One thing I have learned as a business owner is that I’m pretty vain! Because I am the registered agent for my corporation, I am the target of an obscene number of direct mail solicitations. You see, solicitors monitor the North Carolina Secretary of State’s (actually every Secretary of State) corporate filings to find out who has incorporated (or registered their business) in North Carolina. They then capture the name and address of the registered agent and add it to their mailing lists.

I have gotten solicitations for ink pens, key chains, holiday cards, clothing, mugs, you name it and I have gotten it!! Now, I have served as registered agent for other corporations before, but I generally just tossed the “junk mail” in the trash to spare my clients the trouble. However, seeing my own name on a pen, etc., I just couldn’t resist. I spent precious dollars from my small budget on a gimmicky item. I confess that while it turned out to be a good marketing tool, I would nevertheless recommend resisting the urge to waste too much of your budget on these “gimmicky” items (simply because your name is on it).   Go ahead . . . buy one! It is pretty cool to have a pen with your name on it. But, stop at one--if you don’t you will be on every junk email list for the rest of your business’s life.