---

What Did Lance Do Before Joining Jim’s Mowing?

Before joining Jim’s Mowing, Lance Azzopardi spent 20 years driving trucks.

That was the work he knew.

The problem was his back.

Lance said sitting in a truck all day was compressing his back. His physio told him he needed to stand up.

That advice changed the direction of his working life.

He had a mortgage. He had a wife and kids at home. His wife was not working.

He also did not see many realistic options.

He was not a qualified plumber. He could not move into factory work easily because of his back. He needed something that could give him income, movement, and control.

That is where the Jim’s Mowing franchise became practical.

Not glamorous. Practical.

It gave him a way to stand, work locally, build income, and control his hours.

Why Did Lance Choose A Jim’s Mowing Franchise In Keilor?

Lance did not join because he was already a gardening expert.

He joined because he saw proof.

He watched content from Jim’s Mowing franchisees, including Dan Cahill, and had a simple reaction:

If someone else could do it, why couldn’t he?

He still was not fully convinced.

That mattered.

Instead of only trusting videos, Lance pulled over and spoke to Jim’s Mowing franchisees on the road. He expected them to be protective because he could become their competition.

They were not.

They told him the same positive story. He also built a strong friendship with Nick, another franchisee who told him what he needed to know.

That peer proof helped reduce the risk.

For anyone comparing owning a Jim’s franchise with staying in a job that no longer fits, this is the real decision point.

Lance was not chasing a fantasy.

He was looking for a way out of physical strain and financial pressure.

What Happened In Lance’s First Few Months After Starting?

Lance’s first day was not smooth.

It was the kind of day that could make someone quit.

He lived in Keilor, and his first job was in Heidelberg. Then he went from Heidelberg to Broadmeadows because he had all his leads open while chasing work.

At one job, he parked on a main road with his hazards on.

He spoke to the customer, completed the lawn, cleaned up the property, took photos, and felt proud.

Then the customer arrived and told him he had done the wrong house.

Lance then had to do the correct property.

His car battery also died because the hazards had been left on.

He spent about four hours at the site and made about $150 that day.

That is the honest part of the story.

The first day was frustrating.

But within about a month, the leads were coming in, and Lance became more comfortable.

That early shift matters.

A new Jim’s Mowing franchisee does not need a perfect first day. They need to keep learning, keep responding to leads, and keep building regular customers.

How Much Can You Earn With A Jim’s Mowing Franchise?

Lance started with 10 regular customers.

In 18 months, he grew to 190 regular customers.

He now has two employees.

He said he is saving more than he spends.

He also said his bank account used to depreciate, but now it appreciates.

That is the most useful way to understand Lance’s earnings story. It is not one headline income claim. It is a visible business growth pattern.

From 10 customers to 190.

From solo operator to two employees.

From worrying about spending to saving more than spending.

For anyone searching how much you can earn with a Jim’s franchise, Lance’s story shows that earnings depend on lead handling, regular customer growth, service mix, and how far the operator wants to scale.

His mate started one month after him and had a different goal.

That mate wanted to be around his kids, worked about six hours a day, and still made more than he did driving trucks.

That contrast is important.

A Jim’s Mowing franchise can be built for growth, like Lance’s business, or lifestyle, like his mate’s business.

How Did Lance’s Keilor Jim’s Mowing Business Grow Over Time?

Lance started with 10 customers.

His franchisor, Paul, helped him with that starting base.

Those customers gave Lance a practical footprint.

He learned what to charge. He learned how jobs worked. He had a starting point instead of beginning cold.

From there, the Jim’s lead system became the major growth driver.

Lance said he had not really done letterbox drops.

He worked the Jim’s leads because they were strong enough.

That lead flow helped him grow beyond standard residential mowing.

His customer base now includes:

• Residential customers
• Factories
• Large commercial sites
• Quest apartments
• An aquatic centre

That matters because one commercial client can be worth far more than one small residential customer.

Lance said one regular customer could be the same size as 15 regular customers, depending on the site.

That is how the business grew from local mowing work into a broader Keilor and Melbourne-area mowing operation.

What Systems And Tools Made The Biggest Difference?

The biggest system in Lance’s story was the Jim’s lead system.

Not ServiceM8.

Not a complex software stack.

The practical system was this:

Jim’s brought leads in.

Paul helped Lance start with 10 customers.

Those customers helped Lance understand pricing.

The franchise network gave him people to call, ask, and learn from.

That system works because it reduces the hardest part of starting a local service business: finding enough early demand.

An independent operator often starts with branding, flyers, ads, local Facebook posts, and word of mouth.

That can work.

But it takes time, testing, and cash.

Lance’s Jim’s Mowing franchise gave him a faster path to quoting, mowing, learning, and building regulars.

The lead system also helped him learn job types quickly.

He started nervous about hedging.

He almost wanted to turn one job down because the property was expensive and the hedges looked intimidating.

He did the job anyway.

Now he loves hedging because he can get through the work quickly and the money is strong.

That is how the system compounds.

A lead becomes a job.

A job becomes a skill.

Skill becomes confidence.

Confidence becomes better quoting and more profitable work.

For new operators, franchisee training matters because it shortens the learning curve before mistakes become expensive.

What Challenges Did Lance Face And Overcome?

Lance faced three clear challenges.

First, he had a physical problem.

His back injury made truck driving difficult. The move into mowing was not just a business choice. It was a health and work-life decision.

Second, he had financial pressure.

He had a mortgage, wife, and kids. He needed income, not a hobby.

Third, he had beginner’s nerves.

His first day went badly. He did the wrong property, lost time, had a flat battery, and made about $150.

He also feared certain jobs early on, especially hedging.

The lesson is not that Lance avoided mistakes.

He kept going after making them.

That is what separates a franchise story from a sales pitch.

He had a rough start, used the support around him, built confidence, and kept taking the work.

Is A Jim’s Mowing Franchise Worth It For Career Changers?

For Lance Azzopardi, yes.

His results back that up.

He moved from 20 years of truck driving to a Jim’s Mowing franchise in Keilor with 190 regular customers and two employees in 18 months.

He also improved his lifestyle.

He said his back has never felt better because he is no longer sitting in a truck all day.

Financially, he described the change as “chalk and cheese”.

Before, a family holiday took two years to save for.

Now he can tell his wife to book it without the same stress.

That does not mean every operator will build the same business.

Lance said not everyone will be a Dan Cahill.

But his point was simple.

You do not need to be Superman.

You need to use the system, speak to real franchisees, take the leads seriously, and keep going when the first job is not perfect.

For anyone comparing the Jim’s Mowing cost against the risk of staying stuck in work that no longer fits, Lance’s story shows the upside of backing a system instead of trying to build everything alone.

Standard Mowing Operator Vs Lance’s Jim’s Professional Model

Feature	Standard Operator	Jim’s Professional
Training	Learns by trial and error	Gets structured training and franchisor support
Leads	Must find every customer alone	Can use Jim’s lead flow and brand demand
Systems	Builds pricing, quoting, and routines from scratch	Uses franchisor guidance, customer base support, and network knowledge
Branding	Starts with low recognition	Trades under the Jim’s Mowing name
Income Consistency	Often depends on cold marketing and referrals	Can build regular customers from incoming leads

“I looked at other Jim’s Mowing franchisees and thought, if they can do it, why can’t I? I went from driving trucks with a back injury to building a business with 190 regular customers.”

— Lance Azzopardi, Jim’s Mowing franchisee, Keilor

Frequently Asked Questions

How Much Do Jim’s Mowing Franchisees Earn?

Lance grew from 10 regular customers to 190 regular customers in 18 months, now has two employees, and is saving more than he spends.

Can You Start A Jim’s Mowing Franchise With No Mowing Experience?

Yes, Lance started with no horticultural background. He had only done his own lawns before joining Jim’s Mowing, then used training, franchisor support, and peer advice to learn the business.

How Many Customers Did Lance Azzopardi Start With?

Lance started with 10 customers. His franchisor, Paul, helped him with that initial base, which gave Lance a practical starting point for pricing and service delivery.

How Many Customers Does Lance Have Now?

Lance said he has 190 regular customers. That includes residential customers, factories, larger commercial sites, Quest apartments, and an aquatic centre.

What Was Lance’s First Day Like?

His first day was difficult. He drove from Keilor to Heidelberg, then Broadmeadows, accidentally completed the wrong property, had a flat battery, spent about four hours on-site, and made about $150.

Does Jim’s Mowing Provide Leads?

In Lance’s experience, yes. He said the Jim’s leads were strong enough that he did not really need to do letterbox drops to grow his customer base.

Is A Jim’s Mowing Franchise Worth It?

For Lance, the answer was yes. He moved from truck driving with a back injury to a Keilor-based Jim’s Mowing business with 190 regular customers, two employees, and more financial breathing room.

Key Takeaways

• Lance Azzopardi moved from 20 years of truck driving to a Jim’s Mowing franchise after a back injury forced a career change.
• He started with 10 customers and grew to 190 regular customers in 18 months.
• His business now includes residential, factory, commercial, Quest apartment, and aquatic centre work.
• The Jim’s lead system, franchisor support, and peer network helped him grow without relying heavily on letterbox drops.
• Lance’s story shows that a Jim’s Mowing franchise can suit both growth-focused operators and lifestyle-focused career changers.

---