Show Notes
If you heard our full episode on 9 October, you have already had this one. This is Luke's chat with Jim Penman on its own, for anyone who just wants Jim.
When nobody would back his ideas as an academic, Jim went back to mowing lawns full-time, about $35,000 in debt, he says, and by his own account terrible at managing his first subcontractors. He tells Luke how he turned it around, from selling lawn rounds to ringing the big Adelaide franchise and being told no thanks, and why he drew up a contract he wouldn't mind signing as a franchisee.
Jim also explains the $700 contract fee he could have set far higher, why the business was his way of paying for his research into why civilisations rise and fall, and the argument in his new book with Andrea Pearson, Birth-Rate Crisis. Plus pass the parcel, cold showers, and why he doesn't expect to win Northcote at the Victorian election.
Guests: Jim Penman
Birth-Rate Crisis by Jim Penman and Andrea Pearson: https://birthratecrisisbook.com/
This interview contains strong language and mentions suicide. Lifeline: 13 11 14 (24/7)
00:00 The man behind Jim's Mowing 00:59 How Jim's Mowing started 02:05 A burned-out academic with a mower 03:23 When he tried to join his biggest rival 04:37 A contract he'd want to sign 06:03 What he learned from Ray Kroc 07:24 The list that won over franchisees 08:40 Why so many franchises come and go 09:29 $700 for a contract, not $5,000 10:32 How Jim's keeps an eye on quality 12:00 Long-term thinking, and a franchisee veto 14:35 $5 pizzas and franchisees who can't sell 16:09 Before you buy a franchise 17:22 When a division doesn't take off 18:33 The brush cutter and a neat edge 21:01 More jobs than franchisees 21:55 Birth-Rate Crisis, Jim's new book 23:22 The rise and fall of civilisations 25:17 Is it money, or priorities? 27:23 The dopamine theory 28:20 Why he says hard times bring baby booms 30:22 Everybody wins a ribbon 31:43 Pass the parcel, with a prize in every layer 33:26 Cold showers, and a seat he doesn't expect to win 34:08 Two-stroke, electric or push mower? 35:14 Advice for 12-year-old Jim 35:48 In trouble at school
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