#ASKJIM May 2026 with Jim Penman and Joel Kleber

A franchisor recently copped a $19,800 fine for failing to update an entry on a government website nobody uses.

Jay Westbury is the CEO of the Franchise Council of Australia. He returns to the show to walk through the regulatory changes hitting Australian franchising right now.

The episode covers what's already been passed, what's sitting in the lower house, and what franchisors and franchisees need to be paying attention to.

Jay breaks down the Franchise Disclosure Register fine and why the FCA is pushing for the register to be moved out of the ACCC.

He covers the Unfair Trading Practices legislation, why Unfair Contract Terms reform has hit 100 per cent compliance across franchising, and the Reserve Bank's October surcharge ban, including the awkward gap where Mastercard and Visa surcharges are banned but Amex is not.

He also covers the FCA Awards in Brisbane on 17 June and the National Franchise Convention in Canberra in October.

If you run a franchise network or own a franchise, this is the brief on what's about to land.

What does the first 30 days as a Jim's Cleaning franchisee actually look like? For Yash, it looked like three times the income guarantee, six staff hired, and not a single leaflet dropped.

Yash came into Jim's Cleaning with six years of marketing experience and a plan to run his own lead generation. He never got around to it. The leads from the Jim's system came in faster than he could convert them.In this conversation with Joel Kleber, Yash breaks down exactly how the month played out.

He explains why he calls every lead back within 30 seconds instead of two hours, how that single habit pushed his conversion rate to 60 to 80%, and why he hired six people in his first 30 days when his own franchisor told him to slow down.

He covers the real cost of a Jim's franchise (which he calculates at around 7%), his quality control system for running multiple sites at once, and why "stupid questions" to his franchisor have been the most valuable training he has had.

If you are weighing up a Jim's Cleaning franchise, start here.

0:00 Yash's first month numbers

1:00 From marketing to Jim's Cleaning

2:00 3x the income guarantee explained

3:30 Why he hired 6 staff in month one

4:00 Leads from the Jim's app vs leaflet drops

5:30 The 30-second callback rule

9:00 From desk job to physical work

10:00 Hiring from the student community

11:30 Quality control across multiple sites

13:50 Two weeks of training with Danny

15:00 Networking with other franchisees

17:00 Why stupid questions matter most

20:00 Jim's takes hardly 7%

20:30 Facing racism fears as a young migrant

22:10 Buying more franchises with friends

24:00 Never lie to a client

28:30 Working 7 days, 6am to 9pm

30:30 The Bali holiday after 3 months

A franchisor now gets fined when one of their franchisees underpays staff, even when the franchisor had nothing to do with it. Payday Super kicks in 1 July and means super contributions must clear within 7 days of every pay run, not quarterly.

The salary buffer rule that most employers rely on to stay compliant has changed, and one overtime-heavy week can now trigger an underpayment claim that costs hundreds of dollars per employee.

In this interview, Damien Gooden from ER Strategies (an FCA Platinum Partner) walks through the industrial relations changes that will hit franchisors and franchisees over the next 12 months.

You will hear exactly what the Vulnerable Workers Act requires every franchisor to have in place, broken into four specific elements.

You will hear how the junior wages ruling phases in between December 2026 and July 2029, and what that does to business models built on lower-cost 18 to 20 year olds.

You will hear the salary offset case study with real dollar figures, showing how a $55,000 salary that was compliant under the old rule can now leave an employer $404 short in a single pay cycle.

Damien's number one takeaway for every franchise network: time sheets. For every employee, without exception, including salaried staff.

That is the evidence that protects you when Fair Work comes knocking.

If you run a franchise or employ staff under an Australian award, this is the compliance update you need before the next quarter starts.

Need help?

Contact https://erstrategies.com.au/ or https://hrcentral.com.au/

Independent electricians in Australia are paying $4,000 to $5,000 a month to generate roughly half the leads Jim's Electrical delivers for $620.

Cam Scott has run Jim's Electrical for 18 years and sits down with Joel to lay out the real numbers behind the division.

He covers the fee structure, how lead fees work, why franchisees regularly get blown away by the volume of work in their first week, and what a 70 to 90 percent conversion rate looks like in practice.

One franchisee in the group is turning over close to $700,000 a year with four staff, paying around $25,000 in total annual fees.

Another had 15 five-star reviews inside his first two weeks.

Cam also talks about current territory availability across Brisbane, Perth, Newcastle, Wollongong and regional Victoria, and how to get started for $25,000 with a $12,000 interest-free payment plan.

If you are a sparky running your own business and you have never seriously looked at Jim's Electrical, this episode will change how you think about your marketing spend.

www.jims.net

TIMESTAMPS

0:00 Introduction and Cam's background3:10 How Jim's Electrical started 18 years ago6:30 Who suits this franchise division9:45 Why independent sparkies resist the switch13:00 Lead quality and volume compared to independents17:20 Fee structure and the real cost comparison22:00 How lead fees work and why they exist26:30 Support and business coaching included31:00 Building a team with no extra monthly fees35:20 Services: domestic and light commercial38:45 Territory availability around Australia42:00 Entry cost and interest-free payment plan46:30 Observation days and how to inquire50:00 Why Cam has stayed with Jim's for 18 years

Sean went from 10 years managing an Aldi supermarket to $250,000 in his first year as a Jim's Hazmat franchisee, with no trade background and no prior business experience.

Sean joins Joel on the Jim's Group Podcast to break down how he built one of the fastest-growing runs in the Jim's Hazmat division from scratch.

He covers the full range of services his business does, including asbestos removal, biohazard cleans, crime scenes, hoarder cleans, mould treatment and meth testing.

Sean talks through the real investment figure, the average job value, how he built his referral network through builders and real estate agents, and why his wife was able to leave full-time work before he hit his second year.

By year three, Sean is projecting $700,000. He also talks about becoming the first Jim's Hazmat franchisor in New Zealand and what that opportunity looks like for the right person.

Timestamps

0:00 Introduction and Sean's background

3:20 Why Sean chose Jim's Hazmat over other divisions

7:00 Training and certifications explained

11:30 $250k in year one: the real numbers

15:00 Investment costs and ROI

18:30 Scaling to $700k and hiring staff

22:00 Asbestos removal: the full process

29:00 Biohazard cleans and crime scenes

36:00 Hoarder cleans and what they involve

43:00 Mold, meth testing and syringe pickups

49:00 Building referrals through builders

54:00 Franchise fees and lead system explained

59:00 Mindset shift from employee to business owner

1:05:00 Becoming a franchiseor in New Zealand

Laura, Andreas, Peter and Sam from Jim's Building Inspections have a chat about how they run their business, the industry and how being a franchisee has been for them personally in this open franchisee roundtable.

Ali Olmez, CEO of Jim's Cleaning Group, joined us in the studio to share the Jim's Cleaning Group's plans for 2026.

A must listen for anyone thinking about joining Jim's.

#ASKJIM March 2026 with Jim Penman and Joel Kleber

Haydar's back for 2026 with a whole bunch of updates about the Jim's Cleaning Group.

To learn more about joining us, visit www.jims.net