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You’re looking forward to starting a new online venture but not sure whether to dropship or not, huh?
What if I told you that there’s a dropshipping alternative that allows you to start a profitable online business with no physical products and shipping involved?
This new “baby born” business called drop servicing! It’s the act of selling digital services instead of physical products, and it’s going to be the next big thing!
In this article, I’m going to share with you the best dropshipping alternate; “drop servicing“, and will also share with you the needed resources to get you started fast!
If you find this post useful and inspiring, share it with your friends. And now, let’s just dive in 🙂
What Is Shopify?
Shopify is a cloud-hosted eCommerce company that allows you to sell your products anywhere, efficiently cost-effectively!
It is a Canadian eCommerce company that has ever been growing and evolving.
Shopify aims to be the world’s first global retail operating system in this growing ecommerce environment, and it’s already on the way to that.
In the last couple of years, entrepreneurs have been crushing it with dropshipping, and Shopify has just been a big help because it makes the whole process seamless and easy.
In short, Shopify has everything you need to start selling online, and here are some things that Shopify can do for you:
- App Store – Shopify is supportive of dropshipping and it has a variety of integrations to make your life easier as an online seller.
- Drag & Drop – You don’t need any technical or coding skills to start an online store on Shopify. They do all the hard work for you!
- Payments – Shopify handles capturing your payments, and it has the capability to handle your sales and marketing.
- A hands-off solution – It tracks, processes, and manages all your payments and orders, allowing you to focus on building a brand.
- Innovative tracking system – It has a unique and innovative tracking system to have a clear image of the performance of your business.
- Branded domain – With Shopify, you can link and integrate your own domain.
- No server crashes – servers crash at the wrong times. They usually crash on big events like Black Friday. Shopify is a cloud network, which allows you to run your business without your website being down at any time.
- Cost-effective – Above all, Shopify’s plans are so affordable, and you can upgrade as your business grows. Learn more about Shopify pricing here.
But what if you’re not sure whether to dropship or not? So, here comes the big question…
How To Use Shopify Without Dropshipping?
A lot think that Shopify’s only meant for Dropshipping! However, this is not true!
Below is a screenshot from the Shopify community and discussions. Marian has asked:
“I did some research about Shopify recently, and I saw many topics regarding dropshipping on Shopify. So my question is: Does Shopify ONLY work for the dropshipping business model? Thank you!“
Here’s where Karlie, a Shopify representative came in and said:
So, how to use Shopify and build a profitable online business without ever worrying about inventory and shipping that may take an eternity?
The Brand New ‘Drop’ Model
Cast your mind back to 2006, a new business model was emerging out of China.
A method of product fulfillment that allowed entrepreneurs to start dipping their toe in an industry
that has usually required thousands of dollars worth of product purchased upfront, space to house all those items, and of course the ability to send those products around the world.
The term was coined Drop Shipping, and it has grown ever since, creating a whole industry and mini-empire in its wake.
Today, people have not been shopping the same way they used to, and eCommerce is continuously killing the traditional retail industry.
Fast forward to 2020, a new ‘drop’ model has appeared, this time utilizing the gig economy to help business owners find new logos, SEO audits and website builds, without the seller ever needing to lift a finger.
This new business model is called Drop Servicing, given the name due to the similarities with Drop Shipping!
What Is Drop Servicing?
Drop servicing is a business model whereby you sell other people’s services without having to do the work by yourself.
You hire a third-party freelancer to do the work on your behalf, without ever having to declare or explain that to the buyer.
Drop servicing is not as saturated as dropshipping but the service industry is rapidly growing day after day, and the global eServices are projected to hit $190m+ by the end of 2020!
This business model is also called online arbitrage or drop surfing and it’s all centered around becoming the middle person between buyer and actual fulfiller.
Your role is to connect freelancers who have particular expertise and clients who need services for their businesses.
Drop Servicing Vs. Dropshipping
It’s crucial to know your opportunity cost when starting a new online venture.
You’re already putting in the time and the hard work, why not put it in the most profitable and scalable business?
With that being said, below are some of the main drop servicing advantages over dropshipping:
- Higher Proft Margins
- Lower Volume Of Sales
- Potential For Monthly Recurring Revenue
- Higher Customer Lifetime Value
- No Painful Shipping Periods
- Faster Order Fulfillment & Delivery
- Way More Flexible
- Better Up & Cross-selling Opportunities
- Lower Customer Acquisition Cost On The Long Run
So, do you want to learn more about why drop servicing is better than dropshipping? In this article, I go in-depth in each of the above advantages.
How To Get Started With Shopify Drop Servicing?
To get started with Shopify drop servicing, first of all, you would need to go to Shopify.com and signup for a free account.
Shopify has a 14-day free trial that allows you to surf its innovative dashboard and get familiar with the platform without even paying a dime.
When you’re on the free trial, here are some of the things that you can do:
- Create an online storefront.
- Customize the design.
- Change your domain,
- Edit your pages, services, and prices.
- Run test orders.
However, in order to receive actual orders, you would need to pick a paid subscription plan.
A Shopify subscription allows you to start getting and fulfilling real orders from real customers. Additionally, it will capture and process payments on your behalf.
The good news is that Shopify is a super affordable solution for beginners. From as low as $29/month you can start a website you’re proud to own and promote!
If you’re just starting out, it’s fair to say that the Basic package would be more than enough, and you can always upgrade as your business grows (learn more about the Shopify pricing guide!)
I’ve recently published a step-by-step guide on how to start a Shopify drop servicing side-hustle with zero knowledge and experience.
Complete Guide: How To Start A Shopify Drop Servicing Business (Stupid Easy)
Is Shopify The Best Option For Drop Servicing?
If I were writing this article a couple of years ago, I would have blindly said that Shopify is the best solution for selling products and services online.
But with all that the internet is offering today, sales funnels are just becoming the new trend after static websites, and it’s going to be a big thing in the next couple of years!
Don’t get me wrong, Shopify is a great platform to get started on for this type of business model.
The benefits of it of course being that it’s a very user-friendly and easy setup, and addresses many of the technical sides of setting up a shop like a website layout, payment processing, email notifications, etc.
In short, Shopify requires minimal work to launch and manage an online storefront, for both beginners and experts alike.
However, it seems to be much better suited to drop shipping.
So, What Sales Funnels Really Are?
A sales funnel or sales process is a marketing term that illustrates the customers journey from being a cold visitor to an actual buyer.
A sales funnel tends to do better than a static website, but comparing funnels and websites is somewhat of an apples and oranges scenario as they are typically used for very different processes.
Thanks to the myriad of funnel builder systems, funnels are often easier
to build, quicker to implement, and cheaper to operate.
They are also much easier to optimize for maximum value extraction for eCommerce of digital and physical goods. Funnels are also best used for paid traffic acquisition through search and social.
And, while websites are marginally comparable on cost and management, they often serve a much different purpose.
Websites are typically made for product discovery and informational purposes. When users are at the very top of the funnel and researching a product or service, they will often consult a myriad of sites and online articles.
Websites are most often visited organically by folks performing product or service discovery and not necessarily looking to purchase right away.
As such, less paid traffic is driven to websites than is driven to funnels.
Long story short, there are a bunch of funnels and landing page builders out there, but the one that I always recommend to my readers is Clickfunnels.
Clickfunnels is not just a standard funnel builder, it’s an all-in-one marketing toolkit that helps entrepreneurs and businesses sell their products and servers more effectively, by leveraging sales funnels.
Thanks to platforms like Clickfunnels…
It definitely will make your life way easier especially that they have pre-built funnels and landing pages in all niches and industries.
You just pick a template, edit, and publish… That is really it!
Clickfunnels offers a 14-day free trial, where you get the chance and get familiar with the platform without even paying a dime.
Russell Brunson, founder and owner of Clickfunnels was able to grow his company by 4300% in less than 3 years! And he shares all the strategies and techniques he used to get his company in the Inc. 500!
Brunson has recently announced a challenge that he has made called One Funnel Away, and the purpose of it is to hold you by the hand as you launch your first or next profitable funnel!
I’ve recently written a complete and honest review of the OFA challenge, you can read it from here.
Alternatively, you can jump directly to the challenge page and learn more about the bonuses and freebies that Russell’s giving away, and what can be achieved in this 30-day extensive training!
Join the One Funnel Away Challenge here…
Conclusion
Shopify is an eCommerce cloud-hosted company that allows you to create an online storefront and sell your products online, anywhere!
However, Shopify is not only used for selling products but for digital services as well.
In this article, I’ve shared a new trending method of using Shopify for non-dropshipping stores, and it’s called “Drop Servicing!”
If you’re looking forward to starting a new online venture but not sure whether to dropship or not, then you should consider drop servicing.
Want a more in-depth drop servicing vs. dropshipping comparison? Here you go (Open in a new tab)
In case you’ve not grabbed your free trials:
- Clickfunnels 14-day free trial (Get it from here)
- Shopify 14-day free trial (Get it from here)
Try them both, get your feet wet, and test which one will serve your business idea best!
Is drop servicing a business you would be considering starting in the near future? Drop me a comment and let me help you pick the right platform and niche 🙂
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Cheers,
Odeh
