 What is dropshipping? We're going to tell you today on the journey. In our hyper connected digital age of mobile shopping, social media and superior access to product information all out there. There has never been more opportunities for savvy e-commerce businesses to make their mark and generate a healthy long-term profit. So for an e-commerce business dealing with a large inventory can provide some problems right particularly if you don't have a great deal of space like the small room but dropshipping eliminates this issue all together. So if you sell a range of stock dropshipping may well be for you. Let's not forget the opportunity to sell online nowadays given 67 percent of millennials and 56 percent of Gen Xers prefer online shopping to physically going in store and that they account for a huge portion of the population. So that's a lot of people who may well want to buy the products that you have to offer. So what is dropshipping? Basically when a dropshipping store sells a product they purchase the item from a third party and has it shipped directly to the customer. Now if you're selling handmade products beautiful products that take you hours maybe days to make dropshipping most likely not for you. However if you're looking to sell a variety of products through your online store dropshipping will help to build your brand or grow your business exponentially by eliminating the challenges of shipping and stock management. Exactly and for example if you sell or want to sell a large variety of t-shirt designs but you don't want to have to be the one to make or ship them dropshipping allows you to skip those steps and still get paid. Sites like Redbubble or Society Six are great examples of this. By adopting a dropshipping business model you can offer your customers a large inventory through your website or online store or use the third party dropshipping operators to supply and ship the items that you've selected. So let's talk about the benefits of dropshipping. One less capital investment as you don't have to buy your stock right up front far less capital is required to set up and launch an operational business so you can get started almost immediately and start selling. Another benefit lower the overhead costs. With dropshipping you won't have to deal with purchasing an inventory or the challenges of warehouse management which means that your overheads will be minimal and all you need is a good home office like this. I know I knocked it earlier but a good home office your dropshipping software or service and a reliable web hosting and stacks of self-motivation people. And when you dropship you're not necessarily bound to one physical location so you can run your business on the move or relocate with ease. Additionally by harnessing the potential of dropshipping suppliers rather than storing stacks of stocks stacks on stacks on stacks scaling your business will be far easier than a traditional e-commerce model. And it's clear that for the right small business owner dropshipping has an enormous amount of potential and at this point it's worth noting that as dropshipping suppliers naturally take a cut of your profits for shipping service and logistics your profit margins will be lower than if you were selling independently but if you get it right and keep your business flowing you won't lose anything in the long run. So to help you on your quest for a dropshipping success we have five essential tips to go through starting with select your suppliers. Now before you commit to a dropshipping platform or service supplier you should conduct ample level of research. Yes research it's so important don't skip over it it's going to help you find a service that's right for you. Now consider your business aims consider your business objectives and think carefully about the products that you want to sell as well as your brand message and the kind of service that you're looking to offer. And also conduct supplier comparisons looking at pricey models, key features and the benefits too of course and you'll quickly understand which service is best for you. Our next tip is to find your niche. The great thing about dropshipping is that you can really sell almost anything through your online store with ease but for sustainable dropshipping success you should and as we mentioned above decide on your niche and core value proposition by offering a solid range of products in a particular niche as opposed to being just a general store you'll give yourself a greater chance to stand out from the crowd and hone in on specific target audience. This approach will offer you a true long-term value rather than a flash in the pan sale or two. Another tip market your business in the digital age the consumer is king and to reach out to your prospects on a personal level you must have a solid marketing strategy delivering personal engaging inspiring and value driven content on a host of promotional channels and touch points. Next up avoid under pricing as we mentioned with dropshipping your profit margins are often slightly lower than a traditional e-commerce model so to ensure that you do make a healthy profit you should work out your average order price and consider your overall margins as well as associated business costs such as marketing or outsourcing when coming up with those magic retail figures for your products. You should always be competitive but you should never undersell yourself there's always going to be someone that's going to sell it cheaper and you don't want to be the second cheapest because you'll always lose so just don't and I want to end on this note and that is a reminder to you to remain motivated now despite the fact that you don't have to deal with inventory management and shipping you're still running an online business so you need to still focus on staying motivated and keeping up with your social media on a daily basis don't forget to nurture the relationships with your suppliers keeping on top of customer service and admin and developing the business for growth so with that I always encourage manage your time wisely what does that look like well make sure you're consistent and enjoy being your own boss it's hard work but it certainly has its perks and you can say that again and even if you don't want to change your current fulfillment processes just yet you can at least explore your options so you can start when the time is right and we hope that our drop shipping tips have helped you to take those first big steps for your e-commerce business and the success that you will have that's a wrap you just learned what is drop shipping be sure to like our video and comment below if you've gotten value from this make sure you subscribe to this channel and ring that bell so you get these episodes first this is the journey we'll see you next time