And beyond his bustling printing plant and warehouse in east Salt Lake City, Bateman can tally a national direct-sales network of customer-representatives expected to near 7,000 by year's end. "All of a sudden, we're busting at the seams. A year from now we will be 10 times larger than today, easy," he says.

The 41-year-old Utah entrepreneur has every reason to smile. And when asked about the inspiration for his successful startup, he does. But Bateman's eyes also moisten because there is pain in recalling a personal road not taken many years ago.

It was 1989, and Bateman was saying his goodbyes in Salt Lake City as he readied to leave for a new job in New York. He jumped into his car and, taking a final look around, spotted brother Kris working in a nearby field.

"He was maybe 100 feet away, and I had this very strong impression I should get out, go over an hug my brother and tell him I loved him," Bateman says. "But I ignored it. I remember honking and waving at him as we drove away."

Two months later, Bateman's parents called his New Jersey apartment with news that Kris had been electrocuted at work.

"I remember just looking at a brick wall for hours, wondering how I could deal with this. Finally, I promised my brother I would never again ignore such a prompting" to reach out, he says.

With SendOutCards.com, Bateman says he finally found a way to help others do the same, to "simply respond with kindness to those around us." He says he always knew greeting cards, in some form, would be part of the answer.

In June 2003, the Internet and associated inventory, and printing technologies, allowed Bateman to launch a Web-based niche company combining the convenience and speed of electronic "e-card" greetings with the physical reality and more personal sentiment of traditional holiday, anniversary and birthday cards made of paper.

"It's all built on the idea that people crave appreciation, just like they crave a hamburger at lunchtime," he says. "You get a personal experience with a real, heart-felt, 'feel-good' card. We say here that we want to change the world for the good, one card at a time."

Customers browse a catalog of more than 3,000 card designs and many categories on the site, http://www.SendOutCards.com, and personalize them to an address book full of recipients - even to the point of matching handwritten messages and adding personal photographs.

Visitors can keep it simple, picking, personalizing and shipping a card, beginning at about a dollar, in about a minute or two; or they can sign up as a SendOutCards.com representative, licensee or distributor and start their own Greeting Card on Demand company.

It is a simple and so far successful idea for the privately held company, which employs 12 people at its Utah plant taking and filling orders. SendOutCards.com will soon add to that work force as it doubles its customer service staff to handle increased business.

Bateman admits his is not the only company latching on to the design-and-shipping, greeting card business model. American Greetings, which went into e-cards in a big way a few years ago, is among companies rushing to add creation and delivery of custom paper cards. The U.S. Postal Service also has gotten into the act.

Against such giants in the $7.5 billion a year greeting card industry, Bateman counts on his company's competitive pricing and selection, its distinct personalized handwriting sampling technology and the appeal of its direct-sales business opportunities to keep it growing.

"Our goal is to make millions of people into senders of cards," he says. "We've created the system for them to do just that."

bmims@sltrib.com

Ryan Galbraith/The Salt Lake Tribune

Dave Olsen, product manager of SendOutCards.com, stacks envelopes containing customized greeting cards waiting to be mailed.