John Booth has worked in franchising before with Amtrak, as well as running his own courier business for 15 years. He decided he was ready for a change when he felt he was enjoying his work less and the stress of employing and managing so many staff became more evident.
John takes up his story: “I thought I might struggle to get another job at this stage in my life but I knew I was ready for a different challenge. My brother was an existing Mac Tools franchisee in the north of England and was doing really well financially so that gave me confidence in the idea. The company seemed to have a sound business model and, as well as doing a bit more research, I also happened to meet the guy who owns what would have been the adjoining territory to mine. He and his girlfriend were Mac Tools distributors and told me more about the franchise opportunity.
“Having owned a franchise before, I already appreciated the benefits it offers as opposed to building a new business from scratch. Franchising means you have a big brand behind you and ongoing support for different aspects of the business such as product knowledge, sales and training development.”
John was more than happy with the endorsements he received from more of the existing franchisees that he contacted and went on to launch his own territory in Falkirk during February 2010. His initial training consisted of 3 weeks at both the Stanley Black & Decker European Headquarters in Sheffield and at the Mac ‘Tool School’ in Ohio, USA where he learnt about all the different products. There was then another week of training in Sheffield to plan for his individual territory launch.
Asked about the merits of franchising, John said: “My advice to anyone who is thinking about buying their first franchise would be to remember that you get out of it what you put in; if you work hard and can be reliable, that is the most important thing for your customers.”
Now in his third year as a Mac Tools distributor, John will tell you that all that matters to him is for his business to be running properly and earning him the living he requires. What modest John probably won’t tell you, however, is that despite only being in his third year, he is already a very successful Mac Tools distributor – based on exceptional performance that he sees as ‘just doing his job’.
In 2010, John won the Rookie of the Year award for excellent sales during his first year. He also won the Franchisee of the Year award which compares the entire UK franchise network based on their sales, turnover and performance. This is the top award that Mac Tools present to their franchisees and for John resulted in an all-expenses paid holiday to Las Vegas, an American-style Superbowl ring for himself and a matching pendant for his wife, £2000 of high street vouchers, 1% payback of all his purchases, the best room in the hotel for two nights during the award ceremony, and a trophy.
John reiterates however that anyone can achieve these commendations: “If you work hard, are regular and reliable for your customers, I can’t see it failing. I put in a lot of hard work and effort to get the rewards. I also have my wife supporting me throughout, which is a big element because I don’t think I could do it without her help.”
In 2011, John went on to win the Top Toolbox Seller award, the Top Performer of the Year award, and the Franchisee of the Year award for the second time. He and his wife were given another reward package with a holiday in Nashville, Tennessee.
Moving forward, John’s plans are simple: “I want to continue developing my area and perhaps expand by setting up another van. When you run a good territory, there is scope for that so I definitely want to consider the potential.”
