Jim’s Pool Care hits 100 Franchisees
Jim’s Pool Care is excited to announce that we have passed an important milestone of 100 Franchise Owners. This success is due to them meeting growing customer demands for pool services and they have a business model that is built around the franchisee’s goals.
Jim’s Pool Care is a genuine Mobile Pool Shop service, located in all major cities around Australia and we are now growing into even larger regional centres. The attraction for new franchise owners and an exciting part of the pool industry is the ability to sell ongoing services, retail items and charge for your time. This means multiple income streams from your Jim’s Pool Care, Mobile Shop. Services include pool cleaning, regular maintenance, pool heating, inspections, lighting, pool blankets, and robotic cleaners.
As one of the 50 or more divisions within the Jim’s Group, Jim’s Pool Care began around 14 years ago in Western Australia. Owner and General Manager Brett Blair has seen the franchise chain grow from around 30 to 100 franchisees, plus 13 Regionals Franchisors, over his nine years in the role. Mr Blair believes a key success factor has been franchise satisfaction, by offering a system that is easy to follow and allows owners to build a business to suit their lifestyle and goals.
Brett says, “The Jim’s Pool Care concept is a true mobile pool shop that not only provides pool maintenance but sells a full and complete range of pool equipment and chemicals. This means our franchisees can charge for their time and earn great margins on lucrative chemical and pool equipment products.” This means you can work smarter and not harder, by building long term relationships with your customers based on value for service.
Brett told us, “Reflecting on the last 9 years of this amazing growth of the Jim’s Pool Care brand in the market place, I am very proud of the team and the individuals who have invested in our business and invested in themselves. Their reward is that they are in a business that has no limits on growth, they have full flexibility over their lifestyle choices and they are in fact their own boss. It is not easy for any new business to start up and it takes hard work each time, but my team are always here and committed to be there for their journey”.
A Network that Works for the Franchisee
The Jim’s Group – there are currently over 3800+ franchisees – is one of Australia’s most recognised brands. Jim’s Pool Care encourages the owners to build strong local relationships and to leverage the other divisions who are also out there every day in customer’s homes and backyards. While each Division has a dedicated marketing team and website, all Jim’s franchisees are encouraged to cross-promote the other 40 divisions, using local area marketing, which is extremely useful to a newly launched franchise.
Brett told us, “Jim’s Pool Care has worked hard to develop a strong and supportive culture. The great thing about the Jim’s system is if new franchisees ever need any help, the support team is only a phone call away as we have an amazing network of friendly and helpful franchisees, franchisors and suppliers”.
To support our franchisees and encourage continual professional development, we ensure we have regular meetings and training sessions throughout the year. Many of these sessions are put on by suppliers that educate the Jim’s team on the latest equipment, technology and water management processes. This ensures we are able to help customers and deliver the best service we can with the latest in technology and science.
This strong support network is reinforced with an annual franchise convention, where franchisees fly in from all around Australia. The conventions are usually 3 – 4 days where they get to hear from other franchisees, industry experts and sales and motivation coaches, which provides a great opportunity to learn and network with other franchisees.
There are some really great stories shared each year at our annual conference, of business success and innovative ideas that come from all over the country.
Opportunities to Earn with Jim’s Pool Care
It is important when looking at a business, to consider how many streams of income are available. With a Jim’s Mobile Pool Shop, this includes casual pool servicing, regular maintenance programs, the sale and installation of new pool equipment, and a range of pool accessories. This covers domestic pools, Body Corporates, Hotels and Commercial opportunities.
Jim’s Pool Care franchises are now for sale in selected locations across Australia. The price for a new site starts at $69,000 and includes a complete start-up package. From time to time there may be some established re-sale opportunities which can be discussed upon enquiry. Jim’s is committed to new franchisees and their success by offering a Pay for Work Guarantee of $1500 (incl. GST) per week. Conditions apply, but this means that if you follow all the systems, and do not meet the weekly guarantee at the end of the month, you can be topped up the difference.
Another enlightening point of difference between Jim’s and other franchise systems, is a flat monthly franchise fee is charged, which is not percentage based. This means the harder you work; the more money you can make. This is a really important factor for many of our buyers as they are not struck with increasing fees just by growing a large business.
What does it take to get into business?
“When looking for a franchisee, we are ideally looking for somebody that is personable and able to build great customer relationships, as we are not only about one-off jobs in pool care, it’s about the ongoing regular maintenance. We are looking for people that are motivated to get into business for themselves, have a positive attitude and are able to get out on the road and build their own business with our systems. I am very proud of the team we have built and the service they provide pool owners around the country.”
The recruitment and application process starts with an initial meeting, usually over a coffee, which is the discovery phase for both parties. Potential franchisees are then offered a day on the road with a franchisee. This is a great concept and the potential franchisee is free to choose any working franchisee, as the Jim’s Group fully believe in being transparent all the way through the process. They are also encouraged to ask as many questions as they want.
After they have been out on the road and experienced for themselves how the business works and if they are keen to move forward, the next step is to start formalising the application. Part of this process is selecting a territory to build the business. Usually the location is close or near-to home to help reduce travel times and to help maximise chargeable hours for the franchisee. It also means that they can pop home if needed or help out with family commitments if they arise.
How can you grow a Mobile Pool Shop?
“We have franchisees from all walks of life including trades, banking, engineering, administrative and existing industry professionals. Our franchisees don’t need to have existing industry skills as Jim’s Pool Care provides comprehensive training; they just need to be willing to try new things, follow the systems we have developed and provide great customer service,” Brett says.
This in-house training starts with three days at the Jim’s Group Training Centre in Melbourne. All franchisees, from around the country, fly to Melbourne to meet Jim Penman and to learn more about the Jim’s system and how to become successful in business. The franchisees then go back to their respective cities and states where they complete an on-the-road and face to face pool school training program which lasts approximately 15 days with their local Franchisor and trainer.
To make it easier for new business owners, Jim’s Pool Care has been leveraging the latest technology for many years including digital water testing and cloud-based invoicing which helps with accuracy and the ability to improve cash flow. This also enables real time business reporting and customer management that can be discussed with their local franchisor.
Working with the best brands in the pool industry, including Astral, Zodiac, Maytronics, Daisy and Sunbather, the support that the franchisees receive from the brands with regard to ongoing training and product support is impressive.
Franchisees are encouraged to enhance their professional development each year, attend local team meetings and training sessions. Jim’s Pool Care also encourage franchisees to become specialised if they wish in certain pool areas. To help franchisees be the best they can be, all new franchisees are now required to complete the Certificate III &IV Pool Technician course, which is a national accredited qualification. This is provided in conjunction with the in-house training completed by Jim’s Pool Care.
“Ongoing training is provided by using a local regional franchisor model. This is perfect for a new business owner. We have someone on the ground in every region that provides the ongoing training and support. Once trained, every month, as a minimum, the regional franchisor will contact the franchisee to provide technical and business support. There are between 6 – 8 local regional meetings a year, which allows all the franchisees in that particular region to get together and share ideas and attend a range of supplier trainings. This provides our franchisees with a strong support network,” says Brett.
A Jim’s Pool Care franchise is a mobile retail business with huge opportunities. This system provides you with the opportunity to work outside, to work your own hours, to be your own boss and to build your business without limit. If you too would like to take control of your future, contact Jim’s Pool Care now on:
131 546 info@jimspoolcare.com.au www.jimspoolcare.com.au