Henry’s Business Cards

Henry was new in the town of Summerville, and he had just bought an old house which he knew would need a lot of work. He was strolling around town one Saturday morning when he stopped in at the local diner. It seemed as though half the town were there.”Have a seat,” said the manager. “Someone will be with you shortly.”Henry sat at the counter and looked around. Something caught his eye from across the room. It was a large corkboard with seemingly hundreds of items pinned to it. “What in the world is that?” he asked, to no one in particular.”That’s our Yellow Pages and internet all in one,” said the man who sat two seats down the counter. “I’m Larry,” he added, offering his hand.Henry stood and walked across the room. He was amazed by what he saw: hundreds of business cards, pinned in straight rows from one end of the board to the other. There must have been thirty rows from the bottom of the board to the top. He studied the cards. Every profession was represented there – from lawyers to plumbers, from dentists to babysitters. Every conceivable business activity which could go on in a small town such as Summerville had a place somewhere on that board. In many cases there were multiple cards pinned to the same spot.Larry sidled up beside Henry. “See, the way it works is – let’s say you want a carpenter to fix your porch. There’s ‘Bill’s Carpentry Services, Inc.’ – and so you pull the pin out and pull one of his business cards off the pin, and then you put the pin back in place, leaving six more for someone else to consider.”Henry nodded. “Well, it looks like I’ll be needing a number of these business cards – one carpenter, one plumber,” – he started taking down cards – “one carpet installer, one window manufacturer, one brick mason, several appliances dealers, one hardware dealer, several furniture dealers, a couple of curtain and drape designers…”Several minutes later Henry was finished, and Larry counted twenty cards. “Looks like you’re going to keep half the town in business.”"I think I’m going to keep the business card printers in business, too,” said Henry. “They’re going to have to replenish the board after I’m done.”"Well, we’ve got a couple of those, too,” said Larry, pointing to where business card printing services were advertised. One was Jones Printing and the other was Herbert’s Printing Services.Henry looked at the business cards from each of the two small businesses which provided printing services. “I’ve got a little consulting business I plan to start up. I’ll need some business cards for myself. I think I’ll go with Jones Printing,” he said after a moment. “His card looks more professional, and since card printing is his specialty, it makes sense to use his product. If his business card made a favorable impression on me, maybe my card will make a favorable impression on my potential customers. What do you think?”Larry smiled, “Well, given that my last name is Jones, I would have to agree. How many cards would you like?”Henry laughed at that. “So, you are the proprietor of Jones Printing?”"I’m proud to say that I am Larry Jones himself,” said Larry. “Just let me have your information, and I’ll have your business cards ready for you tomorrow.”Henry and Larry went back to the counter, where Henry jotted down the various address, phone, email and media information that he wanted included on his business card. When he was finished, he handed it to Larry. “By the way, how does that other guy – Herbert – make a living in business card printing? Your business card is so much better by comparison that I can’t imagine anyone wanting to use his service.”Larry smiled. “Well, actually, if you want to know the truth – there is no Herbert and there’s no Herbert Printing Services. I just printed that card to show people that there’s all the difference in the world between a good-looking business card and one that’s merely so-so. I’m constantly having to replenish the Jones Printing card, but that very same Herbert’s Printing Services card has been up there for years. If he really were a business – well, he’d be out of business.”"So, you’re not just a good printer,” said Henry. “It looks like you’re a good marketer as well. Maybe you can strategize with me about my consulting business.”Larry smiled. “Well, it might cost you a steak and a few cold ones, but I’ll do what I can.”