Tag: how to start a business

How We Launch Dropshipping Businesses Daily to Make Sales on Day One

by Peter PruDropshipping Case StudiesLeave a Comment on How We Launch Dropshipping Businesses Daily to Make Sales on Day One

Every day, we help businesses of all types excel with dropshipping from the start of their journey. We recently helped yet another one of our clients launch their dropshipping business and make sales on day one. Here we’ll review what exactly we did for this client and reveal how you can implement some of these strategies when developing your own business.

While a lot of businesses get into dropshipping with unrealistic expectations, we’ll go over what kind of results this Business in a Box client managed to see and what you can expect. Specifically, we’ll be looking at stats gathered over the course of the first two days after launch, which can give you a good idea of the kinds of numbers you can achieve with a strong strategy in place.

Using a Deep Discount Offer to Make Sales on Day One

When looking at our client’s back-end stats, we managed to help make them $265.61 in gross sales over the first two days, with an average cart value of $66.40. We achieved these goals after spending around $20-30 per day on advertising. 

The kind of offer behind these stats was something called a deep discount offer, which is notably different from a “free plus shipping” offer. You may be familiar with “free plus shipping” offers, in which lower shipping costs can cover both the product costs and shipping. These offers are often helpful because they attract new customers while enabling businesses to break even. Deep discounts, on the other hand, entail attempts to increase profits on the front end.

However, whether you use “free plus shipping” or deep discount offers, it’s important to keep in mind that advertising is primarily intended to help build assets for your business. For example, your ads could bring in email addresses and other details that you can then use to follow up with customers. 

Implementing Opt-Ins and Upsells in a Complete Funnel

Screen of a Business in a Box client's revenue

As mentioned, this client’s average cart value (ACV) is $66.40. This is an impressive ACV that could drive huge success if it continues in this trend. Normally, the ACV will show how much a dropshipper can spend to acquire a customer. With the help of a successful sales funnel, however, you can usually earn that money back to help cover product costs. 

A Two-Step Opt-In Form to Get Customers Started

This particular client’s funnel consisted of an order form page to start with, followed by a couple of upsells. Using this funnel, our client achieved an opt-in rate of 26.52%, with 48 of 181 unique visitors opting in. For a two-step order form, this opt-in rate was perfectly acceptable. On these forms, we asked for the customer’s name, email, phone number, and address. In the process, a two-step order form like this can collect a lot of information that could assist you later.

In most cases, a two-step order form like this may yield a 25-30% conversion rate, while a regular opt-in form is more likely to see an opt-in rate of over 30%. Although it may seem like a regular opt-in form is better based on these numbers, the fact is that you’ll get better leads with a two-step form. This is because the people who opt-in through a two-step form are more invested in the product behind it.

After people went through the opt-in, our client managed to attract only four sales to give us a conversion rate of 2.21%. This is not a great conversion rate by any standard, but this is typical when just starting out. Remember, when first launching Facebook or other ad campaigns, these platforms won’t have your buyers figured out yet. As they collect more data and interpret it, your ads’ targeting will be able to improve over time to connect with people who are more interested in your offerings. 

In the end, through our opt-in form, we made a total of $170.82 in sales. Compare this to the total gross amount of $265.61, and you’ll see where upsells came into play to make sales on day one.

Upsells That Help Maximize Sales

Another mistake that many dropshippers make is relying on their opt-in page alone and neglecting to use upsells. They tend to focus on the first-time sale and don’t think about the sales that follow. 

For this client, the first upsell we implemented made a total of $26.91 with a conversion rate of 37.50% among three customers. The second upsell landed an extra $33.94, giving us a conversion rate of 28.57% with two customers. Finally, the third upsell earned another $33.94, with two customers accounting for a flat conversion rate of 40%. The last few upsells didn’t give us any results in those first two days, but the three that worked managed to bring that total value from $170.82 to $265.61. 

These numbers clearly show the value of using upsells to help generate more sales beyond that initial opt-in. Once someone enters your sales funnel through that first page, they’re far more inclined to make additional purchases on the way to the final checkout.

How to Locate the Best Upsells for Your Dropshipping Store

Screen grab of Peter Pru discussing the value of upsells

With the invaluable asset of upsells in mind, you may be wondering how you can find the ideal upsells for your store so you can make sales on day one. You can easily do so by taking the following steps:

1. Look on Amazon

To start with, you can search on Amazon under your main product’s “frequently bought together” items. This data is immediately available for you to use to guide your upsells.

2. Sell More of the Same

You can also try selling the same item the customer just chose to buy through the opt-in form. In some cases, it may be worth it to sell more of the same item at a discount if the product is something the customer would want to buy in larger quantities. 

3. Monthly Offers

In addition to the same or similar items, you can sell monthly subscriptions of digital or physical products that customers would like to receive regularly. This can help bring recurring revenue every month that you might otherwise miss. Subscriptions could include everything from eBooks and courses to various accessories for their main product and miscellaneous items in the same niche.

Build a Solid Sales Funnel to Get the Best Results and Make Sales on Day One

Online business owner strategizing about how to make sales on day one

Realistically, you’re not likely to earn thousands of dollars within the first few days of launching your dropshipping business. That doesn’t mean you won’t earn these kinds of figures over time, but there are steps you need to take to get there. Based on this client’s example, you can see the importance of using a compelling offer, along with a structured sales funnel that consists of an opt-in and upsells. Through the use of a strong funnel, you’ll be able to experience great results that are only going to get better with continued optimization and persistence.

To learn more about how to excel with your dropshipping business and generate a full-time income online, register for our free eCommerce masterclass. You can also subscribe to my YouTube channel for more eCommerce tips and strategies.

Tagged : / / / /

Triple Your Profits With These Simple eCommerce Hacks

by Peter PruSystems & ProcessesLeave a Comment on Triple Your Profits With These Simple eCommerce Hacks

Welcome back, Empire Builders! If you have a Shopify or sales funnel dropshipping store, but you’re struggling to make it profitable, then you’re in luck. That’s the topic we’ll be covering today. I asked my Lead Client Success Manager, Steve, to share some insights with you guys, and he was kind enough to agree to share these simple eCommerce hacks.

He made a video taking you behind the scenes, not only to show you why so many businesses are struggling to make a profit but, more importantly, how you can overcome these issues. This article will cover some highlights of his presentation, but make sure to watch the video to get the full scoop. Let’s jump right in!

The 3 Keys to Increased Profitability

It’s important to evaluate your core business practices to make your dropshipping business more profitable. To do this, there are three key points we’re going to cover:

  1. Understanding Your Gross Margin
  2. Knowing Your Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
  3. Funnel and Ad Optimization

Let’s dig into each of them individually and talk about simple eCommerce hacks to become more profitable.

1. Understanding Your Gross Margin

Dropshipper analyzing spreadsheets to find his gross profit margins

Basically, your gross margin is just the revenue from your total sales minus your cost of goods sold (COGS). For example, if you make $30 selling a product that costs you $7.50, your gross margin would be $22.50. From that, you can calculate your gross margin percentage.

Your gross margin percentage describes the percentage of your revenue that’s made up only of profit. To calculate that, you just divide your gross margin, $22.50, by the sales revenue, $30, which gives you 0.75 or 75%. The higher your gross margin is, the more profit you’re making. Higher profits make your business more competitive.

It’s important not to mix up your gross margin and your net margin. Remember, your gross margin is just revenue minus cost. It doesn’t account for other business expenses like payroll or ads. Those things would factor into your net margin, which we won’t be covering today.

2. Knowing Your Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

Key performance indicators (KPIs) are important metrics for understanding how your business is doing. One of the most vital eCommerce KPIs is how much you can afford to pay to acquire a customer, like the amount you could afford to spend on Facebook ads to get a sale, for example.

The reason this is so important is that whoever can afford to spend more on customer acquisition will win more auctions, get more views, and ultimately, make more sales. So, the more you can afford to raise your customer acquisition cost, the faster you can scale your business.

To calculate this, subtract your average COGS from your average order value (AOV). This will be a pretty accurate measure of the upfront ad costs you can afford to acquire a customer. Your AOV only includes the average value of initial orders, not including subscriptions or other subsequent purchases. Further down the line as your business grows, you’ll calculate your customer lifetime value (LTV) which will include those things.

3. Funnel and Ad Optimization

Screen grab of Steve discussing ways to assess ad creative

Optimizing your ads is also a critical factor if you’re going to make your dropshipping business more profitable. To do this, you’ll want to start by testing the creative of your Facebook ads. There are different types of creative, including things like showing products in use, user-generated content, and product reviews.

The next important thing to test is the first three seconds of the ad. If you don’t hook the customer in those first few seconds, they’ll likely just keep scrolling. That’s how long you have to get their attention to have any chance at a sale. Keep testing until you find a hook that works.

After that, test out your images or thumbnails. How well the images work will depend on the product and the audience. Some products can do really well with just static images. Other product ads will need a video to really work, though, so test different images, videos, and thumbnails to find out.

The following thing you should optimize is your sales angle. How you style your offer is important and will change how effective the ad is. Common tactics include discounts, BOGO sales, and free shipping. Test them all thoroughly to make sure you’re getting the best results.

Finally, test the audiences for the ads. I recommend testing 20-30. Once your ads are optimized, you’ll also want to optimize your funnel. There are two main things to test here. First, test your hero image. I prefer a lifestyle image of the product in use. Then, test out different headline types.  

Get Started Incorporating These Simple eCommerce Hacks

Screen grab of Steve discussing funnel optimization

Assessing these things is important because you have to stay on top of how the business is doing. When dropshipping businesses don’t know their gross margin or the customer acquisition cost they can afford, there’s no way to know if they’re making money or spending the right amount. Some businesses don’t check these consistently and suddenly realize they’re losing a lot of money. If you can keep up with them, it’s a very profitable habit.

Once you know what you can afford to spend on ads, you have to optimize them. There’s no use spending money on ads that don’t work. The same goes for your funnel. If you’re creating effective ads that get clicks, the money is still wasted if they leave as soon as they hit your funnel landing page. But if you keep on top of these profitability keys and ensure everything’s working together, you’ll get the most out of your business and start increasing profits.  

If you follow Steve’s simple eCommerce hacks, it should really help you make your business more profitable. I hope you enjoyed this article and get a lot out of it. If you’d like to take the next step down the road to making your business a success, check out my FREE webinar to learn about how I started making a full-time income online without needing to build a website or touch a product! Also, subscribe to my YouTube channel for even more simple eCommerce hacks and insights.

Tagged : / / / /

Running a Full-Time eCommerce Business | What Should You Expect?

by Peter PruSystems & ProcessesLeave a Comment on Running a Full-Time eCommerce Business | What Should You Expect?

Flexible hours, fancy cars, a lovely mansion, a nice watch, and traveling around the world — check. These are some of the things that attract most people, and possibly you, to starting an eCommerce or dropshipping business. But is it really the daily life you can expect once you have a full-time eCommerce business?

Sorry, but the short answer is no. 

Not what you expected, right? 

I know you’ve seen videos online and heard about eCommerce store owners making passive income and living the life. They go on vacations all over the world and own fancy sports cars. But before you brand me as a dream killer, let’s get some things straight first.  

First, a successful eCommerce empire can afford you such luxuries and possibly more. Secondly, whereas running such a business is not your typical 9-5 job, it also requires a lot of work. So, if you think starting an eCommerce business is your ticket to easy riches, think again.

Lastly, full-time eCommerce business owners don’t spend all day every day cruising on yachts or relaxing at a beach waiting for cash to trickle in. 

So, what’s it like in the day of a full-time eCommerce business owner? In this article, I’ll give you an overview of what my day is like as I ensure my business empire continues growing to provide you with a rough idea of what to expect. 

An Early Start

To ensure that my workload is easily manageable throughout the day, I like waking up early in the morning. Immediately after getting out of bed, I take a refreshing glass of cold water. 

In addition to increasing alertness and fueling your brain, drinking water the first thing you wake up has several benefits. So, I strongly recommend that you make it part of your daily routine.  

I Check My Slack Messages

Screen grab of Peter Pru discussing his general workday

Running a full-time eCommerce business requires using several different tools and systems to streamline processes and enhance coordination. One such tool I use is Slack. It comes in handy when communicating with colleagues and clients. 

The last thing you want as an eCommerce store owner is bottlenecks or other challenges derailing the process. So, before attending to anything else, I take about 15 minutes to read and respond to my Slack messages. This ensures that all urgent matters are addressed before the workday officially begins. 

Get in Some Exercise for the Body and Mind 

As with most other things in life, it is difficult to run and scale your online business empire if you do not take care of yourself properly. Good health and a mind ready to take on challenges are invaluable assets.

This is why I spend one hour working out in the morning as I listen to an audiobook. For me, the audiobooks that I prefer are autobiographies. Then, after the workout session, I take a cold shower, making me even more alert and ready for work.

I Get to My Desk by Eight AM

Online business owner arranging client calls and meetings

Officially, my day begins at 8 AM. This is when I get to my desk and begin tackling the day-to-day activities of my online business. 

Some of these activities include:

Meetings 

Over the last five years, Ecommerce Empire Builders has been fortunate enough to grow from an unknown brand to a relatively popular one. During this period, our team has grown to over 30 people, and we always have plenty of clients at any given time. 

To ensure everything is going as planned, a significant portion of my day is spent meeting colleagues and clients. 

Client Work

The eCommerce journey has plenty of stops in between. If you are new to it, it may be intimidating to begin. This is why we assist people such as yourself in starting and running successful online empires. 

Depending on clients’ needs, budgets and availability, we offer different levels of support through services such as:

  • Business in a Box: This is for individuals who have the budget to start a full-time eCommerce business but not the time. Our team will handle all the tasks so that you do not have to worry.
  • Advertising Management: We help you reach your target audience by reaching them when they’re ready to make a purchase.

Some of our other services also include Facebook image creation, email sequences, and market research. As such, I also spend time handling such activities for my clients. 

Research

As you prepare to venture into eCommerce, you should know that it’s anything but static. At any given time, there are developments taking place. These can range from products in high demand to effective marketing strategies.

Therefore, I spend a lot of time each week monitoring the trends and doing product research. This helps me and adjust my approach accordingly and ensure the support I offer clients is beneficial. 

I’d love to tell you that it only takes a couple of hours for me to get everything done, and the rest of the day is for me to use as I please, but that’s not the case. 

Usually, my day ends at 6 in the evening. Of course, I’ll have some 10–30-minute breaks now and then to rejuvenate. During these breaks, I love taking walks with my wife and daughter. 

Discipline Is Key

Screen grab of Peter Pru discussing discipline as part of running a full-time eCommerce business

At this point, you now have a clear picture of what it takes to be a full-time eCommerce business owner. While it can be very rewarding, I strongly believe it’s not for everyone. 

This is because there’s not only a ton of work involved, but you will also have teams and clients counting on you. Depending on the scale and nature of your business, this comes with a lot of pressure. 

So, if you are not ready to take on such responsibilities, you’re better off not running an eCommerce business full-time. However, this is not to say you shouldn’t start one. As with most people, taking it as a side hustle is also an option.

Now that you know a day in the life of a full-time eCommerce owner is like, it’s time to start building your empire. At Ecommerce Empire Builders, we’re here to help you. Sign up for my free webinar, where I’ll take you through the steps I took to create a full-time income online. Also, subscribe to my YouTube channel for insights and business tips.

Tagged : / / / /

5 Realistic Daily Habits That Helped Me Become a Millionaire

by Peter PruSystems & ProcessesLeave a Comment on 5 Realistic Daily Habits That Helped Me Become a Millionaire

Empire builders, there’s no real secret to success. But if you want to know what makes the most difference, it’s this: your habits. The simple fact is that whatever you achieve in life will be the direct result of the things you do, day after day. Once you understand that life is the cumulative effect of your habits, then it becomes REALLY important to have the right ones, and that means setting deliberate and realistic daily habits.

Today I’m going to share something that I like to call BUILD, which are the five habits I do every single day. Following these habits over the last eight years has helped me build a business empire and become a millionaire. But these habits are not just about making money. In fact, one of the things that will really help you be successful in life is to become a well-rounded person. The realistic daily habits within BUILD allowed me to focus on key aspects of my businesses. But it also helps me excel in the other aspects of life. So how does BUILD work?

B Stands for Body: “How did you take care of your body today?”

Dropshipper starting his morning with exercise as one of his realistic daily habits

Being unhealthy means you get tired more often, you’re less productive, and you have a harder time concentrating. Are you going to have what it takes to build an empire in that state? I don’t think so, and that’s why health is so crucial for being successful.

The way I use the BUILD system is to sit down each quarter (or every three months) and come up with specific goals for each habit. In the case of the Body habit, your goal can be anything that you know will be excellent for your health. You might take a 45-minute walk, drink a green smoothie, or lift weights. It all depends on what works for you, which is what makes this system highly adaptable. Switch up your goals every quarter so that you can keep pushing yourself and make progress with your overall health. 

What I recommend, and what I do, is keeping track of your daily habits in a physical notebook by writing BUILD at the top of the page each day. Once you’ve accomplished the goal for your Body habit, you get the great satisfaction of circling that B each day. What that means is you’re taking care of your body and creating the foundations for success. 

U Stands for You: “What did you do today that you wanted to do?”

Screen grab of Peter Pru discussing the 'U' in BUILD

Again, you really need to create a well-rounded life if you want to be successful. This goal is all about avoiding burnout and making sure you have the time to enjoy hobbies or interests.

Right now, my You goal is to get back into golf. This is a sport that I used to love years ago, but I had stopped at some point and kind of forgot about it. But now I’m back to playing golf at least once or twice a week and absolutely loving it. Your You goal might be playing chess, learning a new language, playing video games, or literally anything else.  Give yourself permission to enjoy doing something you really want to do every single day.

I Stands for Income: “Did you do something to make money today?”

This one is obviously key, and it will look totally different depending on where you are with building your businesses. When I was getting started, the goals for my Income habit were all about making sales. It was literally “Did I make $1000 today?”. 

My Income goals have changed so much since then because my businesses have grown, and now I have a whole team. At this point, I’m guaranteed to make money because I have a really solid foundation. That means the goals for my Income habit will now revolve around the broader picture of everything that I do with my team, like developing new ideas and building up the systems and processes that we’ve already put into place. 

Keep in mind that this goal can also be something that relates to making money in the future. Doing something that’s really going to help push your business forward definitely counts!  

If you’re just getting started with your business, you really just have to be honest with yourself about what are the best ways to institute this habit for your unique situation. I talk a lot about the important realistic daily habits for building income inside our Ecommerce Empire Builders Academy, including what I call The Daily 6 and The Daily 3. This is something I cover in the first module of the course, so make sure you check it out!

L Stands for Relationships: “How did you make business relationships that can help your empire?” AND “How did you take care of your family and friends today?”

Someone chatting with friends and family over video

Obviously, there are two kinds of relationships here, and they’re both essential parts of your realistic daily habits — and your life. When it comes to your professional relationships, you’re just not going to get very far if you don’t network with other individuals that can help grow your business. So try:

  • Reaching out to an influencer who promotes products in your niche
  • Making a strategic contact at a conference
  • Hiring someone to help you with certain tasks
  • Something totally different that suits your business

You should always be thinking about how to make and improve the relationships that can help your business. 

And then we get to relationships that are even MORE important, which include your family and friends. The BUILD system is truly designed to give you a well-rounded life. The money will come, but you definitely don’t want it at the expense of not having good relationships with the people closest to you. Make it a daily habit to spend that quality time with them, even if it’s just sending a quick text. 

D Stands for Development: “How did you develop yourself today?”

Learning is how you grow, and it should definitely become a daily habit. Personally, I love reading. My development goals will typically be reading a book or going through some sort of useful online course that can help me sharpen some skills. 

There’s really an endless number of ways to develop yourself through realistic daily habits. But the most important thing is that you have to actually implement whatever you learned. 

For example, if you’re reading this, or you’re watching a video on my Youtube channel, that’s great. But are you going to actually incorporate these habits into your life and do it consistently? Because otherwise, it doesn’t even count.

In general, development only works if you take action based on the things you learn. Remember that your time is, by far, your most valuable asset. If you learn about these realistic daily habits but never do anything useful with that knowledge, then it’s pointless to even learn about them. If you learn about my dropshipping hacks and never use them in your business, it’s pointless to know about them. Even worse, I just took your most valuable asset! Don’t allow that to happen. 

Make sure the time you spend on development is really providing value for you. Yes, even when it comes to my own content. Don’t just consume it for the sake of consuming it. DO something with it. Otherwise, it’s really just a distraction from your goals, and that’s the opposite of what I’m trying to do here.

Consult With the Pros

There’s so much more to learn about building a sustainable, profitable online business, and I’m here to teach you everything I’ve learned. Get started with your empire by taking this free Ecommerce Empire Builders webinar! You can also see more advice and dropshipping strategies on my YouTube channel.

Tagged : / / / /

How One of Our Clients Made $200 in His First Week of Dropshipping

by Peter PruDropshipping Case StudiesLeave a Comment on How One of Our Clients Made $200 in His First Week of Dropshipping

One of our Business in a Box clients, Fredrick, experienced an impressive level of success with his dropshipping business. In his first week of dropshipping, he made $200. Here, we’ll explore his personal success story and some insights he has to offer that you can apply to your own dropshipping efforts. 

Fredrick’s story is yet another example of what you can achieve as a dropshipper, whether you’re new to eCommerce or a veteran in the industry.

How Encounters with “Gurus” Inspired New Career Goals

Fredrick’s dropshipping journey began around one and a half years ago. He came across several ads on Facebook featuring eCommerce gurus. In those ads, these so-called experts would show off the millions of dollars they were supposedly making. Fredrick thought that if they could do it, then so could he. 

From there, Fredrick signed up for an Amazon FBA course to get him started. However, he wasn’t getting to the point where he was able to sell products as opposed to investing in inventory. 

(As a side note, we believe that Amazon FBA can be a great way for beginners to get into eCommerce. But we also advise against using Amazon as your primary dropshipping platform.)

Be careful of relying on Amazon, which is more interested in helping themselves rather than its sellers. We recommend building your business on your own eCommerce platform first. Then use Amazon as a supplemental platform.

Discovering Ecommerce Empire Builders and the Value of Outside Help

Screen grab of Peter Pru and Fredrick discussing the importance of working with a team

While still struggling to get his dropshipping business off the ground, Fredrick discovered our videos on YouTube, which introduced him to the concept of dropshipping funnels. Like many other dropshippers, Fredrick wasn’t sure what to change about his business to make it successful. We understand that it takes work to experience success. That can entail everything from changing niches and products to making drastic changes to ad campaigns. 

What inspired Fredrick to hire Ecommerce Empire Builders to help him with his business was the fact that he valued his time. But Fredrick also knew that he had a lot to learn to make informed business decisions and see growth. 

The fact is that nobody is great at everything. Fredrick understood that he would need some outside help to ensure his business had the chance to thrive. While dropshipping used to be easy, with most individuals being able to do just about everything on their own a decade ago, times have changed. Today, it pays to work with specialized professionals with the resources and expertise needed to facilitate growth. This was something Fredrick was willing to do.

Our team started working on his business and preparing it for launch. Fredrick continued to learn more on his own and sought products to sell. He also delved into copywriting and other aspects of his business during that first week of dropshipping and beyond, contributing to his business’s growth and supplementing our efforts. 

Understanding That There Are No Magicians in eCommerce

Unlike many of those “gurus” out there who make it sound easy to make millions in a matter of months, weeks, or even days of launching a business, we want to make it clear that there is no formula for success. We are not magicians. Every business out there will experience success at different rates. While many of our Business in a Box clients have seen success right out of the gate, Fredrick was an exception. It takes time to turn your dropshipping business into a success.

In Fredrick’s case, the third time was the charm when it came to launching his business. The first two attempts at dropshipping didn’t bring much success. But the third was where we were finally able to reach his goals. While we worked to find out what would propel his business to success, Fredrick put his trust in us and allowed us to keep trying different strategies. Eventually, we were able to work with him to build a business that yielded optimal results.

Goals That Keep Fredrick Moving Forward: Going Beyond That First Week of Dropshipping

Screen grab of Fredrick discussing his goals

At Ecommerce Empire Builders, we also understand that an integral component of success is good goal setting. To keep him motivated and moving toward the next big opportunity, Fredrick has set several goals for himself. His current goals are to:

  • Hit $10k per month
  • Keep learning skills such as copywriting
  • Build his business in the long term

Fredrick is one of our clients who has a good understanding of the work involved in succeeding with an online business. While our team is here to provide reliable help, we can’t make any guarantees. 

No dropshipper should ever expect instant success. Even if they think they have everything in place, it can take some tweaking and drastic changes to finally determine what works. However, having a team of experts behind your business can make sure that you’re not alone in your efforts. Several professionals bring different perspectives to the table to pinpoint the most efficient strategies.

By looking at different ads, upsells, and other components and the metrics behind them, your team can help streamline your funnel to generate the best possible results. For example, with some diligence and reworking of Fredrick’s strategies, one of his upsells managed to reach a conversion rate of 17-18%. Of course, there’s always room for improvement. But it’s a matter of persistence and never giving up, even when things don’t initially seem to be going as planned.

The Importance of Starting Instead of Waiting: Make This Week Your First Week of Dropshipping

Dropshipper reading books to pick up new skills

Fredrick’s ultimate takeaway in working with us was that it’s best to get started on your business as soon as possible. The longer you wait before launching your business, the more time you’ll waste as nothing gets done. Many dropshippers strive for perfection with their ventures. But success takes time and effort, and perfection is ordinarily impossible during the first week of dropshipping. Over time, as you build your business and optimize your strategies, you’ll be able to gear your business for long-term success. 

Do you want to find out more about how you can succeed with your dropshipping business the way Fredrick has? Then reserve your seat at our free eCommerce masterclass. We’ll show you how you can build your business and harness the power of funnels to earn a full-time income online. You can also subscribe to my YouTube channel for more dropshipping insights and tips.

Tagged : / / / /

Dropshipping vs. Drop Servicing: Which Online Business Is More Profitable?

by Peter PruUncategorizedLeave a Comment on Dropshipping vs. Drop Servicing: Which Online Business Is More Profitable?

Welcome back, Empire Builders! Today, we’re going to talk about a question I hear a lot. What’s better, dropshipping or drop servicing? Which will make you more money online? They’re pretty similar, so we’re going to go over what each one is and then get into which online business model is more profitable. So let’s jump right in!

What Is Dropshipping?

Dropshipping is a business model where you find a product to sell and use a supplier who will ship them directly to your customers. Instead of having a ton of products that you have to pay for upfront, store yourself, package, and ship to buyers, you just make sales. The supplier takes care of the rest. This is a great business model because you don’t have to put up the initial investment in the hopes that the products sell.

What Is Drop Servicing?

Screen grab of Peter Pru discussing the downsides of drop servicing

Drop servicing is a similar concept. But instead of selling physical products, you sell services. Basically, you find buyers who want a service—like writing, editing, or graphic design—then you take the job and collect the money, but you pay someone else to do the work. Really, you’re a middle-man between the client and service provider.  

The Pros and Cons of Each

Each of these business models can bring in good money if done correctly. They both have their strengths and weaknesses, though. Let’s go over the pros and cons of each one. That will really illustrate the difference and understand which one is going to get you the most money.

Pros of Dropshipping

You can make a lot of money without a lot of time, effort, or a large initial investment. In fact, you don’t have to worry about inventory or shipping at all. You just bring in the buyers, make the sales, and the rest is completely done for you. One of the great things about dropshipping is how much of it can be automated. You might get some customer service emails. But many of them are very similar, and you can use templates to reply.

Cons of Dropshipping

It’s not a get-rich-quick scheme. You do have to put in the work, just not as much as starting many other businesses. You have to find your niche, build a funnel, and advertise to drive leads to your funnel, which requires some time and money to set up.

Pros of Drop Servicing

It can be excellent money. Depending on the service you’re providing and the quality of the work, you could get upwards of a couple of grand a month from each client you work with. If you have a network of people who know you or a good reputation in the industry, that could mean steady clients and real money.  

Cons of Drop Servicing

Frustrated drop servicing business owner handling clients

One of the biggest drawbacks is that you’ll have to deal with the clients. When it comes to services, people expect a certain outcome. When you deliver the work, it often won’t be exactly what they wanted or expected. It’s very common for them to request changes, and you have to arrange them. You end up spending a lot of time on emails back and forth between you and the client, as well as you and the service provider.

Another issue is that you often don’t want the clients to know that you aren’t doing the work yourself, especially if it’s your reputation that brings them in. The last thing you want is for clients to come to you because of your reputation for doing quality work, only to find out that you aren’t the one doing it. That could destroy your business and your reputation, so it’s risky.

Another thing to consider is that you have to be good at advertising your services and getting sales. Bringing in steady clients and high-paying work is the hardest part. If you don’t have an existing foothold in your field, that could be difficult. If you aren’t providing something that the person or people doing the actual work can’t do for themselves, then why wouldn’t they just start their own business and make more money, right?

Another thing to keep in mind is that you have to be able to guarantee the quality of the work. Especially if you’re charging a couple of grand a month, the quality of the work has to be worth it. You can sell lower-ticket services, but then the profit is also going to be less. So, there’s a real balancing act that you have to be careful with here.

Why Dropshipping Is More Profitable

Screen grab of Peter Pru discussing the positives of dropshipping

Dropshipping is much easier to set up, it doesn’t require a specialized skill, and much more of it is easy to automate. Dropshipping suppliers buy huge quantities in bulk for a crazy discount which means you get a great deal. It’s even better if the supplier does their own manufacturing. It’s a great way to earn passive income that works well in the long term and doesn’t take a lot of time or money to start.

Drop servicing is harder to automate, so it takes a lot more time. You have to keep the client and provider separate, so the client doesn’t find out you aren’t doing the work, the provider doesn’t find out how much you’re making, and they don’t cut you out. The profit margin isn’t as good, it isn’t as passive, and it takes a bigger time investment to do properly.

Start With Your Preferred Business Model

You can do both at the same time, which I do myself. But without a team and a system in place like I have, it’s harder. In general, drop servicing just comes with a lot more headaches and fewer rewards than dropshipping does, especially if you’re just starting out. Dropshipping is super easy to scale, which means more money. But finding new clients for drop servicing isn’t as scalable, and each one you add means more time.

Okay, guys, that’s all I have for you. I’d love to hear what you think in the comments. To learn more about dropshipping and start building your own eCommerce empire, sign up for my masterclass. I’ll teach you how I made a full-time income online with a 5-page funnel and without touching a product, building a site, or investing in ads. I’ll even throw in the $100k funnel template FREE just for showing up. You can also subscribe to my YouTube channel for frequent tips and insights. Remember, your empire starts now!

Tagged : / / / /

How to Start a Supplement Dropshipping Business

by Peter PruOne Product DropshippingLeave a Comment on How to Start a Supplement Dropshipping Business

Welcome, empire builders! If you’re new here or still learning the ropes to dropshipping, you’re in luck. Today we’re going to quickly break down and run through the steps of how you can start a supplement dropping business. You’re going to learn how to build your supplement brand 100% online through dropshipping strategies. We’re going to discuss everything from picking out suppliers and supplements to understanding how to capitalize on these decisions through advertisement and sales funnels. With that being said, let’s jump right in. 

How to Start a Supplement Dropshipping Business

You’ll find that supplements are incredibly trendy right now with the current pandemic situation. But the truth is that they’ve always been a popular target for making sales. Everyone loves to buy that perfect supplement that offers them a little extra boost, and that’s part of what makes starting a supplement dropshipping business such an easy thing to capitalize on.

If you’ve never started a dropshipping business, supplements are slightly different due to the legality that comes along with them. So, if you’re unfamiliar with the market or don’t have time to learn about the legal aspects of marketing supplements, you can still start dropshipping with just $0. If your goal is to get into supplements and you have a bit of a budget, then this short guide is for you.

Selecting and Working With a Supplier

Screen grab of Peter Pru explaining how SMP works

Two suppliers that we’ve already personally vetted are Ship Offers and Supplement Manufacturing Partner (SMP). Both of these are dropshipping suppliers that focus solely on supplements rather than other products. So, how exactly does dropshipping for supplements work? Let’s break it down. 

When you pull up SMP, you’ll find their catalog with 242 results for different supplements that you can private label. This means that all of the science, ingredients, manufacturing, and product-specific needs are already put together. All you have to do is pick out the supplement(s) you want to put your label on. With SMP’s supplement catalog, you can quickly click on the items you think will fit your niche and goals. Then you can check out the supplemental facts to make sure they’re a great match. 

When picking out which products you want to sell as you start a supplement dropshipping business, you have two basic options. You can go white-label or custom creation.

  • White label is where the science behind creating, manufacturing, and handling the supplements is already done. White label products are ready to go and market as-is. All you have to do is work with a supplier to label the supplements and begin marketing them.  
  • With custom creation, you’re working with a unique, new formula and private labeling. The concept for the product is brand new, so there’s going to be more focus on creating the perfect formula, testing it, and actually purchasing inventory. 

Start a Supplement Dropshipping Business With Ingredients You Know About

Customer with supplements in his smoothie

In my personal opinion, especially when it comes to supplements, always sell stuff that you use. This can be a way to further market the products, but it can also build trust in what you’re offering.

Once you’ve selected a supplement, you can send an inquiry or request a sample. We always recommend that you reach out, make a call, and start the conversation. You’ll typically speak to a representative so you can learn about what their specific dropship process looks like. This is a great way to start building that relationship with the supplier, and it allows you to get to know about them.

Depending on the inventory of each supplier, sometimes there will be a minimum purchase of 100 or so units rather than on-demand options. This is commonly practiced with white labeling because that supplier will be taking their logo off a product and replacing it with yours. 

The same setup goes for the other supplier, Ship Offers. Its interface is similar to AliExpress. So those of you familiar with the platform may find them easier to work with as a supplier. They also offer fulfillment services. 

Beginning Sales and Marketing

As empire builders, you know that we have a basic strategy that we follow when creating and building any business. This strategy is proven to work and simple to use. The basic structure relies on three main components. 

  1. The Niche — What’s the niche you want to sell to? Specifically, who? 
  2. Crafting the Offer — What’s your audience getting other than your product? Direct guides that go with the supplement or maybe a bundle discount?
  3. Your Funnel — This is the structure of your sales pitch. It includes your niche lingo, what your offer gives customers, and more. 

Knowing how to build and use sales funnels will be crucial to growing your business.

Learning to Drive and Manage Traffic

Screen grab of Peter Pru discussing how to market supplement products and drive sales

Now that you’ve selected your supplements and partnered with a supplier, it’s time to drive traffic to your marketing campaign. For years, we’ve used the same basic strategy to manage and maintain our sales. This is especially true when you start a supplement dropshipping business. There are so many options out there, and brand loyalty is major among consumers.

The trick is combining influencer shoutouts with retargeting ads. The idea behind it is that you’re driving warm traffic to your offer and your funnel. Retargeting ads then pop up for consumers that have already seen a little bit of what your brand has to offer. Whether that be through an influencer’s post or another ad, the exposure of seeing your business’s supplement offer pop back up is warming them up to the idea that you’re familiar and they have a connection with you. 

Through these ads, lead consumers back to your landing page for a specific supplement. Showcase the ingredients and supplemental facts. Then highlight similar products that are frequently bought together, and offer even more deals with bundles. Your landing page can be extremely basic but display the highlights customers care about:

  • What are the ingredients?
  • How do you use it?
  • Can we see people using it?
  • Can we see some reviews?
  • Where do I buy it?

Learn More About How to Start a Supplement Dropshipping Business

If you’re ready to start a supplement dropshipping business and you want to learn more about suppliers, ads, and funnels, register for our webinar today. Don’t miss out on all the knowledge and strategic planning we have to offer you in order to make your supplement dropshipping business a success. You can also receive frequent insights and tips by subscribing to my YouTube channel about dropshipping, sales funnels, and growing your business.

Tagged : / / / /