Hey dolls! 

      I'll be showing you how to make your own business cards on a budget! Today marks day #1 of our 5 day Boss Lady Business Series. Throughout the years I've gained a passion for the beauty community as well as the business side of things. From filming and editing to business start-ups and inventory; I've always had a strong passion for business and the whole idea of one day becoming my own boss! Hence my various business ventures; YCAF- Youngs crochet and fashion brand, Natural Boss Lady Collection and CurlBar. You dolls have watched me grow as a small business owner as I've learned a few of the ropes.

This series was structured to give you guys access to some of the tips and tricks I've learned along the way. The key to success is to work smarter not harder; so please keep this in mind as we journey along to brand and business building. I am by no means and expert but I consistently learning an growing day by day.

I recently attended Naturals in the park Atlanta; the second Annual event. This was definitely on very short notice as I quickly purchased my tickets on the go using my eventbrite app. I've never really had any personal business cards made in the past just strictly business and shop cards. As I begin building personal brand I believe it is essential to have business cards handy when attending any networking events. As they always say; you never know who you may meet at any given time. 

With a college girl budget and gas prices being through the roof, I had to think of a creative yet frugal way to get business cards done for less than $50 ideally. After countless phone calls, emails and texts I came to the conclusion that outsourcing this type of gig on such short notice (48 hours) just wasn't realistic. 

Blogging takes a bit of image editing skills and Photoshop skills so of course I had a few tricks up my sleeve. I logged into my Pic Monkey account and began combining my favorite images of my self as well as my clothing line. 

Rather than going the traditional route of adding social media links I decided to add my 2 main websites which include all of my social media handles and where to find me. 

Heres the moment you all were waiting for! I forwarded a copy of the finish product to my local OfficeMax (they always save the day!) with the intention of printing on card stock (slightly thicker than standard paper) a total of 50 cards, one by one as flyers. OfficeMax had a wait time for standard business cards at 3 weeks minimum. My representative assured me that she could go into Photoshop and rearrange the images to fit in business card size segments where I could still achieve the "business card look" for less verses the standard flyer.

This process allowed for 60 business cards; 30 color, 30 black and white all for the low price of $2.92. Boss Lady on a budget! I headed over to the manual cutting board and was able to cut out my business cards in no time with the outlined design she provided me!

Business cads in 48 hours under $3 now that's a steal dolls! I hope my DIY can inspire you to think outside of the box when it comes to your business. Johnny cupcakes once said " if you're an engineer, have your business card carved in wood" it'll leave a long lasting impression on you and your brand vs the standard business card with contact info.

More than likely you are in business not only for passion but to make money. Do not let money be the key factor as to why you haven't started your business today! We all have to start somewhere.

Do what you love, Love what you do!

xo Rayann