Business Spotlight: Music on Main Street

Twenty years ago, Scott Mecredy and his brother were tossing a baseball around in the backyard. On that fateful day, they started discussing the perfect music store.

From that discussion the pair started to travel around the country to solidify the idea of what their store should look like. Mecredy and his brother decided they wanted to combine teaching with retail, repairs and live music.

Mecredy tabled the business plan with a sticky note saying to revisit the idea again when he was 40. The now 43-year-old, decided to open his store after his mother passed away in December 2010.

Mecredy followed his mother's last instructions which were, "Your music is special. Use it to help people, especially children." August 22 will mark the store's one year anniversary. I recently sat down with Scott to talk about Music on Main Street.

Patch: What is the best aspect of owning Music on Main Street?

Scott: I really believe strongly in the power of music. I believe it connects people in ways nothing else does. Even down to within your own family. As we've gone through this first year's great experiment we're bringing families together through the power of music. That's really powerful stuff. Watching a kid inspired by music was the core reason for doing this and the unexpected by-product of that is bringing those families together, both as part of the process of getting them to learn but also a bonding experience through coming to the live shows.

Patch: What is the most challenging aspect of owning M.O.M.S.?

Scott: I guess it would be that we are all musicians here. I am a musician. I ran a big business for Earthlink with a lot of employees but it is a lot different when it's myself and my family and my friends and their families and they are all relying on this for a paycheck. Learning to file taxes and the paperwork and the business aspect has definitely been the biggest challenge. It's much easier to follow your passion and to do the things you love well but it always come with things you don't love as much.

Patch: What makes Music on Main Street unique?

Scott: There are so many unbelievable things that happen on this property that I think are directly related to where it came from, why we're doing this and all of our intentions behind it. People often talk about the energy or vibe that they feel here, both in the house and out back. I think some of it is the history of this place. The house was built in 1895. There have been a lot of families here and I'm sure a lot of music has been played on that front porch over that time. Just the fact that this place has been built by musicians.

We used contractors to help with the roof but the rest was built by myself and my musical buddies. There's a lot of love and care that went into the building of this place and that impacts people. I think that the sign on the side of the building that says music makes the world a better places really sums it up. No one here is on commission. We put a quality instrument into each of our student's hands as inexpensively as we can, and we care about the music experience for the kids and their families. We are focused on the whole family and that wholistic approach has really worked for us so far.

Patch: What makes the Lilburn community special?

Scott: As of two weeks ago, I am a new resident to the city. It has been such an interesting year driving back and forth from Dunwoody. It's been such a rollercoaster this past year and in the process we have really fallen in love with Lilburn. I can't tell you how supportive the town has been from government to the citizens. They come out to support us sheerly out of supporting a local business because they want us to be here. It's just been an awesome experience.

Located at 113 Main St., Music on Main Street in open Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. until 8 p.m. and Saturday from 12 p.m. until 6 p.m. Each Saturday Music on Main Street hosts an outdoor concert from 7 p.m. until 10 p.m. For more information visit their website at www.musiconmainstreetlilburn.com or their facebook page at www.facebook.com/musiconmainstreetga