Some people don’t understand what drop shipping is and confuse it with other things.
Here’s what qualifies as dropshipping:
- You display products in your store without having any inventory or a warehouse of your own.
- Customers come to your store, place orders at market price, and make the payment to you.
- Your store then orders with a supplier where you get the product at wholesale price.
- You make the payment to the supplier.
- Your supplier ships the items directly to the customer.
In today’s world, this eCommerce domain has grown to include many things. And with that, competition has increased as well. Amazon and eBay are two of the biggest dropshipping platforms, and it’s harder to compete against them.
Because of this, it’s now getting difficult to find suppliers that offer you a price which you can make a profit out of. They often don’t ship the items directly to your customers if you see such suppliers. You then have to buy products wholesale, keep the inventory with you and ship out as orders come in.
Although that’s a lucrative business, it’s not dropshipping. And before we get on with the rest of the article, it’s essential to understand this difference.
Can I Start Dropshipping With $100?
Yes. That’s one of the best things about living in 2022. You can start a dropshipping business with $100 and earn handsomely.
There are different ways to achieve this. If this is just an experiment for you or you want to do it temporarily, you can join a dropshipping supplier platform or direct seller websites.
These are established platforms with an extensive customer base.
You’ll only need to set up your store and start dropshipping products here. You don’t have to worry about getting your website ranked or finding visitors to visit your store.
But this approach isn’t ideal for the long term because you don’t have a separate brand identity to establish your own dropshipping business.
Although it is possible to start dropshipping with $100, you need experience or time to do it successfully. The compensation for a smaller budget is an increased investment of your time and energy.
You’ll have to do a lot by yourself, and this includes creating the website for your store, making ads, managing campaigns, and more. But if you’re passionate enough about it, then you can get this done like a pro.
Tips to Start Dropshipping With $100 in 2022
If you’re starting this business with the idea that you want to do it for a long time. Then here are the steps you need to follow:
1. Do Thorough Research for Products and Suppliers
We all know that product research is essential before you start a business. And for a dropshipping business, you also need to find suppliers that offer you a reasonable rate and are willing to ship individual products to your customers.
You can do this step for free. Enter keywords in Google, and you’ll have enough sellers to start creating a supplier list. Find reliable ones, have great reviews, and offer you a rate that you can profit from.
2. Build a Logo and Create a Brand
Having a unique logo and brand name can help you come off as professional to your customers. It increases trust and builds your business. And the best part – it’s free to do.
You can build a logo using design tools such as Canva. Then you have to decide on your color palette and typography, and other details that make your brand’s visual identity.
3. Purchase Domain Name
There are different ways to go about it while staying within your budget of $100. Many websites, such as Alibaba cloud or Namesilo, can buy a domain name for around $10.
But if you’re building your dropshipping store on Shopify – which is a great option – then you can buy a domain name for $14.
4. Create an Ecommerce Store
Now, you have to create a store on platforms designed for eCommerce. These include Shopify, woo commerce, and Wix, to name just a few.
Shopify is an excellent option because it’s user-friendly and budget-friendly – which is what you need if you’re starting a dropshipping business with $100.
You can create your store by signing up for a free 14-day trial. Or buy the membership that costs $29 per month. This deal comes with website support, maintenance, and eCommerce system software.
Next, you have to install a free theme that suits your brand. You can do with a minimalistic one or with many images – whatever is best for your brand.
These free themes are customizable, and you can adjust colors, add images, change fonts, and more. So when you’re done setting up the dropshipping Shopify store, your customers won’t be able to tell that you’ve used a free theme.
If you can’t do this yourself, you can hire Shopify web development services to set up your store. But remember – it’s going to cost you a lot more than your budget.
5. Optimize Store for SEO
SEO is a free way to get visitors to your store or website. The other way to get customers is through ads which we will discuss later.
Optimizing your website means adding appropriate keywords, uploading high-quality images, and including well-defined product descriptions.
This is mainly free to do unless you hire someone to do it for you. You can find helpful content that you, as a beginner, can understand and incorporate in your store without any problem.
6. Market Your Business
If not SEO, then you need ads to market your business. You can use Google ads (Adsense) or Facebook ads for this since you only have $100 to start. Out of which, you’ve spent around $43 in buying a domain name and Shopify membership.
If you shoot promotional videos and write ad copies yourself, you can save a lot of money.
You can set up a google ads campaign with a $5 budget with a CPC of $1 maximum. It should be sufficient to get customers before you run out of budget. That’s only if you have thoughtfully researched the products to sell, found a low competition and high demand market, and have a well-optimized website.
Similarly, you can set up a Facebook ad campaign with a similar budget or link the two movements together.
7. Offer Consistent Service
Your $100 investment will be for nothing if you can’t stay consistent with marketing your business and gathering reviews. So keep at it even when business is slow. Do regular audits of your website and check the competition for your product of choice.
It will help you know if you need to change your rates or double down on marketing.
8. Invest More In Your Business
You can surely start a dropshipping business with $100, but you can’t keep it running with that budget. As soon as you start making sales, invest the profit back into your business.
It can be tempting to take it out, but since you plan to do this long-term, you need to increase your marketing efforts and find more supplies – both of which require more money.
Your Next Steps
Although having a big budget has pros, you can quickly start a dropshipping business with $100 in 2022. Follow the tips laid out in our post and start earning with minimal risk!
