Jim's Podcast

Jim's Cleaning franchisees make $2 to $3 an hour from each employee and up to $20,000 from a single split, and the division is rebuilding its training around those numbers.

Haydar Hussein is the divisional franchisor of the Jim's Cleaning Group and has been with Jim's since 2001.

He joins Joel Kleber for an October update on a network of about 1,700 franchisees and a goal to pass Jim's Mowing by the end of 2027.

Haydar explains why leads make franchisees lazy and what the best operators do with property managers instead.

He walks through the national contracts department, which sends $30 million of work a year across Jim's divisions, and a new car detailing contract with a major EV manufacturer. He gives his view on robots taking over vacuuming and mopping within five years and why deep cleaning becomes the franchisee's job.

He also covers the $17 lead fee, the pay for work guarantee and the real cost of starting solo. Listen before you compare a cleaning franchise with going alone.

0:00 Teaser: $30M in contract work0:47 Jim's Cleaning update2:40 Splits vs employees: the profit maths4:49 Local marketing beyond leads7:22 Passing Jim's Mowing by 202711:02 Robots and the future of cleaning14:00 Car detailing contract win17:03 $30M a year in national contracts18:54 New four-level head office20:44 Carpet, blinds, windows, car detailing23:32 Franchise fees and lead cost25:16 Going solo vs buying a franchise29:30 Enzyme-based cleaning products31:35 What happens after 2027

Julian runs a Jim's Mowing franchise in Sydney South and travels to a different country every month.

He batches three to four weeks of work, then flies out for five to seven days.He is nearly four years in. Around 70 regular lawns, plus 20 to 30 gutter jobs on a six to twelve month cycle.

Most of those clients have been with him almost the whole time.He did not start here. His first year was six days a week, driving 30 minutes for any lead that came through, taking every job going just to build the round.

He calls the first six to twelve months the tough part.Now he schedules the lenient clients into his week away and locks in the fortnightly ones before he flies out.

Weather is the only thing that breaks the plan.The other half of this is his travel channel, Globetrotter Julez. He films in poorer parts of Asia, mostly on Meta glasses and a GoPro, and outsources every edit.

He walks through exactly what he pays and why he does not edit himself.

Mike Davenport ran the Jim's Group training program for many years, moved to Bali, and has now returned to run the course again.

His first session back, the stage flooded and the power went out. Jim Penman found a dry spot and spoke for an hour.

Since then Mike has rewritten the whole course.

Joel Kleber asks him what changed and what new franchisees should expect. The program now runs 2.5 days with around 20 hours of content. Around 100 people attend every three weeks.

Mike explains why the franchise agreement, disclosure document, call centre and Pay for Work Guarantee now get more time, and why fees and lead fees are discussed openly in the room.

They also cover the new participants handbook, the pre and post training videos, the Jimbo app practical session, behaviour standards at training, and the rollout of the new course to New Zealand by the end of the year.

Mike finishes with what life looks like living in Bali and flying in to train.

If you are looking at a Jim's franchise, this episode shows you how you get trained and who trains you.

#ASKJIM Q & A Replay from September 2026 with Jim Penman and Joel Kleber.

A Jim's Window and Pressure Cleaning franchise doing $96,000 a year could start year three with $108,000 of work already booked. No new leads. No extra ad spend. Skagan shows exactly how.Skagan runs his own Jim's Window & Pressure Cleaning franchise in Queensland and took over as regional franchisor a year ago. In 12 months, he has grown the region from around 10 franchisees to 20. On this episode of the Jim's Group podcast, he explains why rising Google and Meta costs mean franchisees need more than paid leads, and the system his team uses to fill the gap.Repeat, recurring and referral work now makes up 75% of his own business, up from 40% a year ago. He breaks down the $100 gift card referral pack, the Window Wellness Plan, and why offering a service plan before the first clean converts better than after.

He also covers running Meta ads with Claude instead of an agency, the AI dashboard he built for his franchisees, and the real costs of getting started.

Harry Parker bought a Jim's Mowing franchise at 69. Two years later, his heart surgeon told him the work had added 10 years to his life. He works about 32 hours a week, runs 87 regular clients and mows alongside his daughters.In this episode of the Jim's Mowing podcast, Harry explains how he grew revenue 30% in 12 months without adding clients. He started with a 43-client split, lost 57 accounts over two years and still holds 87 regulars. The growth came from doing more for each client: aeration, lawn food, pruning and weed control. One $385 aeration quote turned into $1,300 of work.Harry also shares how he uses Microsoft Copilot to write quotes and plan his mowing run, saving at least 20 minutes a day in the car. He covers his $120 an hour quoting rule, how he subcontracts large jobs to a forestry contractor for a margin, and what he teaches the new franchisees he mentors.

#ASKJIM Facebook Live Q & A with Jim Penman Replay September 2026

Nathan asked his boss for a pay rise after getting married. The answer was no, so he quit and bought a Jim's Mowing franchise in Melbourne. Twelve months later, he earns 10 times what he made as a plumbing labourer.Nathan grew up helping his dad, a Jim's Mowing franchisee for 28 years, and never planned to follow him. At 27, with a new mortgage and bills to pay, he changed his mind. In this episode of the Jim's Mowing podcast, Nathan walks through his first year as a lawn mowing franchisee in Australia: the wins, the setbacks, and the systems he built along the way.He explains how he uses ChatGPT to send quotes before he leaves the driveway, how one text to more than 500 past leads fills his winter, and why he wears the cost when a supplier runs out of mulch. He also covers a same-day request that turned into a multi-day commercial cleanup after eight independent gardeners said no, the myth that franchisees hand Jim 50% of their earnings, and his new deal as a Bushranger brand ambassador.

A $12 lead turned into a customer worth $70,000 a year for Jim's Mowing franchisee Garry.

This episode of the Jim's Mowing Podcast is a two year update from the Gold Coast.

Garry first appeared six weeks in, after 25 years in IT sales.

He now services 55 regular clients plus real estate work and is bringing on his first employee.

He explains why he has no interest in running his own Google or Facebook ads, why his franchise fee and lead fees are his entire marketing budget, and how he responds to people who assume franchisees are paying Jim a fortune.

Garry covers running costs, insurance, tip fees and consumables, why his first year cash flow came in at double his forecast on fewer jobs than planned, and how he built the confidence to hold his prices and let the wrong client go.

He also shares two occasions where other franchisees dropped everything to cover his jobs at short notice.

Listen for an honest two year view of a Jim's Mowing franchise, including the parts that were hard.

INCOME DISCLAIMER
The income, revenue and profit figures shared in this episode reflect one franchisee's individual experience. They are not a promise, projection or guarantee of earnings. Results vary based on location, hours worked, effort, skill, market conditions and other factors. Some franchisees earn more and some earn less. Figures may refer to revenue rather than profit unless stated otherwise. Before making any decision, review the official franchise documentation and seek independent legal, financial and accounting advice.

Jim's Mowing franchisee Enoh forecast $170,000 to $180,000 in his first year. He invoiced $450,000.

This episode of the Jim's Mowing Podcast is a 12-month update. Enoch runs Jim's Mowing Reservoir Central and, with his partner Bianca, Jim's Cleaning Preston East.

He came from real estate and built a property presentation niche, working with agents to get homes ready for market through landscaping, turf, pressure washing, gutters and window cleaning, plus interior cleaning through the cleaning franchise.

He breaks down the numbers most people avoid: a 48 to 49 percent profit margin, around $220,000 profit, a $900 monthly franchise fee, $19 lead fees, and weekly running costs.

He explains the 10 percent referral fee he pays agents, his $220 an hour landscaping rate, a 70 percent quote conversion rate, and how he uses ChatGPT to visualise landscaping quotes on site.

He also answers the common online claims about lead fees, ownership, and pricing.

Listen if you want real first year numbers from a Jim's Mowing franchise instead of guesswork.

INCOME DISCLAIMER
The income, revenue and profit figures shared in this episode reflect one franchisee's individual experience. They are not a promise, projection or guarantee of earnings. Results vary based on location, hours worked, effort, skill, market conditions and other factors. Some franchisees earn more and some earn less. Figures may refer to revenue rather than profit unless stated otherwise. Before making any decision, review the official franchise documentation and seek independent legal, financial and accounting advice.