Jim PenmanCEO, Jim's Group · CEO and Founder of Australia's largest franchise, Jim's Group

From Lawn Jobs to Leading a Franchise Empire 🚀

27 May 2025 · 1 min

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0:58

Jim Penman recounts his journey from mowing lawns to building a global franchise. He started mowing lawns to support his PhD, mismanaged the business in 1982 which led to failure and $35,000 in debt, then worked long hours, repaid his debt in two years, scaled operations (enough workers to stop doing fieldwork after four years), sold his first franchise in 1989, and today reports ~5,500 franchisees across three countries. He wrote a book describing his mistakes and successes and invites viewers to read it via the link in his bio.

Questions this video answers

To support his PhD.

1982.

$35,000.

Two years.

Four years.

Chapters

Laziness can kill any business. I started mowing lawns to support my PhD. But in 1982, I decided to act as manager and let others do the work. But I didn't even manage that well and spent a lot of time in my beanbag reading science fiction. Taking my eye off the business caused the business to fail, leaving me flat broken. $35,000 in debt. In those days, $35,000 could almost buy you a house. What saved me as much as anything was getting married. Needing to support a wife who was a student, pay the rent and repay my loans, I had to work hard mowing lawns and gardening long hours, six days a week. Two years later paid off my debt. Four years later, I had enough workers to come off the road. But this time I did not take my RF business. The following year, in 1989, I sold my first franchise. That was 36 years ago. Today I have five and a half thousand franchisees in three countries. That's why I wrote a book showing the things I did right and the mistakes I made. So you can learn and not make the same mistake. This book is for you. It will help you live up to your God given potential. Check the link in the bio to read the full story and the lessons behind it.