Launching a Shopify dropshipping business is a great way to break into e-commerce. As a startup, two things fall short in supply—time and money. Spending time and money on your inventory can be overwhelming. But with dropshipping, that’s often not the case.
Dropshipping allows you to run your business without having to carry products around. Plus, large e-commerce platforms, including Shopify, promote dropshipping, making reaching thousands of people from your space easier.
If you’re looking to begin your Shopify dropshipping business today, then you’re in luck. This article covers all you need to know to begin your Shopify dropshipping journey. Here you’ll learn how to:
- Understand How Shopify Works
- Find a Lucrative Dropshipping Niche
- Choose a Store Name
- Create a Shopify Account
- Optimize Your Account
- Look for Dropshipping Suppliers
- Launch your Shopify Dropshipping Store
Ready, let’s dive right in!
1. Understand How Shopify Works
To begin a Shopify dropshipping business, understand how the platform works. Shopify is one of the leading eCommerce platforms that help entrepreneurs begin their online stores.
Shopify is easy to use, so you can thrive whether or not you have the technical know-how. To begin your journey with Shopify,
- Go to the play store or apple store for either iOS or Android and download the Shopify app.
- Once you’ve downloaded the app, click on the link and peruse; you’ll find a wealth of dropshipping and marketing tools on the platform.
2. Find a Lucrative Dropshipping Niche
Before you begin your Shopify dropshipping business:
- Find a lucrative niche
- Investigate a niche you seem interested in and decide how profitable it is before you begin
- Perform market surveys just like you would if you were to open a retail store
Creating a niche separates you from a crowded market space. Luckily, Shopify organizes a list of top-selling products on its platform, making it easy for you to select a niche. Finding a niche also helps you gain clients’ attention and grants you traction without competition.
How To Find A Lucrative Dropshipping Niche
You can use several tools to measure the demand for a product. These tools will help you find a lucrative dropshipping niche. They include:
- Facebook Audience Insights
- Google keyword planner
- Google Trends
3. Choose a Store Name
The next step to beginning a Shopify dropshipping business is to choose a store name. To choose a name for your online store, follow these tips:
- Be creative
- Keep it simple
- Make it memorable
Luckily, Shopify makes it easy to choose a creative name idea. You can do so with Shopify’s online business name generator. To do this:
- Enter a word you’d like your business name to include
- Click on generate name
Once you use this medium, Shopify presents you with a list of business names. The Shopify online business generator will save you lots of time and energy. Plus, it’s totally free.
4. Create a Shopify Account
The next step on your journey to begin a Shopify dropshipping business, create a Shopify account. Creating a Shopify account is pretty simple. Here’s how to create one:
- Log on to Shopify’s homepage
- Click on start free trial. You’ll find that in the top right of your screen
- On the next screen, enter your email address
- Then, input your store name and a password of your choice—as you’ll be required to create a password for your account
- Fill out your experience with e-commerce and submit your details, including phone number, tax information, government-issued ID, bank account, and routing number
Once you complete these steps, your Shopify account will be up and running.
5. Optimize Your Account
Once you create your Shopify account, optimize your account. This step is crucial for starting your Shopify dropshipping business. When it comes to optimizing your account, there are a few aspects you need to consider:
- Your theme and logo
- Creating your store policies, and
- Payment Information
Your Theme and Logo
Optimizing your account includes choosing a theme and logo. Thankfully, Shopify has a theme store where you can search through a wide range of themes. There you’ll find both free and premium options you can use.
The same goes for choosing a logo. Your logo will help customers remember your business easily. In a few minutes, you can use Shopify’s free online logo maker to help you generate a preferred logo.
Create Your Store Policy
While setting up your Shopify dropshipping business, create a store policy. Shopify has several tools that can help you create a refund policy, a standardized privacy policy, and terms and conditions for your store.
To access these tools:
- Go to the Shopify setting
- Click on the checkout tab and scroll down
- On the bottom, you’ll find relevant fields—click on it
- Then click on the generate button, and you’re done
Payment Information
Another thing to note while setting up your Shopify dropshipping store is your payment information. If you do not have a payment option, receiving money from your customers will be difficult.
To add a payment option:
- Go to the Shopify settings page
- Click on the payment tab on the left
- Include your payment information
6. Look For Dropshipping Suppliers
Once you optimize your account, you can begin searching for dropshipping suppliers. You can search for suppliers by assessing your favorite brands or through specific dropshipping networks like:
- Alibaba
- AliExpress
- Worldwide Brands
- Doba
- SaleHoo
7. Launch Your Shopify Dropshipping Store
Once you find your suppliers and you have added all the necessary information needed to start your Shopify dropshipping business, launch your Shopify dropshipping store.
To launch your Shopify dropshipping store:
- Go to the sales channels tab on your admin dashboard
- Click on add an online store and include your store name
Once you include your store name, your Shopify dropshipping business is up and running.
Conclusion
To start a Shopify dropshipping business, understand how Shopify works. Next, find a lucrative dropshipping niche. Finding a niche helps you stand out in the crowded market space. Then choose a store name, create a Shopify account and optimize your account.
Once you’re done optimizing your account, search for dropshipping suppliers from several dropshipping networks like Alibaba, Aliexpress, SaleHoo, and the like. Finally, launch your Shopify dropshipping store and you’re good to go.
