I was curious about the Jim's Mowing franchise and why the Harveys didn't seem to be making a success of it considering the size of the Jim's business and the number of franchisees it has.
Franchising, Franchise Opportunity, Small Business, Home Services - Jim's Group
What's interesing is that the Jim's group includes a very wide range of businesses from dog-washing and pool care to mobile tyre services and locksmithing so in theory the Harveys should have been able to find a service to suit their circumstances and interests.
The whole point of taking on a franchise rather than starting from scratch is that you buy into a proven business and model. The fee covers the set up costs (vehicle, gardening equipment), training, marketing assistance and so on. It also should include an evaluation of whether that particular business is going to work in the area the would-be franchisee wants to cover, and that evaluation
should identify if it wouldn't work there. In other words, you're buying into the ability to bypass all the common reasons for business failure.
So if it wasn't doing well for the Harveys you have to ask why.
Was Tony, who presumably would be doing most of the heavy physical work, just not healthy or fit enough to do that work in reality despite being a young man?
Did the evaluation simply get it wrong, and the business should never have been set up where it was?
Did the evaluation work on the basis of Mara doing more physical, cash-earning work than she eventually did, so what should have been a 2-person business effectively become a 1-and-a-bit-person business?
