Franchise Success Stories

	Bronte & Carolyn Woodward After nearly 12 years in the finance industry, about 5 of which were spent looking for a way out of banking, Bronte found an ad in the paper for a seminar on learning about the lawn mowing industry, and promptly went along. This seminar was run by the guys from Jim's Mowing, and Bronte took all the information home intent on starting immediately which he did. Bronte started out as a Mowing Franchisee, but after some success he realised that a new opportunity in Jim's was what he wanted to pursue and thus Bronte and Carolyn started Jims Building Maintenance in Adelaide in 2003.
	Andrew Cassar "I have always been looking for both flexibility and challenge throughout my career. I have worked on construction sites for a long time as Dad was a builder for 53 years and I have also worked in senior management in the Aircraft Industry as an Aircraft Mechanical Engineer." "Not originally wanting to follow in Dad's footsteps. After being in the aircraft industry for 11 years I found myself bored with the work although mentally challenging I just stopped enjoying it so I moved on into a glass manufacturing plant where I was the Maintenance Manager which went well for the first few weeks but after a while it to got boring; meetings, conferences, union issues, more meetings, budgets, targets, on call 24/7 and so on. The more I worked the richer some one else got. Seven years of this and no holidays, no time to do what I want, well that was enough." "That was May 2004. My wife then saw an advert in the paper for Jim's Building Maintenance and said to me here you go, something that you love to do and I thought why not. I made a phone call and left a message and before I knew it the Franchisor rang me back and spent about an hour on the phone to me discussing the business. We made an appointment and met later that week. Being fairly skeptical I researched as much as I could about the business so that I could be prepared and be able to judge if required." "When I met John the Franchisor I thought this guy looks honest, reliable and trust worthy and I have never known my gut to be wrong. We got along really well from the word go and I knew that I could not only work with this man but trust him. It is now March 2007 and not only have I made this business grow but in May 2006 I managed to become a Franchisor, buying the business from John. I now have twelve Franchisees. I love the freedom of being my own boss and have not regretted what I did in 2004 once. The work is challenging, changes on a daily basis and most of all rewarding. The income that the business generates is excellent and, all in all, I love doing what I do, but most important is that the harder I work the more I make. It is a lucky person that can earn a living by doing what they love."
	Colin & Dianne Dawkins "After 25 years in Architectural drafting drawing everything from outhouses to multi story buildings, I found myself with no new challenges and always looking forward to the weekends when I could build things around our house. I had been investigating businesses that I could get into for several years but hadn't found any that had good potential." "Over dinner and several good wines, Paul Shaw and Dale Winfield, who are Jim's Mowing Franchisors, mentioned that Jim's had a Building Maintenance Division. After much investigation Dianne and I decided that Jim's offered everything that I was looking for in a business. Dianne still had her job at Bankwest so at least the mortgage would get paid and we would have food on the table. We dropped into Melbourne on the way back from our honeymoon in November 2000 to sign the contracts and started working in January 2001." "I sold my first franchise to my brother in law who was working as a handyman at a nursing home. Since then I have taken on another 7 Franchisees and we are so busy that we are turning work away. Jim's exceeded all my expectations in regard to the power of the name and logo and in the backup support they offered."
	Neil Kidman "I am married with five children. Before buying my Jim's Building Maintenance Franchise, I worked in a factory for thirty years where I was a supervisor and then a manager. I bought my Franchise in November 2003." "I have been appointed as a Trainer for our Region to assist with assesment of new & prospective Franchisees. I enjoy the large variety of work and I have plenty of it. It is fantastic to be paid for something that I enjoy doing. You get a sense of pride when you have finished a job and the customer is happy."