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Corey Miller
The Horn Family (left to right) Kyler (7), Krystal, Kinsley (10), Graylend, Kamden (9), Kambreigh (4) and Kallie (6).
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Corey Miller
Graylend Horn, owner of Horn’s Ace Hardware in Kilmarnock, Middlesex, West Point and Warsaw, Virginia.
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Corey Miller
Graylend and Krystal Horn
Ask Graylend Horn, owner of four ACE Hardware stores, the secret of owning your own business and he’ll tell you that you have to be kind, work hard, and learn from your mistakes.
But he’s also quick to acknowledge that part of his success stems from one important decision he made. “Ever since I was 21, I’ve had someone doing my books for me,” he says from his Kilmarnock store. “Having a bookkeeper makes it easier for me to be successful because they take care of that, and I can focus on what I’m good at.”
And what he’s good at is starting businesses and making them thrive. As early as high school, Horn started his first business buying old jet-skis, hovercrafts and four-wheelers which he then repaired, painted and sold for profit. By the time he graduated
Lancaster High School in 1997, he had thousands of dollars saved up as he headed to Virginia Tech to study engineering. After three years, he came home for the summer to look for a job to keep him busy until school restarted. He was 21. “I could legally drink or start a business,” he jokes. Batting ideas around with an accountant friend, they decided that the IT service industry was the way to go. “I wanted something I could get up and running that would generate income but let me go back to college.” Kaballero, his internet service provider business, took off so rapidly that he decided to take a semester off from college and then one semester led to another as he ran fiber optics from White Stone to Kilmarnock and had a 200' tower built in White Stone, with 28 micro-towers throughout the Northern Neck.
It wasn’t long before Virginia Broadband came calling, and in 2008, the self-made Horn sold his company to them with the understanding that he’d work for them for three years to show them the ins and outs of his business. Before long, he was approached by a cell phone carrier to take care of mobile cell phone off-loading and wireless deployment. “But I didn’t want to work for anybody, and I didn’t want to punch a clock,” he says. What he was willing to do was form a company to do what that corporation needed, and the result was National IT Crew, which did cell phone off-loading. Always looking to fill additional needs in the market, Horn also developed Sight, Sound & Data, which offered low-voltage home automation and later, Graybill, which did government sourcing for items such as wands that identified the chemicals in a spill.
While serving out his time with Virginia Broadband, hardware stores came up on his radar for the first time and the idea was appealing mainly because of the unique qualities of the Northern Neck and Middle Peninsula. “Here, where everyone knows everyone, a hardware store is a hub,” he says, explaining how people can walk in, put merchandise on their account and go. Part of what he enjoys is helping customers working on projects by suggesting available workmen or others who’ve done a similar project. “We’re a place for advice. This is a big small area and we know who can help who.”
His first ACE Hardware opened in Kilmarnock in 2012 followed by three more in West Point, Middlesex and the newest, in Warsaw. With all of the stores, Horn was hands-on, swinging a hammer along with the crew and acting as the general contractor.
One thing he knows for sure is that he couldn’t have done it without his employees, whom he hires for their personality and then trains for the position. He also makes a point to promote from within. “I refer to employees as partners because that’s really what they are,” he says. “I’m not your boss, I’m your partner.” In many ways, those partners are more like family to Horn and his wife Krystal, who don’t hesitate to help with anything their partners need. In the back of the Kilmarnock store is a computer and desk, at which partners can schedule time for their children to do their remote schoolwork. When the pandemic hit, the stores began offering free craft projects that doubled as learning exercises for youngsters. They’ve hosted movie nights to benefit families in need, done cancer benefits for sick children and donated to the Little League, among many other organizations.
“Our hearts are partial to children and we’ve been fortunate to be able to give back,” says Krystal Horn. She and Graylend met in August 2008 when she was postmaster in White Stone and a natural rapport developed between them. As the friendship grew, they realized there was something very special about their connection.
“It was so easy for us to talk to each other,” she recalls. “He told me that if I were single, he’d chase me. Once I was available, I told him, ‘Okay, I’m single. Why aren’t you chasing me?’” In February 2009, they began dating and by October, they were married in Williamsburg. A month later, they found out she was pregnant.
“You never believe you have a soul mate until you meet them,” Krystal says. Both had always wanted a big family and the family grew along with the business: Kinsley arrived in 2010, Kamden in 2011, Kyler in 2013 and Kallie in 2014. By that point, Krystal began giving away all the accumulated baby paraphernalia and her license plate read, “4 NO MORE.” But after baby fever hit, Kambriegh was born in 2016 Krystal’s license plate read, “5 I LIED” and now it’s “ZUU KEPR”.
She took a leave of absence from the Post Office in 2014 to figure out if she could commit to being a stay-at-home Mom and be happy. Almost immediately, she realized that home with the children was where she needed to be. Eventually, the business grew to the point that she came on part-time doing the back-office work so that business would flow smoothly, and each store would get the resources it needs.
“I can make my own schedule so that it balances out with what the kids need,” Krystal says, laughing that all she does is chauffeur the children around. “Sometimes, we flip roles and he comes home so I can go work. Not many husbands are good at that.”
The Horns agree that routine and structure are the key to making multiple companies and a large family work so well. “We divide and conquer, taking it one day at a time” Graylend says with a smile. “The only time that scares you is when they’re quiet.”
Family comes first and Krystal says that attitude comes naturally to the couple, both of whom always knew they wanted a big family. “We’re just so used to the craziness, the crazier the better,” she says. “Graylend and I are so opposite, but we just clicked, so we balance each other out. We make a good team and at the end of the day, we always find a way to make things work.”
Visit hornsacehardware.com for all location and contact information.