Today I just want to type out where I currently am with achieving main goal #1. And where am I right now? Phase 1, AKA research.
As I’ve stated in my previous post, starting a drop-shipping business is the first major action I will take for the sake of my goals. To increase my chances of success I’ve watched several Youtube channels of individuals that have and/or are having success with drop-shipping. At this point I’ve been able to build a basic understanding of how drop-shipping has worked over the past few years and how I can enter it in the present time. In the process I have come across pieces of info that encourage me but at the same make me feel salty at myself. Based on the videos I’ve watched, any time before or during 2017 would’ve been a much more convenient time to get into drop-shipping. At that point the very concept of it wasn’t mainstream so those who participated in that industry were very limited in number compared to today. Now that it’s much more widely known, drop-shipping is believed to be more competitive and more difficult to make a profit from the perspective of those that have been doing it since 2017…
But it’s not all gloom and doom of course. It just means that it’s harder for new people to profit from this type of business without effort. Plus there’s a benefit of drop-shipping becoming popular which is that it’s helped drive the creation of the many informative videos that I’ve come across. Apparently a lot of the people who were into it before now had to learn through trial and error and, fortunately for people like me, are willing to pass along the knowledge and wisdom they’ve learned through their experience. I haven’t found a single channel that seems like it can provide all the info I need but by using several different channels I’m sure I can learn enough to start a drop-shipping business.
From what I’ve learned so far, building a successful drop-shipping business relies on the following actions:
- Finding a good product to sell. One that has consistent quality as well as high and sustainable demand.
- Selecting reliable suppliers that can be used to buy the product from and have the quickest delivery times
- Building a website for the product that looks professional and not sketchy. This will encourage visitors to buy the product.
- Marketing the product’s website via Facebook, Google, or any social media platform that can be used. Being able to put more money into ads will make it more visible to potential buyers by increasing traffic to the website.
- Providing good customer service. Assuming the product itself is decent, this will probably translate to being able to answer questions regarding delivery times and doing so in a timely manner. This would help keep a positive experience for buyers and also encourage them to leave favorable reviews and keep buying from the website.
There’s probably a few more actions I could list but these are what I can remember of the top of my mind as I type this post. I know this is something I can do and succeed at with more research. And the fact that I have more than a few thousand dollars to start with is super encouraging when several videos give examples of what is possible with just 1k or less. I can definitely try it out before the end of the month and I am willing to to make multiple attempts if necessary. But I will take the time to build up what I know to come up with a plan first so that I’ll have a higher chance of succeeding the first time.
And at the same time I’ve also been trying to build more knowledge in how to invest in real estate. This is something I’ve lowkey been excited about and want to chase in parallel with drop-shipping. There’s quite a bit I could type out on this one but will hold off for now since its’s getting late and I need sleep. After all, one of the keys to success is getting a good nights rest.