By Helen Borland / Staff

Kelly Wilson and Stan McPherson opened Kelly and Stan’s, an automotive service and repair business, in September 2009, and they are already investing in the community.

Wilson heard about North Fulton Community Charities (NFCC) through his church, Crosspointe Community Church. Taking to heart and putting into action what he learned there, he and McPherson, who also attends Crosspointe, decided to donate 10 percent of their gross sales for three weeks of December to NFCC. Last week Wilson presented a check for more than $1,000 to Barbara Duffy, Executive Director, and Vonda Malbrough, Development Director of NFCC.

According to Malbrough, they have formed a collaborative effort with Kelly and Stan’s. Wilson supports NFCC by advertising their services at his shop. Many people are out of work, need help, and don’t know where to turn. NFCC provides food, clothing and monetary assistance in emergency situations. Wilson and McPherson are helping make that happen.

This generous gift started with the Christmas season, but Wilson and McPherson want to form an ongoing relationship with NFCC. After just three months of being in business, November was their first profitable month.  “We’d like to get to the point where we could give more,” Wilson said. They do little advertising and count on word-of-mouth referrals to spread the word about their superior service.

After working in several positions within Lauck Motors for 16 years, Wilson had the confidence to open his own business with McPherson after Willie Lauck died and that business was sold. Even though Wilson has 25 years of experience and McPherson has 30-plus years of experience and is ASE Certified (National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence), they were unsuccessful in getting a business loan from three different banks. They got about half the start-up money by taking out home equity loans.

“When you have a problem, you need to handle it the best way you can,“ Wilson said. He believes this is one of the most important business principles he learned from Lauck. Wilson and McPherson have faith and believe in themselves and their professional abilities. The principle of handling situations the best way you can also applies to customer service and repair.

Last summer Wilson was sitting at the kitchen table with his wife, an enthusiastic supporter, talking about how to make this business venture work. He had been looking at possible sites for about a year, but the monthly rent on the best buildings was more than he could comfortably afford. He had decided to call the owner of the property at the corner of Old Roswell Road and Commerce Parkway when his cellphone rang. It was the property owner asking if he was still interested, and the rent he was willing to accept was exactly the same amount as Wilson was willing to pay. A deal was struck and the business got started.

Wilson and McPherson do all the work in the shop themselves, including all the paperwork. They specialize in European and Japanese autos and can work “from headlights to head gaskets“ as Wilson put it. They are so competent that they get referrals from even their competitors. They are also more flexible in how they can do business.  As a start-up company, they are working hard to earn people’s confidence and repeat business.

Wilson and McPherson have the most up-to-date diagnostic equipment and they have just installed two new lifts, bringing their total to four.  “We thought we wouldn’t be able to get more lifts for a year,” Wilson said, “but the business is doing better than we thought it would.” 

Wilson said 75 to 80 percent of their business is referrals. According to Wilson, “God continues to bring in the business.” Wilson is proud of his relationship with NFCC, and wants people to know he and McPherson are invested in the community and plan to be here for a long time.

Wilson and McPherson, both better than quarter century resident of North Fulton, have not only a business partnership and a deep friendship, but they have a unique working relationship as well.

“I run the front of the business, like customer service and relations,” Wilson says, “while Stan runs the back shop. He’s the engine guru.”

Wilson says he’s the face of the business, and McPherson is the heart of the operation. “But what makes it special,” Wilson says, “is that we share a common soul.”