2009 Small Business of the Year Finalist: Pearson-Kelly Office Products

Since 2002, Pearson-Kelly Office Products has been selling and servicing equipment for area businesses. Its product lines include Kyocera-Copystar and Panasonic.

And even with the challenges of the recession, President Mike Kelly said the company is faring well.

"Growth wasn't as stellar as we'd hoped for in 2008, but we still grew," Kelly said, though he declined to disclose revenues. "We try to grow 20 percent to 25 percent a year, which is pretty optimistic sometimes."

Vice President Byron Pearson founded the business in his garage after the company he previously worked for was purchased by IKON. The new owners wanted to take him out of management and keep him on staff as a service technician, but Pearson decided to take the leap and become a small-business owner.

Kelly said the company's business is evenly split between sales and service. In 2008, when Pearson-Kelly also was a Small Business of the Year finalist, the company reported that it surpassed the $1 million sales mark the previous year - quite a jump from the $125,000 in revenues it earned during its first year.

Much of the company's growth is attributed to acquisitions, including Progressive Business Systems in 2004 and Kolar-Henderson Business Solutions in 2005.

"Whenever something presents itself and it's a good business decision, take advantage of it," Kelly said. "We've not gone around looking for companies to buy. They've all come to us, actually."

Not unlike other small businesses, Pearson-Kelly has had to make sure its operations are as lean as possible.

"We didn't lay off any people or add any people," he said, hinting that more hires could come with additional acquisitions. "We didn't have a lot of fat we had to trim."[[In-content Ad]]