By: Eden Hensley; Photos by Brooke Dennis for Alt Summit
I’m often asked how many business cards to bring to Alt Summit. The answer? It depends. How many business cards you need depends on your goals and how you network.
I’ve been to four Alt Summits in Salt Lake City as well as Alt SF. I’ve had three different business cards. I’ve gone fancy and I’ve gone simple. My fancy business cards included a card along with a treat from San Francisco tucked inside a glassine envelope. My simple approach, the one I’ve gone with for the past year and a half for all conferences I’ve attended, is a simple business card and a commercially packaged treat from my hometown.
Outside of conferences, I’m indiscriminate with who I give my card to. If I talk to you about my lifestyle site, I’ll leave you with a business card. My thinking? You never know who knows the person that will take your business to the next level. That said, at Alt Summit I’ve given out as many as 150 cards and as few as 25 cards. I always bring 200 business cards, neatly stacked in boxes of 50 cards each.
I collect business cards. Here are some of my favorites from the Alt Community that I’ve received.
Lexy of The Proper Pinwheel (since rebranded as The Proper Blog) shared a party in a box with us. I still have her hand-sewn garland.
Gilit of Shoes Off Please and The Bannerie, one of our Alt Summer 2015 speakers, translated her excitement about attending Alt into a banner that she handed out.
Melissa of Lulu the Baker gave out cork-topped glass vials filled with sea salt. I’ve since used my gift of sea salt to top chocolate-covered toffee but her creativity always makes me smile. (I actually serve sea salt to guests with a paint-dipped spoon she crafted for her first Alt Summit.)
MJ of Pars Caeli turned her vision statements into memorable business cards. I wanted to collect the entire set! I’ve got her card pinned to my jewelry display and see it every morning when I wake up.
If you want to get more ideas from past Alt Summit attendees, check our Alt Business Card Inspiration board on Pinterest.
