How to set up your dropshipping business

To learn more about what is Dropshipping, read the first part of our dropshipper series, How you can reach the world with a dropshipping business and finally, How to grow your dropshipping business with new markets and strategies.

If you decide what you’re going to sell before settling on a name or launching your site, you can then choose a name, logo and site design that best suit your product.

In his latest videos, Steve looks at how to research products and markets and how to quickly set up your new store.  

How to start your market and product research.

“When it comes to building a profitable dropshipping business, choosing the right product and [market] is the most important piece of the puzzle,” Steve says. It’s also often “the most challenging part of starting a new online business for most aspiring entrepreneurs.”

An easy first step, he says, is to check out top online sellers like Amazon, eBay and AliExpress to see what sells (and what doesn’t) on those sites.

To estimate market size, Steve suggests some free online tools you can use.

Once you have a shortlist of potential products, you can consider Steve's 5 quick tips for making your final product decisions:  

1. Trending products are ideal,
2. Go for products that solve an underlying issue of pain point,
3. Look for innovative products,
4. Choose products that are not readily available locally,
5. Avoid bulky or heavy products.

Watch Steve's video to hear how to get started with market and product research:  

You can read more about finding international markets to target in the free PayPal ebook, How to Sell Internationally.  

4 steps to setting up your store.

Once you have decided what to sell, you’ll need to set up your store.

In his next video, Steve gives advice and top tips on 4 steps to get your new store up and running:  

1. Decide on a business name – choose a memorable name for your business, make sure it’s not already trade-marked and check that a .com domain is available for it.
2. Design your logo – your logo is often what customers remember, so take time to create a design that represents your business vision and mission using the free tools Steve suggests.
3. Create your online store – you can create your online stores in just a few clicks using ecommerce platforms like Shopify, Wix, WooCommerce and BigCommerce.
4. Set up store payments – with ecommerce you can sell around the world, so choose a payment partner, like PayPal, that can support your international sales.

“When you’re selling globally, you need a good payment partner to help you set up payments internationally,” Steve says. “One key thing that sets PayPal apart from other competitors is that they have really good fraud protection. With PayPal Seller Protection¹ you can sell with confidence because you know can have protection from fake chargebacks, claims, disputes and reversals. I highly recommend PayPal to all online sellers who want to start selling globally.”

For more advice on setting up an ecommerce store, check out this article, Why you need your own ecommerce website.  

How PayPal supports your dropshipping business

With over 400 million customers worldwide, PayPal makes it easier to build customer trust and to sell internationally. And, as Steve says, PayPal also offers seller protection.

PayPal helps dropshipping businesses in other ways, too:  

• Making payments and managing cashflow- Many businesses use PayPal to pay product suppliers and marketing partners. In the fast-moving world of dropshipping, PayPal provides a fast, simple and secure way to invest in business growth.
• Streamlining operations- PayPal’s built-in analytics and reporting give you a clear view of sales performance and provide one place to manage your business activity – sales, payments and any disputes.

You can find the PayPal Dropshipping site here.