Franchise buyers value trust and transparency in their search for a business, and they find it in spades at the Jim’s Group.

And there’s one particular source of truth that resonates with prospective business owners – Jim’s Podcast. 

The podcast first launched in 2021, and has become a standard bearer for authenticity, as chief marketing officer Joel Kleber explains.

Podcasts build trust with potential Jim’s franchisees

“At the time I saw a shift in how people used media, and how podcast consumption was growing. So I launched the podcast, and it’s just grown phenomenally.

“I interview Jim’s franchisees and franchisors about their business. We talk about how good it is, how they operate, how they hire people and equipment,” Joel says.

The success of the format encouraged him to add a standalone podcast, ‘More Than Just Mowing’. It’s dedicated to franchisees and potential franchisees keen to find out more about life as a Jim’s Mowing franchisee.

A multi-territory franchisee and now the boss of the mowing division, Dan Cahill was the first guest on the #ASKJIM livestream as a franchisee. 

Dan’s capacity to repeat his success at scale started early. He built up his first round and after six months brought on his younger brother as his first employee.  In three years he had scaled his business to six mowing rounds, each earning $3,500 a week.

The mowing value proposition is an excellent one, reiterates Joel.

“We are an industry-leading brand – the largest mowing and garden care, by franchise numbers, in the world. It’s a low-level investment, a flat fee model, and franchisees have access to the Jim’s brand.”

The mowing business delivers a great return on investment, Joel says. “It is possible to pay off the investment within a few months.”

The Jim’s Mowing podcast is a reflection of the modernisation of the business; it’s a professionally-run operation with plenty of revenue potential.

“People don’t get how much value there is. Million dollar revenues are available – so we create podcast and video content around the topic of money. People should know about the opportunity,” he says.

Inspired by the More Than Mowing podcast, Jim’s Cleaning division has recently launched its own podcast series – Behind The Shine.

A podcast library is a great franchise buyer resource

And today there are more than 450 podcast episodes available for anyone to learn about a Jim’s business without having to formally enquire.

The podcast, and video, content has proven highly engaging and a real drawcard for potential business owners.

“It’s proven by the freedback from franchisors in training sessions – so many franchisees have listened to hours and hours of our digital media content,” Joel reveals.

“It provides franchise buyers with extra reassurance, on top of the brand name,” he says. 

“People can listen on their devices when it suits them; it seems now to be a key part of a buyer’s journey.

“I’ve had people binge listen 50 episodes in two weeks; for others it takes them two years to consume 150 episodes. It all depends where they are at,” Joel says.

He repurposes audio and video for short form content, ensuring easy access to anyone who wants to listen.

“It’s a real trust builder and it makes it easier for the candidates,” he says.

“Franchisees who do thorough research and consume our content are far more likely to succeed. We are clear that running a franchise is not easy, particularly if it’s a physically-demanding job.”

Joel says the content itself acts as a filter, deterring prospective franchisees who wouldn’t be right for the brand.

Franchisees maximise their social media opportunities

Across the 50+ divisions, franchisees produce their own content for social media, and there’s one franchisee in the Jim’s Dog Wash business, who has taken his digital engagement to the next level.

Using three camera attachments in his trailer, the franchisee films two dog-grooming sessions every day, live on TikTok, and has more than 11,000 viewers, Joel reveals.

“He’s by himself, talking to the camera for three hours a day, and engages with viewers. He can generate work directly through social media – and if the job is out of his area, he can pass it on – he’s creating work for other franchisees,” Joel explains.

Joel encourages franchisees to embrace their own creativity in their social media output.

“Our future franchisees are much more digitally literate, so this is important,” he says.

Joel records two podcasts a week in a purpose-built studio which franchisees can use themselves for their own social media marketing.

Showcasing the franchisees themselves not only gives insights into the daily operations at the heart of a business; it also enables the Jim’s Group to promote its female franchisee contingent – which is growing.

Some sectors have a higher representation of female franchisees: dogwash and cleaning for instance. More women are joining the mowing division, and sectors such as building inspections and pest control.

“Clients love having women turn up on their doorstep. Most of our customers are women, and they are comfortable with another woman doing the work, “ Joel says. 

“So we are creating more video content to promote women in franchising in our ads.

“We frontload the trust, everything we do at Jim’s is about building trust,” he says.