“My very first day as a Jim’s Mowing franchisee I dressed in my brand-new uniform, hooked up my trailer but I never left home. The rain didn’t stop all day,” says John Wildes. “I was too scared to go to sleep on the couch, in case I missed leads!

“At the time, I was disappointed I couldn’t go to work. But once I figured out that if the weather is that bad, no-one is enquiring about services, then I relaxed,” John says.

In the 11 years John has been with Jim’s he has lost only four or five full days to rain.

“My philosophy is that you worry about weather when it happens. I’ve learned not to plan for anything. I used to tell casual staff not to come in, and then find we could have worked all day.”

Jim’s reputation helps business growth

John found his way to the Jim’s brand after working for his father in a wholesale picture framing business.

“I travelled every second week of my life for 25 years,” he says. “But I always wanted to be a gardener, and I decided to follow my dream.”

Like most Australians, John was familiar with the Jim’s brand.

“I’d seen Jim on TV in the early 1990s, and the business resonated with me. I had no idea how to find a client; Jim’s provided the platform for me to find clients, and to help grow the business.

“Jim’s has a wonderful call centre, and the franchisor has the skills to help you develop the business. It succeeds because of the support, from Jim himself, from the franchisor, and from the franchisees; everyone helps each other.”

Jim’s significant brand recognition and reputation are massive advantages to franchisees in an increasingly security-conscious world, says John.

“If you book a job through Jim’s, you know who’s coming,” he says.

John’s first foray into business ownership was an existing territory with 52 clients. He liked that he knew what he was buying, and that there was lots of structure in the back end, and in the agreement.

Delivering premium service

He grew the business by delivering the premium service that Jim’s Group founder Jim Penman is so passionate about.

“I made sure enquiries were followed up quickly, and customers got quotes and invoices in a timely fashion. People come back because you provide the service, you turn up on time.

“I don’t think people know what good customer service is these days. Not everyone wants cheap, they want service,” John says. “People want a fair price – fair is what’s fair for you and the client.”

John says the business gets its service right 95 per cent of the time. “You’re kidding yourself if you think it can be perfect, but 95 per cent is pretty good,” he says.

His strategy for growth, and to gain financial freedom with Jim’s Mowing, was to “work like a mad man for five years and then work it out”. It didn’t take that long for the business to scale.

After three months John put on his first employee, who is still with the business 10 years later. And then he kept on growing the business. Now he has four trailers on the road and 10 staff.

In 2022 he bought the franchisor business for the local area, southeast Melbourne, with 45 franchisees to look after, and purchased a commercial building as an office location and to store equipment.

“When we bought the region, it provided opportunities for my wife and son. Jodie now works in the business – she’s an accountant, and all the back-room admin is done 100 per cent perfectly.

“My son is hands-on running the franchise territory – and he’s a qualified landscaper. My role is twofold: to help him to take over the business, and to support my franchisees.

Hard work brings results

“I work on average about 80 hours a week, but I love work! For me, it’s the adventure of building a business, and helping franchisees build their businesses.

“Working 80 hours is not for everybody; some people have a different focus. I’ve got a new franchisee starting soon who has a six-year-old daughter. He was working as a radiographer for 20 years. Now he wants more family time, the freedom to work when he wants and the ability to grow a business. That’s awesome!”

Finding a balance in his own life has been challenging for John. His new strategy is a weekly game of golf – but he’s only played once in six weeks!

“And I’m always on my phone. It rang so much, one of my golfer friends who I was playing with rang me while we were on the course. ‘It’s the only way I could have a conversation with you,’ he joked!”

John is immensely grateful for where he is now in life.

“I’m very grateful for the opportunity, Jim’s Mowing has given me the ability to have financial freedom. Through using the system and a lot of hard work, we have a great business that means we don’t have to worry about money.

“I’ve seen my family grow in confidence and skills through working at Jim’s too, so I can’t give back enough.

“When you succeed, it gives you confidence and makes you grow. It’s not money; money motivates you for 10 minutes. Once you can pay your bills, the rest is just fluff. Feeling good about yourself, you can’t buy that,” John says.