Problem: New people you meet and want to contact don't have a business card, or they say they've run out of cards. Sometimes they scribble their information on a napkin or back of an envelope. Then you mistakenly toss the scrap away, or you lose it.
Solution: For very low cost, produce an alternative card. I call these cards "My Other Card." They're not fancy. You can create them on your computer and print them on white perforated business cardstock. (RoyalBrites brand business cardstock at Sam's Club costs very little.)
Or you can use a simple layout and have the cards printed by an online vendor for next to nothing. The cards I've created have no graphics and are black on white. The cards say MY OTHER CARD and then My Name (space), Email (space), and Telephone (space). When a new person I meet has no cards, I say, "Oh yes you do. Here is your other card." They find the card amusing and fill out the information in a minute.This simple device handles the "no card" problem light-heartedly and professionally.
(Sometimes they ask me for a blank card to copy.)
I use VistaPrint online. You can get 250 cards for free, and your rewards will be big. You can be referred as my friend at my site, www.conversationmatters.com, lower right, or click on Resources page and then on "low cost business cards." (Full disclosure. I get a small compensation when you purchase, and this helps defray my costs in publishing this newsletter.)