If you are familiar with recent online business opportunities, then the chances are that you’ve heard of dropshipping. Dropshipping is a relatively new business model that allows you to make money with little investment and from anywhere in the world. You are able to sell products without the need of a warehouse, inventory, or any sort of storage space. In this article, we are going to outline how this is possible and explain:
- What dropshipping is
- How to find a dropshipping supplier
- The benefits of dropshipping
- The concerns with dropshipping
- How to get started with dropshipping
Contents
Let’s begin:
What is Dropshipping?
Dropshipping is a business model in which e-commerce stores sell products without having to carry any inventory. When a dropshipper receives an order from a customer they simply contact the supplier, and they ship it to the customer. This eliminates the need for the online store owner to warehouse the products or handle them in any physical capacity. The third-party supplier will handle all of the shipping logistics.
How Do You Find a Supplier For Dropshipping?
There are a couple different ways to find a supplier:
- Use an online marketplace like Oberlo, Alibaba, or Global Sources. These websites allow you to search for suppliers based on product category, price, shipping time, and other criteria.
- Contact manufacturers directly. If you have a specific product in mind that you want to dropship, you can contact the manufacturer and ask if they offer dropshipping as an option.
The Benefits of Dropshipping in Canada
Small Capital Investment
Starting a dropshipping business requires very little up-front capital investment. This is one of the main reasons why it has become such a popular business model for Canadians in recent years. You can start a dropshipping business with as little as $100, compared to the thousands of dollars required to start a traditional brick-and-mortar retail business.
This low barrier to entry allows entrepreneurs with limited financial resources to start their own business and build it up over time. And, since you don’t have to worry about inventory or shipping, you can keep your overhead costs low and still generate a healthy profit.
Easy to Start
Another benefit of dropshipping is that it’s incredibly easy to get started. All you need is a computer with an internet connection and a few hours of spare time each week to research products, contact suppliers, and process your orders.
You don’t have to worry about recruiting employees, managing inventory, or packing and shipping products. You don’t need any special qualifications or experience either – as long as you can use a computer effectively, understand how dropshipping works, and attract customers, anyone has the potential to create a successful business.
Can Operate Anywhere in the World
This global reach is one of the biggest advantages of dropshipping, as it allows Canadian entrepreneurs to start a business with no geographical restrictions.
You can run your dropshipping business from anywhere in the world, as long as you have an internet connection. This gives you the freedom to live and work wherever you want, and to travel whenever you feel like it.
Flexible Work Schedule
Dropshipping also offers a high degree of flexibility when it comes to work schedule. Since you don’t have to worry about inventory or shipping, you can easily adjust your workload to fit around other commitments – whether that means working part-time during the evenings and weekends, or taking on extra shifts during busy periods.
Easy to Scale
Once you have established yourself in the market and built up a customer base, there are many simple and easy ways that you can expand your dropshipping operation. You can invest in advertising, offer other products, or even offer related services.
You can also expand your business by partnering with other dropshipping businesses. This can help you to tap into new markets and attract new customers, while still keeping your day-to-day operations manageable. There are many different ways to grow a successful dropshipping business – all you need is a little creativity and imagination!
Large Selection of Products
Finally, dropshipping provides entrepreneurs with access to a huge selection of products that would be difficult or impossible to offer in a traditional retail setting.
Dropship suppliers typically stock hundreds if not thousands of unique product lines from well-known brands and manufacturers around the world. This gives you an almost endless range of items to sell on your website and allows you to target niche markets that may not be catered for by other retailers.
The Concerns With Dropshipping in Canada
High Competition
For many entrepreneurs, the biggest drawback of dropshipping is that it’s a highly competitive industry with low profit margins – especially when you first start out. This makes it difficult for new businesses to stand out from their competitors or attract enough customers to generate consistent sales growth.
Low Margins
As mentioned earlier, one of the biggest drawbacks of dropshipping is the low profit margins associated with it. This means that you need to sell a high volume of products to make a decent profit, which can be difficult to achieve without significant marketing and advertising expenses.
Complications With Shipping
Another downside of dropshipping is that it can be complicated to ship multiple products to customers. When customers order multiple items from your store, but you source them from different suppliers, this situation may come with some unwanted hiccups. Typically each supplier has its own shipping structure and payment processing, so managing that might be a pain.
Supply Issues
If you’re sourcing products from different suppliers, it can be difficult to maintain a consistent supply of stock. This is especially true if any of your suppliers experience production issues or face shipping delays.
Customer Service Issues
Since customers are ordering products from different suppliers, they may not get the same level of customer service support when they have issues with their orders. This could lead to unhappy customers and negative reviews – which is something you definitely want to avoid!
How to Get Started Dropshipping in Canada
While the there are many dropshipping opportunities out there, the market is super competitive and you need to be creative in order for you to be successful. In order for you to get started and become successful, here are the steps we recommend taking in order for you to start your own dropshipping business one step ahead of the competition:
- Create your own online store through an e-commerce platform like Shopify
- Research your niche market
- Find a reliable supplier to work with
- Test your products (so you know that they are good quality)
- Promote the business and wait for customers to come in!
Conclusion
Dropshipping is a great way to start an online business. You can find products that are in demand, figure out the logistics of how it will be shipped and delivered, and then promote your dropshipping company on social media channels like Facebook Ads. A word of caution though: make sure you research the product before promoting it so you know for certain that people want what you’re selling!
Look for more articles to come on how to fully understand the supply chain, and manage the many complexities that come with an online dropshipping business.
