While the big snow storms kept many people on the East Coast indoors and unable to work this week, Scotty Smith, a mobile distributor in Middletown, Del., was making money. Not selling tools, but plowing snow.
Smith, who is nearing his second year as a Mac Tools distributor, has found snow plowing a lucrative sideline. “When it snows here, I’m not taking my tool truck out,” he says.
When he left his previous full-time job driving a dump truck to become a mobile distributor, he reasoned it made sense to continue plowing snow when the occasion warranted. “It’s just extra money,” Smith says for his snow plow work. “Every little bit helps.”
Smith first got into the automotive business working as salesman for a race car shop. One of his customers leased dump trucks to drivers. Seeing an opportunity to earn more money, Smith leased a dump truck.
While driving a dump truck, Smith expanded into snow plowing. The two jobs complemented each other well; he could not drive his dump truck in snow storms, so he kept himself busy plowing snow.
Five years later, he came across the opportunity to become a Mac Tools distributor. He found mobile tool sales to be even more lucrative than leasing a dump truck. He claims he has already won bronze and silver honors at Mac Tools. “I wish I did it 10 years ago,” he said of the mobile tool business.
Smith credits his sales skills for his success as a mobile distributor. “I know how to treat people,” he said.
Smith hasn’t forgotten his roots in the race car business. In fact, his snow plow earnings allow him to indulge in one of his favorite hobbies – driving race cars. This week, he plans to drive a midget car in the Lucas Oil Chilli Bowl Nationals in Tulsa, Okla. He hopes to someday own his own race car.
