Below is the story of how he got started with us, his experience running his own business (Jim’s Antennas & Security South Morang) and his advice for those interested in purchasing a Jim’s Antennas or Security Franchise.

Making the Decision to Join Jim’s Antennas

Michael joined Jim’s Antennas in 2016 as a result of falling out of love with his work in the hospitality industry. He’d always wanted to run his own business, though he thought it would be in Automotive Parts or hospitality, not Antennas.

One day in 2012, when he had the day off, Michael wondered what he’d do if he wasn’t working as a chef. ‘I gravitated towards electrical work. I have three uncles who are electricians and I’ve always been quite technically savvy. I started to wonder what it would be like to do another apprenticeship.’ While doing some research Michael came across the Jim’s Antennas website, which piqued his interest. He went as far as getting an information pack, but was concerned about the funds it would take to buy a franchise and his lack of experience in the field, so he let it slide.

By 2016, Michael was now certain that he no longer wanted to work within the hospitality industry, and buying a Jim’s Antenna franchise was the one idea that kept popping into his thoughts.

Michael spent a few more months looking into it. Even though he wasn’t sure how he was going to raise the money, he did the three-day training and went on the road with one of the franchisees. ‘I talked it over with my wife again and spent some time going through the motions to get the okay for borrowing the money. After that it was just a leap of faith. I had to decide whether to go through with it or go back to working in a kitchen every day for the rest of my life. It was a big decision to drop that much money on a new business, but it paid off.’

Starting Out With Jim’s Antennas

Once Michael made the commitment, everything happened quickly. ‘I did the paperwork around November 2016, and quit my job at the beginning of December. There were four weeks of training on the road, which I started on 12 December.’ The person Michael trained with is now a good friend. ‘Troy and I hit it off from day one. He did a job with me this morning in fact, and we talk daily. He’s become one of my best mates.’

After the four weeks of training, Michael had to get everything in place to go out on his own. ‘I was concerned because everything was happening around Christmas and New Year. I was trying to organise a vehicle, and wondering how it was all going to go. It was hair raising, but also exciting. It was happening!’

His first day of trade was in mid January 2017. ‘I got a lead and I was super nervous when I answered the phone. I was terrible. If I know something I’m confident and can usually talk my way through it, but if I don’t know something I get nervous.’

The lead was a man with a reception issue, and he must have been convinced because he booked Michael in to come over straight away. ‘I remember being very nervous when I knocked on his front door. I had a look and found the problem, and after climbing on the roof to fix it, he asked, “How much do I owe you?”. I told him our charge was $150, feeling very nervous, but he said, “Sweet, no worries.” I was standing there telling this guy to give me $150 for a half hours’ work, and I’m used to being paid $30 or $35 an hour. He was happy, paid me promptly, and I was amazed. It was awesome. I was pretty happy with myself.’

Early Days & Growing the Business

Michael’s early days in business were a bit slow, with two to three jobs a day. ‘I did all the things they teach you about in training: drop off cards when you do a job, get your word-of-mouth referral going, and just get yourself out there as much as you can.’ Thanks to his efforts, work slowly picked up. ‘I had a really strategic focus about how I wanted to run my business. I knew what I wanted to do, and how I wanted to grow it.’

In the industry, there are many extra skills you can learn so you can do a broader scope of jobs for customers. Michael was keen to constantly learn new skills, but he made sure he mastered each skill before moving on to the next. ‘I thought the more notches I have on my belt the better, but I didn’t want to be a jack of all trades and master of none.’ Once he mastered something, he’d look at what he could learn next. ‘I started out focussing on TV antennas, wall mounting TVs, running a better cable for TV outlets, stuff like that. I worked out how to do that really well, and then moved on to the internet stuff. Once I’d worked on that, I moved on to Security. I learned alarms and cameras, and then I started getting into some commercial work.’

Michael now runs a dual franchise of Antennas and Security. ‘Troy taught me Antennas when I was training, and I now teach him Security stuff. It’s quite ironic.’

Increasing Revenue

Within two years of starting up Michael had cleared his debt and was able to structure his finances to pay himself a wage every week. His third year into the business, 2019, was his breakout year. ‘I was doing a lot of hours and making a lot of money.’ He’d taken on some commercial jobs, and had plenty of work. ‘I’d built myself a decent reputation with customers, and I developed a lot of relationships with electricians, builders and real estate agents.’

The Security side of his business started ramping up, to the point that it was becoming too much for one person. ‘I was subbing out a lot of work and we were looking at hiring an employee, but then COVID hit so we backed off on that decision. All the way through 2020 people still wanted stuff done in their houses, so we had a really good year again’.

Michael can turn over as much as $10,000 a week. ‘Pulling in a large turnover on my own is difficult, but some of our jobs are quite big, especially when you get to the security side of things. I have a $3500 job on Thursday.’ He still remembers his first day of earning $1000 in one day. ‘I came home saying, “I did $1000 today!”’ Then he thought, “Okay, great, next we do $1,500”. ‘As his business grew and he moved into bigger numbers, until he got to the point of doing $5,000 a day. ‘Just wow’.

Advice for Running a Jim’s Antennas & Security Franchise

One of the best pieces of advice Michael received was from his good mate Troy. ‘I remember Troy telling me, when I went on the road with him, “As long as you realise you are buying a business, you’re not buying a job, you’ll do well.” That stuck in my head, and I think it’s the difference between success and failure, especially in a franchise. If you go in with the approach that you have a business, and it’s your business, and you make that model work for you, you’ll do well. If you go into it with the approach that you’ve bought a job, and you wait for the work to come to you without using the advantages of the franchise, I don’t think you’ll succeed.’

There’s another saying that came out of his early training that he adheres to. ‘It’s something that Jim said about every customer being a fan. It stuck with me and I try to approach my business that way too. When I work on someone’s house, I work on it like it’s my own, because I want them to sing my praises from the rooftops when I leave. There are a lot of shonky traders out there, especially in the TV Antenna and Security Industry. If I can leave someone’s house, having arrived on time, done a fantastic job and solved the problem, the rest will sell itself at the end of the day.’Michael prides himself on his work and his presentation. ‘I did the same thing as a chef. I was always highly organised, motivated and well presented, and I’m still the same. In the back of my ute everything has its spot, and it’s meticulously clean. I’m probably one of the most OCD tradies out there.’ Honesty is equally as important to Michael. ‘I’m nothing but honest with my clients. I won’t try to sell people things they don’t need. I don’t like taking money from people for nothing. At the end of the day, if I’ve provided you with a service, I’ll charge you for what you need and not for what I want to sell.’

Tips for Those Starting Out With Jim’s Antennas and/or Security

Michael’s advice for new franchisees is to remember that you own a business, and you have to drive it forward if you want to succeed. ‘You will only get out what you put in. Things won’t fall into your lap. If you want to make something of your business, you really need to work at it, and that the work is not always physical. There’s networking, budgeting, planning and bookkeeping. And you need to promote yourself. There are a lot of guys who won’t go out and quote for free. Sure, there are times when you spend half an hour quoting a client and you don’t get the job, but other times, you do. If you’re out networking and seeing people, you’re giving your time to people to get something. Maybe you didn’t make money on Monday, but Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday are looking fantastic because of the time you spent with people on Monday. That’s all people want, your time. People want to feel wanted, so when they call you to come and quote on something or look at something, they don’t want to be rushed. They also don’t want to hear that you can’t get there till next month.’

The Benefits of Running Your Own Business

Running a business takes a lot of hard work, but there are rewards beyond the financial gain. Flexibility is one of the biggest advantages Michael enjoys. ‘Being my own boss means that when the kids need to be picked up or dropped off somewhere, I can do it. I don’t have to answer to somebody. I go out for lunch if I want to go out for lunch. I take a day off if I want, and I go on holiday if I want. My wife and I are at the point where our business is stable enough that we can pretty much do whatever we like, money isn’t a huge factor in our life. We pay the mortgage and the bills with no problem, and if we want something, we buy it. The benefits of running our own business have started to shine through.’

Five years ago, Michael decided to take a risk and find something new. The risk paid off. ‘I absolutely love what I do. I’m five years in, and I can pretty much count on one hand how many bad days I’ve had. I get up in the morning, go out and fix people’s problems. Whether it’s a lack of reception, or needing a TV mounted on the wall. You do a job for somebody and they say, “Oh wow! That’s amazing.” I did a TV, mounted a sound-bar and a few other pieces for a lady today and she was so happy. There’s so much gratification in people being so happy.’