How to run your own online shop?
Hello and welcome! In today’s post, we will show you how you can make money on your own online shop, using the dropshipping model.
What you will learn:
- What is dropshipping and how it works
- How to start your adventure with dropshipping
- The costs of running the store
- How to do it effectively
So let’s start from the beginning!
1.What is dropshipping and how it works
Dropshipping is a logistic model, where the owner of the shop doesn’t store the product on their site. It offers a direct shipping from wholesaler’s storage to the individual customer, so the owner doesn’t have to rent a huge warehouse space, or invest in the product that may not sell as well, as they anticipated. It doesn’t mean that the owner is free from responsibility, as the product is being bought from them, and the wholesaler only does the shipping service on their behalf. As a result, the customer has an agreement with the store, and the owner is responsible for providing the service, and cooperation with the wholesaler. The biggest con of this solution is limited control over the quality of the product and shipping service. Make sure to verify the wholesaler, before you agree with them, as they have to be thorough and trustworthy.
The best description of the dropshipping model would be the following image:
2.How to start your adventure with online shop
The best way to start is finding a platform, where you can run your store. We would recommend Shopify, a subscription, cloud-based commerce platform that lets you create your online shop from the scratch, and it’s available worldwide. At the moment, they give you a 14-day trial period so you can test their services before you pay for the subscription.
The next step would be establishing your target group. You would have to think about what you want to sell and to whom. Find your niche and the field, where you feel comfortable. Remember, your personal traits and abilities can help you establish, what kind of customers you want to attract.
The third thing to take into consideration is creating your own business. Check the law requirements for setting up an online shop in your country. In most cases, you would need to have your own limited company or another type of official business activity. Bare in mind that different countries/states have different tax requirements, so you should always check that before starting.
Finally! The time has come for you to create your e-shop. You probably wonder, how much it costs, so let us explain. Building a store can cost from around 1300 to 6000USD. Don’t look for cheap solutions, as you want your store to look professional and appealing to your customers. If you use subscription-based service, prepare to spend from a few dozen to a few hundred dollars a month.
There could be additional costs that you would need to consider:
- Server storage and domain
- CMS System
Domain – it’s the name of your store (for example yourstore.com). This costs about 10USD a year.
Hosting – that is server storage. To rent a server, you will need about 100-200USD a month, and if you want to buy a server, you would have to pay about a thousand to a few thousand dollars.
SSL Certificate – it is not necessary, however, if you want your store to look professional, it’s good to have it. Online shop is connected with paid transactions, so it is worth to make sure that they are safe. It is also important for the client to trust that they can spend money in your store without any problems.
Standard certificates can cost around a few dozen dollars a year.
The final step is to configure your store and integrate it with your wholesale service. Integration can cost about a few hundred dollars unless it is included in the subscription fee of the platform of your choice. Then you will have to add products to your store, adjust the settings, and your shop is ready to generate the income.
Don’t forget about marketing, as it is one of the most important things when you think about selling products. You need to make sure your site is appealing. Social media allow you to promote your business and they can be very effective. Why? Because a lot of people use them on their day to day basis (well, who doesn’t have an Instagram or Facebook account)?
To sum up
If you’ve come that far, congratulations! Seems that you are motivated and ready to begin running your own e-store. If you choose the dropshipping model, you will definitely need to put a lot of work into it and be patient at the beginning. When your store is set up and ready to use, it doesn’t require a lot of attention. We hope you liked the post. Have a great day!
