Jim's Mowing founder shocks with throwback photos - as he makes an unexpected confession about his rebellious teen years

Daily Mail​

3 days ago

The founder of Jim's Mowing has stunned Aussies by sharing a series of pictures taken decades earlier.
Jim Penman, who founded the iconic franchise business, has been busily posting a series of LinkedIn posts this past week sharing advice and reflections with fellow entrepreneurs.
The Aussie millionaire has recently been touching on everything from early life lessons to brand values and leadership strategies.
One post even included the surprising admission that the Jim's Group CEO was once 'suspended' from school 'for being a bad influence'.
But perhaps what has resonated the most is the series of retro photographs that Jim has shared alongside his inspirational messages.
Viewers of the posts were stunned to see the striking likeness between the Jim's Mowing illustrated logo and the real-life Jim in his younger years.
Sharing pictures of himself as a younger man wearing his brand's dark green shirt and sporting a full moustache and beard, Aussies were astonished at just how accurately the businessman is depicted in the instantly recognisable company logo.
A post shared to the 'Jim's Group' page made the same observation after posting an old picture of Jim taken during the late 1980s era.
'The logo does look like its origin,' read one stunned reply.
Another person remarked that the current logo should be updated to more accurately reflect Jim's present-day appearance.
'When does the current logo get a shave, considering Jim hasn't had a beard in 10+ years,' they wrote.
Jim himself has previously acknowledged in a social media video that the business logo was designed based off an old 'picture' of himself.
'The artist just made a rendition from that particular photo. So it was me,' he confirmed.
The latest series of LinkedIn post offered interesting insights into the businessman's life story and lessons learnt while founding his successful namesake company.
'They called me a bad influence. Now, I run one of the most influential businesses in the country,' Jim's first post in the series commenced.
The CEO and businessman shared examples of outspoken behaviour during his younger years, including them time he was 'suspended' from school.
Jim went on to detail how these very same qualities would one day give him the 'nerve' to make decisions that contributed to his business success story.
The next post shared a few days later on August 8 saw Jim reflecting on his business' leadership style.
Jim demonstrated his point by reflecting on a recent interaction with a Jim's Mowing franchisee.
'Leadership isn't just about solving problems. It's about noticing before they become problems,' he concluded.
The latest post offered an explanation for why Jim had never felt compelled to 'sell Jim's Group' - despite being offered several 'life-changing offers'.
The CEO went on to explain the reason he'd 'turned down' every single offer.
'I've seen what happens when a founder sells out,' he wrote.
'The culture changes. The focus shifts from service to squeezing every last dollar. And the people who built the business, our franchisees, get left behind.'
'That will never happen here,' he resolutely added.
The recent series of posts have attracted hundreds of likes along with comments from CEOs and CFOs praising his willingness to share his hard-learnt business advice.
Jim's Group specialises in practical trades such as plumbing, mowing, fencing, roofing, and cleaning.
The company was launched in 1982 and has since expanded into a franchise operation in Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and Canada.