If you are worried about how many different business cards you should carry, let me speak from experience, you need only ONE!

The best way to confuse a potential customer is to present them with more than one business card. You may be doing a number of things and have cards for each one (even have several businesses where you do work) but you need to focus on what it is that you do best. I remember being at a Chamber Mixer one evening and talking to a man that wanted me to come by his shop to have my logo re-designed. I was handed his business card with a great design and was impressed. I told him that I was currently updating my website and should also have my logo updated. It was at that point that he handed me another card and said he did website design and wrote content. Now I was totally confused! I needed a graphic designer and not someone that did everything for me. I do not believe that a good graphic designer would want to do websites as that skill is more than making pretty pictures. It would require extensive programming knowledge plus database design, security information and server expertise. He then handed me another card with "programmer" on it.

I made my decision to go elsewhere as he had become a chameleon in front of my eyes, just grabbing for any business that would come his way. You need to stick to one business card that represents everything that you do. Your card is what you focus on; anything else can be left to a later discussion if it fits in with your business model. It is not difficult to do if you work for a large organization, but if you work on your own, you need to know what your expertise really is.

Your card should clearly identify you and your business and give people your contact information. You may also want to have a title than encompasses your expertise. Do not overcrowd the card with too many details as it is not likely to get read; keep it clean and simple. At the same time, do not put too little information either. Nothing is worse than seeing a card with a company name that gives you no clue as to what they do, even if it is just consulting. Always put your web address: that is where all the extra information can be garnered.