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Just About to Start My Dropshipping Business

by ahmed32
8 replies
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Hey guys,

I already have a "semi-successful" online business, but this is my first try with dropshipping. All I have is $180 to start with. Here is what I am basically planning to do:
  1. I will be selling bicycles.
  2. I will spend $60 on the website (WooCommerce theme + logo + hosting). My web development experience will help me a bit.
  3. I will get someone from Fiverr to write 4 articles for $40.
  4. I will spend the remaining $80 on 4 Facebook ads ($20 each).
I'm really pumped up, but I feel that the amount of money isn't enough. I'm afraid that I might waste my time and money. Because if I spend that 180 bucks and don't break even, I will stop the business.

Is it too risky?
Any advice or tips?

Hope you guys help me out.
#business #dropshipping #start
  • Profile picture of the author JuliusH1986
    I'm all about lean start ups, but you may need a little more than $180.

    If you want to make fast money the true answer is (as always): Hard and Smart Work.

    In saying all of that, here are my top 6 tips:

    1. Sell something you have at least a slight interest in. If you're interested in bikes, than that's a great start. It's this interest or passion that will ultimately push you through the days of low sales or technical issues.

    2. There are a billion hacks you can use to make your listings rank higher, store look prettier, drop shipping run smoother - research and utilize as many as you can (including fiverr), they WILL save you thousands of dollars and a lot of time.

    3. Systematize as much as you can - the reason why Online selling sometimes fails, is because the sellers get over it because they have to manage too many processes and it doesn't work out to be a very good $ per minute of work rate. Systematize and Outsource as fast as you can.

    4. The way to make BIG money is to constantly sell what people (the masses) are searching for. Don't spend hours of time researching products, just start stocking what ever the newest craze is. Use Trendosaur or Terrapeak to see what the next top selling product will be and stock up on it. Trendosaur showed us the selfie sticks about 2 months before the craze blew up here in the US and we ended up making $65,000 Revenue in one month.

    5. If you haven't worked it out already, you may need a little more money to push your online business forward. If not money, it will take you a lot of time, writing articles yourself etc.

    6. Money doesn't make you happy. Meaningful interpersonal relationships do. (Nothing to do with starting a business I know, but I just wanted to throw it in there)
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    • Profile picture of the author ahmed32
      Thank you for the great advice! This is actually what I needed to know.

      I think I'm going to put off the launch of the business.
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  • Profile picture of the author dave_hermansen
    That's more than enough budget to start a successful dropship site. We recommend doing Google and Bing Shopping ads because you do not pay for them in advance. Hopefully, when you are billed a month later, the clicks you are paying for have already generated sales that more than pay for the clicks.

    We usually only use Facebook for re-marketing ads, since NOBODY goes to facebook to buy something. Re-marketing to them there reminds them of your site, which they have already visited. At least people who see Google or Bing Shopping ads are actively looking for your products.
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    • Profile picture of the author ahmed32
      I will consider using Adwords instead of Facebook ads. Thank you!
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  • Profile picture of the author Shay S
    $180 is ain't much, especially if you spend 1/3 of it on a theme... If you use Wordpress, I suggest you look into dessign ecommerce themes, and Quema labs.. they have very decent free themes you could use.
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    • Profile picture of the author dave_hermansen
      Originally Posted by Shay S View Post

      $180 is ain't much, especially if you spend 1/3 of it on a theme... If you use Wordpress, I suggest you look into dessign ecommerce themes, and Quema labs.. they have very decent free themes you could use.
      It's amazing to me that people would spend a single cent for a WooCommerce theme, let alone try to host a secure eCommerce store on Woo. Stop worrying about security updates and plugins that break from them. Stop paying extra because your site is not PCI compliant. Stop losing sales because all of the things that break on Woo/Word every time a security update is released. And, for heaven's sake, stop wasting money on themes!

      Get a real hosted shopping cart platform, investing less than $20/month on the platform, hosting and the many, many free themes.

      The amount of time and energy people waste on the design of their theme is laughable. The only one who cares about the site theme is the site owner. If themes mattered, CraigsList wouldn't make a dime.
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      BizSellers.com - The #1 place to buy & sell websites!
      We help sellers get the MAXIMUM amount for their websites and all buyers know that these sites are 100% vetted.
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  • Profile picture of the author Oziboomer
    Originally Posted by ahmed32 View Post

    Is it too risky?
    Any advice or tips?
    Hi Ahmed,

    What are the economics of your business?

    How much do you make per sale?

    If I was a bike buyer what would make me buy a bike from you rather than someone else?

    Have you made some financial forecasts that you can honestly look at and see the results in advance?

    You say you have a semi-successful online business right?...Why not spend the money making it more successful?

    Best regards,

    Ozi
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    • Profile picture of the author ahmed32
      Thought-provoking questions. I will postpone launching the dropshipping business for now, and focus on scaling my business.
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