How to start a dropshipping business from scratch
Dropshipping is an excellent way to start business without having to worry about inventory or delivery. It allows businesspeople to get good profit without investing much time and money. Running a dropshipping business doesn’t need much efforts, while starting it is as easy as ABC.
How does dropshipping business work?
Dropshipping business model is really simple.
Let’s see how it works:
- You find a supplier, contact him and take pictures and descriptions of the products you want to dropship;
- You post the chosen products on your own dropshipping website;
- A customer goes on your website, gets interested in the products, orders some and pays for them;
- You contact a supplier, place the same order as your customer and ask the supplier to deliver the order to your customer’s address;
- The customer receives the package and the deal is completed.
In fact, you provide intermediary services between the clients and the suppliers and get money by marking up the supplier’s prices. A piece of cake, right?
What are the strengths of this type of business?
Before moving to how to start a dropshipping business, it’s necessary to study the main benefits of running your own dropshipping business.
- Dropshipping is ideal for newcomers
Starting and running a dropshipping business is really simple even if you have no experience in ecommerce and Internet marketing. Most of the job is done by the supplier – inventory issues, stocking and shipping are not your concern.
- You are free and independent
You can easily work from home or from any place you like – you don’t depend on a specific location. Thanks to the dropshipping you can achieve a lifestyle you’ve always dreamed of.
- You save a huge sum of money
You don’t need to buy goods, rent warehouses or hire employees, so by starting dropshipping business your costs will be minimal.
How to start a dropshipping business?
If the process and the advantages of this type of ecommerce business are clear, it’s time to go through the main steps needed to start a dropshipping business. So how does dropshipping work?
Step 1: Choose a niche
If somebody told you that any niche you have chosen can bring you profit it’s a whopping lie. Without any knowledge and interest in the products you’re selling you will not make good in dropshipping business. Identify your own needs and wishes and starting out from them try to find products that could be interesting and helpful for other people.
If you still have some difficulties when choosing a niche, use the following tips:
- Ask your family, friends and workmates what they are short of and pick up some ideas;
- Check the lists of bestsellers on the most popular platforms like AliExpress, Amazon, eBay, etc.
- Download and read some guides on how to find the most profitable niches.
Please note: do not choose a broad niche, because it will be a tough thing to understand your audience’s needs and make the right business decisions. The narrower the niche is, the more clients and orders you will get.
Step 2: Find suppliers
This is one of the most important decisions you’ll make, so do it wisely. Here is how.
First, if you know exactly what you want to sell, google for the suppliers, contact them and ask whether it’s possible to do dropshipping business with them. If they’re not interested in your collaboration offer, do not feel bad, because these things happen all the time. Just contact other suppliers and one day you will be in luck.
Secondly, you can turn attention to the big online stores like AliExpress, Amazon or eBay. On AliExpress, for example, all suppliers are verified, so that’s a real long shot to meet non-responsible manufactures.
Step 3: Choose a platform for dropshipping
To start a dropshipping business, you need a platform where your products will be placed.
You can use:
- Established marketplaces
Platforms like Amazon or eBay allow users to create their own webstores within the website. These offers don’t guarantee you independence: you will have to pay lots of fees and build your store so that it suits specific requirements.
- Blogs or social networks accounts
In general, blogs and social media are designed to connect like-minded people, but these days they are also used by entrepreneurs to run their e-commerce business. Unfortunately, they are not developed well enough to make payments or place orders, so they are inconvenient for buyers.
- Personal dropshipping webstores
Having your own dropshipping website is probably the most convenient way of running an e-commerce business, because it has a range of significant benefits:
- Higher level of client confidence;
- Independence in business decision making;
- Technical convenience.
Besides that, you can create a dropshipping website on your own or buy a turnkey solution from the dropshipping business professionals. It costs some money but saves your time.
Actually, these actions are enough to start a dropshipping business and make money. However, don’t relax, because the work is not finished. The next steps will be related to promoting a dropshipping website, attracting more people and maintaining relationships with your clients. Good luck!