I have several friends who have their own business/side hustle/etc. and would like to reach out to them with ideas for how I could make branded or otherwise personalized things they could give as client gifts. I’d love any other ideas from the community on what’s fast/easy for me and not particularly expensive for raw materials. I plan on making some prototypes as examples, too.
I know a lot depends on the type of business they’re in, but some example ideas I’ve been inspired by include cutting boards/slate boards (real estate friend), luggage tags (travel agent friend), keychains, magnets, coasters, anodized stuff (USB drives, flashlights).
Maybe it is just me, but I don’t care for the cutting boards, as nice as they look. You aren’t supposed to actually USE them and I don’t have a lot of space for more purely decorative stuff. I would much prefer something functional like the USB drive, or a bottle opener, etc.
Why not? We use ours (& the slate cheese boards). We don’t cut on the engraved side - we use the other side. When they’re not being used we have them engraved side out.
I have a sticker I put on ones given as gifts that outlines that process as well as how to care for a wooden cutting board. (For slates I engrave care instructions on the back.)
I would have thought that even using the back, when washing up the engraving side would end up getting wet and messed up over time. At least on wood. Maybe not though.
I would think that you would need to be creative depending on the client. If they sell aromas and scents then a nice design they can hang on a rear view mirror of untreated wood that they put some scented oil on will last for a month or so per dose, with, of course, their info engraved on it.
I do this myself, handing them out like business cards with a dragon engraved on one side and our phone and Dragons Treasure Etsy shop on the other. Folk treasure them and show their friends and have it out to look at, all things they would not do with a regular business card.
A garden shop could have sticks for what is planted, a bar or restaurant could have coasters. Id tags work for gyms and travel; Tiles for builders, and tradesfolk, etc matching to what they do.
