The BEST Online Business To Start As A Beginner In 2024 (Episode 44)

Get your copy of Lewis’ new book - The Home-Turf Advantage ➡️ https://htabook.com?el=podcast-The-BEST-Online-Business-To-Start-As-A-Beginner

🗣 ​​In this episode of the Dropship Unlocked Podcast, hosts Lewis Smith and James Eardley explore the ideal online business for beginners in 2024. If you're new to the world of entrepreneurship and looking for a business model that aligns with your goals and offers a smoother learning curve, this episode is your guide. 

Lewis and James break down the key considerations for beginners and unveil the online business that stands out for its low risk, low startup capital requirements, and potential for substantial profits.

👉 Prefer to watch this on Youtube? Check it out here  ➡️ https://youtu.be/5TaQUuAjXFo?si=YH2tFCSkFyF7NfnI

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Topics Discussed:

★ Start your entrepreneurial journey by selecting a business model that aligns with your interests and lifestyle.

★ Expect a learning curve when starting an online business, but embrace it as an opportunity to grow.

★ High-ticket dropshipping is an excellent choice for beginners, offering lower risk and higher profit potential.

★ Begin with small steps, stay curious, and consider joining a supportive online community for guidance and encouragement on your business journey.

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Links and Resources Mentioned:

For Aspiring Business Owners or Side Hustle Seekers Based In the UK…

New Book Reveals How To Launch A Low-Maintenance High-Profit E-Commerce Business Using The UK "Home-Turf Advantage”…

While also enjoying more time with your family, being free to travel, and setting the hours you work.

Click here to get your copy >>> https://htabook.com?el=podcast-The-BEST-Online-Business-To-Start-As-A-Beginner

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Links and Resources Mentioned:

Get Shopify for £1 a month for 3 months: https://www.dropshipunlocked.com/shopify 

Get a free trial with a professional phone line: https://www.dropshipunlocked.com/circle 

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Key Takeaways:

★ Lewis and James emphasise the importance of choosing an online business that aligns with your interests and lifestyle.

★ Expectations for Beginners: Starting an online business can be overwhelming for beginners.

★ Why High-Ticket Dropshipping Stands Out.

★ Lewis and James provide a step-by-step guide for beginners interested in high-ticket dropshipping.

★ Shopify is recommended as a foundational tool for building an online store.

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FOLLOW:

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Transcript

Lewis Smith: 0:00

there's a whole spectrum of online businesses to start these days, I'm sure anyone that's Googled how to start a business or which business to start will have seen and been overwhelmed by the amount of options. For

James Eardley: 0:11

all you beginners out there, or people that are thinking about starting an online business, then you're in the right place. Today, we're going to be discussing the business model that we've chosen, and the steps for you to take.

Lewis Smith: 0:22

I'm building my business around the perfect lifestyle that I want, which for me, it's time with my family, it's time with my children.

James Eardley: 0:29

And you've got to have a think about deeply, what is it you really want to achieve with the one life that you get? And how are you going to get there, there must

Lewis Smith: 0:37

be a way to have a lifestyle that you love to be extremely fulfilled, but also to be able to earn a really good income from it.

James Eardley: 0:45

Once you've got a strong reason why you want to start a business and improve your life and earn more than you've got now with the freedom to do anything you want from wherever you want in the world, then the How will work itself.

Lewis Smith: 0:56

You only have one life. Don't spend it worrying about what other people will think and why they say you can't do what you what you want to do. Just go out there and do it. And then later there'll be asking you how you know Welcome to the dropship unlocked podcast your key to unlocking the secrets of high ticket dropshipping. I'm Louis Smith, founder of dropship unlocked and with me is our Client Success Coach James Early. Now when we're not recording podcast episodes, we're running our own e commerce businesses and helping aspiring entrepreneurs launch their own high ticket drop shipping businesses. So if you're ready to learn how to build your own six, or even seven figure business, pick up a copy of my book, the home turf advantage, whether you're looking to replace your income, or launch a side hustle. I wrote this book as a roadmap to help you launch a low maintenance, high profit e commerce business that gives you the freedom to spend more time with your family, travel the world and work on your own terms, ready to join us visit HT a book.com To get your copy today. Now sit back, relax. And let's unlock your potential with a dropship unlocked Podcast. Today

James Eardley: 2:12

we're answering an important question, which online business should I start if I've got no prior experience, or knowledge of running a business? For all you beginners out there, or people that are thinking about starting an online business, then you're in the right place? Today we're going to be discussing the business model that we've chosen and the steps for you to take to get to that position of having an online business setup, and all of the financial time and location freedom that comes with a successful online business, you might be surprised by the specific type of business that we would recommend. And by the end of this video, you'll know exactly how to start in just five minutes. So Louis, let's kick things off. How would you suggest for beginners to start? And what should they be considering when they're about to start their first online business?

Lewis Smith: 2:59

Yeah, there's a whole spectrum of online businesses to start these days. I'm sure anyone that's Googled how to start a business or which business to start will have seen and been overwhelmed by the amount of options that are out there on the Internet, whether that's affiliate marketing, to FBA, to online sales to drop shipping, all other kinds of E commerce, arbitrage. I mean, some of them are so abstract, so technical, so kind of far removed from the real world that we may have come from, if we've worked in a nine to five career where we've gone to an office in person or done a job in person, that it can be quite a jump to get your head around it, it can be quite difficult to even conceptualize what is this business? Or how does it work, especially if it's going to be your first online business venture. You know, if you're coming from the world of working a job, you're interacting with people, maybe you're on the phone is day to day, and then suddenly you say, I'm going to develop an app, as my first business as an incredibly steep learning curve, and requires deep pocket to really get traction with. And you need to know your numbers incredibly well. You know, same is true with like launching a software company, a lot of people say are talking now about like star SAS business, or start blogging, you know, start ranking, and then maybe use affiliate marketing or partnerships or referral deals to make your income. These are great if you've got a real long part like a long runway of time, and you're willing to keep trying for years until maybe eventually you start to get some rankings for some of your niche sites that you're then going to promote related products on. Or you could start a YouTube channel. But perhaps you don't want to be in the hamster wheel of making content all the time. Or maybe you just don't want to be on camera. Maybe that's not your thing. That's not your idea of the business that that you want to run and you just don't have the months or years that it often takes to wait and make money from it because you need that money to start coming in sooner rather than later. So I think the point of this is that it's crucial to pick something that right resonates with your own interests and your own lifestyle. Imagine if you're setting off on a road trip, right, you're in your job currently, and you think I'm off on the entrepreneurial road trip here, you've got to choose a playlist for that road trip, the music sets the tone for the journey ahead, it sets the pace for the journey ahead. So yeah, you could select, you know, heavy metal, or jazz or classical playlists. But if that's not really what you're into, then you're not going to enjoy the journey. And it's the same with the business model, you know, the all these different types of music and they will function as music. But there's, if it's not the kind that you're looking for, then you know that you're going to struggle, and you're not going to enjoy it along the way. So same is true with with business, if there's a certain lifestyle you want, maybe start with that, and then figure out what business model fits around the lifestyle I want as an end result. So I know when I started out and thought, Okay, I'm going to be an entrepreneur, how do I do this? How do I start a business, I wanted to start a business where I had full control over how I spent my time, that was really important to me that autonomy, I didn't want to answer to a boss and have to be in a certain place at a certain time. But I also wanted to be able to scale that business and do it from anywhere from a laptop that was kind of the litmus test for me of was it the type of business that I was happy running. Now, I didn't have 10s of 1000s of pounds to invest in hiring like high end software developers or app developers and plowing money into marketing to try to get it off the ground, I probably had a fairly low startup budget, maybe five or 6000 pounds to kind of get me up and running into to begin. And by the way, if I'd had less than that, at the time, if I, you know, if I was down to my last 100 pounds, or maybe I'd 500 pounds in the bank, before I even got started with entrepreneurship, before even saw, I'm going to start a business, I would have just worked my socks off to get to that point of having five to 6000 pounds. So I would have maybe taken on a another job, you know, in the meantime, and just built up that cash buffer, maybe it's working nights and weekends or doing overtime or evening shifts, or just cutting back on Netflix and eating out until I had accumulated and been really frugal to get that cash buffet in place. Because of that it takes the pressure off and it reduces your risk. When you're starting it. it lengthens the runway that you have to get this venture off the ground. And so yeah, I think that's what I would have done if I didn't yet have the five to 6000 pounds. So if anyone's in that position, that's that's kind of answers that question. But yeah, when I had no experience at the start, and I had a bit of money, and I just thought, okay, how am I going to get started, I needed something that was going to allow me to learn quickly, because I love learning, but I haven't got years to go and study to be an app coder or developer. And I needed something that I could get running without taking huge risks. I didn't want to put my family home on the line, you know that if it didn't work out, suddenly, we were bankrupt and everything would fall apart. So I liked the idea as well of because I'd been in the nine to five worlds, you know, that I knew and understood that industry, the idea of selling physical products that actually got delivered to customers was quite tangible, I could understand that I could, it just made sense. To me, it wasn't such a jump. It's not such an abstract concept. Right. So because it wasn't such a big jump I was I was happy that that was the model that I wanted to go down, I wanted to build a brand around physical products that arrived to customers who could be happy. Now, there obviously, there are lots of ways to do that, you know, I didn't want to have to buy containers full of stock from China, or have to deal with countries that I wasn't familiar with, like, you know, shipping items in from China, or even like selling into the US and registering to have to pay taxes in the US and then dealing with like customs import duties from China to the US like I've not even run a business before in the UK, I don't suddenly want to be registered a company in the US now dealing with China, importing goods into a country I'm not even familiar with, like, for me, it was I want to keep as many things familiar as I can, because I remember strongly considering starting in the USA, because when you look on YouTube, the majority of people you'll see are in the USA talking about drop shipping. And so you think, Oh, is that the only place that works that? Now, that was the trap I nearly fell into and I just thought I remember being out for a walk in London and kind of just like listening to podcasts and thinking about what's our next move here was the smart move. And I just thought, how can I do this by not biting off more than I can chew? How do I do this in a way that doesn't cause me to have to learn a new market and new company structure abroad and new tax legislation and potentially get into all kinds of sticky situations and trouble. And I just thought I could always do that later. You know when this takes off. Perhaps at that point, I then replicate the model in the US market or perhaps I expand internationally at that point. And maybe then open a private label brand once I have, you know a couple of 100,000 To say, I'm going to buy some stock, yes, I know it's a risk, I'm going to hire a third party logistics company like that they'll deal with the hassle and the stress at that point, I'm not putting my last five grand on the line, you know. So I think that was the thing for me, it was UK customers, UK taxes, UK company, you know, at least those three things won't be completely alien to me. And so that was why I decided to go with UK high ticket dropshipping.

James Eardley: 10:25

I think that's the key when you're first starting, you need to understand or have an idea of the business model, before you get into something that you can quickly relate to, I think selling physical products is the same with me, you'll already get your head around that, right, I just need to make a site sell physical products. And I can understand that. Also, I need to be able to work with people that I can communicate with like UK suppliers, and then sell to UK customers. And suddenly things start to fall in place. And when you're very new, you don't want to take a huge risk. You don't want a huge learning curve, you do want to wait years for things to start paying you back. think those are the sort of questions that you ask yourself, and you need to land on a business model that allows you to meet those questions that you've got in terms of getting started without taking huge risks. And something that you understand very quickly. So you mentioned something interesting as well, there is so you mentioned that starting a business should align with your lifestyle goals, and your interests, and perhaps your lifestyle at the time when you're first getting started. So how does somebody go about choosing a business model based on their lifestyle goals?

Lewis Smith: 11:26

Yeah, well, the thing that really opened my mind to this was Tim Ferriss concept or take on, it's probably an existing concept, but his take on lifestyle design as a as a concept as a mechanism or a model. And I thought it was fascinating, because I think prior is difficult to put yourself back in the shoes of where you were before that revelation, right that realization. But prior to that I just hadn't yet made the connection that it would be possible to build a business around the lifestyle that primarily gave me what I wanted from life. Sounds like you're having you're asking to have your cake and eat it, you know, as they say, it's sort of almost too good to be true. Hear of these, like city bankers that earn millions, but they hate their job, and they have to work all hours of the night and they're so stressed. You know, it's like you get one or the other, or you get the people who are really happy and content, but they earn hardly any money. And I was like, there must be a way to have a lifestyle that you love to be extremely fulfilled, but also to be able to earn a really good income from it. But it wasn't until I read The Four Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss that I realized, okay, so this is possible, he talks in there about having an E commerce business using the drop shipping model, and living in Argentina at the time and, you know, going to Thailand, and I just thought, okay, so there are people doing this, and then I look further into it. And there's this whole like tribe of people called digital nomads who do this and work from anywhere in the world, all these amazing lifestyle destinations. And so I kind of started by going to these, there's a place in London called is like an arm of Google, I think it still exists called Google Campus. And it's like a free co working space funded by Google. And I think it's kind of set up like an incubator, like they're looking for little businesses and startups that they can give a place to work with maybe with a view to investing one day and acquiring them. So I used to go to these pitch nights. And it was called like, Tech Tuesdays I think was the name of it. And they used to get like pizzas and beers in the Google campus. And they would have entrepreneurs from startups come in and like, pitch to the room. And so I'm sure they were like investors and venture capitalists and things like that in the room. So it's a bit like Dragon's Den, right with these people coming in with these weird and wonderful ideas, usually, at a tech related like software or apps or things like that services. And it was really interesting, because there were some people there who had gave a brief presentation, but when you really dug into the details, they had slaved away at that business for years, you know, they were working at that free co working space, because they couldn't afford to work anywhere else, because they were losing money, or they just certainly weren't making any money. And they're not a penny of profit. They were, you know, two years into this. And they were just like couple of friends really working for allowed to they're hoping that they would one day get acquired or get investment and that was going to be like their golden ticket to riches. Now, great if it happens, and you suddenly get acquired for 100 million, and you're, you know one of those unicorns. Fantastic. But what do you think the chances are on a percentage basis, because there are a lot of people hoping for that and not everyone's gonna get acquired, right? And so I didn't want to take that risk. I didn't want to buy a lottery ticket, I had a mortgage to pay. I needed cash flow. In the meantime, I was happy to sacrifice some of that upside of said okay, maybe I won't earn hundreds of millions of pounds here. But as long as I can earn a couple of 100,000 pounds, I can maintain the current lifestyle I have it will take the pressure off myself, my family and we can have a nice life. Maybe then one day I scale it maybe at that point I could create something cool that we could then sell, you know, but it gives you options and so yeah, I wanted a business that can pay for myself and Becky to be able to move abroad to live in Thailand with a nice low cost of living. And most importantly, I wanted to enjoy myself while I was there. I didn't want to be there but chained to a desk all day, you know, people say I can just work remotely in my job, like, Yeah, but when you're there, are you really enjoying yourself? Or is there this dark cloud of guilt hanging over your head where you feel like, Yes, I'm remote. But I know my manager is kind of watching or I'm still on the clock, or like, I've still got things I need to deliver. I wanted to answer to myself. And so that was the thing that I needed to get from the business. And so understanding what you want, as a starting point is key. Is it financial freedom? Is it flexibility? Is it location, freedom, location independence? Or is it something else?

James Eardley: 15:45

Yes, it's like starting with the end in mind, even if you're a complete beginner, and you've never started a business before, even before you take your first step in a business, I think getting clear on what it is you want to achieve, will end up helping you make the right decision when you choose which business to get started with. And it feels alien to think of how 1020 years in the future

Lewis Smith: 16:04

when you haven't even started yet. But that's the best place to start. Often I find because then you can make the right decision from the start. Exactly, yeah, it's like, you know, choosing the business that fits the life you want is like choosing the right workout plan or workout regime that matches your fitness goals and your lifestyle habits. When I go to the gym in the morning, I just got back from the gym, I go there because I want to feel better physically, mentally. And, you know, I want to come back and have a good productive day. And I want to make sure that I'm my body's working on fit and healthy. I'm not training to be a powerlifter. You know, I'm not trying to win any bodybuilding competitions right now. Anyway, maybe one day, I'm not trying to compete for a triathlon at the moment, you know, those are all great things and credit to the people that do those things. But for me, at this stage on a Wednesday morning, when I go to the gym, I'm doing it because I want to feel amazing for the rest of that day. So I choose a plan that works according to that if I wanted to train to be an Olympic level, power lifter, it'd be a totally different training, you know, says the same thing with like, what, what's the end result you want? Do you want to be the unicorn? Do you want to exit for $100 million in two years time, in which case, maybe you need to think very, very differently and know that your your chances are very slim of making it to that point. But if you want to replace a very good income and be able to live and work from anywhere, the actions you take, should be very different to achieve. And it's a much more or I guess it's a more well trodden path, right, there's a route to it, and you're not a one in a million if you make it, you know, there's just a roadmap that you follow. So yeah, it's the same reason that I chose dropshipping as a business model, I'm building my business around the perfect lifestyle that I want, which for me, it's time with my family, it's time with my children. Now, it's the freedom to be able to get on a flight and explore the world with no repercussions, no need to require annual leave or explain to a boss why I'm doing it, and be able to travel and just earn money whilst I can from a laptop without sacrificing my upside earning potential as well. So I want to be able to make more than the level of full time income I would have made had I stayed on my nine to five trajectory, do you see what I mean about having your cake and eating it sounds too good to be true and people are like are you won't get both of those things. And I believed that too, until I came across the concept of lifestyle design and realized you can be incredibly ambitious, and really enjoy your life at the same time. And do it all from a laptop with no restrictions never have to hold stock never need a physical premises, no expensive offices or huge staff bills or anything like that. It definitely is possible. So I think once I realized that my eyes were open to it, and it just became so much more exciting.

James Eardley: 18:46

So a pivotal moment when you first read about lifestyle design. And I was very similar where I came across that in the four hour workweek. And your first thought is that it's too good to be true, you don't have any exposure to this, when you grow up through school or anything, you never really talked about how you can design your own lifestyle to how you want it to be. It's always just following the path, get it out to five job, and, you know, be happy with that. But I think it comes down to you know, you can either work for your dreams or your work for somebody else to help them achieve their dreams. And it's it feels almost arrogant to say when you first think about it, but you've got a choice whether you want to design your own life or your help to design others. So it's not arrogant. When you think about it in that way. You know, you've got a choice, you've got one life to live. And it's important that you live it in the way you want to live it. So if you're ready to start a business, and often times people want to start a business because they want to improve their lives for themselves and for their families and for generations to come. Then you've got to have a think about deeply. What is it you really want to achieve with the one life that you get? And how are you going to get there. I think from there, you can make amazing things happen. As you have done, Louis and I love speaking to you about it. So no doubt when people get started. With a new business. There's going to be a learning curve no matter what business you start, but thinking about When people first start a business, and perhaps they're worried about knowing nothing about business when they first get started, what's that learning curve going to be like for people when they start a new online business?

Lewis Smith: 20:10

Yeah, it will be steep. But you've got to embrace it, you've got to embrace it and dive in with with both feet. If you really want to achieve it. Like you said, it's you love that line, you only have one life. Don't spend it worrying about what other people will think and why they say you can't do what you what you want to do. Just go out there and do it. And then later, there'll be asking you how you did it in there. That's the conversation you want to be having. Show that lead with your actions, right? And tell them your results. Once you've achieved it, don't tell them your ideas. And that one day, you're going to do this and then you don't know people, I think conflate ideas, and then take little action and wonder why they're stuck in the same pattern. So yeah, I love that. And I mean, yeah, one of the things that I had no idea about was like, if we dive specifically into ecommerce, the platform that we use to build the businesses, so Shopify, right, I didn't, I'd probably mixed up with Spotify, when I first heard about it, I didn't really know what what it was. And it wasn't until I watched a YouTube video and someone's like, oh, you can use this tool called Shopify, it's very drag and drop, to build a website, that then when you're selling it, customers won't know that it's a Shopify website, they'll just see it as a professional looking website. So it's not like eBay or Amazon, where they're buying it through a platform. They're buying it on your own store your own site. And I really had no idea. So I had very little experience with websites before I started. And I mean, I'd put together like a basic Wix website, I think before one of my like, early harebrained ideas that that I had as an entrepreneur. And I'd played around a bit a lot earlier with like WordPress, and very, very, like early stages, but I've never built anything substantial, or, you know, that I was proud of to say, but gradually following these kind of online tutorial videos and learning whilst doing, I just jumped in and thought, Okay, I'm going to actually do this. And then I'd just Google the bits that I got stuck on as I went, not the most efficient way to do it. But I took action. And eventually I joined a program. And I hit the hurdles that they said I was going to hit, and I course corrected, and I figured out what I was doing wrong, whilst I did it. And before long, I was moving really quickly I was I was able to build something that looks great. And I remember one evening, on the way back from dinner with a friend, I showed my friend, the website that I built on my phone and just said, Look, this is my new business. I don't know if you're interested, but like, this is something that I've built. And he was amazed. And I think through his mind, it was like which, you know, which London design agency did you pay? 50 grand to to do that? And I was like, No, I did it for$29. And I did it myself over three nights of watching YouTube. And I think you could just see like, their complete disconnect from that, how have you created something like that? And that you seem to now have this established business presence that that other people would pay an agency a huge amount of money for? So yeah, I mean, the thing to remember is that I was at that stage, but a few days earlier, I didn't even know what Shopify was. I thought it was the thing you stream music. So it's like, if you're new to a video game, right, and you get new games, sometimes you have to get used to the controls, you know, if you've been playing GTA for ages, and you're used to how it is to drive a car or GTA and then suddenly someone gives you Gran Turismo, or Forza Motorsport or something, and suddenly, you're like, oh, wow, okay, it feels a bit different here takes a while for you to get used to it, doesn't it. But when you persist, and you take the right approach, and you keep course correcting, it's not long before it feels like second nature. And then you can't remember what it was like to not be comfortable with it. That's the thing. So if you've ever been playing a game and you're struggling with a certain level, or a certain mission, and you keep doing it, you keep failing and think of why can't I get past this damn mission, like, it's just, you know, it's really frustrating. And then you go online, and you go on YouTube, and you see a video of someone completing it in perfect time, and like scoring the maximum points that you can on the on the level or the mission. And so then you just have, you don't need to figure it out yourself. You've skipped months of trial and error, and you just model their approach and use them effectively as a mentor in that timeframe to flatten the learning curve significantly. And so it's exactly the same with joining a an e Commerce program or a business development program, when they show you how to run the type of business that you're considering running, you flatten that learning curve. So it's just another game, right? But it's one that you can earn real money in and change the rest of your life from rather than just leveling up to the next level on a video game.

James Eardley: 24:24

And wouldn't you rather play a game with real life rewards instead of just leveling up on on a video game? And I think if you look at it in the same way, as you approach a video game, you don't expect to be amazing at a video game the first time you pick up the controller. So why would you expect to be able to do online business incredibly well on the first time that you try it as well? And you'll learn so much more from that startup of a business than you would from any sort of university degree could teach you about business. So we've mentioned a few times now this that the business model that we really strongly believe in is a fantastic idea for beginners, is E commerce and specifically selling high ticket items. So why do you think high ticket dropshipping is such a good route or an avenue for a new business owner to take? Well,

Lewis Smith: 25:08

first thing is the physical product side of things. So that, as we said, is not such a big jump into the online digital world. If this is one of your first adventures into entrepreneurship, it's something that you can just get your head around. But when it comes to high ticket and drop shipping, I mean, we've just moved house right. So we're in a new house at the moment, and, and Becky has been leading the charge on finding us the right furniture for each of our rooms. So she's bound us a nice sofa recently, which was quite a bit more expensive than I had expected, or that I've paid for a sofa in the past. And we've bought cheap sofas in the past. And they're either they look great, but they're really uncomfortable, or they look really scruffy very quickly, and they start to look very dated and aged. Right. So we opted for this higher end one. And it is awesome. It's it's really comfortable, it means that we'll use that room more because we'd like the furniture in there. And it will last and especially, you know, having young kids around, it's important to have a high quality thing that's going to last and stand the test of time because they will tear it apart if they if they get their way. So it's like that with high ticket drop shipping, I could have bought three cheap sofas, probably for the price that we paid for that. And how do the issues that come with that I'd been uncomfortable, and then it looked really scruffy very quickly. Or I could just buy one, and then I'm much better off for it. So unlike with low ticket items, high ticket dropshipping offers larger profit margins per sale. So by focusing on quality over quantity, I can sell far fewer items, but have much higher value. So if you think about that, when we go back to lifestyle design, if my goal was, you know, three grand four grand a month in income to start with just to replace my income, that means I can hit my target income level with far less admin, less emails, less orders, less hassle less customers, it's just a much shorter route between A to B, isn't it. And so if I'm going to spend time with my family, whilst abroad and enjoy the freedom of running the business from Thailand, or Bali, or Vietnam, or Dubai, or in Mexico, where I'm going soon, wherever I choose to be on the planet, if I'm doing it for that reason that I want a business that doesn't tie me to the desk the whole time, and that I have to be constantly fighting fires on the laptop, because the purpose of the business or law was an enabler for me to spend time enjoying my lifestyle with my family. And so that's it like that's why we start with the end in mind.

James Eardley: 27:33

You should always keep that front of mind whenever you're first starting, then we go through a similar pattern whenever we start a new business, or it certainly was the case for me. And it's similar, I think, to how you started as well, Louis, you get this sort of fire inside your desire to change something, because your current job, the nine to five isn't fulfilling you. So when you go online, you start to research, what businesses can I start, and then you go through the process that you described earlier of getting overwhelmed with the different options. And then you start to come across dropshipping, as as I did, when you look online for any online business model, it often pops up and for good reason as well, because you can quickly get your head around it. And then if you look at the difference between low ticket dropshipping and high ticket dropshipping, the difference is huge, massive to the day to day running of a business, if you're selling low ticket items, so just 30 pounds per product per per sale, the average order value is about 30 pounds. Think about how many hundreds of sales you need to make to make 10,000 pounds a month. Whereas high ticket drop shipping, because you're selling products, there are over 1000 pounds per per product. So it's over 300 pounds in profit, there's a lot less requirement of sales and less than one per day, in order to get to 10,000 pounds a month with a high ticket dropshipping site. Now, as a beginner, you might think it'd be easier to sell cheaper products. But actually, I found it's the exact same effort to sell a cheap product as it is to sell a high ticket product. But the profit is so much better, the rewards so much higher. And importantly, when you first get started, you're not going to be an expert marketer, to sell hundreds of products with a low ticket store, you need to have a good idea of marketing. And also you need to be a fantastic operator that's able to execute and fulfill those hundreds of orders that you're getting every month. Whereas with high ticket dropshipping there's a lot less admin, you don't need to be so experienced before filling orders because perhaps is less than one per day. And you don't need to be as much of an expert on the marketing side of things, I'd say because we're looking for less sales per month to be able to sell. And as long as you've got a training program in place to teach you the marketing efforts. I think that's a much better route to go down when you first get started. So that was the difference for me though between high ticket and low ticket drops up. Can you can you resonate with that as well?

Lewis Smith: 29:46

Yeah, definitely is actually easier times to sell high ticket because the customers tend to be a little bit less fussy and usually just a more seamless, enjoyable experience to sell to them and you can give them way better service as well, because you only have a much smaller number of them. And so we've heard of members in our program giving out like handwritten notes requesting that if the customer had a nice experience to leave a review on Trustpilot, like, you can't do that if you're getting 1000s of orders per day. And so you certainly can't do it yourself. And so it just allows you to offer that level of like VIP Concierge Service to customers, which then means that they'll recommend friends, and then you know, it starts to grow. And eventually you might be at a position where even with a high ticket store, you're getting 1015 sales per day. And that is a very good problem to have. Because then you can bring in a couple of virtual assistants have them give that amazing level of service whilst you're, you know, at the pool or on a hike or doing something that you want to do. Because you've now built a system that you can remove yourself from the income generating activities.

James Eardley: 30:47

Exactly. So just catch yourself if you're falling into that sort of assumption that you need to sell low ticket items, because you don't yet have experience and you can't sell a high ticket item. I went into that I read down that route of selling through AliExpress and different drop shipping suppliers that are based on the other side of the world. And I failed drastically. So I learned from that and hopefully others won't make that same mistake. So for a beginner that wants to get started with high ticket drop shipping, where would you suggest that they start? Yeah,

Lewis Smith: 31:17

there's like anything, you know, when we started out this podcast, for example, we'd never done it before. You know, we still don't really know what we're doing. But we carry on. And, you know, it seemed like there are a lot of other things to consider when we launched it. You know, there were hundreds of reasons why. If we'd gone to someone and said, We're gonna launch a podcast, they'd have said, Ah, yeah, but you know, this won't work or that won't work, or you need a video editor or, you know, all of this stuff that could go wrong, lots to remember lots to consider big commitment, it would have been very, very easy for us to just make excuses and never launch it. But I'm glad we did, you know, because I really enjoyed doing it. And I know you do too. And I think it brings a lot of value to a lot of people who are starting out their journey. But we broke it down this big unmanageable, like overwhelming task, we broke down into step by step chunks. And so that way with consistency and perseverance, over time, we created something that we're both really proud of. And yeah, if you're listening to this, we hope that this helps you and that it was worthwhile. And by the way, if you are listening to this, and it does help you please do leave us a review and let us know, because that's why we do it. But yeah, I mean, take a leaf out of our book, the way we did the podcast. If you're looking to start with drop shipping, then think about some niche ideas that suit your interest and have potential. If you need help on how to pick a niche, then listen to episode 11 of the dropship unlock podcast. So lineup Episode 11, after this where we go through around the full process of picking a niche, and that's obviously just part of the process. But after that, you then want to become familiar with the platform that you're going to sell on. So we recommend Shopify as our platform, you can even get a free trial of that by heading to dropship unlocked.com, forward slash Shopify and just learn by diving in. I mean, it doesn't literally doesn't cost you anything for the free trial. So dive in, head over to the link that will link in the show notes and just learn and see where you get stuck. And you could learn it over a weekend, like I said, and we've also got lots of training on this as well, that takes you through hours of step by step tutorials on exactly how to make your Shopify website look extremely professional to suppliers and customers. So we've obviously got those options as well if that's something that you'd prefer. And then once you have your store live, it's then time to start citing some reputable UK suppliers who can provide next day delivery to your customers, because that's the home turf advantage model that we teach. So yeah, that's the point at which you'd signed suppliers. Then once you're up and running and making some sales, you probably want to remove yourself from the business. So that's where we take you through how to hire your first virtual assistant, and how to kind of keep the day to day operations of your business running. Whilst you scale the business whilst you go and open new stores or if you just want to spend your time doing what you want with your partner with your family, you know, going off on adventures you can add so that's kind of the top level 30,000 foot view. But for a more in depth guide, you can also check out episode 27 of the dropship unlocked podcast. So that's another one to line up after this episode. That's titled How to launch a drop shipping business with zero experience. So maybe to that one after you finished this one. That's episode 27. So this episode,

James Eardley: 34:22

perfect, hopefully convincing if you're completely brand new to why we chose high ticket drop shipping. And then for the full step by step detail. We've got that in other podcast episodes, I absolutely would recommend queuing those up. Also what sort of tools and resources would you recommend for people that want to get started with a high ticket drop shipping business? Well, the

Lewis Smith: 34:40

primary tool, the main tool that this kind of all revolves around is Shopify. So it's the building block of your online store, as I mentioned, so it's not that steep of a learning curve. Even if you've never built a website before if you had to drop ship unlocked.com/shopify You can try Shopify for free to use that link that's below this this app So in the shownotes, you'll be able to find that and get that free trial. And yeah, I mean, it's very much possible. But I guess that's the first step, head over and do that. And then you'll soon understand how simple it is to actually start the online store, and you'll see what it and it will all start to fit into place, then after that is going to be about learning Google ads. So that's another resource that you want to have a look at, that's going to be your method of getting visitors to your site, if you're using our home turf advantage business model. That's how we drive traffic to our stores and get customers there who wants to buy. And if you're feeling a little bit lost with all of this, then just engaging in online communities can be just what you need to get that level of support and that knowledge to keep you on track as well, because you're not doing it alone.

James Eardley: 35:42

And I think the important thing to remember is once you've got a strong reason why you want to start a business and improve your life and earn more than you've got now with the freedom to do anything you want from wherever you want in the world, then the How will work itself out and you'll learn how to do that. So I always kept in mind when I first started my first business was that if somebody else has done this, if somebody else has achieved what I want to achieve, then there's no reason why I can't achieve that as well. If you keep that thought front of mind, then that gives you the confidence to continue when there are inevitable obstacles whenever you run and start any business. So Louis, at the start of the episode, I mentioned that people can get started with their first online business in just five minutes. So I believe that I think there's a very key step that we often recommend for people to get started so that they can turn this consuming and listening and watching episodes into their first action that they can take. So how would you recommend that people get started quickly? Yeah, the

Lewis Smith: 36:38

hardest part is often just to start just to begin and just say, Okay, I'm going to have a go, I'm going to do this to start by just taking small steps. Don't wait for the perfect moment. Don't wait to get back from holiday. Don't wait to the New Year. Don't wait too late. There's always a reason to delay. Just jump in and start, you know, stay curious as well keep learning with ever learning. We're constantly learning both James and I. So you just got to start somewhere, except that maybe you don't yet know what you don't know. But there's only one way to learn. And it's to just jump in. The online world is always evolving. We'll all be on this learning journey together. And if you want to be doing this together with a community of like minded entrepreneurs to get our support and guidance, then you don't have to do this alone. You can access our community simply by picking up a copy of my book, the home turf advantage, which you can get at H T A book.com. Just a quick heads up if you'd like to share your questions, stories, successes or challenges, you can email us directly at podcast at dropship unlocked.com. And you never know we might even feature you on the next podcast episode.

James Eardley: 37:42

Also, if you want access to today's show notes or any of the resources we've mentioned in the episode today, then head over to dropship unlocked.com forward slash podcast. We also have a small favor to ask if you if you enjoyed the show so far, you could take a minute to leave us a rating and review on your podcast platform of choice.

Lewis Smith: 37:58

You wouldn't believe how much your reviews help us grow the podcast, we'll even read out some of our favorites on the next episode. So if you want to be featured on the show, please do go ahead and leave us a review today. Thanks so much for your support. We really couldn't do it without you. And we absolutely love hearing what you think of the podcast. Okay,

James Eardley: 38:13

now we're going to answer a question that's coming from a listener. So thank you, Steve, for getting your question. And he's asked his question in the community that Lewis was just talking about, because he's purchased the home turf advantage book from HTA book.com. And in that community, he asked such a good question that we wanted to answer it on the podcast. So I'll ask this question to you now, Louis. So Steve is asked, What are your high value customer retention strategies?

Lewis Smith: 38:40

Ooh, interesting. Okay. Thanks for your question, Steve. So, retention strategies, I mean, firstly, email marketing is that is the key, that's going to be the first thing that springs to mind, it's really important to set up regular targeted email marketing to keep your customers engaged. So you can use email campaigns to provide valuable content, you know, it's not with email, it's not just about trying to sell, sell, sell push the product, maybe you're just warming customers up who weren't quite sure what product they wanted yet, you're adding value, you're just building up that trust that reciprocity. And then you can educate them about your product. And maybe every now and then you do make an offer, and you have an exclusive discount that you run or something, you can then let your email list know. And they're going to be so much more likely to purchase from you because you've already lead with value. For example, after a purchase, so if someone purchases from your store, you could send personalized emails to check in on customer satisfaction. And maybe then you say, Oh, by the way, you bought this Do you also want one of these maybe it's like an accessory item or a different product that you could cross sell to them or upsell them as well. The next thing would be around excellent customer service that's really going to be key to building that customer loyalty and retention strategy that you asked about Steve and certainly it's a key to repeat business. No one's going to come back if they had a bad experience when it comes to customer service to try to improve limit strategies that ensure that any customer inquiries that come your way are addressed really quickly and effectively. And, you know, I've turned cold customer inquiries, where they simply called and emailed us or, you know, reached out to us in some way, just to ask for some information. I've turned that into, wow, you've been so helpful, I'm actually going to take your advice, and yeah, okay, let's do it. Let's do it right now, you've really helped me I'm gonna buy now spend two, three grand on the phone, right? And then, right. So I think that's key. And also, you can train your virtual assistant on how to do that as well. So that takes customer service to the next level. And that means you're not the one constantly doing it. Because you don't necessarily want to sign up to be a customer service rep, necessarily. If you're running all other aspects of the business, you want to take yourself out of that part, if you can. Also, returning customer discounts is a big one. So you could make special offer discounts or deals to customers who returned to make an additional purchase? And maybe think about what other ways you can incentivize them like loyalty programs, or exclusive offers for returning customers, anything like that can help retain customers and motivate them to make more frequent and higher value purchases. So hopefully, there are a few strategies there that help Steve when it comes to customer retention.

James Eardley: 41:19

Fantastic plenty in there, Louis, another great question, Steve, thank you for that. Because often people think about making more sales, when you can actually switch your attention to selling more to the people that you've already converted. So a great question that's even hopefully helpful to everyone else listening as well. We're now going to highlight a review that we've had in from a listener as well, because we'd love to read them. So we want to share them on the podcast as well. So a big thank you to Colin Muldoon, I have I've got your YouTube name correct there. But he's left or she's left a YouTube comment for a previous episode that we recorded all about how to improve your Shopify conversion rate, I believe is episode number 15. And column Muldoon said lots of really good information. Thank you guys. So yeah, thank you so much for your kind review. That really does mean a lot. Yeah, thank

Lewis Smith: 42:06

you very much for your review. I'm glad to hear that you've been enjoying the pod. Now before we wrap up. Quick question for you. Have you been enjoying the pod? Because if so, when you leave us a quick review on your preferred podcast platform. Or if you're over on YouTube, maybe just drop us a comment below the video. Perhaps we could even read out your comments or your review in our next episode. And if today's topic of the best business models for beginners has made you think about someone else that might be interested in this, someone who's also expressed an interest in becoming their own boss, perhaps, maybe send them a link to this episode, it might just mean that they join you in your adventure into E commerce, high ticket drop shipping and lifestyle design.

James Eardley: 42:47

Thanks for joining us on this episode of the dropship unlocked podcast. We hope you found the discussion both inspiring and entertaining. If

Lewis Smith: 42:54

you're ready to begin your own high ticket dropshipping journey then here's what to do next. I've taken all of the years of my own experience both of running my ecommerce businesses and teaching hundreds of others how to do the same and I've condensed it all into my book, the home turf advantage. It's your comprehensive guide designed to help you create your own e commerce business and you can grab your copy today at H T A book.com.

James Eardley: 43:18

Stay connected by subscribing to the podcast. This way you'll never miss an episode packed with valuable insights. And if you enjoyed what you heard today, please leave us a review. Your feedback motivates us and we love sharing our favorite reviews on future episodes. And thank you for deciding

Lewis Smith: 43:32

to spend your time with us today. We really appreciate you and we look forward to sharing more high ticket dropshipping insights with you on our next episode of the dropship unlocked podcast.