Her Story
About Emma
Emma Melton serves as a Sales and Marketing Representative for TTI, a role she has held for just shy of a year and a half. In this position, she maintains product sets and promotional displays at two Home Depot stores, assists customers with power tool knowledge spanning masonry, roofing, and contracting applications, and emphasizes the shift from corded to cordless tools. With a total of six years in sales, her prior experience includes selling property and casualty insurance, for which she holds a Washington state license covering recreation vehicles, as well as working in a women-owned sales office handling boudoir photography shoots. She has overcome initial unfamiliarity with power tools to become proficient and now mentors an intern while aspiring to advance to territory manager overseeing 11 stores and eventually transition into human resources to advocate for frontline staff. Emma draws inspiration from her district manager Chelsea McGee and figures like Michelle Obama in facing adversity within male-dominated environments.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Emma
01What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
The biggest thing is girls can use power tools. It's not as scary as everybody wants you to believe. You have the power and the strength to do it. And I think in addition to that, stepping into a male-dominated field is really intimidating, and you definitely can feel the adversity. But I wouldn't let that stop you. You are strong, you are capable, and if you have the willpower, you can learn to do anything. And I would not let a person stop you from thinking that you can't.
02What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
One of the biggest challenges is convincing everyone to take me seriously. I'm 5'3, I'm blonde, I'm pretty tense, slender, and it's hard for people, especially pros like contractors, to come in to a Home Depot and look at me and think, yeah, this girl definitely knows how to use a circular saw. The opportunity is to really take your knowledge and show them, rather than thinking letting them think that, you know, I am just a little girl. Like, no, I do know how to use a saw, and I know where the blades are, and I know what you need to get the job done. It's really putting your best foot forward and kind of forcing them to listen to you so that they do take you seriously.
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