I stumbled upon a “master class on how I made $1M“, rather during a promotional break, and watched along with it. Since then, my youtube has kept feeding those “This is how I made millions“ ads. Most of them were clearly not worth buying, but some sounds pretty convincing.
I myself have tried quite a few projects, but unfortunately none has been fruitful other than the learning that came with them. I’ve tried content creation and ran a social media for some time, but it ended up draining my energy without seeing much of engagement and followers.
I tried print on demand with my work, mainly sketches and some digital logos, but it burnt out my friend group and family circle.
Dropshipping has been sitting at the back of my mind. Reading more warnings and discouraging feedback than successful stories got me think twice.
I enjoy hard work but up to this point I feel like wanting to know where to focus my energy on? A sense of progress or knowing that all my hard work will pay off in the foreseeable future would be a huge drive to start over again. What actually works?
I often wonder if these ppl get paid to sell you on the dropshipping thing. Because I can tell you from a customer to an entrepreneur, I would never willingly buy from a site that all they do is fwd my order to someone else. I mean would you? Seriously? A men’s hat with the words “best dad” embroidered. Or a lady’s summer dress. You would willingly spend more money to someone (who may or may not even be scammer) that isn’t even involved, when you can get the same thing for cheaper from a better and more trustworthy source? I know you wouldn’t. So the question then is why is everyone pushing this? Who’s getting the money? Do these dropship companies have affiliates that just go around on the forums saying go sign up with _____ site and all your dreams will come true?
What actually works? Investment in equipment, stock, supplies, and actually running a business. This whole print on demand dropshipping thing is dead. You can go to Walmart and buy a sublimation printer, ink, paper, mug press, and blank mugs for less than 600 bucks.
You don’t have to copy and paste. You don’t need a dropshipping account. You don’t have to download someone else’s photos and use them as yours. There are real in-person businesses that use Shopify both as a website host and also for the Point of Sale app. So it’s not all just copy and paste mate. You just gotta decide what you want to do and get to it.
To expand on home-based ideas, I highly recommend checking out Sticker Mule and Vista Print. Custom labels, business cards, packaging, the works! Ever wonder how a clothing tag is put on? They are cheap 15 dollar tagging guns. Easy, affordable solutions to any business. Want a stainless steel laser engraved business card to hand out? Great companies out there just waiting to help entrepreneurs get their business to stand out. Then there’s stuff like Postcard Mania, that can literally send out your flyers to anyone.
What usually works is picking one lane, sticking to it long enough to test properly, and making sure the fundamentals are right, product, audience, and fulfillment. That’s why some people in dropshipping lean on partners like USAdrop to take the logistics side off their plate so they can actually focus on building the brand and marketing. Progress feels a lot more real when you’re not juggling every little thing yourself.