Jim Penman

The founder and owner of Jim’s Group, Jim Penman is one of Australia’s best-known entrepreneurs. He has written several books and is a popular speaker on topics including business, health, happiness, and political issues such as Australian zoning laws.

While studying for a PhD in history at La Trobe University in Melbourne, Jim developed ideas that challenged existing thinking on the reasons for social and political change. In particular, he came to believe that biology and neuroscience were key underlying factors.

On completing his doctorate, he turned his part-time lawn-mowing business into what became the largest franchise chain in the Southern Hemisphere, with 5,700 franchisees in Australia, New Zealand, and Canada.

He continued his academic interests, and in recent years has funded an ongoing research program, with 12 papers published in high-ranking academic journals including Physiology and Behavior, and Behavioural Brain Research. The program is based at La Trobe University, with labs now operating in Nanjing and Chongqing, China, and collaborators in the U.S. and elsewhere.

A particular interest is the epigenetic effects of the environment, especially of mild food restriction and parental care, and also of the physiology and behavior of cycling animals such as lemmings and muskrats.

He also continues to be active in the business, providing his direct contact details to every franchisee in the system and fielding multiple inquiries a day, as well as taking an active role with regard to customer service issues.

Jim is an evangelical Christian and active in his local church, living simply on a fraction of his income. Above all, he sees his key job as a husband and father of ten wonderful children. He believes true success isn’t measured in bank accounts or business holdings, but in the people you love and the legacy left behind; and that no material gains, however great, can compensate for failure in the home.