A couple of months ago, Cameron Scott, the Jim’s Antenna’s franchisor for South Australia (south east) and Perth (metro) was travelling through Murray Bridge, South Australia when he noticed a man on the side of the road holding up a ‘job seeker’ sign.
“It was freezing cold, the guy was bundled up in a big overcoat and beanie so I didn’t really get a good look at him, but I noticed the sign said he had a clean licence, he was honest, hard-working and had no work-cover claims.”
As Cameron drove past he was musing how he had been looking for a franchisee in the Murray Bridge area for a couple of years and despite regular advertising and interviewing a few potentials, he had not had any luck in finding a suitable franchisee.
“I was thinking that’s the sort of person who would be a good franchisee as it takes a lot of courage to stand out there on a busy road with a sign pleading for work, and before I knew it, I was turning the car around, and going to have a chat to this guy.”
The ‘guy’ turned out to be Simon Whitaker, 43, an Irish immigrant, married with three children, who had been struggling to find a job in the area for more than six months.
“He was very polite, well-spoken and enthusiastic – so I told him to meet me in two hours in a local coffee shop after I’d done what I had to do, and I then formulated the plan to offer to back him in setting up the Jim’s Antenna’s Murray Bridge franchise.
Cameron said that Simon, a former poultry farm manager, was a little unsure at first, but Cameron assured him there would be no financial risk in the short term, he’d basically be an employee for the first three months, and then if the business goes well Simon could have the option to buy or lease the franchise.
“He said it sounded fantastic, but he would need to discuss it with his wife first.”
Simon then met up with Cameron again a week later to say a resounding ‘yes’ to the proposal and finalise all the details.
“I provided him with a vehicle, tools, and the training to get started,” Cameron explained. Other members of the Jim’s Group also helped out and provided a laptop, uniform and even business insurance for him.”
“So far everything is going really well – the work in the region is being serviced and the customers are happy. The community here are all very supportive and many know the story now as it appeared in the local paper so that’s really helped as well. He’s going to be going to Melbourne soon for Jim’s Group training with all the other new franchisee, so in all respects he’s treated just like any other Jim’s Group franchisee.”
Cameron has made a solid investment in getting Simon established to begin work, and whilst he acknowledges there is some risk involved he has faith that he has done the right thing, and that not all business decisions have to be taken on a purely financial basis.
For further information about a Jim’s Antenna’s franchise please visit www.jimsantennas.com.au