The concept of dropshipping in the business world has become quite popular nowadays. It helps you take the first step towards entrepreneurship. If you are an entrepreneur and have the desire to enter into the eCommerce environment but do not have sufficient resources to handle manufacturing and supply chains then drop shipping can be the best choice for you. This is because, under the dropshipping culture, you do not need to take the responsibility of inventory management.
When someone places an order to your store, the order is directly sent to the third party who manages the entire episode of shipping. You only need to pay for what you sell.
A dropshipping website is needed to step into the world of dropshipping business. Building a dropshipping website is surprisingly easy. It mostly takes a day or two to complete the entire selling process.
In this article, we will be discussing everything you need to know about building a dropshipping website and starting a dropshipping business.
What is dropshipping business and what are its benefits?
dropshipping is a type of business in which the seller does not need to invest in physical products to sell them. As you are not required to keep inventory or have a warehouse in this business, the amount of investment is very low.
Benefits of dropshipping business
◘ An initial investment of conducting a dropshipping business is very low
◘ You can sell a huge variety of products that too in bulk without any major investment with dropshipping business
◘ It also helps in increasing your cash flow. in a dropshipping business, you do not need to spend anything on stocking products which means you only have to pay when a product is sold.
◘ Another advantage of running a dropshipping business is the flexibility of location. You can access your dropshipping website from any location which means there is no restriction of location in this business
◘ Handling orders in bulk might be stressful in a traditional business but when it comes to dropshipping business, the load is borne by the supplier.
How does the dropshipping business work?
The three leading characters of the dropshipping business model are the
◘ Manufacturers
◘ Retailers and
◘ Customers
Each of these characters has separate roles to play in this business. The role of manufacturers covers making the product, carrying inventory, handling the shipment of products to the buyers, replacing faulty products and restocking them.
Products are sold by them to the retailers at wholesale rates. Then the retailer sells the products on your website under your brand identity. Your duty here is to select and advertise those products. Additionally, you need to fix the shipping cost and setting prices that will be profitable for you.
How beneficial is the new business concept?
dropshipping business is considered the most profitable business model of all because, under this concept, you do not need to pay for the shipping and manufacturing costs. This is one of the major reasons why profits can be earned within a very short period of time in this type of business if you manage to find the right supplier.
Why it is advantageous to choose Shopify for your dropshipping business?
Although there are several E-commerce solutions that can help you grow your dropshipping business, Shopify is still considered the most popular platform for merchants. The reasons are the following
◘ Packed with features – Shopify comes with a host of features that allows you to build your eCommerce website. These features include online store builder that helps you design and set up your site and others that manage your marketing, sales and payments
◘ Drop shipper friendly – Shopify is a platform that is very much compatible with the solutions that are made for dropshipping business
◘ Simple usage – with its rich features and functionalities, it is very much convenient to use. The company representatives are very supportive when it comes to guiding the merchants on its usage.
How to start a dropshipping business?
1. Look for your niche
The first move that you need to make to step into the world of dropshipping business is to select the products you want to sell and identify your target audience. Well, you mainly have two options here, you can either go for your passion or you can choose products that have better chances of earning profit. However, we would suggest you pick products that have both qualities.
2. Do your keyword research
The next step is to note down product keywords in your potential markets. For example, if you have chosen the health and fitness market then you can search for keywords like leggings, workout clothes, yoga pants etc. You need to find out how much search volume they are getting.
3. Determine product trends
Once you are done with the keyword data, you need to combine it with the trend data to see whether an item is earning popularity now. You can use Google trends to find out their search popularity in the past few years.
4. Find out if your niche is profitable
Product popularity is undoubtedly important but at the same time you cannot rule out the matter of profit as it is the main reason why you are conducting a dropshipping business. So before selecting products for your dropshipping business, you need to look into its profit-earning capacity.
How to start a dropshipping business?
1. Build a Shopify account
2. Start adding products to it
◘ You can add products from Oberlo or your dropshipping solution
◘ Then edit the product details like its title and description
◘ Categorize these products- categorizing products will help your clients find items according to their choice
◘ Once you are done with the product part, you can focus on the design of your store by customizing the appearance of your store, adding pages to it etc
3. At this stage, you need to add a domain name for your dropshipping website
4. Select the payments options you want to offer your clients
If you are interested in building a dropshipping app or dropshipping website, the above-mentioned tips will be helpful for you.