Today we’d like to introduce you to Elizabeth Gajos.
Elizabeth, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Fifteen years ago, my father came to me and asked if I would be interested in managing a small business that he was thinking about purchasing. I knew nothing about packing and shipping, but I had been in retail for a few years already and was excited at the thought of working at a family owned and operated business, so I jumped at the chance. My father purchased the business on December 1, 2001 and we really hit the ground running with Christmas shopping season. It was a whirlwind and there was a lot to learn, but my father trusted me to run the business and helped me learn how to be a manager.
In July of 2006 my father passed away and the business was left to me, my brother and my sister. As the manager, I continued managing day to day operations and also took on the role of owner while my brother and sister served as my sounding boards. At the age of 24, this was terrifying, but I knew my father had taught me well and I was confident that I could make the business successful. As we all know, shortly after 2006 the economy took a huge hit and times were hard for everyone, especially small businesses.
During this difficult economic time, I learned how to cut back expenses and increase services in order to stay afloat. Almost 11 years later and the business is not only surviving, but thriving.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Owning a small business is not easy, and of course there are struggles along the way. Some struggles that we have faced began when we first purchased the business. The previous owner had been there for many years and was loved in the neighborhood, earning the trust of her loyal customers took time, but I think we have won them over!
The economic downturn in 2008 was also an incredibly difficult time for us. Figuring out how to pay bills when people don’t have money to ship care packages to their college students or cookies to their grandkids was very hard. I had to learn how to best utilize the money that was coming in. The lights had to stay on, the gas company had to be paid in order to keep the heat on and the vendors supplying us had to be paid in order to be able to continue offering the services we needed to offer in order to stay in business. By increasing the services we offered with things we already had the capabilities to offer, we were able to increase revenue and fight our way through those hard times.
I couldn’t have done this alone though, while my brother and sister have been wonderful at helping me talk things out, I have relied heavily on my assistant Patty since shortly after we purchased the business. She has been with us since the spring of 2002 and has helped me tremendously in becoming not only the business owner I am, but also the person I am today. Having employees that are smart, enthusiastic and loyal is the biggest asset a small business has.
Please tell us about Chicago Lock Box.
Chicago Lock Box is a neighborhood packing and shipping store. We offer UPS, FedEx and some USPS services. We also have private mailboxes, copy services, notary services, business card printing and much more.
We specialize in packing and shipping. We have packed and shipped almost everything from homemade cookies to neon bar signs and everything in between. We know how to pack things to keep the item safe while keeping the package size as small as possible in order to save on shipping charges. We have relationships with both UPS and FedEx and offer both services in order to offer our customers as many options as possible.
What I am most proud of and what sets us apart from others are one in the same. We are known for our customer service. We strive to make every customer’s experience as quick and painless as possible. Shipping packages isn’t always fun, but more of an errand to be checked off a list. We want our customers to know that we are here to help them and our goal is to get their packages safely to their destination in the best and cheapest way possible. We also love helping other small businesses whether it be by printing business cards, offering a private mailbox to a new business operating out of a residence or printing flyers to be posted around town, everything and anything we can do to help, we will!
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
My favorite memory from childhood is going to my dad’s other small business he owned when I was a child. He owned a photo finishing lab in Palos Heights and my brother and sister and I sometimes went with him on the weekends to “help”. We got to sort empty film canisters, and talk to customers. It was fun learning about how businesses work and being with our dad at the same time doing something he truly loved.
Pricing:
- Business Card Printing $40 for 500 one color on white card stock
- Color Copies $.25 each
- Private Mailbox Rentals starting at $15 per month with a Chicago street address
Contact Info:
- Address: 3400 W. 111th Street
Chicago, IL 60655 - Website: www.chicagolockbox.net
- Phone: (773)239-5934
- Email: chicagolockbox@gmail.com
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/Chicagolockbox
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