Name: Clyde E. Mitchell
Company: Universal Data Inc.
Phone: (816) 765-3275
E-mail:
Type of Business: Mailing & Printing
No of Employees: 15


Universal Data Inc. is a company with attitude. Not bad attitude, mind you, but positive attitude, professional attitude and, most important to president Clyde Mitchell, customer-oriented attitude.

Mitchell started Universal Data in 2000, along with Babette Mitchell, project manager and treasurer, and Judy Parker, vice president. Originally, the company positioned itself as an information technology company because that is Mitchell’s background. In 2002, they “reinvented” the company to pursue a U.S. General Service Administration (GSA) contract. They learned the mail business, bought a Multi-line Optical Character Reader presort machine, got certified by the U.S. Postal Service, and won that government contract.

Now, Universal Data Inc. is a full-service mail and printing company with a data entry staff. They call themselves a one-stop shop.

Because it’s a small business, time management is critical, and there is a lot of paperwork involved with each certifying agency. But, Mitchell said, these certifications can be attained with diligence.

Universal Data is certified as a small disadvantaged business and as a minority business enterprise through the Minority Supplier Council, the city of Kansas City, Mo., and the state of Missouri. The company also has filed with the Small Business Administration (SBA) for 8(a) certification. Mitchell said the company has won some government contracts, but most of its business comes from the private sector.

“I believe the certification helps level the playing field in regard to small business and competition,” Mitchell said. “It’s a lot of paperwork, but as long as you hang in there and do it, the certification will come.”

Mitchell said he received support from the Minority Supplier Council, Missouri Procurement Technical Assistance Center and the SBA. He also talked with several entrepreneurs who gave him some advice on how to promote the business and present the proper image. Mostly, however, it has been trial and error.

“We learned as we went,” Mitchell said. But he gives a lot of credit to his co-owners, who have provided invaluable IT and business experience.

Mitchell, a Kansas City native and Vietnam veteran, attended the University of Illinois where he majored in computer science. Later, he attended the University of Missouri-Kansas City and Penn Valley Community College where he took courses in advertising and marketing. He also became a junior accountant for Foremost Foods, which he said helped him understand the financial side of the business.

Mitchell is proud of the direction the company has taken. He said Universal Data is the only minority-owned MASS-certified company in Missouri, of which there are only four. MASS (Multiline Accuracy Support System) is a presorting certification through the Postal Service.

Mitchell also has coined the term Unimail, to describe the way a number of small businesses can run their mail through Universal Data and get the same bulk rates that large corporations receive. The next step is marketing the idea so that more businesses know the service is available.

Mitchell said he has had success with guerilla marketing, which uses innovative, non-traditional methods to generate word-of-mouth communication. He added that it’s cost effective, aggressive and customer-oriented, but not overbearing. The company tries to get its point across with more graphics and fewer words.

“We love challenges, and this business has been a great one,” he said. “It’s been a learning process, but it’s fun because there’s something new to learn every day.”

Ellen Jensen is the managing editor of Kansas City Small Business Monthly.