We were lucky to catch up with John Cao recently and have shared our conversation below.

John, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. One of our favorite things to brainstorm about with friends who’ve built something entrepreneurial is what they would do differently if they were to start over today. Surely, there are things you’ve learned that would allow you to do it over faster, more efficiently. We’d love to hear how you would go about setting things up if you were starting over today, knowing everything that you already know.

Bocashade retractable boat awning was conceptualized in 2015 as an idea. After two years of development and testing, the first product was shipped to a customer in 2017. Since then………sales have doubled almost every single year. January 2022 started out as with a bang unexpectedly, surpassing even the wildest estimate vs. prior years for the same time period. In retrospect, Covid had a huge impact on the boating market with lockdowns and restriction.

Looking back in the mirror, there were things that I wished I had done differently. Being an entrepreneur (sometimes it feels more like entre-manure) requires wearing many different type of hats; from operation to manufacturing, customer service, sales, marketing, supply chain, social media, and the never ending list of “to do’s”. The long “to do” list took the focus off of what was most important when launching a new product, the Marketing of Bocashade.

One of the most important thing that I could have done better was being more aggressive on a marketing strategy and seeking advise from mentors. The market segment was with less than a hand full of competitors and a growing demand for sun protection in the boating industry. Women boaters was among the fastest group of new boaters entering the space. To put it bluntly, 2017 sales was disappointing with a small budget for ads spend. The budget was increased in 2018, and more aggressively in 2019. Sales took off like a rocket ship with an overall advertising budget of ~5% of gross revenue. In 2020, the advertising budget was dramatically increased along with the sales growth but not at the same rate. In other words, an increased in ads spend did not resulted in more expected sales. There was a point of diminishing return on dollars spent on ads. This was a time of reflection on what worked and what didn’t and adjustment was made. I realized that continuous learning by trial and error and made adjustment along the way was how it has to be. At some point, I was spending $50 dollars per day on Google ads but sales did not follow with increased advertising dollars. Other factors came into play in growing revenue has to do with brand recognition, years in business, a lack of product reviews, and the seasonality of boating. Building consumer confidence is a process and not an event. With consumer confidence over time, brand strength increase resulting in more sales.

In summary, the take away is to be aggressive with advertising and a go to market strategy. But…….be flexible enough to adjust along the way to maximize ROI on investment. Pay close attention to what worked and what didn’t and be quick to adjust your strategy.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I have always been drawn to the ocean since I could remember. Boating and fishing what I enjoy most as a hobby. The harsh South Florida made boating very uncomfortable, not to mention the risk of skin cancer a other negative impact from direct sun exposure. As an entrepreneur with an engineering background, I wanted to solve this problem and an idea was born. Invent a retractable boat awning system called BocaShade.

I did some research and quickly learned that the existing boat shade options fell short of my expectation. The existing solutions were too poorly designed requiring setting up and taking down, too expensive, too many parts that are in the way. I knew that if I can solve this problem then I would have created tremendous value to the customers. Focusing on the value and not the money was key.

Overcome adversity is what I’m most proud of during the development and launch of BocaShade and there were many. A BocaShade patent was granted in 2018 and I was on top of the world. Creating value means the service and the product have to deliver the total package exceeding customer’s expectation. A good product without good service will lead to customer dissatisfaction. The voice of the consumer has to be well understood with high consumer acumen. Building a brand takes time and discipline to the value belief system. The feedback loop of the value proposition is when the customers recommend and tell others about your product and service. BocaShade Google review has earned all 5 STARS rating with 100% of the feedback to date.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

When you provide more values than the existing products or services in the market place, the competitions will attempt to intimidate and take you down. You have become a threat to them.

As an entrepreneur, you need more than just a good idea. You will need a backbone and more importantly………you need Grit. During the launch of BocaShade, I have received numerous cease and desist letters from a company with similar product in a attempt to disrupt and harass and ultimately put me out of business. I was able to legally defend those threats and harassment and continue to launch BocaShade. Stay the course and don’t give in to corporate bullying and you will be successful.

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

There are many marketing channels where products are sold. BocaShade retractable boat awning has a specific market target segment differentiated by age, income, demographics, and locations. Understanding your customers is the key to target marketing.

In the beginning, it took time to understand what advertising channels gave the best ROI of ads dollar. From trial and errors and taking lessons learnt as you go, Google search ads worked the best for BocaShade targeting key word searches and targeting key competitors. As the business grows over time, word of mouth through social media platforms became more important and a source of new sales. Attending trade shows and talking with dealers and people in the industry segment are vital. The idea is to be everywhere possible and be as visible as possible.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.bocashade.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mybocashade/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BocaShade-489266757900761
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzE6vmcFrE8ukDJt4gHPLow/videos