Once in a while, a tip comes along that causes me to do a quick head slap and say, “Why didn’t I think of that?” While reading a popular RV site, I saw an idea from Brenda M. She wrote, “Retirement is the best ‘job’ we’ve ever had. We promote ourselves with business cards.” Brenda went on to explain that she and her husband routinely distribute their business (retirement) cards to folks they meet when camping.
Business cards for retirement
Throughout our careers, both my husband and I carried business cards. We’d hand them out at large conferences as a way to help others remember us. I loved receiving them, as well. With just a brief glance, I could be reminded of a person’s name, company, and contact information. I just never thought about carrying a business card while RVing.
Why use them when RVing?
- Easy. The small size of a business card makes it easy to carry, distribute, and store. It takes much less time to hand out a card than enter contact information into your cell phone. Since I’m retired, I think I’d probably only use the card information while camping. I wouldn’t need to permanently keep this information on my phone. The card would suffice.
- Instant overview. The cards could help me connect names with faces in the campground. That is, if the person’s picture was featured on the card. I think I’d jot the person’s campsite number on the card, too. It could be a big help in locating folks, especially when staying in larger parks.
- Friendly gesture. A personal card has the potential to give the recipient some insight into your personality, special hobbies, or personal interests, too. I’ve seen cards that prominently feature a special hobby, pet, or other memorable things about a person.
- Networking. For folks who are working remotely, a business card while RVing makes sense. What better way to network when on the road? Other remote workers may alert you to openings at their places of employment. Retired workers may have suggestions or potential employment referrals for you, as well.
Where to get great business cards
Vistaprint offers customizable cards at reasonable rates. Check them out.
Also check local business supply stores or Amazon (you can customize cards on Amazon) to compare prices, customization capabilities, styles, and more.
Do you use business cards while RVing? Tell us in the comments below.
##RVT1050
We got 500 cards from Vistaprint for $10, 12 years ago when we started fulltiming. We also had a small inspirational message put on the backside. They’ve proved to be very handy when making new acquaintances, or getting service done on something. So much easier than looking for pen & paper.
My sister was a blue water sailor and she had business-type cards to hand out. They included the name of her boat and her contact info. This was years before social media came into play. It was not uncommon to get a hail over the radio if someone saw you coming into an anchorage.
My former supervisor was retired, lost a bag in the airport while traveling, and happen to have his business card in it (even tho he was retired) whoever found it called our office and said do you know… we said yes, please send it to our office and they did! (UPS collect).
I’ve always had a business card in everything and the finder can always call the office, and it doesn’t have my personal or home info on it!
As a retired County Law Officer I still use my business cards. They’re stamped “Retired” and feature my cell # (which they always did). They feature the office address and phone number.
I suspect it is mostly us “old folks” who carry business cards. The younger generations just “kiss” their phones to exchange information!
Yep. Have been doing this for years. RV networking is fun. We include the address of our blog so folks can follow our travels if they like.
What we don’t have is our address since that would be a dead giveaway to the unscrupulous that we are not “at home.” Nor do we give our phone numbers. Email and social media is enough. For those we get to know better, we simply write more information on the back of the card.
I had business cards that 75% of them were wasted because information had changed. Now I buy box of blank business cards and print them off my computer with a special program. I can print 200 at a time and change information as I need to. Have done that for 30 years now and it works great.
When we went full time my girlfriend designed a logo for us, it’s a wine glass with a cigar. Our contact info is on the back, including our Facebook page. The logo is memorable and is also on the back of our rig. We even get messages from people when we are going down the road.
I have been handing out my “retirement cards” since 2010, when I actually retired for the final time. But, since we are on our third RV, I didn’t put a photo of any of them on the cards. Instead, I have a photo of the red 1956 MGA roadster I have owned since 1986!
That was one of my retirement presents from my daughter! They have my blog information on one side and our e mail addresses, etc on the other. People have loved them, we’ve gone through a couple of boxes in the 10 years of travel and had to reorder!
I also carry the business card of the RV park at which I am staying when out on day trips. This helps to easily document my local address to tow company, police etc if the need arises. Also as a solo traveler, in case of incapacitation, authorities can see my home base.
I did our retirement business cards using the “Publisher” program and had them printed at a FedEx/Kinkos store. We camp host and have exchanged cards with dozens of other hosts. It’s a great way to keep in touch with our favorite people. On the back of each card we receive I write the name of the campground that we hosted with those people.
Husband and I have had business cards for years. Makes so much easier than having to write stuff down. Even used when having truck worked on. Put hole in biz card and attached on key ring. Both our phone numbers and emails are on it along with a mailing address. People we have met on the road always say wow wish I would’ve thought of that!
I have carried cards forever. The real difference is they no longer have a company logo. The cards I hand out now have a small picture of either our coach (Chaumière). They used to have the sloop (Bonne Ideè), but I had to sell her. I started printing these because so often we would get places and want to pass contact information but there was nothing to write on.
Hint: If you have another put his contact information on the back of one of your cards, put a BIG mark on the face so you don’t accidentally pass that card to another.
I always carry at least three cards ready to disperse.
Matt
People get a kick out of my cards which say RETIRED BUT STILL SUPERVISED.
Picked up this idea last year from a retired full-time RV couple. My wife and I now hand out business cards. We put a picture of our rig on the front with our Instagram handle and on the back our contact info. It’s a great way to stay connected to the RV community.
Been doing this for years, since we retired. Always have a few in my wallet even when at home. A 1000 goes a long long ways
Boaters who are “Loopers” [America’s Great Loop] have been doing this for decades. We are both RVers and boaters, and we always carry cards with us. Like others have mentioned, we have our names, phone numbers, and e-mail addresses on the card, but not our physical address. And VistaPrint is a great source. High quality at a *very* reasonable price.
We also carry cards. They have our picture, cell #, email, and city we live in but not street address. The back side is a picture of our motorhome. When we exchange cards with others, a make a note on their card of when and where we met them.
We distribute our personal card that has our Facebook group (The Adventures of the Traveling Moose) along with names, email and cell numbers. People love them when we pass them out…
Vistaprint was easy to use and very inexpensive IMO…