Jim’s kingdom: ‘If anybody told me I’d have 5000 franchisees, I’d ask them ‘what are you smoking?’

He may be 70 and father to 11 kids but Jim Penman is still very much involved in his Australian mowing empire, and hasn’t lost his sense of humour.

Jim Penman of Jim’s Mowing enjoys his personal kingdom. Picture: Nicki Connolly

On Wednesday night, millionaire lawn mowing mogul Jim Penman spent his evening knighting Victorians.

It may seem like a frankly bizarre task for one of Australia’s most successful businessmen to be taking up on a weeknight, but it’s nothing out of the ordinary for the man who famously took on Dan Andrews.

Most Aussies would know Mr Penman from seeing his face on the side of every Jim’s Mowing vehicle and trailer, or for his fierce criticisms of the government’s handling of the pandemic.

Less would be familiar with the “real Jim”, who proudly parades around his eight-hectare haven in a gold crown, with a red cape draped around his shoulders, and a big sword in hand.

This kinglike behaviour, he insists, is completely normal around Jimland.

This week he hosted an elaborate banquet dinner, where he offered members of the public to get knighted by him – for a small fee.

“I put the sword down and I say: ‘Sir Mitch of Wantirna, I dub thee a knight,” he demonstrated to the Sunday Herald Sun during a visit to Jimland ahead of the event.

Jim’s Group, first franchised in 1989, has exploded in popularity over the years.

Earlier this month, Mr Penman pledged to become a full sovereign citizen, threatening to secede from Victoria and create his own micronation in Mooroolbark.

He designed his nation’s flag, created its currency, drew up citizenship certificates and demanded to be recognised as His Royal Highness King Jim the First.

It was, however, only an April Fool’s joke gone awry.

Mr Penman’s secession plans were announced two days early, and most people presumed it was simply the latest of Penman’s colourful antics.

But he felt obliged to make good on his “stunt”.

After all it was for a cause – one that is much bigger than himself and his work.

Those brave enough to be knighted by the mowing man were billed for a $150 donation to the Men’s Shed charity, a cause close to Mr Penman’s heart.

Supporting initiatives that aim to combat mental illness, particularly in men, is one of Mr Penman’s life goals.

“It’s hard to be a man these days, we know this,” he said.

“I wish people could be aware of the need for a strong community among men, so they can feel that they belong.

“Men are not as good as women on this stuff. A lot of men suffer in isolation, so I would love men in need, who are feeling bad about things, to be aware that there is help out there for them.

“So, we’re not trying to leave Australia and become Jimland. We’re just trying to be better kinds of Australians and look after each other better.”

Jimland is part corporate headquarters, part conference centre, part home, and part April fool’s joke … but Mr Penman takes the work he does here very seriously.

The 70-year-old father of 11 insists everything he does is in service of his loyal “tribe” of mum-and-dad business owners who tirelessly run Jim’s franchises around the country.

“Every franchisee in Jim’s Group has my phone number and email address; they call me directly,” Mr Penman said.

“I need to know what’s going on, and I want to know if there are any problems.”

Jim Penman of Jim’s Mowing has famously declared he lives on Jim land. Picture: Nicki Connolly

Jim’s Group, first franchised in 1989, has exploded in popularity over the years since.

It now boasts 4964 franchisees across 44 divisions, from mowing to fencing, dog washing, cleaning, car detailing and bookkeeping.

Mr Penman said his younger self, who began mowing lawns for 15 years before starting his empire, never envisioned he would become one of Australia’s most successful businessmen.

“Back when I first started, someone asked me how many franchisees I might have one day and I said ‘if it really goes well, I could have 100’,” he said.

“If anybody told me I’d have 5000 franchisees, I’d ask them ‘what are you smoking?’”

His vision was born out by one key motto – doing a “fantastic job”, always.

“That’s a weird obsession I have. I really, really hate letting people down,” he said.

“I’m obsessed with customer service.”

So much so, Mr Penman is often on the receiving end of phone calls with angry customers aggrieved by a franchisee.

“I get involved in individual customer complaints,” he said.

“If a customer gets a problem with a service and it doesn’t get fixed up the first time around, the call centre will send them to me and I will sit on it until it’s completely fixed.”

Guests being knighted by Mr Penman. Picture: Wayne Taylor

When he’s not responding to feedback – good and bad – Mr Penman is picking fights with Premiers.

In 2020, when his loyal tribe – and sole traders more broadly – were ordered to down tools, Mr Penman came out swinging.

“It was just so senseless. I was so furious. There was no justification for this,” he said, still fired up.

“The amount of suffering that went on as a result of that was horrific.”

Mr Penman said he felt a moral obligation, as the company head, to be a voice for his Jim’s Group family, but it was bigger than that.

“These are my people,” he said. “They are like my family. They’re my tribe.

“But I wasn’t just speaking for them. I was speaking for the independents, too. There are over 100,000 Victorians in this same category of work, not to mention their families and children.

“So that was a lot of people, probably 500,000, that were directly affected by this insane order.”

Years on, Mr Penman is still seeking an apology from Premier Daniel Andrews for the hurt of some of the political decisions made during the pandemic.

Covid-19, he said, truly exposed “too big a gap between rich and poor”.

“There’s too many things in society that help affluent people,” he said.

Despite having a hunger to help people, Mr Penman has firmly ruled out any prospects of a political career.

“People always say ‘Jim for PM’. But I have no tact, and I just say what I think,” he said.

“I blabber off about anything.”

Jim Penman enjoys a bit of royal fun. Picture: Wayne Taylor

Mr Penman’s politics are intriguing; he feels he does not belong to a party.

“In some ways I’m a bit of a socialist actually,” he said. “I do think we should do a lot more for people in need.

“So some of my views are very left … but when it comes to things like freedom of worship, I’m very much on the right wing.

“It’s not that I’m apolitical. I just have views that are inconsistent with anybody else, and I don’t belong to a political tribe.”

Instead, he’s chosen to create his own tribe.

And it’s a tribe that he is planning to lead for at least the next 20 years.

“I’ll be the CEO for as long as I’ve got the ability to do it, but I’m in extremely good health,” he said with a broad grin.

“I’m 70 years old, but I’m just full of beans. I’m full of energy, and I have trouble sitting down. I’m always moving, and I’m bursting with new ideas.

“So I’ve probably got another 20 years or so, I guess. And after that, well, then I’ll be dead.”