Small businesses are available everywhere and are a major part of a growing economy.
Most small businesses serve market niches that big mass production industries do not reach and hence play an important role in reaching the wider market.
Small businesses oftentimes require little capital to start and are run by a small number of people making the business easily adaptable to changes that may occur compared to large industries.
The businesses are also flexible enough and most times they can be used to supplement regular incomes for most people.
Dropshipping is one of the recent small online business models that are gaining popularity in the world with more and more people using it as a way to earn money hassle-free.
The current state of small businesses
In all parts of the world, small and medium-sized enterprises make up a huge percentage of the GDP in most economies.
For most entrepreneurs starting and managing a small business enterprise is among the best ways to earn an income and since the business does not require a lot of capital, fewer risks are involved.
Most people will get into the small business enterprise to break free from the normal working conditions which are in most cases not the best places for personal financial growth.
The need to grow has resulted in more and more people being attracted to the concept of small businesses.
Since small businesses are run by fewer individuals compared to other larger enterprises, it is easy for them to be flexible to changes that may occur.
With the pandemic, most small businesses have suffered huge losses with some being forced to close down.
But there is some form of optimism that the business will bounce back to normal and even keep growing as projected.
The allure of starting a small business goes beyond the need for supplementing incomes for most people.
Some other advantages of starting a small business include:
- Low initial capital– a small business does not need a large amount of capital to start. The capital required is mostly dependent on the type of business and the amount of capital you are willing to put in to start the business.
- High growth potential– Since you are starting small, the growth potential is tremendous in a small business, you have the option of either maintaining the level of business as is or you may choose to expand if you wish.
- Low overhead costs– A small business does not require a lot of money to operate. Since you can run your business independently you can choose to set up your business online or go with the traditional brick and mortar way. Either way, you will incur less overhead costs compared to a large enterprise.
- Easy to adapt to changing market conditions– In most instances, the market, especially for goods, is dictated by trends. Since the trends change rapidly, the small businesses are well suited to adapt to the market changes that may occur.
- Easy customer interactions– most small businesses cater to a specific market, and this makes it easy to interact with the target market to find out their needs and address their concerns.
What is Shopify’s dropshipping?
In dropshipping, a retailer transfers customers’ orders directly to the manufacturer or wholesaler who then ships the products directly to the customer.
Dropshipping is an order fulfillment method that allows a retailer to supply goods without holding inventory.
This means that you will need very little capital to start and since the business is mostly online, there is no need to have a physical store.
Shopify is an e-commerce platform that offers retailers with online services that include marketing, shipping, and payment services for a variety of goods to help make the process of running an online store simple for most small businesses.
If you want to break into eCommerce, using Shopify will enable you to easily access the tools that are required to run a store.
Being one of the popular eCommerce platforms, Shopify offers well-developed features that will enable you to run your online business.
The platform works by allowing you to run a store without paying any website hosting fee which is rather expensive.
All you need to do if pay a monthly fee and your business will run without any problems.
When using Shopify for dropshipping, the need for excess inventory will not be an issue as you will only purchase the products that your customers need.
This is unlike directly working with suppliers or wholesalers who may want to sell you their products in bulk.
How to start a Shopify dropshipping with no course
Shopify has made it easy to start a dropshipping business by providing a platform you can use to set up your store.
If you are unsure of how to start a Shopify dropshipping business, the platform offers a free trial period along with a set –up guide to help you start your business.
The guide consists of tutorials that will enable you to successfully set-up the store easily.
The steps to take to start Shopify dropshipping include:
- Register for a Shopify account– to begin using Shopify, you will need to set up an account on the platform by registering using your email address.
- Have a store name– when choosing a name for your online store, you will need to be creative to allow customers to easily identify and remember the store.
- Optimize your Shopify account– this is where you will need to personalize your account details based on your preferences. This will include payment options and store policies along with the shipment options and rates.
- Set up your dropshipping store-after you have optimized your account, you will need to add online stores to your selected sales channels.
- Design your dropshipping store– to be able to stand out you will need to personalize your online store with specific logos and themes to help you stand out as the platform is used by many other businesses.
- Market your store– setting up the online store is one thing, but the main core of any business is getting customers and this is where marketing comes in. You can take advantage of the numerous social media platforms to market your products to enable you to make sales and therefore earn profits from your dropshipping business. Test out various marketing strategies to find out which best works for you.
Dropshipping suppliers
Finding suppliers is an important part of a dropshipping business. The suppliers provide the product that you need to sell and ship the products to the customers therefore, finding a reliable supplier is essential for a successful dropshipping business. Some of the recommended reliable suppliers for any dropshipping business include:
Nihaojewelry– Nihaojewlery is a trusted supplier for a variety of jewelry and fashion accessories. The company is a manufacturer of high quality and trendy jewelry pieces at affordable prices. Nihaojewelry can be trusted for any dropshipping business as the company boasts of reliable and fast shipping of products all over the world. The Nihaojewelry website is easy to use and with the efficient customer care services offered, all questions you may have will be answered efficiently to ensure that you are satisfied with the services being offered.
Aliexpress- Aliexpress is a platform that offers a variety of goods at very affordable prices. The website offers dropshipping options for goods from a variety of suppliers who are available on the platform by facilitating the fast shipment of the products directly to the customers. Since the platform contains a variety of suppliers, the options for products is also wide.
Salehoo– Salehoo is an online platform that connects you to a large online directory of suppliers for a variety of products. With a membership fee of 67$ yearly, you can have access to dropshipping services for products from a variety of suppliers who are found on the website. Due to the high number of suppliers on the website, most of the products are affordable which makes it easy for you to make profits after sale.
Oberlo- oberlo is a platform that allows you to import products that have been drop-shipped from Shopify directly to your eCommerce store and shipped to the customers. The platform makes it easy for you to handle your online business without thinking about packaging, inventory, or shipping. The site provides a Shopify link to a variety of suppliers and this means you will have access to a wide range of products for your business.
Conclusion
Every small business has its advantages and disadvantages, to be able to make profits, you need to carefully study the market and identify a particular niche of products that can sell easily.
Identifying a niche will also come in handy when you are searching through suppliers as you will easily narrow down to a specific set of suppliers who you can use to source for products.
Since the suppliers are the heart of a dropshipping business you will have to carefully research the most reliable supplier in the market to avoid disappointments as you will not directly deal with the process of packaging and shipping of the products.
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