From Building Sailboats in West Africa to Home Service Business with John Caprani

What if a stranger inviting you to build a boat halfway around the world led to meeting your wife, building a family, and discovering your life's work?

In this episode, John Caprani, video advertising specialist for home service businesses, shares his unconventional journey from Ireland to West Africa to Fiji and finally to Spain. After meeting a Swiss sailor named Hans in 2011, John packed everything for a one-way ticket to Senegal to build a 72-foot wooden sailboat. That adventure led to a job in Fiji doing construction project management, where he met his wife within six weeks, married her six months later, and became a father 10 months after that.

Six years later, with two kids under three and a deep dissatisfaction with his corporate job, John made the leap into entrepreneurship at age 37. Now specializing in video advertising for home service businesses generating $1M to $5M annually, he's helped clients book $800K in 30 days and $95K in 40 days using a simple approach that most marketers overlook: putting the founder on camera and building trust through personality instead of just showcasing work.

John reveals why trust matters more than perfect craftsmanship when entering someone's home, why employees can never sell as effectively as founders on video, and how narrowing his focus to home services transformed his results.

 

[00:02:20] The Technology That Makes the World Smaller

• John is in Valencia, Spain (nine hours ahead of Seattle)

• Zoom and modern technology make global conversations seamless

• Kevin used to commercial fish in Alaska before technology like this existed

• The ability to work from anywhere is now a reality

[00:04:00] What John Does: Video Advertising for Home Service Businesses

• Spent years as a copywriter but found it hard to sell to uneducated buyers

• Shifted 18 months ago to focus specifically on home service businesses

• Serves businesses doing upgrades: walls, paving, air conditioning, barns, storage units, renovations, landscaping

• Specializes in video advertising on Facebook and Instagram only

• Works with businesses selling high-ticket services for the home

[00:06:33] Why Home Services Is Different: Trust Over Technique

• Local business marketing is not as sophisticated as e-commerce or online coaching

• Most local businesses aren't doing video marketing at all

• Those who do focus on work being done (pictures of installations) which doesn't solve the real problem

• John's approach: focus on personality and the business owner themselves

[00:08:38] Kevin's Parallel Journey: Carpet Cleaning in 1995

• Started carpet cleaning and restoration business in 1995

• Blew through $300K in first year following traditional industry approach

• Advertised "two rooms and a hallway for $59.95" (then dropped to $49.95)

• Key lesson: trust is huge when you're in people's homes while they're at work

[00:13:04] John's Background: From Father's Business to Sailing

• Father was entrepreneur in publishing, graphic arts, and printing

• Tried entrepreneurial things as teenager but they didn't work out

• Spent twenties traveling, went to UK, learned woodworking skills

• Learned artisan craft skills, made lovely things, lived hand to mouth existence

• Everything changed when he got married, needed more stability

[00:14:20] The Construction Years: Getting Promoted Out of Success

• Friend offered job in construction industry doing project management for holiday resort renovations

• Was good at project management, actually being on site

• Got promoted out of job he was good at into job he sucked at: marketing and sales

• Had to learn copywriting and marketing to sell to traveling business clients

[00:15:40] The Big Decision: Quit at 37 with Two Kids Under Three

• In 2018, didn't want to stay in construction, wanted freedom

• Knew online meant he could travel, move countries, income unaffected

• Was 37, married, two kids under age three

• Had enough money to live for maybe three or four months

• Quit job in September 2018, got first couple of clients, took it from there

[00:20:16] The Jockey and the Horse

• John likens his role to being a jockey

• "The horse you ride on is most of the race won"

• Not magic on his part, certain factors need to be in place

• When it works, it really works

[00:22:00] The Sweet Spot: Five to Fifteen Person Teams

• Prefers smaller businesses: 5-15 people team

• Direct relationship with founder

• No layers of bureaucracy

• Say "Can you help me?" John says "Yes," they say "Okay, let 'er rip"

• Bigger businesses (20-30+ people) have marketing team in-house, bureaucracy, people covering their own ass

[00:23:08] The Non-Negotiable: A Good Assistant on the Phone

• John needs business owner to have assistant who is good on the phone

• When leads come in, owner should NOT be doing screening or appointment setting

• Owners are often best salesperson but definitely not best appointment setter

• They start to hate it because it's beneath them, then they hate John

[00:27:00] The One-Way Ticket to Senegal

• Hans said: "I'm not gonna buy your ticket there, but I'll pay for everything after. I want to see that you get there on your own steam"

• "Show up at Dakar Airport in Senegal on such and such day, I'll be there to pick you up"

• John packed up, sold his vehicle, got one-way ticket to Dakar

• Worked together for 10-11 months building the boat, launched it, did sailing together

[00:27:47] The German Guy in Fiji

• Hans was going to sail elsewhere, John didn't want to go back to Ireland

• Asked Hans: "Do you know anybody else who might have something interesting?"

• Hans: "I know this German guy in Fiji doing work on holiday resorts"

• German guy called a few days later: "I need a man. Can you be here in two weeks?"

• John: "Would you buy me a ticket?" German: "I'll send you a ticket today"

• Packed up from London, jumped on plane to Fiji

[00:29:40] From Project Management to Sales to Entrepreneurship

• Started doing dusty construction project management on site in Fiji

• Got better at job, got promoted to sales

• Had to learn about selling

• Led to 2018 decision: "I have these sales skills, I know copywriting, I want out of construction, let's quit and go do my own thing"

[00:30:06] The Big Leap: Married, Kids, No Steady Paycheck

• Pretty big step going from steady paycheck to own thing

• Mentally tough, but felt like it was now or never at 37 with two kids under three

• "Gun to the head moment, and gun to the head is a great motivator"

• Family helped: gave them place to stay while getting on feet in Ireland

• Wife was rock solid: "I don't understand why you're doing this, but if you want to do it, I'll support you"

[00:32:20] The Turning Point: Everything's Actually Okay

• About 18 months after quitting, I was constantly worried: "Is this gonna fail?"

• Looked at himself: "Everything's okay. We've still got a place to live. Kids still have shoes. We have food. Nobody's going hungry"

• "This might not be working perfectly, but it's working. I've covered the basics. We're surviving and I can grow from here"

[00:33:20] Five Years Later: Life in Valencia, Spain

• In 2024, decided time to move on from Ireland

• Glad to spend those years there, reconnect with family

• Wanted kids to know his family, wanted wife to become Irish citizen

• Sold up everything, packed into two cars, road tripped from Ireland to Spain

• Life has become so much better since moving to Spain

[00:36:00] The Integration Life: No Rules About When You Work

• Don't have work-life balance with entrepreneurship

• Do get work-life integration if you're smart about it

• Bring everything in, don't live by rules about finishing work at certain time or can't do anything on weekends

• Do what you can when you can, find time to get everything in

[00:39:38] Where to Find John

• Website: firedigitalmarketing.com (short video explaining what he does and how it helps)

• Facebook: John Caprani (most active there)

• Can get sense of who he is, his opinions and thoughts before reaching out

• Best place to connect

[00:42:40] Repetition Over Perfection

• First time around won't be perfect, won't be what you feel is perfect in your mind

• Kevin's coach had him make 24-25 videos in one day walking through a process

• Every time got more comfortable, didn't have to think about what to say, got the flow

[00:44:06] What Really Works: Belief and Confidence

• All the fancy copywriting, hacks, tactics are good, valuable, useful

• But what really works better than anything else: somebody who believes in what they do and has some confidence in themselves

• That'll convert better than anything

 

KEY QUOTES

"If you are an eight out of 10 at your work, but you're like 10 out of 10 in terms of a human being and being trustworthy, people would care about that more than being a 10 out of 10 in the work and maybe being a five out of 10 in the character side of things." - John Caprani

"Gun to the head is a great motivator. It'll get you to do shit you wouldn't normally do." - John Caprani

"You don't get work-life balance [as an entrepreneur], but you do get work-life integration if you're smart about it." - John Caprani

"There's nobody but the founder of a business who really has the conviction and has enough on the line to actually sell it as effectively on video." - John Caprani

"All the different fancy copywriting and hacks and tactics, in the end, what really works better than anything else is somebody who believes in what they do and has some confidence in themselves. That'll convert better than anything." - John Caprani

CONNECT WITH JOHN CAPRANI 

🌐 Website: https://www.firedigitalmarketing.com 

📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jdcaprani 

💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johncaprani 

🌐 Personal Website: https://www.johncaprani.com

 

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