail. The goal of your business cards is to make them an unforgettable piece of your business and a memorable staple attached to your name.

We’ve discussed the cheap revolution before. It’s the notion that you can do so many things today and use countless services for a fraction of what they used to cost. This helps drive entrepreneurship and it helps people sell products or services without a huge support organization. You can be a one-person wrecking crew, using email, the web and social media to network, chase leads and close sales.

That said, there are still some older traditions that you shouldn’t abandon. While you may not need a fancy office and a receptionist answering phones, you should have a web site or other online presence, and you should have things like business cards. The online and mobile worlds are important, but person-to-person networking is still critical.

But here the cheap revolution helps as well. You can access business card printing services online and avoid all the hassles of the past. It’s easier and cheaper and you get exactly what you want. So do all the new media stuff, but never abandon old methods of meeting people in person and exchanging business cards.

If you’re looking for a new job or career, one thing that you will most definitely want to have is a great set of business cards. Being able to hand these out to prospective employers is important. Not only do these have your contact information, but it also looks extremely professional to have business cards. Whether you give them out like candy at parties or you save them for only extremely potential employers, being able to show that you are a professional person can be extremely advantageous for most people.

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If you’re serious about finding a job in any professional career, you have to be on LinkedIn. Also, if you have a job but might be interested in a new job, the advice is the same.

Hopefully you’ve already heard this from others and you already have a profile. In that case do research on how to beef it up and get more prospective employers to find it.

If you haven’t heard this, or you’ve just been lazy about getting going, then get on there now and put up a profile!

Here’s some interesting information from a recent Fortune article on how LinkedIn will fire up your career.

If you need a job, or just want a better one, here’s a number that will give you hope: 50,000. That’s how many people the giant consulting firm Accenture plans to hire this year. Yes, actual jobs, with pay. It’s looking for telecom consultants, finance experts, software specialists, and many more. You could be one of them — but will Accenture find you?

To pick these hires the old-fashioned way, the firm would rely on headhunters, employee referrals, and job boards. But the game has changed. To get the attention of John Campagnino, Accenture’s head of global recruiting, you’d better be on the web.

To put a sharper point on it: If you don’t have a profile on LinkedIn, you’re nowhere. Partly motivated by the cheaper, faster recruiting he can do online, Campagnino plans to make as many as 40% of his hires in the next few years through social media. Says he: “This is the future of recruiting for our company.”

Facebook is for fun. Tweets have a short shelf life. If you’re serious about managing your career, the only social site that really matters is LinkedIn. In today’s job market an invitation to “join my professional network” has become more obligatory — and more useful — than swapping business cards and churning out résumés.

Companies explain that LinkedIn is more effective at finding qualified candidates, but it’s also more cost effective as well since employers don’t have to pay a recruiter.

Now it’s time to get started!