Kate Kent has recently become the second female Mac Tools franchisee. Kate was working as a teaching assistant in a local school when she started helping out her fiancé, Adrian Griggs, who is already a Mac Man, during the school holidays. Kate enjoyed helping Adrian so much that she decided to open her own franchise.

Mac Tools franchisees are the trusted tool specialists for professional technicians in the automotive industry. Mac Tools is part of Stanley Black & Decker, a £7+ billion global organisation and owner of world-famous brands such as DeWALT, Facom and Britool Expert. Over the last three years Mac Tools have achieved 25% year-on-year growth in what is considered to be a flat market.

“I caught the Mac Tools bug whilst I was helping Adrian out on his van. I love being part of Mac Tools, it feels like one big family and everyone’s passion for the business shines through – it’s infectious. Initially, the training was the most petrifying thing I’ve ever done, I was taken way past my comfort zone in every way possible but it helped my confidence grow so much. The support from the team was great, it made a difficult situation so much easier. You leave the training believing in yourself and it really helped my character to develop in a huge way.”

“The ongoing support from Mac Tools has also been fantastic, it doesn’t stop with the initial training. I had support on the road with me for two weeks and the franchise team, customer services and other franchisees are always on the other end of the phone if you ever need any help. Everyone’s got time to help and no-one thinks your question is too silly!”

Being one of only two female franchisees in a male dominated industry could be seen as challenging but Kate has found it quite the opposite.

“I haven’t found the experience uncomfortable at all, even though I thought it would be when I walked in to my first automotive repair shop. Prior to joining Mac Tools I was a teaching assistant in a local primary school specialising in maths intervention and I didn’t even know the difference between a flat head screwdriver and a Philips – it just goes to show you’re never too old to learn. Many new franchisees have to learn about the huge range of over 18,000 tools that we have to sell and I think I get a better reception as being a woman in this business is a novelty to my customers; sometimes they even make me a cup of tea!”

“My fiancé Adrian has also been extremely supportive throughout the whole process. He will always help me if I have a question or if I need advice. He will even quiz me on the products for ‘tote and promote’ in the evenings when he gets in from work!”

“My best achievement to date has been beating Adrian in one week’s sales. I’m very competitive so it was a good moment for me!”