Drop Shipping Empire

Table of Contents
Introduction

How to Use This Guide

1. What Is Dropshipping?
Benefits
Disadvantages
Is dropshipping for you?
The Dropshipping process

2. What You Need

Value
The right niche
The right products
An incorporated business
Supplier(s)
A game plan

3. Choosing Your Niche

How to evaluate dropshipping niche ideas
Niche evaluation in action

4. Choosing the Right Products

The basics of selling products online
Finding high-demand products
Analyse your competitors
Wrapping it up
5. Making Your Business Official
Legal
Finances

6. Choosing a Sales Platform

Amazon
eBay
Your own website
How to choose a sales platform

7. Branding
What is branding?
Logo design
Website design
Copywriting

8. Finding & Dealing with Suppliers

Finding suppliers
Dealing with suppliers

9. Marketing
Buyer personas
Low-cost strategies
High-cost strategies
10. Growing Your Dropshipping Business
Dealing with problems
Managing customer support
Using multiple suppliers
Managing inventory
Building a team
Introduction

For decades, starting a business was a costly and complicated affair. You
had to raise sufficient funds all by yourself (or get investors), rent out a brick-
and-mortar storefront, and get people in the door. Even today, running a
traditional startup takes lots of money, time, and energy.

If you have dreams of starting a business, it’s easy to quickly become

discouraged. The upfront cost, time to launch, and legion of details make it
seem as if your business will never become established, let alone successful.

Have you felt this way before? Have you gotten your hopes up only to have
them crushed?

There is a growing trend among entrepreneurs to dispense with the

traditional forms of launching a business. It’s called dropshipping, and it has
made me rethink what I once thought was impossible.

Dropshipping places all the power into the hands of the entrepreneur. It
provides a rapid and accessible way for any entrepreneur to generate an
income and fulfill their dreams of establishing a wildly successful business.

If you feel like running your own business is out of the question, this guide
is for you. I know what it’s like to be in your shoes, doubtful that you’ll ever
make it, but I’m here to tell you that starting your own dropshipping business
is completely realistic.

In my opinion, dropshipping is one of the best ways to start a business today.

It’s incredibly easy to start, and you can begin with just a computer and a little
bit of money.
Introduction 6

Dropshipping is also an extremely flexible career path, so you can do it as a

side hustle or grow it into a full-time job. It’s completely possible to make a
living from dropshipping alone, and there are countless entrepreneurs who
have proven that.

And while dropshipping won’t make you a millionaire overnight, it can provide
a stream of revenue that you can grow. With the right strategies, you might
even be able to say goodbye to your day job and make dropshipping your
main hustle.

College students, office workers, stay-at-home parents, and even

retirees can all take advantage of dropshipping. It doesn’t matter
how old you are, where you live, or what experience you have.

However, there’s a lot about dropshipping that is still shrouded in mystery.

The good information is scattered all around the Internet, and it’s hard to tell
what works and what doesn’t. If that’s not problematic enough, a good chunk
of that information is outdated.

And sometimes, you might doubt the information you read. You don’t want
half-baked theories – you want actionable advice from dropshipping veterans
who know their stuff. That kind of advice isn’t always easy to get.

That’s why I’ve created this guide specifically for people like you. People who
want to seriously pursue dropshipping but don’t know where to start.

Our goal is to make this a different kind of guide. I don’t approach

dropshipping as a get-rich-quick scheme. Instead, I look at dropshipping as a
way to strike out on your own while providing value to a particular niche.

I’ve taken everything you need to know about dropshipping and packed it all
into this guide. This isn’t just a beginner’s guide, either. I’ll take you past the
basics and address what you need to do after you get the ball rolling.
Introduction 7

From choosing a niche to creating a digital marketing strategy, I’ve covered

it all. You’ll find information on how to incorporate your company, set up a
website, and research your competitors.

Finally, I’ll also address some of the problems that you may face. Not sure if
that supplier is a scammer? I can help. Don’t know where to get a high quality
logo designed? I’ll help with that too.

If you’ve ever wanted to know all the ins and outs of setting up a
dropshipping business, this guide is for you. I’ll break everything down step
by step and show you exactly what to do.
How to Use This Guide

This guide assumes you have no previous dropshipping knowledge and

helps you get a business up and running. It’s structured to be a chronological,
step-by-step guide that will show you what you need to do to start your
dropshipping business.

I’ll start by introducing you to the fundamental concepts of dropshipping. I’ll

then build on that foundation and talk about more advanced concepts.

For that reason, I recommend reading from the beginning to the end instead
of skipping around. If you jump from chapter to chapter, you might miss some
important information.

Even if you think you already know everything on a certain topic, I encourage
you to read through every section. There’s a ton of information packed into
this guide, and it requires careful reading (and rereading) to get the most out
of it.

For best results, I recommend reading through the entire guide once and
then going through it again as you carry out each step. That way, you’ll
already have the knowledge to get started, and you can use this guide as a
reference when you’re actually doing everything.

You may find yourself going back to earlier chapters to remember ideas
and terms. That’s perfectly okay! In fact, I recommend that. The better you
understand each concept, the better equipped you’ll be to start your own
dropshipping business.
1. What Is Dropshipping? 10

Before we get any further, it’s important that you have an answer to the question:
what is dropshipping?

Dropshipping is a type of retail fulfillment method. Instead of a

store stocking products, it purchases the products from a third
party supplier. The products are then shipped directly to the
consumer.

For the store, this is a mostly hands-off process. The merchant doesn’t have to
order inventory or fulfill the orders in any way. Instead, the third party supplier takes
care of the product itself.

Dropshipping is great for entrepreneurs because it doesn’t demand as much as

the traditional retail model. You don’t have to open a brick-and-mortar store, pay
overhead, and stock products. Instead, you open an online storefront and buy
wholesale from suppliers who already have products and warehouse space.

The merchant is mainly responsible for gaining customers and processing orders in
dropshipping, meaning you’ll effectively be a middleman. Despite this, you’ll reap
the lion’s share of the profit by marking up the items you sell. It’s a simple business
model and one that can be very rewarding.

Millions of entrepreneurs flock to dropshipping because it requires less hassle and

money to get started. That’s probably why you’re interested! And the best news of
all? With dropshipping, you can build a business that’s sustainable in the long term
right from your laptop.

Of course, there are many drawbacks and advantages, and it’s important that we
look at them before you start your own dropshipping ecommerce business. Once
you understand the pros and cons of dropshipping, learning how to dropship
effectively will be a breeze.
1. What Is Dropshipping? 11

Benefits of Dropshipping
Dropshipping is easy to start. You don’t need to be a business guru to get started.
In fact, you don’t even need any prior business experience! If you take some time
to learn the basics, you can get started quickly and learn the rest as you go along.

Dropshipping is so easy because it requires very little from you. You don’t need a
warehouse to store products or a team to help you out. You don’t have to worry
about stocking or shipping either. You don’t even have to spend a certain amount
of time every day on your store. It’s surprisingly hands-off, especially once you get
going.

All of this means that you can start your business today. You
don’t need to spend months getting everything ready. You can
start getting everything up and running within a matter of hours.

You will need some foundational knowledge and the right tools and resources, and
that’s why we created this guide. By the time you’ve finished it, you’ll be equipped
with the knowledge you need to jumpstart your own dropshipping business.

Dropshipping is easy to grow. As you scale up, your business model doesn’t have
to change very much at all. You’ll have to put more work into sales and marketing
as you grow, but your day-to-day will stay more or less the same.

One of the benefits of dropshipping is that the costs don’t skyrocket when you
scale. Because of this, it’s easy to keep growing at a pretty fast rate. You don’t have
to hire a huge team either. Unless you want to assemble a small team at some
point, you can do almost everything all by yourself.
1. What Is Dropshipping? 12

Dropshipping doesn’t demand a lot of capital. Because starting a dropshipping

business requires so little, you can get started with minimal funds. You can build an
entire business right from your laptop, and you don’t need to make any high-level
investments. Even as your business grows, your costs will be fairly low - especially
when compared to traditional business expenses.

Dropshipping is flexible. This is one of its biggest benefits. You get to be your own
boss and set your own rules. It’s by far one of the most flexible careers that anyone
can pursue.

You can work from home with little more than a laptop, and you
can work at the times that are most convenient for you. This
is ideal for entrepreneurs who want a business that works for
them. You won’t have to bend over backwards to get things done.
Instead, you set your own pace.

Dropshipping is also flexible in that it gives you a lot of room to make decisions
that work for you. You can easily list new products whenever you want, and you
can adjust your strategies on the fly. If you’re going on vacation, you can automate
everything to run while you’re away. You get the idea – the possibilities are
limitless.

Dropshipping is easy to manage. Since it doesn’t require you to make many

commitments, you can manage everything with little hassle. Like I said, you can do
everything all by yourself if you want to. Once you’ve found suppliers and gotten
everything set up, you’re mostly responsible just for your online storefront.
1. What Is Dropshipping? 13

Disadvantages of Dropshipping
Dropshipping has slim margins. One of the disadvantages of dropshipping is that
you should expect low margins initially. That’s not to say it can’t be profitable, but
you should be aware that the product margin in some niches might be small.

This issue is especially problematic when you’re dropshipping in a super-

competitive niche. When you’re fighting for customers’ attention, you can’t afford to
make the kind of profits you want to. If you choose the right niche, you’ll see larger
margins. In niches with lower competitions, you’ll have better margins, but usually it
will only get so good. That’s why dropshipping relies on a fair amount of sales to be
profitable.

Dropshipping can make order processing difficult. Dropshipping seems

straightforward: the customer orders, you process, and your supplier fulfills. And for
the most part, it is simple.

However, if you’re sourcing products from multiple suppliers, you might run into
some problems. Each of your suppliers might use a different shipping solution,
which presents a problem for both you and your customers. Costs can get high,
and shipping multiple products can be problematic.

Different suppliers will also have different structures in place for

processing and billing. Since you have to manage the interaction
with your suppliers, this can get tricky.
1. What Is Dropshipping? 14

Dropshipping doesn’t give you a lot of control. When it comes to stocking

products, order fulfillment, and shipping, things are out of your hands entirely. One
of the disadvantages of dropshipping is that you don’t have much control over
certain aspects of the dropshipping process. You have to rely on your suppliers to
do everything right and work seamlessly. This lack of control can be off-putting to
some entrepreneurs, but it usually isn’t a problem.

This just means that when something goes wrong, it can be tricky to manage. When
everything goes well, it’s awesome. But when supplier problems happen, you just
have to wait for them to be resolved. This can sometimes cause customer retention
issues, but with the right damage control, you can mitigate the problems and keep
customer churn to an absolute minimum.

Dropshipping makes customer service more challenging. This is another

problem that happens when orders go wrong or suppliers fail. Because you’re just
the storefront, it can be difficult to sort out orders. Like I mentioned before, you
don’t have a lot of control, and that can present difficulties when it comes to the
customer support side of things.

One of the most unfortunate disadvantages of dropshipping is

that you have to take the blame when your customers complain.
You could be doing everything right and still run into problems if
your suppliers are having issues.
1. What Is Dropshipping? 15

Is dropshipping for you?

As mentioned before, there are both pros and cons of dropshipping, meaning it
isn’t for everyone. This is especially the case for people who are looking for a get-
rich-quick scheme. Dropshipping won’t do that for you, and if you’re approaching it
that way, it’s probably not the best choice for you.

That said, nearly anyone can build a dropshipping business.

Still, you might have one of these fears:

dzdz “I don’t know if I have enough time to start a business.”

dzdz “I don’t want to risk getting fired from my day job.”

dzdz “I don’t want to work so hard on dropshipping that I underperform

at my 9-to-5.”

The good news is that you can put as much or as little into
dropshipping as you want to. Here are two common approaches.
1. What Is Dropshipping? 16

Dropshipping as a side hustle

What is dropshipping’s main appeal? Because it’s flexible and it doesn’t demand
much, it’s the ideal side job. Many entrepreneurs choose to do dropshipping on
the side while they have a main job that provides steady income. You don’t have to
sacrifice your day job to pursue your dreams of becoming an entrepreneur.

The number one worry here is that your employer will prevent you from having
a side hustle, but believe it or not, many companies are fine with it. You’ll want
to make sure you’re in the clear – ask about your company’s policy on side
businesses and review any non-compete agreements you’ve signed. You also
definitely want to ensure there’s no conflict of interest. But if everything checks out,
then you’re good to go.

You don’t need to dedicate too much time and energy to

dropshipping, meaning you’ll likely be able to take it on without a
hitch. Worried that your side hustle will make you underperform?
You don’t have to be! You can spend only a couple hours on your
business every day and still succeed.

However, it’s important to know your limits. If you regularly work overtime at your
day job and struggle to find time for important daily responsibilities, you might
not be able to give a dropshipping business the attention it needs. Dropshipping
doesn’t require a lot, but you do need to put serious work into it and carve out time
in your day for it.

In most cases, it just takes a little bit of time management and scheduling. Plenty
of dropshipping retailers manage their main and side jobs easily. You don’t need
to sleep 3 hours a night or skip meals to make it work. You’ll need to figure out a
schedule that works for you and stick to it religiously.
1. What Is Dropshipping? 17

Dropshipping as a full-time ecommerce business

One of the benefits of dropshipping is the flexibility. You can

make your business as big or as small as you want it to be. Many
dropshippers choose to do it on the side, but it’s also a viable
career path. If you want to be a full-time dropshipping retailer,
you can be!

It’s easy to scale up your business with dropshipping, meaning you can grow your
business pretty quickly while keeping costs down. Once you’ve reached customers
and gotten enough sales, you can move from dropshipping part-time to full-time.
Best of all, you can make this happen at whatever pace you want to.

Obviously, this is going to take more work, but the payoff is well worth it. Once you
figure out how to dropship effectively, you won’t have to worry about unsteady
revenue. A well-established dropshipping ecommerce business operates like
clockwork, and it can even feel like you’re generating passive income.

And since it doesn’t take up a lot of time, you could even take on a side hustle
while still being a full-time dropshipping retailer! The sky’s the limit.

Maybe you’re rolling your eyes right now at the thought of becoming a full-time
dropshipper, but there are thousands of success stories from entrepreneurs who
started out right where you are today. It doesn’t take a degree in business or
millions in capital to make a living from it.
1. What Is Dropshipping? 18

The dropshipping process

I briefly went over what dropshipping is, but you might not know exactly how it
works. So here’s a step-by-step overview of the entire dropshipping process. I’ll go
over what it looks like behind the scenes, and I’ll also look at what the customer
experiences (and why it matters).
1. What Is Dropshipping? 19

Understanding the supply chain

In this guide, you’ll see the term ‘supply chain’ a lot. It sounds like fancy industry
lingo, but it simply refers to how a product moves from supplier to customer. We’ll
use this to discuss the dropshipping process.

Image source

You, the retailer, are just one piece of the puzzle. A successful dropshipping
operation relies on multiple parties all working together in sync. The supply chain is
exactly that: the coordination of the manufacturer, supplier, and retailer.
1. What Is Dropshipping? 20

The supply chain can be broken down into 3 basic steps:

1. The manufacturer creates the products and sells them in bulk to suppliers
and wholesalers.

Let’s say Manufacturer A makes water bottles. After the bottles roll off the
production line, they’re sold in bulk to suppliers and wholesalers, who turn
around and resell the bottles to retailers.

2. Suppliers and wholesalers sell the products to retailers.

A retailer like yourself searches out a supplier for a specific type of product. The
retailer and supplier then enter into an agreement to work together.

Image source
1. What Is Dropshipping? 21

A small note here: while you can buy directly from product
manufacturers, it’s often much easier to purchase from suppliers instead.
Most manufacturers have minimum purchase requirements that can be
rather high, and you’d also have to store, stock, and ship the products.

So it might seem simpler to buy straight from the manufacturer, but you’ll benefit
most from buying from suppliers (and dealing with the slight markup).

Suppliers are also convenient because many of them specialize in a certain

niche, so you can easily find the kind of products you need. This also means you
can get started selling super quickly.

3. Retailers sell the products to consumers.

Suppliers and wholesalers do not sell directly to the public; that’s the retailer’s
job. The retailer is the final step between the product and the consumer.

Retailers provide online storefronts from which consumers purchase products.

After the product has already gotten marked up by the wholesaler, the retailer
marks it up yet again to arrive at the final price. By ‘mark-up’, we’re referring to
setting a price that covers the cost price of the item and brings you a profit.

That’s it! That’s the entire supply chain from start to finish. It’s a straightforward but
crucial concept in business.

You might have noticed that I didn’t refer to any specific party as a dropshipper.
That’s because ‘dropshipper’ is not a specific role. Dropshipping is simply the
action of shipping products for someone else. Manufacturers, suppliers, and
merchants can all technically be dropshippers.
1. What Is Dropshipping? 22

In this guide, I’m going to cover how to start a dropshipping retail business. In other
words, I’ll show you how to become the merchant that purchases products from
wholesalers to sell to the public. This could mean you sell via eBay or your own
website with an online storefront.

Now that you know what the supply chain looks like, consider what it’s like for the
customer.

What the customer experiences

You’ve bought products online hundreds of times before, but you’ve probably
never thought about the experience. It’s second nature for consumers. As a
customer, you don’t need to think about it, but as a retailer, you absolutely should.
1. What Is Dropshipping? 23

Retailers can learn a lot by thinking about the ideal customer experience of
ordering from a retailer. This may seem obvious, but if there are any snags in the
customer experience, it could spell trouble for you as a retailer. It’s important to
know what your buyers expect.

For the sake of explanation, let’s pretend you have a business called Fancy Water
Bottles, a site called FancyWaterBottles.com, and a wholesaler called Water Bottles
Worldwide. Here’s what the ordering process would look like from the customer’s
perspective:

1. Customer A places an order for a water bottle on FancyWaterBottles.com and

immediately receives an email confirmation of the purchase.

2. After a few hours to a couple of days, Customer A receives a notification that

their order has shipped. The notification includes tracking information so
Customer A knows exactly where their package is while en route.

3. Customer A receives the water bottle.

It’s the same process you’ve gone through each time you’ve
purchased anything online. This seems basic, but there are two
important aspects of this experience.

First, it’s simple. All the customer has to do is order the product and pay for it.
Everything else, like an order confirmation email and tracking information, is
handed to them on a silver platter.

And that brings me to my second point: convenience. The buying experience is

extremely convenient in every way. An online purchase takes just minutes to make,
and customers can browse any retailer’s site at their leisure. And if all goes well, the
customer won’t even have to interact with anyone. It takes the minimum amount of
effort to achieve the desired result of getting a product.
1. What Is Dropshipping? 24

This experience is a lot like buying a water bottle at a big box store and using the
self-checkout. It’s a no-fuss process that doesn’t present any problems. This is a big
reason why people buy online in the first place, so your storefront has to give your
customers that same level of convenience.

Last but not least, the customer should never notice that any other parties besides
the retailer are involved. Think about it. When you buy something online, you think,
“I bought a water bottle from Fancy Water Bottles.” You don’t consider where the
retailer got the product or who might be shipping your order.

To make the process seamless, the customer shouldn’t be aware

of all the stops their product makes. The package they receive
will have your retail name on it, so as far as the customer is
concerned, you fulfilled and shipped the order.

This is how the dropshipping process should ideally look from the customer’s point
of view. Now let’s break down what happens on the other end.

What happens behind the scenes

That’s what the customer sees, but what is dropshipping like behind the scenes?.
Here’s an overview of the process:

1. Customer A places an order for a water bottle on FancyWaterBottles.com and

receives an email confirmation of the process. Let’s say the total came to $14.95.

Fancy Water Bottles receives the same email confirmation as well as Customer
A’s payment. This is usually made possible by automated software that sends
out the confirmation to both buyer and seller.
1. What Is Dropshipping? 25

2. Fancy Water Bottles sends the order to Water Bottles Worldwide. Typically, a
sales representative from Water Bottles Worldwide will receive and process the
order. The retailer will then be charged for the purchase.

For this example, let’s say Water Bottles Worldwide charges $12.95 for each
water bottle. The retailer will pay that amount, and the difference is the profit the
retailer will make. In my example, the retailer will net a profit of $2.00.

3. Water Bottles Worldwide packs up the order.

Although the wholesaler ships the product, the package will be addressed
from Fancy Water Bottles, and the Fancy Water Bottles name will appear on the
invoice and packing slip. (This is so the customer will recognize the retailer’s
name on the package.)

The wholesaler then sends an invoice and tracking information to the retailer.

4. The retailer sends along the shipping information to the customer. This finalizes
the retailer’s role in the order process.

5. The customer receives the package and enjoys the water bottle.

That’s the supply chain in action. You can see how the retailer, wholesaler, and
manufacturer all have to work together flawlessly. When done right, it’s a smooth
process that results in minimal work for everyone involved.

One point I want to stress is that you, the retailer, are responsible
only for two steps: sending orders to the supplier and shipment
information to the consumer. Sometimes, you’ll have to be
responsible for other things like customer support, but if
everything goes smoothly, those two steps are all you have to do.
1. What Is Dropshipping? 26

Getting started with dropshipping

All of this sounds like a complicated puzzle, but once you learn
how to dropship, it’s a smooth process for everyone involved.
You, the dropshipping merchant, can do everything remotely and
never even touch a single product!

Let me reiterate that you don’t need any business experience to open a
dropshipping storefront. It certainly helps, but it’s not necessary. Many budding
entrepreneurs don’t ever chase their dreams because they believe they need an
MBA or years’ worth of experience. This is totally not the case. One of the benefits
of dropshipping is that can learn how to dropship as you go along.

Better yet, there are numerous resources that make dropshipping easier than
ever before. For example, this useful video provides some great advice on getting
started. You can have absolutely zero business experience and still easily make
a profit. You’ll need to learn the ropes along the way, and it will be challenging at
times, but I believe it’s more than worth it.

Like I mentioned earlier, you don’t need a lot of resources to start dropshipping.
Now that you understand what dropshipping is, read on to find out what you need
to get started!
2. What You Need To Start Your Dropshipping Business 28

If you’ve gotten this far, you probably want to get started with setting up your own
dropshipping business. You’ve seen how easy it can be, and you’re ready for the
road ahead. So in this chapter, I’ll tell you what you need to start dropshipping.

Since a dropshipping retail business takes place completely online, you won’t have
to spend a whole lot, but you will need to plan well and think ahead.

There are some misconceptions about what one needs to start a successful
dropshipping business. Many people will tell you to just find a wholesaler, get a
site up, and start selling. But that’s a recipe for disaster. Businesses who take this
approach often crash and burn in no time at all.

Simply put, there are right and wrong ways to approach your
dropshipping business. If you’re trying to make money fast, your
business will suffer. That’s why I advocate a different perspective:
the idea that dropshipping retailers should meet the needs of
customers in a specific niche.

Naturally, you’ll need certain tools and resources to get started, but you’ll also
need to learn new concepts and develop the right mindset. You’ll need to put tons
of thought into how you want to set up your business and what goals you want to
achieve.

With that in mind, let’s go over the must-haves for a successful dropshipping
business. I’ll delve into these in devoted chapters, but right now let’s take a look at
the big picture.
2. What You Need To Start Your Dropshipping Business 29

Value
Before you go looking for suppliers (and before you even choose a niche),
you need to focus on value. This is something I’m going to bring up regularly
throughout this guide because it’s such a crucial principle.

Source

Frankly, many dropshipping businesses don’t care about value. Dropshipping has
gained a somewhat bad reputation because many dropshipping retailers are just
trying to outsell their competitors by offering cheaply made products. To make
matters worse, dropshippers will sometimes resort to shady tactics to sell and one-
up the competition. All of this has led people to believe that it’s a scammy practice,
but that couldn’t be further from the truth.
2. What You Need To Start Your Dropshipping Business 30

A dropshipping business is just like any other business, so it makes sense that you
should approach dropshipping the way you’d approach another kind of business.
Sadly, many dropshippers overlook this. They don’t take the time to build a sturdy
foundation.

Thinking about value will help you start up a successful dropshipping business. It’ll
help you stand out from your competitors, and more importantly, you’ll be focusing
on the single most important aspect of any business, dropshipping or otherwise.

The best way to focus on value is to build it into your

dropshipping business from the start. Everything you do should
add value to your audience in some way.

If value is your number one priority, you’ll be much more likely to get consumers’
attention, and your business will last much longer than other dropshippers who just
want to make a quick buck.

Wondering how you can make value your priority? Well, there are some important
questions you need to ask yourself before doing anything else:

dzdz Who are you trying to help?

What type of people do you want to reach, and what do they want?

dzdz What niche(s) could you add value to?

dzdz What kinds of products do customers in my niche want?

dzdz How can I put my customers first?

2. What You Need To Start Your Dropshipping Business 31

In short, the best way to provide value is to listen to your

potential customers, find out what they want, and then give it to
them. Your job is to give customers the best possible experience.

Keeping value a priority has tangible benefits for your dropshipping business.
Having this attitude will help you:

dzdz Acquire and retain customers

dzdz Grow a loyal customer base

dzdz Stand out from your competitors

dzdz Make your business unique and trustworthy

Throughout this guide, you’ll notice a consistent theme of adding value. It’s
important that you don’t lose sight of this goal as you go on. It’s easy to get caught
up in the rush of starting a business, but you have to remember to always keep
value first.
2. What You Need To Start Your Dropshipping Business 32

The right niche

Have you ever wondered why so many dropshipping businesses are unsuccessful?

Sometimes it can seem like retailers are dropping like flies, and it can be
discouraging at first. But there are common mistakes that tons of dropshippers
make.

One of those mistakes is choosing the wrong dropshipping niche.

That’s right – one of the most common reason dropshipping
retailers fail is because they chose the wrong niche.

To understand why this happens, let’s consider some common dropshipping niches:

dzdz Phone accessories (especially cases)

dzdz Clothing

dzdz Beauty/cosmetics products

dzdz Books

dzdz Entertainment (e.g., movies, music, etc.)

You’ve probably seen a thousand different dropshipping businesses that offer at

least one of these types of items.

The problem? These niches are all extremely high competition.

2. What You Need To Start Your Dropshipping Business 33

Think about dropshipping retailers that sell phone cases. If you want to buy phone
cases online, you can choose from thousands and thousands of businesses. From
Etsy to eBay and everywhere in between, there are too many phone case stores to
count.

If you want to sell phone cases, you’ll have to go up against dropshipping stores
who have been doing this for years. You’ll have to cut through the noise, advertise
like crazy, and hope people find you (and choose to buy from you).

More importantly, it’s hard to add real value to a niche like that. When you dropship,
you’re often choosing from the same products your competitors buy. That means
you have to take an entirely different approach to adding value.

The dropshipping niche you choose is a huge determining factor for value. If you
choose a less popular niche, there’s a good possibility you can step in and fill a
need in that niche. But if you choose a niche that’s super crowded, it’s going to be
almost impossible to differentiate yourself from your competitors (who have been
around longer and are more popular).

Of course, choosing the right niche is a crucial decision for any

business, but many dropshipping businesses seem to completely
overlook it. Most dropshippers assume that they can just choose
a hot trend and jump on the bandwagon.

When you’re choosing a niche, there’s a lot to consider. That’s why I’ve dedicated
Chapter 3 to helping you settle on a dropshipping niche.
2. What You Need To Start Your Dropshipping Business 34

The right products

Once you’ve settled on a niche, it’s time to take the next step and think about the
kinds of products your store will offer.

It’s not as simple as choosing dropshipping products that seem popular. You need
to be picky about your products. In order to establish a successful dropshipping
business, you need to select your products carefully and base your choices on
what your audience wants and needs.
2. What You Need To Start Your Dropshipping Business 35

Again, you have to think about value. While looking at bestselling products is a
good place to start, it’s not the be-all, end-all of product selection. You have to
make sure the products you offer have significant value to your customer base.
Many popular dropshipping products are only popular for a while. If you choose
products that have lasting value, you’ll be able to offer products that can stand the
test of time.

At the same time, you want to analyze product trends and use them to your
advantage. If certain products have boomed over the last few months, they’ll
probably sell very well. Later in this guide, I’ll show you how to analyze trends and
figure out which products will be best for you.

Once you start dropshipping products, you might decide to

change the items you offer according to your audience’s needs.
Still, aim to start off strong and establish a line of products that
will do well for you.

Finally, bear in mind that product selection is an ongoing process. You need to stay
up-to-date with trends in your niche and change up your storefront accordingly.
That’s why I’m sharing specific strategies for product research. Your goal is to use
these strategies on a regular basis to optimize your store for sales and overall
performance.
2. What You Need To Start Your Dropshipping Business 36

An incorporated business
Most suppliers and wholesalers require any business they work with to be legally
incorporated. In fact, if you’re not incorporated, most wholesalers won’t show you
their pricing or other details. That’s how important it is.

Remember, a dropshipping business is still a business. It should follow many of the

same rules as a traditional business. Dropshipping may take place online, but it still
needs to be conducted according to the law.

If you don’t follow these important rules, you’ll run into problems.
The bottom line: it’s best to be incorporated before you even
reach out to suppliers.
2. What You Need To Start Your Dropshipping Business 37

Image source

I’ll cover this in more detail in Chapter 5, but for now, just remember that at some
point, you’re going to have to take the time to make sure your business is legal and
good to go.
2. What You Need To Start Your Dropshipping Business 38

Supplier(s)
As you might have guessed, getting suppliers and wholesalers on board is an
absolute necessity. Since you’ll get your products directly from suppliers, you
obviously want to work with companies that have a great track record and solid
communication.

You’ll need to put some serious time and consideration into this
part of the process. You don’t want to choose the first wholesaler
you see, and you also don’t want to blindly go with the most
popular suppliers you can find with a Google search.

You’ll have to weigh your options, compare prices, and make sure you have access
to the dropshipping products you need. There are also certain protocols you’ll need
to follow when contacting wholesalers and making arrangements with them.

Chapter 8 is entirely devoted to helping you find suppliers, so if this seems

intimidating, don’t worry. I’ll be addressing everything you need to know about
choosing the right suppliers for your business.
2. What You Need To Start Your Dropshipping Business 39

A game plan
There’s one last major ingredient you need: a game plan. By ‘game plan’, I mean a
vision for your business and actionable steps to make that vision happen.

You don’t need to plan out every little thing you’re going to do, but you should have
an idea of how you’re going to approach your new business. You want to get a
sense of the big picture and then figure out the smaller details. It never hurts to be
too thorough.

Here are some areas to consider:

dzdz Getting sales

dzdz Taking a certain angle in your niche

dzdz Digital marketing strategies

dzdz Optimizing your online store

This is also a good time to ask the tough questions so you can prepare yourself for
them. For example, what if you’re getting nowhere after 6 months? 1 year? It’s not fun
to think about these kinds of things, but doing so might save you from utter failure.

Another question you might want to ask yourself is, “Ideally, where do I want my
business to go over the next X years?” This is a more general question that can
help guide your vision.

If you know exactly what you want, you can take steps toward making it happen.
The more specific you get, the better. It might help you to draft up a business plan
or even a flowchart that traces the ideal trajectory of your business.
2. What You Need To Start Your Dropshipping Business 40

Getting Started
So far, you haven’t been able to actually do anything. I know it’s not fun, but it’s how
every legendary business started out.

But now, that’s all going to change. You’ll soon be able to put the knowledge and
strategies you’ve developed to work.

By now, you should know:

dzdz The niches you’re interested in

dzdz The types of products you want to offer

dzdz Your plan for your store’s future

Now you can start setting up your business in earnest. First, I’ll dive into selecting a
niche for your store.