Need a business card? “If you want to be noticed, Show Off”
Ever think running your own business might be a bit easier if you were 10 feet tall, could fly and throw lightning bolts? Thanks to Show Off Cards in Greensboro, North Carolina, super powers like those are just a reach for your business card away. I interviewed the Chief Show Off himself, who lights up the Biznik map from Greensboro, North Carolina, to learn more about his “be unforgettable” approach to making business cards.
Q: How’d you acquire the name Chief Show Officer? Do you ever reveal your real identity, or are you going to keep us guessing?
My title is one of those things that just happened. The beauty of running your own business is that you can use any title you want. I considered President or Owner but felt that they were too boring and pretentious. I then thought about Chief Executive Officer which morphed into Chief Show Officer or CSO (Get it? Chief ShowOff-icer).
As for my identity, nothing is a secret on the web so anyone inclined to do some snooping can find a picture of me but I work in a world of fantasy illustration so I think I’ll stick with that for now – at least until the statute of limitations expires.
Q: Creating business cards sounds like a pretty competitive field. How’d you get started, how long have you been at it, and how are you different from your competitors in the field (besides having a great job title)?
Competitive? It doesn’t get any more competitive than business cards. Heck, there are printers who will give you free cards if you don’t mind having their logo on the back. If there’s one thing I’ve learned in my 40 something years on this earth it’s that you can never win on price – someone is always willing to do it cheaper. So I didn’t get into the business card business to run in that rat race.
I got started in the middle of 2005 when my brother launched his own group benefits business and asked me to design a business card for him. I fired up the old computer and cranked out a traditional business card – and it was nice…nothing special…ok, it was kind of boring. Alright already, it was watching-paint-dry boring. Which reminded me of a quote by Seth Godin “Boring always fails. Winners are remarkable.” Wanting not to fail I set out to make a remarkable card. We decided to make an absolutely unforgettable card and went over the top with a muscled up version of him looming over his home city and Show Off Cards was born.
Show Off Cards are different from our competitors in a few ways.
1) First and foremost Show Off Cards are fun. There is not nearly enough fun in business these days. I mean isn’t that why entrepreneurs (see also: Bizniks) like us decide to hang out our shingle? So we can put the fun back in our work! (Please hold while I pull out my soapbox).
(Pulls out soapbox) If you are going to hand out a business card, and everybody does, why not hand out a fun card? a card that makes people smile? or laugh? or look at you as if to say “Are you for real?” For cryin’ out loud stop handing out “vanilla” business cards! (Puts soapbox away).
2) Show Off Cards are beautiful. Once you get your paws on one you will see that they are heavier and thicker than any business card you have likely ever received. The commissioned illustration is a work of art combining a facial caricature with a super hero body placed in a setting that tells an unforgettable story about the Show Off. The back of the card, in addition to traditional contact info, provides a few personal tidbits that help personalize you with the recipient and find a common point of interest.
3) They’re pricey. There I said it. Show Off Cards are more expensive than your average everyday business card. Why? Because they are not your average everyday business card (See items #1 and #2 above). Because we don’t simply stick your head on a stock superhero body, there is a lot of back and forth proofing on the customized illustration from concept through line art and finally colorization. We develop fully customized illustrations which take time and as we all know, time is money.
4) They make you unforgettable, which to quote MasterCard, is “Priceless.”
Q: Who is a good client for you?
Anyone who wants to be noticed. People tend to think that a Show Off Cards client has to be the classic type A “Hey look at me” type of person. Those type of people ARE great Show Off’s but I like to point out that the type B personality (and I am one – ask my type A wife) gets a much bigger bang for the buck from a Show Off Card.
If Jane, super sales person, hands out a Show Off Card it is definitely a show-stopper and gets a great reaction because the cards are so unique.
But stop for a minute and imagine the impact if the usually soft spoken buttoned-down bean counter hands out a Show Off Card that illustrates him leaping from behind his desk (visualize a secret service agent going into action) while reaching into his coat to pull a calculator from his shoulder holster! That guy just went from “Bill Who?” to “Bill (Packin’ Heat) Irvin”. He’ll be handing out cards at the next bored meeting like a rock star. More importantly, when there are hiring decisions to be made within or without his organization, and someone starts thinking CFO, Bill will be the image and name they recall.
In short, if you want to be noticed – Show Off.
Q: Your blog, http://showoffcards.blogspot.com/, is a really interesting read, and you share a lot of tidbits of information that go way beyond cards. Do you use the blog as a marketing tool, and if so, has it been successful?
I started the blog with no grand plan or expectations other than to give it a whirl. I hoped that it would be a fun way to put my thoughts and ideas out there for the greater good of the world…as well as the 4 people who might actually read my blog and I wanted to see what marketing effect it would have on ShowOffCards.com
Having been at it for several months I can say that it is fun and a good creative outlet. It has also been an effective marketing tool. As you mentioned, I go against the normal blog philosophy of being focused on one topic and tend to post whatever pops into my silly little head, because quite frankly there is only so much you can say about business cards. I write about things I find interesting – period. One day it might be about a unique business card or a marketing strategy that I find interesting but you also might find me posting about how to fold a fitted sheet or why I think taco bell hot sauce packets are great.
Based on my ShowoffCards.com access log, I get quite a few visitors to Show Off Cards through the blog and the blog obtains a lot of visitors through Technorati tags and search engine results. Nearly every professional in the world uses business cards so “un-targeted” traffic is fine for me.
Q: What’s the favorite card you’ve ever created?
Why not just ask me which of my kids I like most? Seriously, my favorite card is always the one I am currently working on. One of the reasons I enjoy running Show Off Cards is because I get to be creative. Often my clients have little or no idea about how to “super-hero” themselves – it is after all, not something people do on a regular basis. The fun for me is running through concepts in my head that incorporate the key features they requested until my creative light bulb lights up and I settle on a rough concept. I then develop a crude (And I really mean CRUDE) storyboard for the card front. Once the client Ok’s the concept I turn my illustrators loose and the magic happens. They take the grade school level concept art I develop and come back with illustrations that I couldn’t even imagine, let alone put down on paper.
The process is hard to explain so let me “pull back the curtain” and give you a behind-the-scenes look. One of my latest clients actually provided me with a pencil drawing (which is a “first” by the way). I tweaked his drawing, added some of his requested features and well, here’s the before and after.
Show Off Cards website: www.showoffcards.com
Chief’s blog: showoffcards.blogspot.com