If you’re at an event—a conference, a seminar, a networking event, a cocktail hour, whatever—you’re hopefully meeting people you’ll want to stay in touch with, because they’re interesting, they’re potential business associates, clients, mentors, friends. In short they can help you or you can help them. And the way to stay in contact is by exchanging business cards. Napkins, the back of someone else’s card, slips of paper, even writing your name in their daily planner just don’t cut it. You want to be remembered as someone who has it together, and together people have business cards.

I’ve asked a few people why they don’t have business cards. The top three answers are: I forgot; I don’t have any; I don’t know what to put on it.

If you forget your business cards often, stash stacks in your different bags or the pockets of suits and coats you wear out. If you’re at an important event, like a conference that you shelled out hundreds of dollars for, get some. If you’re at a nice hotel, the business center can probably produce a bunch by the end of the day. If you’re in a town or city, any copy center can do the same.

If you don’t have any business cards, period, get some. Many people get their cards done at vistaprint.com. They’re cheap, they’re quick, they look good and you don’t have to be an artist to make them snazzy because they have hundreds of templates. But do splurge the extra $10 or so to have the Vista Print logo removed from the back. You don’t want to look careless or that penny pinching. (Unless you really don’t have the money, in which case having the business cards is more important than not having the advertisement.) There are lots of other online sources and brick and timber printing or copy stores that can do them for you. If you do them at home, on your printer, make sure they look professional.

If you don’t know what to put on it because you are a job seeker, job changer or a recent grad, or for whatever reason don’t know what title to put on your card, don’t. Make sure your card has your name and contact information (email and phone numbers) and that’s enough.

If you don’t know what to put on your business card because you do too many things, or because you do one thing professionally and something else because you love it, get different business cards. One for each job title and decide which to hand out based on your conversations.

The point is that you exchange business cards to stay in touch, so your name and contact info is the most important parts of the card. And if you don’t have a business card, you just wasted some of your valuable time.