“Anybody that does anything in life is willing to take risks. You have to be willing to gamble, and you have to willing to go above and beyond the realm of what's considered normal. If you don't, you just aren't going to get anywhere.” -- John Ashby, Mac Tools

John Ashby has big plans for his business.

The Fla.-based Mac Tools distributor hopes to someday own each and every route in the West Palm Beach area. Committed to building a multi-route business, he’s slowly but surely working toward achieving his goals by mentoring and training a pair of inexperienced employees, developing an effective and realistic strategy for growth, and focusing on maintaining a strong relationship with his customer base.

“I’m trying to do something here that other tool guys in the area just don’t want to do, can’t do, or won’t do,” he says.

After four decades spent turning wrenches, the then-56-year-old Ashby fulfilled a longtime dream of working with Mac Tools by getting his start selling tools in January of 2012. He purchased an old, used truck and immediately got to work establishing himself as a hard-working, trustworthy tool man. Not long after, his daughter, Laura, began to express an interest in working with him and taking on her own route.

In the almost five years since he got his start selling tools, Ashby has built his business up to three trucks. While his daughter no long works with him, he has taken on a pair of other novice distributors in an attempt to service the tool needs of the shop owners and technicians in and around West Palm Beach.

“People are always telling me, ‘John, there’s just not enough Mac Tools people around,’” he explains.

Ashby says distributors who desire to run a multi-route business must keep the following factors in mind in order to make the operation run smoothly and, ultimately, turn a profit:

●    Customers need to know who runs the multi-route business.

●     The distributor’s reputation must be in good standing with both current and potential customers.

●     The distributor must be adept at gaining the trust of potential customers in order to gain their business and providing quality customer service.

“Let’s face it, tools are expensive,” he continues. “My customers are spending thousands of dollars every year with tool companies. And, I feel like if they are great customers, we owe it to them to provide exceptional service.”

Ashby admits he planned to commence with the launch of a fourth route in December of 2016, but ultimately decided it was not a good idea because of his daughter’s recent exit from the business, coupled with the time and effort he has to put into training two newer employees on the ins and outs of being a mobile tool distributor.

“And to be honest, when I look back, I’ve grown too rapidly,” he says. Just too much, too fast.”

However, the technician-turned-tool salesman will not be deterred in his efforts to grow his business. A fourth route is still very much in Ashby’s plans, he says. It’s not going to be easy, he admits. But it will be well worth it in the long run.

“Anybody that does anything in life is willing to take risks,” he says. “You have to be willing to gamble, and you have to willing to go above and beyond the realm of what's considered normal. If you don't, you just aren't going to get anywhere.”