Fill Your Pockets with Free Advertising

I received the best gift over the weekend. It came wrapped in a large, heavy box, tied tight with a sturdy strand of white ribbon. It wasn't clothes. It wasn't money. It wasn't that new flat screen TV I've had my eyes on. It was pens. One thousand of them, to be exact.

These are no ordinary pens, though. They're green — my favorite color — and stamped with my business tagline, Web site and phone number. My boyfriend gave them to me as a congratulatory gift for starting my own business early this year. I love them. We've both stuffed our pockets full of them so that we can leave a trail of entrepreneurial bread crumbs across the city.

For instance, when I'm out to dinner next, I'll sign the credit card receipt with one of my pens and leave it for the next diner to find. When I'm signing in as a guest at my friend's building, I'll use my own pen and leave it there for the next guest to pick up. I'll do the same thing at the doctor's office, at the bank and at the DMV. I'll even leave a couple in the back of my next cab. Who knows who'll find them, right? Maybe, hopefully, my next big client.

The pens are cheap, but their potential is priceless. Give em a try. I am.