Dropshipping is quickly becoming the go-to for aspiring side hustlers who want to add a new income source, and with so many options for getting started, it seems like a dream the way some of these store builders are offering it up. It is the easiest to get started but you definitely need to get started with the right tools and foundation to make it a worthwhile investment.
But before we get into that, let’s go over the dropshipping basics.
How Dropshipping Works
This is the typical model of dropshipping:
You set up your shop, add products from your suppliers, customer orders from your shop
You process the order so your supplier knows to ship this order out
The customer gets a notification their product has been shipped
You keep the profits of the sale and the cycle continues
It takes minimal work from you to be able to run your shop: the bulk of your time is mostly spent in the initial setup and then depending on your sales you are processing them daily or weekly.
That is the entire process, which is why it is the go-to with side hustlers. It takes minimal effort to actually run this type of shop.
Getting Started
Now that you know the process of dropshipping store, it’s time to actually get started in building your new shop. Starting on the right foundation is essential for this store type, since it doesn’t require you to “be present” in your shop daily you need to have the right tools working for you.
You will need:
A dropshipping supplier
An eCommerce platform
Store Name and domain
An idea of the types of products you want to sell
5 things to think about when starting your dropshipping shop
1. Once you receive an order, you will need to make the payment for the process to begin
This is a step that most don’t know, to run an efficient store and make sure that your products are reaching your customers in record time you need to process the orders in your dropshipping supplier before you may receive a payout. So once your eCommerce platform does a payout of your earnings you are “reimbursed”. Most platforms such as Shopify payout in 2 days if you are using Shopify Payments, for other providers you will need to check out the pay periods.
2. Less is More
Having more products is sometimes more of an issue than a solution, if you are looking to create a huge store then make sure to center the products around the main product. This helps cut down set up time and allows you to really target who would actually purchase your product.
3. Right and Wrong Products
If you are looking to create a passive store, then you want to add products to your shop that you wouldn’t have to babysit. One example is clothing, with all the different size conversions and fits you may find yourself with a lot of returns or questions when ordering.
4. Money is in the copy
One extremely overlooked task with dropshipping stores is actually rewriting copy for your products to make it more custom. You know when you have made it to a possible dropshipping store because it has that extremely long title that’s filled with every keyword imaginable. This makes it easy to leave because you feel that they are just trying to make sales and not really into the products that are on sale. Make updates to the title of the product and the product description when adding products, you can also edit some photos using Canva background remover to give a cohesive look across your shop.
5. Check your Pricing
When choosing the products to sell in your shop, you want to focus on your pricing it is essentially the most important part of dropshipping. You want to make sure you are making enough money to cover your running and shopping costs, if you plan on offering Free shipping or running Free shipping promotions then you want to make sure the cost isn’t coming out of your profits. Typically you want to have a general rule of thumb when pricing your products:
Price of the product + cost of shipping x 2= Customer price of the product.
Costs Of Running A Dropshipping Shop
The next factor of running your dropshipping store is the cost to actually run it, this includes some fixed costs:
Your eCommerce platform cost
Your Dropshipping supplier cost
Your email marketing tool
Domain
and variable costs:
Credit card fees
Shipping costs
Now depending on your selected platforms, your cost may be minimal but still a cost no less. Using Shopify as an example, the cost to run our shop will be $29, Oberlo $0, and Klaviyo for email marketing $27 so monthly it will be $56.
That is a wrap-up of dropshipping, below you will find links to popular solutions to getting started with your new dropshipping store. If you have any questions, you can leave a comment and I would be happy to help!
Resources
DROPSHIPPING SUPPLIERS
ECOMMERCE PLATFORM:
