This is exactly what this post will look at. We’ll look at the what, why, and how to start a dropshipping business.
What is dropshipping?
Dropshipping is done by listing and selling products from an online (eCommerce) store without storing those products yourself.
No warehouse overheads, no garage stuffed with stock; and no dud products destined for clearance sales. You create business partnerships with suppliers, who receive orders from your website, package the products, and then send directly to customers on your behalf.
You primarily add value through product marketing, customer service, and advertising, and you leave the logistics – storage, packaging, and shipping – to the supplier. You’ll have to choose the right supplier (we’ll cover this later), but once that’s done, you don’t have to worry too much about logistics.
? Screenshot of a classic dropshipping site setup
Conveniently, if you were thinking about running a WordPress product business, these are exactly the same skills you’d need. And, as we’ve already discussed, the opportunity from eCommerce is huge. WordPress is big, but eCommerce is bigger.
You won’t be spending time coding a product, but you’ll still need to offer a product or products. You’ll also need to undertake market research, develop a WordPress site, set up WooCommerce (or another eCommerce plugin), and then get stuck into marketing channels from SEO to content marketing. These latter steps are identical to running a WordPress product business.
That’s what dropshipping is. It’s a way of doing business which wasn’t even possible a couple of years ago.
Dropshipping is hard in the same way running any business is hard, but it’s a world of really exciting opportunity.
Let’s now explore some of the potential benefits and setbacks of starting a dropshipping company plus how to dropship.
What are the advantages of setting up a dropshipping company?
Beyond the fantasy of seeing revenue roll in as you roll out your beach towel in a remote tropical paradise ?, there are countless other benefits to running a remote dropshipping business.
Here are some advantages in convenient list format:
