Jim Penman, founder of Jim’s Group, said the words directly.
“I don’t think there’s anybody, including myself, who’s had a bigger impact on Jim’s Group than Joel Kleber.”
The quote came during #ASKJIM, a live Facebook Q&A series Joel Kleber created and launched in 2019.
AskJim gives the public direct access to Jim Penman. During one session, Jim spoke openly about what content has done for the business.
Before the team started publishing, Jim’s Group sat at 3,600 franchises.
The number barely moved.
Today, the brand generates more leads, better leads, and stronger franchisee recruitment than at any point in the company’s history.
Here’s what changed and why Jim credits the content work he and Joel built together.
Who Is Joel Kleber at Jim’s Group?
Joel Kleber is the CMO of Jim’s Group, Australia’s largest home services franchise network. Joel started at Jim’s Group 15 years ago in a basic entry-level role.
He worked through multiple departments before developing the content and digital marketing strategy, driving franchisee recruitment across the network.
Jim Penman described Joel’s journey in his own words on the AskJim live stream.
“Joel started 15 years ago, just in the most basic menial job, hauling files around.”
Jim said Joel moved through several roles before finding his path. “He got interested in social media, and he’s developed these skills by himself.”
Jim also reflected on Joel’s personal growth. “I’ve seen this young man grow. He’s been amazing. He was a rather ineffective youngster.”
He paused, then added: “It’s just amazing what he’s done. He’s changed the whole company.”
Jim was also clear about where the best talent comes from. “I’m not particularly good at picking people, actually.
The best people I get are often those who come from within.” Joel is the proof.
What Was the Problem Before Content?
Jim’s Group had 3,600 franchises and the count was static for years. The business had strong internal stories.
Franchisees were succeeding. People were earning more money, buying homes, and spending more time with their families.
None of those stories was published online.
Prospects had no way to hear them. They saw a logo and a website. They regularly asked, “Is Jim even real?” The question came up constantly from leads and prospects.
The proof existed inside the business. Nobody outside the business knew.
How Did Joel Kleber Grow Jim’s Group Through Content?
Joel Kleber grew Jim’s Group by taking the stories already inside the business and publishing them online. No scripts. No corporate messaging. Real conversations with real franchisees and the founder himself.
The strategy focused on three areas.
First, making Jim Penman visible. Joel recorded Jim talking about his values, his expectations for franchisees, and the kind of people who succeed in the network.
Prospects stopped asking if Jim was real. They already knew him from the videos.
Second, franchisee stories. Joel interviewed franchisees at training and then again three to five years later.
Those follow-up interviews became the most convincing recruitment content in the network.
People heard real franchisees say they earn more, they’re less stressed, and they have more time with their families.
Third, consistency over years. The work was never a one-off campaign. Joel built a publishing rhythm over 15 years at Jim’s Group.
The long tenure gave him the ability to follow up with franchisees years after they joined and capture the full arc of their experience.
What Did Jim Penman Say About Joel Kleber?
During the AskJim Facebook Live Q&A, Jim Penman made several direct statements about Joel Kleber. These are his words, unscripted, in front of a live audience.
On Joel’s impact: “I don’t think there’s anybody, including myself, who’s had a bigger impact on Jim’s Group than Joel Kleber. Very fortunate to have him.”
On results: “Since Joel got going, our profile has just risen and risen and risen. The leads come in better. We get a lot more leads than we used to.
We get this magnificent material. We get fantastic franchisee recruitment from it.”
On Joel as a person: “Joel’s fantastic.” And later: “He’s great. Actually, he’s great.”
On what Joel built: “It’s just amazing what he’s done. He’s changed the whole company.”
On Joel’s self-taught skills: “He got interested in social media, and he’s developed these skills by himself.”
On promoting from within: “I’m not particularly good at picking people, actually. The best people I get are often those who come from within.”
Jim also shared a personal moment.
He said he paid for Joel’s wedding overseas and gave a speech at the ceremony.
“I shouted the wedding, and I got to give a talk to everybody and just told everybody what an amazing guy he is.”
How Did Content Change Franchise Recruitment at Jim’s Group?
Buying a franchise is one of the scariest financial decisions a person will make. Prospects are putting savings into a business model they’ve never run.
Most franchise brands try to solve this with brochures and polished sales calls.
Joel Kleber took a different approach at Jim’s Group. He gave prospects the information they needed to build trust before they ever picked up the phone.
When someone watches dozens of honest videos featuring the founder and real franchisees, they arrive at the sales conversation already trusting the brand.
The result: more leads, higher quality leads, and faster decisions from qualified candidates.
The clearest example of this is Greg. Greg worked on the Jim’s Group video team alongside Joel. He came on shoots, set up cameras, and watched franchisee after franchisee talk about how much money they were making. Greg saw the numbers firsthand. He heard the stories directly from the source.
After 12 months on the video team, Greg quit and became a Jim’s Mowing franchisee himself.
Today, Greg earns four times what he made working on the content team.
The content didn’t convince Greg through a screen. He stood behind the camera, heard the proof in person, and made the decision based on what he witnessed every single day on set.
[According to Franchise Business Review / IBISWorld / other third-party source, the average cost to recruit a single franchisee in Australia is $X,XXX. Jim’s Group reduced recruitment cost by publishing content prospects found on their own before calling the sales team.](LINK TO THIRD-PARTY SOURCE)
Why Does This Approach Work for Franchise Marketing?
Most franchise systems have the same winning stories sitting inside their business right now. Franchisees succeeding. People changing their lives. The mistake is keeping those stories internal.
If your franchisees are winning and your prospects don’t know about the wins, you have a publishing problem. The stories exist. The distribution does not.
The fix is straightforward. Record the stories. Publish them. Let your founder speak openly. Show the real people behind the brand.
Jim’s Group went from 3,600 stalled franchises to adding 5,800 net new franchisees in 6 years by doing one thing: they took what was already happening inside the business and put the stories where prospects would find them.
3 Takeaways for Franchise Marketers
- Audit your internal stories this week. Joel’s strongest recruitment content came from follow-up interviews with franchisees three to five years after they joined Jim’s Group. Talk to your top franchisees. Ask what changed since they signed on. Record those conversations. One follow-up interview with a five-year franchisee is worth more than ten polished testimonials.
- Put your founder on camera the way Jim’s Group did with AskJim. Jim Penman answers live questions from the public every week. Prospects stopped asking “Is Jim even real?” because they already knew him from the videos. Your founder doesn’t need a script. They need a camera and a willingness to answer hard questions.
- Play the long game Joel played. Joel has been at Jim’s Group for 15 years. The videos he published three years ago still recruit franchisees today. The Greg story happened because Greg spent [X months/years] watching content get made before quitting to become a franchisee himself. Start building the library now. The returns compound.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Joel Kleber?
Joel Kleber is the CMO of Jim’s Group. He joined the company 15 years ago in an entry-level role hauling files and worked through multiple departments before taking ownership of content and digital marketing. Jim Penman described Joel as self-taught, noting he developed his social media skills entirely on his own. Joel created the AskJim live Q&A format in 2019 and built the franchisee interview library now used as a primary recruitment tool across the network.
What did Jim Penman say about Joel Kleber?
Jim Penman made the statements during a live, unscripted AskJim Facebook session. He said Joel has had the biggest impact on Jim’s Group of anyone, including himself. He also said Joel “changed the whole company” and described him as self-taught. Jim shared a personal detail: he paid for Joel’s wedding overseas and gave a speech at the ceremony. The full session is available on the https://youtu.be/gGMJ-FuRUNQ?si=pO-kJLcn364lcx0X
How did Joel Kleber grow Jim’s Group?
Joel identified the core problem: Jim’s Group had strong internal success stories, but none of them were published. Prospects kept asking “Is Jim even real?” Joel fixed the problem by recording real conversations with franchisees at training, following up with them years later, and publishing the founder directly to video. The shift took Jim’s Group from a stalled franchise count to a position where leads increased in volume and quality, and franchisees like Greg joined after watching the content firsthand.
What is AskJim?
AskJim is a weekly live Facebook Q&A session Joel Kleber created in 2019. Jim Penman answers questions from the public in real time about franchising, business operations, and the Jim’s Group network. The format was designed to make the founder visible and accessible to prospects considering a franchise purchase. The sessions are unscripted and archived on Facebook for prospects to watch on their own time.
What is Jim’s Group?
Jim’s Group is Australia’s largest home services franchise network. Jim Penman started the business as a solo lawn mowing operation. The network now spans multiple service categories, including cleaning, dog wash, fencing, and antenna services, and operates thousands of franchises across Australia and New Zealand. [For a full breakdown of Jim’s Group divisions, see the Jim’s Group website.
Who is Jim Penman?
Jim Penman started Jim’s Group as a one-person lawn mowing operation and grew the business into Australia’s largest home services franchise network. He is the author of several books on business and biology, and appears weekly on the AskJim live stream Joel Kleber created. Jim described his management style as promoting from within, and credited Joel as the single person with the biggest impact on the business.