Beer Goggles #6 - Jim's Blogging
Jimbo Jimbo off to work we go.
Many of the symbols from my childhood have begun to fade from view. Brands such as Blockbuster, Wendy’s Milk Bar and even the beloved Fantails have either completely vanished or been hidden away in the farthest reaches of suburbia, where history became legend, legend became myth, and myth is forgotten. But one has always persisted, Jim’s.
I remember seeing the iconic green and yellow figure of Jim’s Mowing glide past me on the road, with his bucket hat donned and kind bearded face sharing a soft smile. He was such a common sight that it felt as though Jim had always been around. Much to my own puzzlement, it seemed like every second street I walked down Jim would be there, and I could not understand for the life of me how one bloke was able to get all this work done in all these different places. It wasn’t until much later that I understood it was a franchise model and Jim was not just a gardener, dog washer or skip bin provider, but one of Australia’s greatest entrepreneurs.
Founded in 1982 by Jim Penman as a side business to bring in some cash while he finished his PhD in history, Jim’s Mowing originally focused on selling lawn mowing rounds and soon began hiring sub-contractors to meet the increasing demand. Eventually it took over and became a full-time business and began offering franchises in 1989.
As popularity spread Jim was approached by other entrepreneurs to use the brand platform and start offering additional services under the Jim’s banner. Now Jim’s Group offers over fifty different services and has over 5,000 franchises across Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the UK.
To this day Jim still manages the business himself and is always looking for new ideas to slap his face on. Much of the success can be attributed to the personal nature that is encouraged by this bit of Australiana as the welfare of customers and franchisees alike is monitored by Jim himself, even so far as to get involved in resolving any issues and complaints himself.
In a world dominated by US tech start-ups and holding companies it is nice to see an Australian carve out a piece of the world for himself and help others get there themselves through franchises. But most of all we can thank Jim for that annoying yet surprisingly catchy ad that would interrupt Saturday morning cartoons. I still find myself singing it on the odd occasion to this day.
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