A former freelance artist who designed her first greeting card on a computer just “for fun” has turned her doodles into a multi million-pound business.
62-year-old Jacquie Lawson runs her illustration website from her home in Sussex, allowing visitors across the globe access to a treasure trove of humorous and seasonal greeting cards.
According to The Observer, the website had more than double the amount of visitors in December than its closest rival, American Greetings.com, in light of data from Nielson/NetRatings.
For an annual fee of £4.50, each member can select one of Ms Lawson’s designs, which take weeks of her personal attention, to send to the recipient of their choice.
Membership of JacquieLawson.com has reportedly risen by 45 per cent in the past year to over 531,000 subscribers.
With each member’s fee, Ms Lawson is said to have generated almost £2.4 million, since she started her business in 1998, when she was armed only with a computer mouse and a design programme.
Now the millionaire freelance employs a technical adviser for such IT challenges, but recommends anyone with an idea, regardless of age, should embrace technology without fear.
“The internet is not just for people in their twenties,” she said.
“I was pretty ancient when I got my first computer. Dear old ladies like me can take it up.”
Estimates from Red Herring Magazine claim companies can normally sell for five or six times its income, implying Ms Lawson could be sitting on a home working business worth a cool £15million.
However, she has no desire to sell. Instead the quest for good design and exemplary illustration will continue, as the freelance-cum- grandmother explained.
“It’s a bit of a crusade because there’s so much rubbish on the internet,” she said.
“It’s such a fantastic medium, it ought to get better. I’ve always been a stickler for detail – I studied illustration and I love putting in bits people might not notice the first time.”
Reflecting on the sound financial footing of the business, Mr Lawson hinted she was not interested in the trappings of wealth, citing shopping trips to Tesco as the norm.
However, she has invested some of her success: for work, she uses a touch sensitive tablet and stylus, while for play; the 62-year-old can be seen cruising in a BMW motor car.
Feb 13, 2006
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