Are you an entrepreneur? Or do you want to become one? Good news: starting an online business is easier than ever. And you don’t even need to manage supply chains, fulfillment, or manufacturing. That might sound crazy, but it’s true. At least, it’s true when you choose one of the most modern and accessible business models.
See, even 20 years ago you’d have to deal with buying, managing, and shipping inventory. Not anymore! And you have dropshipping to thank. What is dropshipping? We’ll get to that shortly. The most important thing to understand is that it’s cheaper, easier, and more reliable than just about any other online business model.
People have made fortunes from dropshipping, but only because they’ve done it right. They’ve either gone through the trial and error process or followed the directions of other successful dropshippers.
One of the best ways to dropship is with Shopify. If you aren’t familiar with Shopify, don’t worry. We’ll get into that as well. Basically, it’s one of the best ways to make the already easy drop shipping process even easier. If you do not know anything about drop shipping, you can consider taking some online courses. Here’s a detailed review of Drop shipping titans, in case you are interested.
So, let’s take a quick look at what you can expect if you want to start a dropshipping business with Shopify.
What’s Dropshipping?
We already touched on the benefits of dropshipping, but there’s a little more to it than that. Still, the basic idea of dropshipping is simple: you sell things without having to deal with any physical inventory. People buy from you, but someone else deals with the actual inventory. That’s what makes dropshipping so appealing and so accessible to anyone.
You can even sell things from multiple suppliers and wholesalers. All these factors make dropshipping perfect for new entrepreneurs and anyone new to the e-commerce space alike. Low investment, little management, and easy to set up. It doesn’t get much better, and there’s so much potential to make money.
Why use Shopify?
The short answer is simple: Shopify is the most widely used e-commerce platform. Sure, there are others, and some of them might fit your needs, but Shopify has earned its #1 spot time and time again. And there are a few key reasons it’s so good for dropshipping.
The first reason is that it’s been developed with dropshipping in mind. Of course, it’s great for any kind of e-commerce, but you’d be hard-pressed to find a platform that works better for dropshipping. There are even third-party dropshipping apps and plugins (like Oberlo) that work seamlessly with Shopify.
It’s also filled with features that you’ll actually want to use. Shopify is meant as an actual business platform, so you can make a legitimate living with it. Even better, these features are easy to use. Shopify is accessible to anyone at any skill level, no matter what kind of store you want to run.
Now that you have an idea of what dropshipping is and why Shopify is a great choice, we can get into a quick rundown of what it takes to start a store.
Finding a Niche
The first step to starting a dropshipping business on Shopify is choosing your niche. In other words, you need to figure out what you want to sell. Luckily, you can sell anything. And we mean anything.
Have a hobby you’re passionate about? Look into selling things that fit into that hobby. Want to hop on the latest trend and make a quick fortune? Find out what’s gaining popularity right now and get in on the fad while it’s hot.
This can involve researching trends, keywords, and profitability. How you decide to do that depends on your skill level and how in-depth you want to get. Research isn’t always necessary, but it can help if you’re trying to turn a profit sooner rather than later.
Building your Site and Store
This is where you’ll find out how easy to use and powerful Shopify is. Building a website, especially a store, isn’t always easy. Especially if you’re doing it from scratch. But once you set up your Shopify account, you can get right into creating your store.
I won’t get too detailed here, because Shopify runs you through the whole process and gives you tips and tricks as you go. There are tons of customization options, and you can choose them through an intuitive, visual user interface.
You can add pages, change the way they look, and choose the way everything functions. It’s even easier than it sounds, and you might actually have some fun doing it.
Finding Suppliers and Wholesalers
You can actually do this step and the last one in reverse order, so just keep that in mind. But you’ll need a reliable supplier or wholesaler (or multiple) to provide your inventory. First, you’ll have to find a supplier through a database or supplier directory. These are websites or services like Alibaba or Oberlo.
There are plenty more, and they all have different (but often overlapping) inventory. You’ll need to check out what each supplier/wholesaler has and compare prices to see which works best for you. There’s really no right or wrong choice, it all depends on your store.
Once you figure that out, all you have to do is add these products to your store, which Shopify walks you through. That’s about all there is to it, without getting deep into detail, at least.
So, what do you think about starting a dropshipping business on Shopify? Is it easier than you imagined? Chances are, you could leave this page and have a dropshipping store set up within the day. At the very least, you could research your niche and suppliers in an afternoon and have a business plan put together by the time you’re done.
If you’re looking to start your entrepreneurial journey or just take it to the e-commerce space, dropshipping is hard to beat. Pair that with Shopify and you’re only a few steps away from starting your own store and making money online.
