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Profile: Jim’s Pool Care: Office by the Pool
offiCe By the pool
Jim’s pool care continues to grow year on year and now has 118 franchise owners. the success has been built off the back of meeting growing customer demand for home services and a business model that is built around the franchisees’ goals and lifestyle.
It is exciting as Jim’s Pool Care continues to grow. We now have Mobile Pool Shops in all major cities around Australia and the recent growth being driven from people wanting to take control of their work/life balance and many wanting to work closer to home. Jim’s Franchise owners can sell ongoing services, retail items, chemicals, and charge for their time. All these income streams ensure that owning a Jim’s Pool Care Mobile Shop gives you flexibility and multiple ways to make money from a growing industry. Services include pool cleaning, regular maintenance, pool heating, pool inspections, lighting, pool blankets, and robotic cleaners.
Why does Jim’s pool care continue to grow?
As a key division of the Jim’s Group, Jim’s Pool Care began around 15 years ago in Western Australia. Owner and General Manager Brett Blair has seen the franchise chain grow from around 30 to 118 franchisees and 13 Regional Franchisors over his 11 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. “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,” says Brett. “Our team are mobile pool shops on wheels. This means our franchisees can charge for their time and earn great margins on lucrative chemical and pool equipment products. So, you can work smarter and not harder by building long term relationships with customers.
“Reflecting on the last 11 years and this amazing growth of Jim’s Pool Care, I am very proud of the team and the individuals who invested in our business and invested in themselves. Their reward is they are in a business that has no limits on their growth, they have full flexibility over how hard they work, 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.”
Jim’s group – a huge network that Works
As part of the Jim’s Group – there are currently over 4000+ Jim’s franchisees - making it one of Australia’s recognised brands. Jim’s Pool Care is big on ongoing support. After a thorough initial training program, to support our franchisees and encourage continual professional development, we ensure we have regular meetings and supplier 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 can help customers and deliver the best service.
This strong support network is reinforced with an annual franchise convention, where franchisees fly in from all around Australia. The conventions are usually three to four 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.
What does it cost?
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. You will also need to purchase or lease a suitable vehicle. Jim’s have a flat monthly franchise fee and is committed to new franchisees and their success by offering a Pay for Work Guarantee of $1500 (incl. GST) per week. Conditions apply.
What does it take?
The recruitment and application process starts with an initial meeting, usually over a coffee and is a 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 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 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 with family commitments if they arise.
how can you grow?
“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.
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 regarding ongoing training and product support is impressive. “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 who 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 six to eight local regional meetings a year, which allows all the franchisees in that region to get together and share ideas and attend a range of supplier training. 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.
