Dan: Jim’s Security Glenelg North Region, Adelaide
Joined Jim's Security in 2018.
What were you doing before joining the Jim's Franchise?
Before I joined Jim’s I was working in a very similar industry. I owned and operated a small business doing electronics installations, mainly high-end AV and home automation. Back then I had 6 employees, including an electrician as part of our team, which allowed us to work within a fairly broad scope of electronics. But it was probably 12-24 months before I joined Jim’s Security that we started doing a lot more security and CCTV, and that’s what raised my interest in the area.
Why did you make the change?
I decided to buy into a franchise because as an owner of a small business I was finding it difficult to take care of everything myself. I struggled to juggle the ‘behind the scenes’ aspects of my company such as marketing and website development alongside providing a service. But, I still wanted to grow my security business, so it made a lot of sense to buy the Jim’s franchise and add this to my existing operations.
Why Jim's Group and why Jim's Security?
The main reason I chose Jim’s was because of the brand. I’ve always looked at Jim’s Antennas as quite a strong name and that’s what I think that Security also has the potential to be – even now, as our business is growing rapidly, I still see a lot of room for growth.
Has it been a good financial decision?
Yes, definitely, I can see a big difference in my margins now I’m with a strong brand. Customers don’t expect Jim’s to be the cheapest quote as most value the benefits of the customer service guarantee and the Jim’s Group Warranty. I’ve also been very happy with the quality and volume of leads coming through Jim’s, it would have taken a lot of time and money for me to generate those leads myself.
What advice would you give to someone looking at a franchise with security?
My biggest piece of advice is that you get out what you put in. It’s not going to be easy to start a new business and learn something new at the same time. It will take a fair bit of commitment and patience. If you’re new or even just interested, I would also recommend asking plenty of questions, because we’re all here to help.
As a franchisee, I think that the right person for this role is someone who has good customer-service skills, who is friendly and able to quickly build rapport. We can easily teach new franchisees the technical side of things, and show them how to install hardware.
What are your future plans for Jim’s?
My plan from the beginning with Jim’s was to just see how it went, and let the journey go as it may. So far the experience with the group has been really good – all the guys are great to deal with, and that’s probably made me even more comfortable in making the decision that I would like to spend more time at Jim’s, than I would away.
Jim’s Security is where I see my future, and my experience as a franchisee is a large part of the reason why I’ve recently decided to become a franchisor. As a Security Franchisor I want to help build a strong group of people that can assist with the growth of Jim’s Security as a whole – but also allow them to manage their own independent individual businesses, meaning that they’re no longer reliant on me, but I’m here if they need me.