Photo & Story Treasures: November 2024

You probably know as many people as I do who have a side gig--or a full-time business--where they can set their own schedule and work from home, such as Gold Canyon Candles, Pampered Chef, or Forever, to name some of my favorites. Or maybe a jewelry-making or soap-making business.

These are such great options for anyone who wants to set their own schedule, work from home, etc., but they do require a certain amount of self-advertising. You have to get yourself out there.

If you've got a business you'd like to promote, or you know someone who would, here are four creative ideas I have personally loved for displaying and advertising my business without me saying a thing!

These are great conversation starters! I have created these items with Forever Print, which I love for its quality!

NOTE: I am a Forever affiliate (a decision I made because I love it so much), so you will find affiliate links in this post, from which I earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no extra cost to you.

#1 Water Bottle

Just about everyone carries a water bottle with them these days, and this is such an easy way to share with others what you do--almost by accident!

Instead of family photos as this template shows, you can include photos of your products or something you love about your business. If you want to design an image to go in one of those spots, Canva is an easy way to do that.

Or, you can just choose one image and a template with a saying or monogram that fits you well, like this one below. There are a lot of free templates, and new ones are added all the time.

That said, there is a DIY option for designing your own water bottle. You'll see below my DIY water bottle which I designed using Forever's Artisan digital scrapbooking software program. It allows full flexibility, creativity, choice of fonts, etc. I love and use Artisan for my digital photo-memory books each year, so if something you're designing yourself sounds ideal to you, you can learn more about Artisan here.

If you don't think you'd use Artisan aside from a few business products like these but would still like to design your own water bottle (and ideas #2 and #4 coming up!), I do hire out my design services, so give me a holler since I already own Artisan.

WATER BOTTLE SPECS

17 oz.
Insulated stainless steel water bottle with brushed aluminum spill-proof screw-on cap
Hand-wash only. Not dishwasher or microwave safe. Not intended for hot liquids.

MY WATER BOTTLE

I did create my own water bottle using Artisan, and I LOVE how it turned out!!

Since I could put text and photos anywhere, it ended up exactly how I wanted it with lots of information. I know it's hard to see on a photo of a round surface, so you can see the project itself in my Forever account here in order to see the whole design.

#2 A Tag with Your QR code

I love this great idea from a colleague! You can use an ornament as a little advertisement AND include the QR code to your website, YouTube channel, or whatever you like!

There are a lot of different ornament templates to choose from, so check them out here and play around with whatever looks good to you. Most have a front and back so you can have an image on one side and the QR code image on another.

This is the Benelux shape.

Or, there's a blank option for you to upload something you've designed (say, on Canva) or just a whole photo.

I love the idea of including a QR code that goes to your website! This is my favorite QR code generator if you don't already have one because you can include your business logo in the center (just like I did, which I'll show you shortly)!

ORNAMENT SPECS (several shapes and materials available)

Includes red hanging ribbon (but it's easy to swap out for your own ribbon if you like)
Materials: (aluminum) premium glossy coated white aluminum; (glass) glass with beveled edges and frosted backing; (acrylic) TBA
Number of Sides: Double-Sided for metal (aluminum) ornaments; Single-Sided for glass; Single-Sided for acrylic
Dimensions: Benelux Ornament 3" x 4" Rectangle Ornament 3" x 4" Circle Ornament 3" x 3" Square Ornament 3" x 3"

MY BUSINESS TAG/ORNAMENT

I started out trying to create my business tag/ornament using the Create & Print templates, but I was using two images I'd created and saved previously, and the dimensions for what I was going for weren't quite right. I ended up using Artisan, so you won't be surprised that I LOVE how it turned out!!

You can see that the metal ornaments are double-sided and come with a red ribbon for hanging.

I decided to go with some twine when I tied it on my bag.

I'm so happy with how this turned out. What an easy conversation starter.

#3 Business Books

What if you could make your own personalized, unique-to-you, better-than-a-catalog book showcasing your business?

And what if it only costs about $12?

I love this idea for a "brag book" you can carry in your purse or briefcase that is completely personalized to YOU! Sure, put photos of your products and services in the book, but what about:

testimonials
quick tips
how-tos
what you love about your business

A simple 8x8 softbound template in the Create & Print software (all free) is $12.50 when you buy it during a 50% off sale (which happens every 3-5 weeks).

You could try a basic template with a clean look like this one or a neutral like this one, or you could make one that's a little snappier and colorful like this one. Feel free to explore more templates by navigating at the left once you're there.

FYI, the Create & Print software is super easy to use and very intuitive. Putting a book together wouldn't take you very long.

I first got this idea from FOREVER. The Home Office Team put together a step-by-step guide for using FOREVER that they printed as a nice hardbound book! You can see all the pages by clicking the image below (that's the cover of the book) or scanning the QR code.

Once you've opened the link, you can swipe along the bottom to see all the pages.

I think this idea is genius! How do you think it would work with YOUR business? What would you love to share?

Carrying a little purse-sized book is so much easier than carrying samples, and you can really bring it home if you include testimonials and experiences of people who have used and loved your product or services.

#4 Business Cards

Most people with businesses have business cards, yes, but you can do some special things with Artisan! There aren't any limits to the design.

You could even do something fun like this:

Imagine a giveaway or a punch card! The possibilities are endless.

I did a creative take on a business card years ago and created a little list of my events that people could attend!

Now that I've moved most of my events online, I don't use these cards any more... but, come to think of it, this would be a great place for a QR code with a direct link to my blog tab listing all my upcoming events!

BUSINESS CARD SPECS

Available in landscape or portrait orientation.
Double-sided.
3"x2" or 2"x3"
Set of 50

MY BUSINESS CARDS

Business cards are a specialty item only available in Artisan, but remember my For-Hire option if you'd like me to create something for you.

I love these business cards because you can make yourself really stand out!

In fact, I love each of these creative ways to use these products to make yourself stand out in your business and let people know what you do before you even say anything!

Share this article with someone you know who is looking for exactly this!