Jim Penman
How many of us have mowed lawns for pocket money? Aussie Jim Penman started doing it in 1982 while he was working on a doctorate in history (which he earned in 1983). Penman started “Jim’s Mowing” in Melbourne, Australia, and has grown it into the largest franchising company in the world. Penman began with a $24 investment and grew it into a franchising empire based on customer satisfaction. [a] Penman is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, sometimes erroneously called the Mormon Church.
Penman began franchising out lawn mowing in 1989. “The Jim’s Mowing system proved successful enough to be duplicated across many other industries, with the Group establishing Jim’s divisions for all manner of household and business services between 1994 and the present day.” [1]
The biggest problem with franchising is quality control, and quality control in landscaping poses different problems than quality control with fast-food franchises. Penman chose his most successful and responsible franchisees to take on regional management, thereby protecting the good quality for which the original business was known. The world-wide business has fared well even during economic downturns. By 2008, Jim’s had over 2,700 Franchisees stretching across all States and territories of Australia and New Zealand, and parts of Canada and the U.K.
In 1997 Jim’s Trees was launched as a new division of the company as a complement to the mowing service. Jim’s Trees establishes new franchises, but some franchise owners are those who have moved over from mowing franchises, or landscapers wishing to add the tree service to their offerings.
The company has also branched out into other types of service, all through franchises. They include mowing, cleaning, antennas, paving, fencing, handyman, dog wash, computers, book-keeping, test and tag and more.
Jim is still actively involved in the day to day running of the company. He believed that by offering training and support to selected Franchisees, with clearly defined standards of customer service, he could build an excellent reputation for the Jim’s Group, which would bring plentiful clients and allow him to attract and keep the best Franchisees. [a]
Other interests of Jim’s include scientific research. Penman is currently funding a neuro-endocrine research project through Latrobe University. Family is Jim’s other passion; Jim is married with nine children.
Jim’s Mowing has an ethos that guides the business. The main points follow:
The Jim’s Ethos –
- Our first priority is the welfare of our Franchisees
- We are also passionate about customer service
- We work constantly to improve our service and lower our costs
- We are open and honest with prospective Franchisees
- We sign only Franchisees and Franchisors we are convinced will succeed
- We treat staff well but require them to perform superbly
- As far as practical, we treat people as equals
At Jim’s the criterion for judging the success of a franchise, is the happiness of the customers. The following video is Jim Penman discussing the standards of the busines