How not to start an online business in 3 easy steps
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Last year I opened a dropshipping store using Shopify, Oberlo, and Aliexpress. Here’s why it didn’t work in just 3 easy steps!
1. Overblown expectations
When I decided to open a dropshipping store, I was looking for a source of income that would require minimal startup cost, minimal time investment, and hopefully make me a bajillion dollars. Articles I found about opening a dropshipping store were all titled to the effect of “How to open your dropshipping store in one day and get super rich!”
One word: clickbait.
A dropshipping store is no different from any other business venture: you’ll receive a payoff that directly mirrors the amount of effort and investment you put in. Sure, you can set up Shopify and load some products well within one day — but this alone doesn’t guarantee any sales, and certainly won’t make you immediately rich.
If you’re super passionate about the products you want to dropship and are happy to invest time researching them, talking about them, and marketing them, then great. You’ll probably do just fine. If instead, you’re just looking for some steady passive income with minimal investment — this isn’t for you.
2. No product niche
When I started my store, I figured that I’d cast a wide net and sell women’s apparel. I spent a good twelve hours finding and uploading products in various categories of women’s apparel — fitness apparel, casual summer tops, casual winter tops, dresses, party dresses, leggings… Once I had a few products in each category, I took an objective look at my storefront — and it looked sad and empty. Having many categories for apparel with not much more than five items in each made my store look as if I sold scraps. I wouldn’t have wanted to buy from me. Collectively I had about 30–45 items, but because my selection was so diverse, it looked really sparse. Had I invested the same amount of time and effort into a more focused collection, I’d have turned out a far more professional looking storefront so far.
Lesson learned: having a focused product scope with a multitude of choices within that scope is much more efficient and sustainable than a wider product array.
3. Lack of investment
No product will market itself. It takes time and money to get your products in front of consumers, no matter what they are. In a saturated market like apparel, buying Google Adwords is costly. You’ll encounter lots of competition for consumer attention on platforms like Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter. It will take money, creativity, and time to successfully gain an audience and eventually, sales.
I spent a solid month actively promoting my store’s brand on Instagram to an audience of 9,000+. I got influencers on board, ran discount campaigns, and bought Google Adwords. In total I spent about $300 setting up and marketing my store, not counting my own hours.
I made $320 that month. In the grand scheme of things, this was a resounding success. But in no way was this a sustainable business for me — I simply wasn’t interested in that level of investment for something I didn’t really believe in.
Dropshipping stores aren’t very different from any other version of online sales. Success isn’t an accident — it’s directly related to your level of investment.
So how will I do this differently next time? Despite what the clickbait articles will tell you, there’s no magic formula. There’s no percentage of Adwords/growth hacking/Facebook likes that will guarantee success. However, there is — in my opinion — one defining factor.
1. Start with passion
The best business you can start is one you’re passionate about.
The most successful work you can do doesn’t feel like work. It’s something you already think about when the day’s mundane routines don’t occupy your mind. It’s something you already look for, talk about, save pictures of, retweet. Maybe it’s something tangible, and maybe it’s not. But it’s definitely not something you do exclusively for money — it’s something you do because you can’t imagine not doing it. If there’s a product, service, or hobby that you spend your time learning about and talking about even when it won’t potentially make you any money, then that’s probably a great candidate.
Everything that goes into building a successful online business can be researched, learned, bought. Everything except for this one thing: passion. Building a business, online or not, is tough. It will be tough whether or not you’re interested in the product you’re selling — but success only comes from sustained effort, consistency, and tenacity. Passion breeds these qualities — passion breeds success.
