He felt fit. He coached footy, hit the gym, ran around the oval. Then a routine check found his resting heart rate was 137 and he was in emergency heart surgery the next day.

Damian Bush has been a Jim's Mowing franchisee in Tasmania for nearly 10 years. He runs one of the strongest crews in the state and supports the Tassie network. In this episode of the Jim's Mowing podcast, he shares the health scare that nearly took him out and the business systems that kept his income running while he recovered.

This is a direct message to every Jim's franchisee and anyone running a service business. You service your mower. You service your ute. Most operators never service themselves until something forces them to.

The conversation then goes deep on what Damian does to run a full Tasmanian franchise off referrals, retainers, and reviews.

WHAT YOU'LL LEARN

How Damian turned every customer into a fortnightly retainer across all four seasons
Why he sells a full garden package instead of one-off mows
The exact standards he runs his business by, from voicemail to uniform
How one franchisee got 18 five-star Google reviews in two weeks using a $100 fuel card incentive
Why local sponsorships and raffle prizes outperform digital ads for long-term franchisees
The income protection gap most Jim's operators have no idea about until it's too late

TIMESTAMPS

0:00 Diversifying services and winter upsells
0:45 Meet Damian Bush, Tasmania franchisee
1:10 The health scare that changed everything
3:14 A resting heart rate of 137 with no symptoms
6:23 Why franchisees skip their own check-ups
9:25 Income protection and personal cover
12:11 Diversifying into a full-garden retainer model
14:24 How to get off Jim's leads and build referrals
19:07 Personal brand standards every franchisee needs
22:30 Setting your own non-negotiable standards
24:34 Upselling, networking, and Google My Business
33:00 Why one franchisee gets requested by name
38:16 The 30 doors a day local marketing tactic
40:21 Sponsoring sport teams and raffle prizes
46:31 Building referrals through community trust

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Jim’s Group is Australia and New Zealand’s largest home services brand with over 580 divisions. Our franchisees complete 5 million+ jobs every year.

Here’s what you’ll find here:

Straight advice from Jim Penman on business and franchising

Franchisee success stories and behind-the-scenes insight

Practical how-to guides for home and business services

We’re also recruiting. In 2024 alone, 245,000+ leads went un-serviced. If you want guaranteed work, full training, and the backing of Jim’s, we’d love to hear from you.

Start here
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