In 30 years as a mobile distributor, Terry Larkin has enjoyed a great career despite the many challenges he has faced. At age 61, he has no plans of retiring any time soon, despite the fact that he no longer has to work if he doesn’t want to. “I love what I do,” said Larkin, a St. Augustine, Fla.-based Mac Tools distributor. He has many friends in the industry and has mentored several other distributors.
Larkin recently installed a custom-built knife display cabinet. He continues to take pride in his “showcase” truck, carrying $200,000 worth of retail inventory.
The mobile distribution business has allowed Larkin to give his two sons, now adults, many advantages he himself did not have. “This business has allowed me to do a lot of things,” he noted.
Larkin never imagined being in business for himself. In 1986, he was a 9-year veteran of the Minneapolis, Minn. police force when a friend invited him to ride on a tool truck. The job appealed to Larkin, who took a leave of absence from his law enforcement job to give the mobile distribution business a try. Since then, he never looked back.
Larkin found the mobile distribution business a lot more profitable than being in law enforcement and a lot safer. He also liked working for himself.
Larkin was a natural salesman and he was a consistent top performer for the flag organization he first worked for. It wasn’t long before the flag management recruited him to become a field manager. He worked in field management for four years before going to back to being a distributor. “Going from dealer to field manager, you no longer have control over your life,” he noted. “As a dealer, you have control over your life.”
He joined Mac Tools in 1995 after moving to Florida. He reached “platinum elite” status in 2006 and has mentored numerous other distributors.
Larkin has faced his share of challenges over the years, just like every other distributor. But looking back, he feels he made the right choice getting into the mobile distribution business and he looks forward to many more years of success.
