Algonquin Mom Builds Greeting Card Business

With her own small business venture, Shelly Walsh says she feels like she has a personal assistant. In fact, it’s the product she markets that serves the purpose of providing correspondence. Send Out Cards is her direct selling endeavor, and during the holiday season, the entrepreneur and mother of three has a lot going on.

“This has helped me be the person I wanted to be,” said Walsh, explaining the corporation’s mission is to change lives through cards. “Cards in the mail are one of the things that get lost in our tech-savvy world.”

The way it works, Walsh introduces customers to Send Out Cards through its online presence. The company offers an array of 15,000 paper cards to express business and personal sentiments. After selecting a card, the customer types in his or her own message. It is as accessible and efficient as sending an email, Walsh says, but its impact is greater. The paper cards cost less than they typically do in retail stores as well.

“It’s actually a note with a stamp on it,” she said. “It’s exciting to get a card that you weren’t expecting.”

Each night, the cards are printed and mailed from the company’s base in Salt Lake City. Eleven signature fonts are available, and creators can come up with their own.

Walsh is a distributor and works about 15 hours per week for her home-based business. The relationships she has built with other distributors is rewarding too, she said. "It's like Mary Kay or Pampered Chef, that kind of business model."

In 2008, Kris Porter of Cary discovered Send Out Cards. She introduced Walsh to it, and said it’s a great fit for the busy mom.

“Shelly is fabulous with people and great at connecting,” Porter said. Moreover, Send Out Cards seems to be a natural tool for business owners. In particular, Porter said relationship-focused entrepreneurs are the clients with whom she enjoys working the most.

“I call them creative,” she said. “It can be someone who owns an auto body shop, or an insurance agency, but they are creative in that they are always looking to connect with a customer.”

Porter, who networks throughout McHenry County and has clients as far away as Tennessee and Pennsylvania, added those individuals stay positive in their client relations and try to blame the economy for business challenges.

“They know relationships matter,” she said. “They are taking the respect to the clients.”