December 01, 2024
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Daily Chronicle

Provident Direct in Sycamore to add more space for growth

By NICOLE WESKERNA

Kim Colness (right) and Susan Mizgalski check mail bar codes and sort letters into trays at Provident Direct in downtown Sycamore. The business is expanding and its mail-sorting equipment will be moved across the street to office space at 216 S. California St. (Nicole Weskerna)

SYCAMORE – Jim and Susan Mizgalski's business started seven years ago with one employee and one printer.

Their direct mailing and printing service, Provident Direct, has now outgrown the office space it occupies near downtown Sycamore – a sign that the business has come a long way.

"Jim was a one-man show," Susan Mizgalski said, recalling the business' beginning. "We had one printer. That was our biggest expense back then."

Now, they look back at that expense and wonder why they ever panicked about making what felt like a big purchase, she said. The business started in a building on Thompson Road in Sycamore before moving to its location near the downtown area. After taking over the first floor of the building, Provident Direct grew to take over the second story of the building.

But the 1,800-square-foot building still wasn't enough space for the bigger equipment it housed, including a high-tech mail-sorting machine. Soon, the Mizgalskis hope to have their largest mail service machines moved to a new space across the street they purchased last month. The space allows approximately 2,300 extra square feet to be used primarily for the company's mail-sorting operation.

"We're outgrowing our space, and that's a good thing," Mizgalski said.

The Provident Direct logo decals have been placed on the door at 216 S. California St., where they plan to move within the month.

The company has five full-time employees and four part-time employees who help run the three main components of the business. Provident Direct offers a discounted mail service, a printing service that includes personalized business cards and brochures and publishes the Discover Your Hometown advertiser.

Provident Direct's business operates like a mail room. Jim Mizgalski said the company picks up literature and items from clients who want to send out large quantities of mail for a discounted price.

"Everything we have done so far has been mail driven," he said.

Provident Direct has to maintain certification from the United States Postal Service. To be certified, Jim Mizgalski said the post office sends three crates of mail for his company to sort and return. Once that's done, the company becomes a certified service bureau for the post office.

"We understand the post office, how to get maximum dollars and find the best rate for all services," Susan Mizgalski said. "That's really our specialty."

The certified company is unique in DeKalb County, Jim Mizgalski said, and is only one of nine in the state.

He said once the large mail-sorting equipment is moved to the other building, Provident Direct's current building at 205 S. California St. will become a more retail friendly office for customers who want to stop in.

Know more

What: Provident Direct

Address: 205 and 216 S. California St., Sycamore

Phone: 815-899-3079

Website: www.providentdirect.net