How to Start Your Dropshipping Business

Learning a new business is never easy, especially now that everyone is adapting to the new normal no matter what part of the world you’re in. Over the past decade, dropshipping has become one of the most lucrative careers online. In starting a dropshipping business, there are several factors to consider.

Primarily, you need to understand how it works and determine whether this is a suitable business for you. In the Philippines, most have already shifted to working from home and dropshipping has become one of the more popular income opportunities. 

Basically, in the dropshipping model, you operate as a middleman that offers a variety of items without the actual products physically in your inventory. The supplier fills and ships the order for you under your online shop’s name. It sounds quite simple, you may read a more in-depth description of dropshipping.

Your Preparatory Checklist

Here are some of the steps you must consider before delving into this business:

1. Choose a target market

Start by identifying your target market. This is probably the most crucial step because this will determine the collection of products you will be offering. By doing this correctly, you can build a product lineup that meets the needs of your market.

It also helps that you pick a niche market that is relatable to you. It’s easier to work with something that is also a part of your hobbies and interests. Because you already have an inkling of how your target demographic thinks and behaves, you can easily identify the current trends in your chosen market.

2. Work out your profit

Compute how much you would mark up your product to sell at a profitable price. You could mark up your product for as much as 40%, but you may aim for at least 20%. The next step may help you determine your price points.

3. Research your competition

Once you have chosen your niche, scope out your competition. Research on their product listings and customer reviews. Analyze their pricing so can position your products at a competitive price. In so doing, you can identify the more saleable listings and you can establish your site with better and more distinctive selling points. You must set yourself apart from the many other sellers.

4. Select the right supplier

The most used supplier databases are AliExpress, Alibaba, and Oberlo (through Shopify). Comb through their listings and pick legitimate wholesale suppliers. Check their reviews to make sure the supplier delivers quality products and fast shipping. Shipping time of one to two weeks at the longest is the most viable. Any longer than that and you might earn bad reviews on your shop.

Avoid getting conned by scammers and middlemen claiming to be certified dropshippers. Keep in mind that genuine dropshippers will not charge you subscription fees or setup fees. 

5. Build your e-commerce website

Once you have already locked in your target market and supplier, you can now build your store online. You can use two options for this: e-commerce marketplaces like Lazada and Shopee; and e-commerce platforms such as Shopify.

Lazada and Shopee are the top two e-commerce marketplaces in the Philippines. The advantage of using these is that they already have high website traffic, making your products visible to a wider audience.

Shopify, on the other hand, is a popular and easy-to-use e-commerce platform. The advantage of using your platform over the marketplace is that you can customize your shop to suit your market. It also has Oberlo dropshipping which is plugged into the platform.

6. Market your website

Now is the time to bring in your customers. You could do this with a combination of digital marketing such as SEO, Google Ads, social media marketing, and email marketing. This will help get the word out and drive traffic to your site.

Set Up Your Business With Swiftpay

Now that you have a fairly adequate understanding of the dropshipping business, you can now set up your store in a few hours. Feel free to explore your options as you improve your store. Your resources are just a click away. You can check out the Swiftpay FAQs to learn more about a secure and innovative payment method. Sign up now for free and start your dropshipping business.