MMacKenzie Garage - Mark MacKenzie

When Mark MacKenzie got injured at work, he knew his life had to change direction. “I ruptured the Achilles tendon,” MacKenzie says. “I had nine months off, a lot of sit down thinking time.” He found himself asking what he was going to do with the rest of his life. When Workers Compensation ran out, he had to borrow to pay his bills. He needed a break.

One day, opportunity literally knocked. “Customers were beating on the door of my house,” MacKenzie says. People in the community knew of his skills and needed them. “They wanted me to work on their cars. I have 23 years of automotive. Six years of small engine repair. Mechanics runs in the family.”

The day after potential customers came looking for him, MacKenzie went to a local garage where he knew there was an unused auto repair bay. “I walked in the door and introduced myself to the garage owner, said I was interested in renting the space. He said, ‘They told me you were coming.’” That’s when MacKenzie knew for sure that there was work out there for him.

With no tools or equipment and debt from getting through his injury, MacKenzie was still a long way from opening an auto repair shop. Once again, friends had the answer. “I was looking into what it would take to start a business,” MacKenzie says. “Friends told me to go to the CBDC. Word is out there that they can help you with everything you need. They may even be able to find you a little funding.”

He went to see Development Officer, Ardith Van Buskirk in CBDC’s Shelburne office. “They helped me get on my feet. They gave me the information I needed to start my business plan. I’d pop in once a week just so I could run my business plan by her. Whenever I had any questions at all, she organized training. I was able to get my plan written up, and it looked pretty good. I followed that to a T for the first year. I was off by $4000. I thought that was pretty good.”

Four years later, MMacKenzie Garage is repairing vehicles five days a week. MacKenzie has even hired an employee. “I have an apprentice. She was going to school when I was opening the doors. She’s grown as a mechanic as we’ve grown as a business.”

MacKenzie is very positive about his experience with CBDC. “She was above and beyond,” he says of Van Buskirk. “She picked me up out of a dark place and gave me a future. She was phenomenal.”

MacKenzie is now like his friends, spreading the word that CBDC is the place to find the kind of support it takes to open a business. As for his injury, MacKenzie has recovered, although he adds that there’s no trade harder on the body than auto repair. Still, he’s slowly getting back into some of the volunteer work he enjoyed before his injury. He recently rejoined Barrington Ground Search and Rescue. These days, life is good for Mark MacKenzie because he’s supporting himself. As he puts it, “I like to be independent.”