Get your copy of Lewis’ new book - The Home-Turf Advantage ➡️ https://htabook.com?el=podcast-How-Suraj-Made-£12K-In-His-First-2-Months
🗣 Welcome to another episode of the Dropship Unlocked Podcast, hosted by e-commerce entrepreneurs Lewis Smith and James Eardley. In this episode, we bring you the remarkable journey of Suraj, a member of our Dropship Unlocked Masterclass, who, in just two months, achieved impressive results in the world of dropshipping.
If you've ever wondered if dropshipping can work for you, Suraj's story will provide the motivation and clarity you need to take action.
👉 Prefer to watch this on Youtube? Check it out here ➡️ https://youtu.be/JrFZkIzjShc?si=yT7iP9QOUYvpXvBp
---------------------------------------------------------
Topics Discussed:
★ Lewis and James introduce Suraj, sharing his journey from the initial uncertainties to rapid progress in the world of dropshipping.
★ Mindset and Strategy: Throughout the interview, Suraj's mindset and strategies are highlighted as key factors in his success.
★ Overcoming Challenges: Suraj's story includes valuable insights into overcoming initial challenges, pivotal moments in his dropshipping journey, and the power of persistence.
---------------------------------------------------------
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-How-Suraj-Made-£12K-In-His First-2-Months
---------------------------------------------------------
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
---------------------------------------------------------
Key Takeaways:
★ Suraj's rapid success in dropshipping highlights the potential for significant earnings in just a few months when following a proven program.
★ Pay attention to Suraj's mindset and strategies, which played a crucial role in his achievements.
★ Overcoming challenges and persistence are essential elements in building a successful dropshipping business.
★ Consider the benefits of mentorship programs like Dropship Unlocked, including live coaching and a supportive community.
FOLLOW:
Thank you for listening to the Dropship Unlocked Podcast! Don't forget to subscribe and leave a review on your favourite podcast platform.
Get your copy of Lewis’ new book - The Home-Turf Advantage ➡️ https://htabook.com?el=podcast-How-Suraj-Made-£12K-In-His-First-2-Months
🗣 Welcome to another episode of the Dropship Unlocked Podcast, hosted by e-commerce entrepreneurs Lewis Smith and James Eardley. In this episode, we bring you the remarkable journey of Suraj, a member of our Dropship Unlocked Masterclass, who, in just two months, achieved impressive results in the world of dropshipping.
If you've ever wondered if dropshipping can work for you, Suraj's story will provide the motivation and clarity you need to take action.
👉 Prefer to watch this on Youtube? Check it out here ➡️ https://youtu.be/JrFZkIzjShc?si=yT7iP9QOUYvpXvBp
---------------------------------------------------------
Topics Discussed:
★ Lewis and James introduce Suraj, sharing his journey from the initial uncertainties to rapid progress in the world of dropshipping.
★ Mindset and Strategy: Throughout the interview, Suraj's mindset and strategies are highlighted as key factors in his success.
★ Overcoming Challenges: Suraj's story includes valuable insights into overcoming initial challenges, pivotal moments in his dropshipping journey, and the power of persistence.
---------------------------------------------------------
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-How-Suraj-Made-£12K-In-His First-2-Months
---------------------------------------------------------
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
---------------------------------------------------------
Key Takeaways:
★ Suraj's rapid success in dropshipping highlights the potential for significant earnings in just a few months when following a proven program.
★ Pay attention to Suraj's mindset and strategies, which played a crucial role in his achievements.
★ Overcoming challenges and persistence are essential elements in building a successful dropshipping business.
★ Consider the benefits of mentorship programs like Dropship Unlocked, including live coaching and a supportive community.
FOLLOW:
Thank you for listening to the Dropship Unlocked Podcast! Don't forget to subscribe and leave a review on your favourite podcast platform.
There are a couple of things as well that Suraj said towards the end of the interview that shocked both James and Ireland, just crossed over two months since the ads started, I think we've just crossed 12 or 13,000 pounds in top line revenue. If you wanted to bring somebody on to the podcast that only recently joined, so people can easily see what's possible to achieve in just a few months. The question I'm asking myself, and I'm sure a lot of people listening to this, who have been through the journey and of course themselves is why didn't I start earlier? And some of the insights that he gave into into the interview, I think he's going to be a real game changer for some people listening in today. It's all you know, in a very easy to follow structure and format like you do step one, then you do step two, then you move to step three, like there's no you can't go wrong. So I think it's the best way for us to show people what their life could be like if they decided to take the leap, follow their dreams start their own business, as well. So. Welcome to the dropship unlocked podcast your key to unlocking the secrets of high ticket dropshipping. I'm Lewis 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 H T A book.com To get your copy today. Now sit back, relax, and let's unlock your potential with a dropship unlocked podcast. With this podcast. We love shining a light on real success stories. So you can feel motivated to start your own e commerce journey. Today we're excited to share the story of Suraj, a recent joining member of the dropship online masterclass who is already making great progress with his dropshipping business, if you've ever doubted whether dropshipping will work for you. And I think this episode is going to provide some great clarity around that. Yep, I really enjoy recording these interview style episodes as well. So obviously, it's great to speak with just yourself, James. But it's also amazing when we can bring members on to our podcast as well and hear from particularly new business owners who are just getting started exactly how their journey has been. So far. You know, it's one thing hearing from established business owners who are already up and running, that sometimes there can be a bit of a disconnect if you're just getting started. And you're listening to this and thinking, Well, that's all very well, that eight years down the line. What about someone who's just started. So today's episode is going to be a really good one. For anyone who's thinking that and is considering getting started, and wants to hear what it might be like on the other side, you know, once they make the leap. So I think it's the best way for us to show people what their life could be like if they decided to take the leap, follow their dreams start their own business, as well. So Suraj his journey right from the first uncertain steps which he'll share throughout this episode, through to him gaining momentum is a really powerful showcase of what's possible with the right guidance and mindset. Exactly. And that was something that really came through clearly in the interview, a really fantastic interview. So good to speak to Suraj. And you can see the mindset that he's got, which is really set him up for success. As you say, Louis, we wanted to bring somebody onto the podcast that only recently joined so people can easily see what's possible to achieve in just a few months. His success is amazing. And he set up for huge success beyond and some of the insights that he gave into into the interview, I think he's going to be a real game changer for some people listening in today. Yeah, pay close attention to how Suraj overcame his initial challenges, but also the uncertainty about whether to make the leap and those pivotal moments in his early dropshipping journey, which could save you a lot of time and money. The conversations filled with golden nuggets, whether it's about mindset or strategy, or just the power of persistence and continuing through with something. So get ready to dive into Suraj is enlightening story, which I believe is going to be a game changer for many of us listening and really start to help you make your mark in online business. There are a couple of things as well that Suraj said towards the end of the interview that shocked both James and I and I'm pretty sure you're not going to expect to so it's an interesting one, make sure you listen right till the end. So with that said, let's now hand you over to the interview. So Suraj Thank you very much for joining us on the dropship unlocked podcast. Great to have you with us today. I know you're actually quite early into the program. So this is gonna be really interesting conversation and you have a can't wait to hear a little bit more about your journey. What brought you into the program, how you found it since and some of those early results that you'd see Vince joining us as well. So maybe Let's start at the beginning. We'll jump back in time a little bit. What were you doing prior to joining jobs from that? And what what was the challenge you were facing that led you to join? Yeah. So going, going back to when I first saw the ads, Louis on my feed, saying, you know, there's there's this program where you have the house home turf advantage, and it really appealed to me, because maybe two years ago, I dabbled in dropshipping, a little bit. And I was doing exactly what you said in your ad, which is why I think it spoke to me so much where I was connecting into AliExpress, or Alibaba, with some very, very low cost products from from China, shipping them, it takes three weeks to ship and for anyone to get anything. And we're talking 20 $30 products, you know, very, very low margins, low cost. So I needed huge volume. And to be totally honest, I was getting the revenue, the ads are working, I was getting the sales, but all of my profits, and more were being totally eaten up by the ad spend. So I was actually in a in a loss. So whilst the top line was looking great, I was making four or 5000 pounds in sales per month, it was costing me 7000 a month, both in ads and the cost of goods and buying the products. So I was like heaven, I don't think that's that's quite the right way around. So that's where I come from. And I kind of gave me a little bit focusing on my on my day job. And I also have another small business that I run. So drop shipping kind of took a back burner. I wasn't completely put off that experience. But I knew I needed something different to try something different. And then mysteriously your ads started showing up on my feed. And they spoke to me a lot. And I thought yeah, this is exactly what I want to do build a, a good reputable, legitimate business, like a retail business, not just selling some low quality products for a couple of dollars online, though. And that's where really where my where my journey started with with DSC. Yeah, amazing. So great to hear that you had some early experiences, albeit like you say, not not as profitable as you would have hoped with the previous model from China. But great to see that you actually took that through to permission because I mean, if you can make that work and get up and running, then you know, with our model, it should be a lot simpler. Right? That's what gave me the confidence. Yeah, yeah, exactly. Yeah. So you think well, I've done it the hard way already. Surely I can make make the homestead advantage very work. When you when you did see the ads, you know, what was it that specifically motivated due to join the dropship unloads master class? Because you mentioned that they spoke to you. But can you talk a little bit more around that, like what was it specifically that stood out to you? Yeah, there were there was at least three things, Louis, that I could probably go back to that that really spoke to me and made me feel this is the right masterclass the right community to join and be part of to, to level up my own education and also implement things as I go along. And the first one was that this was a UK based person running the course and running the the masterclass. And notice respect to our, our friends and colleagues over the pond in America. But I see a whole ton of ads and courses. And maybe it's a cultural difference, maybe it's just the style and the way that we we deal with things and we do business here in the UK. I just couldn't relate to 100% to it. And I maybe sometimes got caught into the hype around it and the there that the grandeur of it, but and I say this with respect to you, Louis, but you're seem just so much more simple and down to earth. And you weren't, you know, sitting in a Lamborghini, outside in a mansion about to jump into your swimming pool to say, Hey, be like me, and you could have a Lamborghini or a Ferrari and, or two or three. And I thought this seems a bit more serious, a bit more grown up. And it wasn't sort of over promising. It seemed like you would talk in complete sentence. So the first thing was that you were UK based. The second thing like I said, was the fact that you straightaway started talking about this home turf advantage, where you don't have to do the whole dropship from China to the UK or the states and have long delivery times because I knew that was a pain point that I was getting from my customers. In my previous dropshipping experience. People were emailing me four days later saying where's my product? And I knew it was still take three more weeks after that. And I was like, Well, wasn't what it was more stressful because then for three or four weeks, I was having this customer sort of in my ear constantly. And it wasn't it wasn't great. And then the third thing was the fact that I was able to have a a, I guess a consultation call or a discovery call with one of your team members, who explained to me a little bit about to the community that comes after the course or when the course, I guess, well, let me go back maybe the fourth thing, the case studies, I saw James's interview, I saw a couple of other case studies and on the interviews that you had done, I was like, these, these, these folks are like me, they're all in the UK. They're all built a UK business limited business. There's no complications with VAT and tax reasons and selling in dollars. We're selling in pounds, we're selling to UK customers. And that's the market I want. I want to build a UK brand and UK business. So those three or four things are really what spoke to me upfront, raising that it's Yeah, it is awesome to hear. I mean, it sounds like you've been through a well trodden path that I also similarly followed. When you go down the alley Express Route, there's cheaper products that has all the headaches, and it sounds like you experience very similar ones to me, where it's the difficulties of customers, waiting for their delivery for three or four weeks. And it's not anywhere near as enjoyable until you run a business. And then you realize, actually, I can give really good service to customers, and still dropship products from a supplier. So on that point of sort of enjoying this sort of type of business, how have you found the program so far? Have you enjoyed going through the dropship? I'm not masterclass. Yeah, I've loved it. James, I really liked the structure, I'm a man of structure and habit, a creature of habit. So the fact that it's all, you know, in a very easy to follow structure and format, like you do step one, then you do to step two, then you move to step three, like there's no you can't go wrong, follow the formula, don't try and second guess the system foster system, as they say, and I followed it through, I was able to leverage a little bit of my experience, but something I wanted to call out is, I did have to unlearn some of the, maybe the bad habits that I picked up in my previous dropshipping journey where I was kind of self taught learning as I go googling things. And in a good way, the course and the videos really challenged some of the, the beliefs and the myths I had, about how to set an ad campaign up or how to set a store up. And that was a great experience for him, because I was like, Okay, I'm gonna let go of everything I know, or tries to let go of everything I know. And follow it follow this, this, this, this different model. And, and, and trust that maybe I don't, I didn't quite know what I was doing before. So that was that was really an enjoyable journey, to unlearn. And then to relearn a lot of the things that I thought I knew, by probably started off, like most people super excited, don't straight into the course, sort of getting through the modules, you know, was really close to build my store. And then where my journey kind of slowed down a little bit. And in the spirit of just transparency and being honest, where it slowed down a little bit was contacting suppliers. Obviously, with my old dropship experience, you didn't have to contact suppliers or speak to anyone, you were just clicking a button to integrate with a store on AliExpress. And so that bit, I felt a little bit nervous about the following the scripts reading what other people are doing here in the success stories, and also just adapting it to suit me as well, where I just didn't feel confident enough, I started off with an email to supplier to get through the gatekeepers, and made my store look, look look super professional before I sent it out to anyone. And then the momentum kind of carried me forward, you know, after you get one supplying got another one and then two became four, and so on. So I was able to then launch in my store as an as a minimum viable store and MBS a little bit later than I would have liked to, but nevertheless, you know, better late than never got it launched, started my ad campaign and started seeing my first sale sales. Within about two weeks, I would say of my ads launching. And at that time, I had just a handful of suppliers, I think it was the minimum, the course recommends, I think I had like three or four suppliers, maybe 2030 products there. I was like, okay, that not only gave me the confidence to know the model worked had proved the concept with a small number of suppliers. And I then started to contact more suppliers. I actually went to a trade show for the niche that I I mean, that I knew nothing about or knew nothing about up until that point and had to go to this trade show and, you know, talk about my store, talk about the business being being relatively new, and that we were looking for new manufacturers and brands to work with at that trade show. I think that was the real turning point for me, because I was able to sign up another 1011 suppliers over that weekend. And it's things like that which really get gave go put that fire in my belly because it felt much more like a real business than An Aliexpress business model where I was able to this way I was able to go out meet real people who were running these real businesses, these real brands, their products were all on display at the trade show that you know, the it just felt very, very real. And them seeing my website on their iPad at at the stand. And they'll say, oh, yeah, this looks like, like a good website looks like you know what you're doing. And I'm in my head thinking, I have no idea what I'm doing. But you got got some got some good contacts, good signups. And since then it's taken off in terms of revenue, just crossed over two months since the ads started, I think we've just crossed 12 or 13,000 pounds in top line revenue, out of which I would say there's a pretty healthy margin of about 30%, maybe averaging just a little bit lower than 30%. At the moment, they'll be 28 27%. But yeah, so far, so good. And the question I'm asking myself, and I'm sure a lot of people listening to this, who have been through the journey in the course themselves is, why didn't I start earlier? Or what? What was it really blocking me from contacting the suppliers because I would have been another two or three months ahead of where I am now. Had I just gotten out of my own way, and then started the ads earlier or started the calls earlier to suppliers. So, you know, no regrets at all, but definitely a message out to anyone who's is listening and still in the dabbler mindset, or nervous, maybe not even dabbler mindset just a little bit nervous and a bit overwhelmed. Start now, because two three months will go by, and you will wish you had started two, three months ago, like I did. So. Yeah, that's how I'm enjoying the course so far. Yeah, there's so much to unpack there. That's fantastic. Thank you for sharing. So it sounds like you're on a great trajectory already. And a couple of points that you mentioned, just to kind of jump back to like, you mentioned, one of the sticking points, or the blockers for you was the going from, oh, I just need to click a button to sign a supplier through ally Express or a platform like that through to Oh, no, I now have to show up and meet a supplier in person or call a supplier in person. And it suddenly goes from being like just an online site hustle to No, no, I have a real business. I'm a business owner here. What would you say? Because there's lots of courses out there that will teach you kind of the you know, the the way of by just plugging in a supplier and clicking a button. And you know, it can all work and like you said the very low margin model long delivery times, we will know those models are taught out there in a plethora of different courses. But with a mentorship program, how do you still as a person, you've done better in terms of going from thinking I couldn't call suppliers to now showing up to trade shows and signing 11 suppliers in a weekend like you said, yeah, the mentoring really helps with that, because you can see someone else who you can kind of relate to in in terms of your life and your journey and say, This person is like me, they live in the UK, they had a job, they've kind of gone through the normal growing up and the lifestyle in the UK, they've had a job that they didn't like, they've maybe had maybe a different upbringing. But nevertheless, you can relate to the culture. And that sort of mentoring really appealed to me to improve my skills and my comfort or increase my confidence in being able to speak to people offline and not sort of hide behind an email or behind a, you know, an app or something like that. The mentoring helps because of the scripts that are provided. It helps in the community, just browsing and reading other people's strategies and tactics and how they approached suppliers, seeing ahead of time, the types of things that I might experience with suppliers and being able to deal with objections upfront, not just in the scripts provided by by the mentoring and in the course Louis, but also from other members in the community. And dare I say, for me as a as a member, maybe I got more value from the the other members who were also just like me, or maybe closer to my journey than the new Lewis and I say that with the utmost respect. Maybe I got more from the members in the community, seeing what they were doing, how they were doing it than even the scripts and the videos that were in the in the masterclass in the cheat sheet. And that's not saying there was no value in those. But again, just from a relatability point of view, seeing someone who had started two months ahead of me, and then seeing their posts saying, Oh, I've started contacting suppliers, someone said, X to me. So in my head, I'm like, okay, I can maybe expect that when I get to that point in the next few weeks. And I think the combination of your experience, and someone's experience is much closer to me in the community and other another paying member of the community in the masterclass combining those two sort of elements really gave me that confidence to say, Okay, I've got, I've got a mentor at this level, and I've got someone else, maybe a few notches below closer to me. And I can combine the two experiences to suit me and to adapt it to myself. And that's why I like being really active in the community, because I know for a fact that someone else liked me, two months behind me three months behind me, hoping for the same thing. And it's, it's, it's, it's a fascinating ecosystem, because whilst everyone there is learning from yourself and James, in the videos and the mentoring that you YouTube provide, I think there is a whole other layer of mentoring that the members provide each other almost without realizing it. And I think that's important to give back to the community. And that's why I like to stay active there. But to answer your question, sorry, that was a really long winded way of answering your question. I think the mentoring has improved my confidence massively, is made me feel like a at least feel like this business. I know what I'm talking about. And of course, with time and experience, and you talk to enough people, you end up knowing what you're talking about, you know, I know all the the acronyms in this industry and able to talk the talk, if you will, when I'm talking with suppliers. So yeah, it's helped muscleman. Yes, really interesting that you cite the mentorship from other members who you might not have expected to get so much value from. But it's something that we see time and time again. And I'm always amazed by the community that we built now, in the master class. It's just incredible. So I'm glad you mentioned that as well. But also something that struck a chord with me as well that I could relate to was when before you joined the master class, and you're a person of structure, and you like to have like a clear habit and a routine that gets you to from point A to point B, something I related to is that when you initially start to look to build an E commerce business, then you try and self Teach Yourself. And it goes through YouTube, and you try and maybe follow very different methods through different YouTube channels. And it's only when you put it into a structured program that you can actually take the individual steps, day by day to get to where you need to be. So wanted to pick up on that point. And also, you mentioned that the mentorship in the community, but also that I want to know what you thought about like the live calls that are available twice a week in the master class as well. So I know you've been able to join a few of those q&a Call sessions. How have you found that and how has that helped you with your progress in building your business? I think the live calls are a real game changer twice a week, and you've got the collaboration call as well. Because inevitably, as you go through the course questions come up that need a bit more hand holding to answer than a post in the community. Don't get me wrong, there's massive value in that. Sometimes when you're on the call, and you don't know how to either ask the question, but someone else has a similar question. And a guest gets asked. And the way that James, you answer those questions have helped answer a whole bunch of other follow up questions that someone might have as well. But for me, again, just being super transparent, and super honest, I started joining those live calls a little bit later in my journey. But my recommendation is get on them earlier than I did. Even if you hear people talking about things a little bit ahead of your journey. I know on a recent call, you know, there were a lot of questions that may have seemed a little bit more advanced for other members. But you'll get that so those of you listening to this, if you're on a call and something is a little bit over your head, or you think I'm not quite there yet, I'm still you know, three or four weeks, at least, away from that, at that stage in the masterclass like stick at it. Don't Don't close your ears off to to that conversation. Because I promise you in three weeks time something will click you'll think oh yeah, I remember James or another member talking about that on a call three weeks ago. Now I know what all that meant. And they can connect the dots. But also from a mindset perspective, you're hearing people talk confidently, and you're hearing people grow week on week on these calls, and you're hearing their updates, it gives you a bit of motivation and incentives to keep going and in a really healthy, friendly way. And he creates a nice bit of competition and camaraderie as well because you're like, Oh, I remember, you know, so and so was struggling two weeks ago, and I learned something from him and I want to give back to that person. Or you kind of say, oh, this person got you know, a big juicy sale this week off that motivated me to make sure I get some extra products added on. So I want to be sharing that in next week's call. And so I think it creates a really, really friendly environment and a safe environment to ask the questions in a live call. And then you know, following up in the in the in the community. The combination of the two I think is really really great. Yeah, I love doing the calls. And it's interesting. I didn't join the call was when I first started until this further down the line in a similar way, but even if you have just basic questions when you first get started, those q&a calls that are perfect to listen to other people's questions. But also, if you have something on your mind, that's like a hurdle, you can bring that up in a q&a call. Now, because I've done quite a lot of the q&a calls, I almost know the questions or the obstacles that people are likely to meet. So I can sometimes prize questions out of people that don't yet realize they have, but I can help them overcome hurdles. And it's such a rewarding process. A q&a calls are amazing. But a lot of that comes down to the members that we've got in the community. Absolutely fantastic. Yeah. So it's a real pleasure to do those calls. Now want to dig in to your journey a little bit more now. Suraj. So in terms of what when you sort of got up and running, started making sales? How long did it take you then from when you first started running ads to when you've made your first sale? So I think it was just under two weeks, and I made the first two sales. One was just over 1000 pounds. And one was a much smaller amount of an accessory. I think that someone else bought it. But I was like, Yes, this this now works. And I remember where exactly where I was I was you make the I'm wearing a hoodie. It's a Spartan hoodie I outside of my dropshipping life, I run extreme obstacle courses and races all over the UK and all over Europe. And I was in the car parked up in think I was in somewhere in the in the West Country in the middle of nowhere, parked up in this huge field in my training kit ready to take on my next Spartan Race. And I was sort of packing my phone away, putting it in the glove box. So I can go and do my race and come back three hours later, as I was putting the phone in the glove box, that touching went off the famous Shopify sound, which is now very fast becoming my favorite sound in the world. And I looked at it just before I was sort of half out the car, one leg out of the car, looked at it and I was like, I think it was 1010 pound sale. And I looked at it and I would just froze for a moment. And that wasn't a second sale. The first sale I think was 300 or 400 pounds. And I said I'm I just had to pause for a moment because the realization dawned on me then just just before I was about to run this extremely grueling, race physically and mentally grueling, as like, it took me the same effort to make 1000 pound sale, as it used to take me to make a $40 sale or a $20 sale. Dare I say less effort, because I didn't have to push as hard. And it's that weird dichotomy that, you know, a higher value customer is often easier to sell to you than someone looking to spend just 20 pounds or $20. But that aside, the concept of it, that's when the not only that's when the pay dropped, I knew this would work, but really solidified. It proved the concept. And it gave me that confidence to go in won the race, knowing that could potentially come back to another sale. I didn't just for transparency. I was I was putting it out in the universe. I was running this race, I was like, yes, go back to the car. I have another sale that universe didn't didn't comply on that occasion. But since then it very much has. But that was the moment, James that the penny sort of really dropped. And I was like, wow, I can do exactly what I I've learned and what I've, what I've implemented here through this course. And that that that can really rate it can really work. Does that answer your question? Absolutely. Yeah. And I love hearing about I love asking that question because I love hearing the different stories of where people were, when they get their first sale, because it can they can be here that or every or anywhere or asleep, or ill or anything, you know, you can think Oh, and that's when these first sales come in. So that I love to hear those stories. And fascinating that it was, while you're out doing something else, which is often the way it's just you have that proof of concept there knowing that you front load the work. And now because you've done the work in the past, you can get on with your life doing whatever you choose to do. And the money can come in without needing you there. And that will come and more and more as well as you hire vas, and so on and so forth. So you mentioned earlier that I think you've tipped up to about 12,000 13,000 pounds in total sales now. And how long have you sort of been running ads for now since you first went live in your first campaign? Yeah, so just just over two months. So I started on the first of October, October I think I made for about 1500 1700 pounds. So relative to where I am now it was seems like an hour slow month. But that was the first 30 days of the ads kind of running and learning collecting the data. I was really having to force myself to be patient and not tinker around with the ads and the configuration in the first 30 days. I know going in the community see lots of people get frustrated with that process, but it will happen And so you know, in that first 30 days, I think there was a maximum of like three sales coming to about 1500 1700 pounds, give or take. Nevertheless, that broke, it broke even based on the row ass target that I had set. And then November, it really kicked off, ironically, not over Black Friday weekend at all, it wasn't really a great weekend for me, because it wasn't that many sales on in my niche. But the whole month of November, the ads had 30 days of running, there was a lot more data for them to to process. And so then November took me to another 9000 or so off sale, just under 10,000 of sales. And then December where we are so far a week in, but they were already another three or 4000. So hoping for a good month again. But now I can see November wasn't just a fluke, or a one hit wonder, so to speak, I can see the pattern for December is similar. That sounds amazing. Suraj and your the trajectory that you're on, like you said, going from that that kind of be 1000 in the first month up to where you're at now. I mean, that is that trajectory continues, which there's no reason why it's not right, with your SEO increasing with your ad optimization with new suppliers coming on board with the amount of action that you're taking continuously absorbing knowledge, like a sponge just taking action. It's I mean, who knows where you're gonna be at this time next year, right? So I guess the thing to that the thing I'm always interested in is how this affects and impacts your wider life. Because the money is great. But that is an enabler to a dream. Usually, it's to like, the reason why you did this wasn't just at the numbers on a page it was so that those could provide you freedom to whatever it is. So I'd be interested to know how will the success of your ecommerce business that we're on the precipice of right now, like backflip base is about to really take off? How is that going to change your life? And how are you most excited? Or what are you most excited about? Enabling you to be able to do it's a great question Lewis and I think it's it stems right back to, you know, understanding your Why. Why did I invest in this course, in the first place? Why was I even looking? Why was I interested in developing another income stream, you know, I could have just stayed in my road, my regular nine to five, if you will, and just sort of carried on. For me, it's twofold. One is the really fun side of things that the lifestyle, and the other is a little bit more serious. I've been self employed for a long time. Before my current job that I'm in right now. I always had that insecurity about all of the boring things in life, like a pension, or, like, you know, your, like health insurance and all of that and being self employed and never had any of that. If I was sick. I don't get paid that day. And that was my life since when I left university 2021 ish when you graduate, didn't really get into the corporate world wasn't for me. So I very quickly ended up in self employment until my mid 30s, three years ago. And so you know, the best part of 15 years, all of my 20s and half of my 30s I was self employed sort of living kind of month to month, I guess, not really having enough to build a good pension pot. Like a lot of my friends were in corporate jobs climbing ladder, there was no ladder to climb, it was just my own stairs up and down my house. There was no corporate ladder for me to climb. And, you know, whilst I enjoyed that freedom in that lifestyle, and niggling part of me in the back of my mind was always like, well, you know, I'm not in as good a financially secure position, if something were to go horribly wrong. And maybe those thoughts only start coming when you hit 30s and you know, nice stuff started hurting your back thoughts, how would you get out of bed in my 20s I was loving it. So my wife stems very much from from from a lifestyle perspective, you may see if you're watching this on the video, I'm wearing my formula one hat, my my spot and T shirt. These are the kinds of things that we love doing. So my hobbies and I love traveling around going to different Formula One races, racing in sporting events like centered around around the world. That's that's part of my reason where this ecommerce business I want that to fund the lifestyle side of things. The more serious part of my why was very much about having an extra income stream as me and my wife start to plan family or grow our family and maybe not want to work 5060 hours a week, you know, as we get older and start to grow a family but also to have choices. Like you said lose money is great and it's an enabler. I want this business to enable We'll meet, I have a choice of whether I need to stay in my nine to five job or not, or whether my wife needs to stay in her nine to five job or not. And it's fine, if that's what we end up doing, and then staying in our jobs for the rest of our careers, and having this as a second income. But to have the choice, that's the key thing. It's not for us to say, make this work so that in that sense, the pressure is kind of off. And I think that's a really important piece. Because if I stay in my job, it's great, I essentially now have two great incomes coming in, rather than just one. But if I wanted to replace my job income with with this, I know I have the capability of doing that in the coming months and years. So it gives me that choice and the freedom of that choice, which I think is a really important part of this puzzle of why people start their own business. Another big reason for me to try this is I do miss that self employment lifestyle, you know, where you don't have to report to anyone necessarily, yes, you have customers, of course, you technically report your customers and your suppliers. But it's a very different relationship to the employee employer type of relationship. And when I was growing up, I remember my parents, or both had jobs, regular nine to five jobs. And very, very often, you know, we weren't able to go on summer holidays, when when me and my siblings were younger, partly because it was very expensive. But secondly, because my parents couldn't always get the time off work. And I remember thinking for it when I was very young, if there was one occasion, I remember when I must have been in your eighth hold you and you and your eight, your 912 I don't even know inequality row was too long ago, how old however old you are, when you're like your eighth sort of age in high school in the UK. And I remember, in summertime, my dad said we're going to go to Disneyland this year. And obviously, what do you do, and you're excited to go to school and he said, It's all your mates, my dad said, we're going to go to Disneyland this year, it's gonna be amazing, I'm going to have the best holiday, etc, etc. Summertime came along. And unfortunately, we weren't able to go because of cost. And because of time off. I remember that being a big thing for me, I couldn't understand. The concept of my parents had asked somebody else who I didn't know and one part of our family for permission to take some time off to go on holiday with their kids. I remember being a little bit baffled by that concept. I was like, What do you mean? Who's this person that said, No, you can't take your kids to Disneyland or on holiday or whatever it was. And I remember at that point thinking, well, smart, old me, you know what year eight, I figured out? Well, the best solution to this, I'll just never have a job. And that was my sort of motivation. Now I did end up going through university and getting a job. But like I said, it didn't last long at all. But I think it really stemmed from my, my childhood that this is going to block me from taking my family on holiday or myself away. And that was a big, big motivator, for me theory underlying deep rooted motivator in all of this is, is I don't want to have that as a blocker in my life. Eventually, when I have a family, or even if I don't just for me and my wife to say, Sorry, can't get a week off work this week. I just don't I fundamentally disagree with someone else making that decision for you. So ultimately, you know, I do want to want this to be able to dictate how my wife and I both have our jobs, whether it's part time or whether it's not at all. But I think the key there, Louis, to answer your question about my wife is is those three things is lifestyle, the fun side of things is going to watch Formula One, whenever I can, racing around on my Spartan Races, having the boring side of life taking care of, you know, the pensions and the health insurance and all of that good stuff. But also that deep rooted, why which is, which is more about, you know, the the freedom of choice. I think that's what this this, this course gives, yeah, is so important. And that's an amazing story that from your childhood that really clearly shaped your decisions in later life as well as so the fact that this business model can now enable you to be able to have that freedom to never be told by someone else when you can or can't travel is incredible. I think that's a great driver to have used. You mentioned that before you jumped into the program you were kind of thinking about I mean, you'd have been googling and searching your own methods on YouTube and going down the YouTube rabbit hole as many of us do. Were there any unexpected benefits to being part of the dropship a lot community that maybe you haven't even bought Like if you were speaking now to the former Suraj, who, who was thinking about joining, but had that nervous apprehension, were there any things that you didn't even realize that that would be something that I would benefit from being part of a community like this, but I'm so glad I did. Because, you know, whether it's like you mentioned the accountability, or the camaraderie and competition, and any other things that spring to mind, you know, that were surprising to you. So surprising, but definitely beneficial, like we talked about already about the live calls. It wasn't, you know, a, obviously, the course and stuff like that the videos are pre recorded. But it wasn't like that said, you join a course that was made many years ago. And, you know, you don't have any access to the people who made the course, on an ongoing basis. So I think that a very pleasant surprise, if you will, I mean, it wasn't surprised, because I knew that was what was part of the the cause as part of my discovery call. But that was something that really helped me make that decision to invest in this cause. And in myself, well, this course, was that it wasn't a case of okay, here are some videos that somebody made a while back, the fact that there is that ongoing updates to the video, there are those ongoing updates to the videos, there are, you know, the live coaching calls, there are people sharing their experiences in real time. I think that that's something that fully wasn't expecting as much of because previously, that was my experience, you buy a course for $35, to teach you everything you ever need to know about anything in the world. They are overselling the world to you in a very low low cost cost. And you kind of get sucked in there. Let's be honest, sometimes they do really well to to hook you in. And then you're, you're totally by yourself. No, you, you ask for support, and there's no support, because it's somebody else who is living their dream and living their lifestyle. They made a course. And it's selling on autopilot for them. And they could be anywhere in the world traveling and what have you, and not really there to create a community and provide ongoing support. That was probably the the most surprising element of of being a member here. So yeah, that's I think that's a great thing. The other thing is it whilst it's a mentoring program, and it's not like a done for you program, which is other things that I remember, back in the day, I bought them from off an Instagram ad I bought someone's done for you dropship website, product, and it was like, you know, $97, and we'll build you a high converting dropship website on Shopify, you know, all you need to do is sit back, relax, go to sleep, and sales, will this come in as you sleep? Yeah, one of those, and, obviously, is absolute nonsense, that doesn't work at all. And I like the fact that this was it's not a done for you course, at all. But it's like, we'll do it with you, if that makes sense. I will help you to implement, execute, and do it yourself. It's sounds really cheesy guys. And really cliche, but it is very, very much that old adage of, you know, your teacher, you give a man a fish, or you teach a man how to fish. And I think that's that's what this course does. Because now and that we see with other members in the community, you've taught them how to fish to extend that analogy. Because they've now gone on to their second stores, and they're absolutely crushing it. So it's not just giving someone some fish, maybe I've talked about this analogy too much no about fish. But that concept is really what I like in this community too. Because that's what you're doing, you're really changing lives through through this community. We designed it in that way. And the idea of it was to have people where, you know, if we can upskill people in the community to a point where they can then help each other later than that is going to build an amazing supportive community of everybody that can chip in. So we knew that if we just said hey, do it this way, don't ask why. And then later on all of that, then all the questions that people like, well, I don't understand because I never was taught how to do it myself. So ultimately, it serves people much much better if you can teach them that the how they do it, and the why. But also they can then help each other out in the community and say like, you know, the middle of the night if someone posts a question someone else is working right can be right, yeah, I'm gonna why not help, like jumped in the sea of people jump on, like zoom calls to support each other inside the community. You know, just just out of like, almost on a voluntary basis. It's incredible. So the Yeah, that camaraderie that community spirit, their culture is really starting to come to light. I know a little bit about your story and about your why and why you started this, this this this venture, but I think from a ripple effect, and from you know, it's like a tipping point. It serves you and James in a whole different way than maybe you even imagined, as well. Now, you know, why don't why don't any of us start a business what's the definition of a business, it's to make a profit. So let's not beat around the bush, we're all in this to make some money. And that includes every member in our community that includes you to install. And this can be there's no shame in that whatsoever. No judgement at all. But I feel like that what you just said then was that people helping each other without all this, you and James being involved, is a whole different layer of ripple effect that you're creating, and that will serve you and the impact that you're making to people's lives, you know, long after we all disband and move on to other parts of our lives as well. So I think that that's a really powerful thing to recognize, as well, that what you're going through and what you're seeing now with the growing community and seeing people like that, jump on Zoom calls outside of the community and share things with each other and things that are not just instigated by James and Lewis, I think that's, that's the real tipping point that you're seeing now. And that ripple effect will extend out generations potentially. And that's a powerful thing. Yeah. And that's how it was designed, it's clear that it's like a long term mission, instead of like a short term win, where the short term win is like, give someone a pre beat prebuilt store, tell them the products to sell. And maybe that works for the first few months. And then as soon as anything doesn't work or goes wrong, then you've not got anything for the long term. But we want to give people skills that they will then use to build and grow more and more businesses beyond their first one, that they can grow and scale 1020 30 years into the future. So you have to approach a program in a completely different way, if that's what you want to teach, instead of just a quick three months when So you mentioned that you've been on some other programs, other courses before you joined the dropship online masterclass. So did that make you feel hesitant before you joined? Did you have that in the back of your mind? And was there anything that was holding you back? And then what ultimately got you over that hesitancy? What what then got you over that to join? The masterclass is a great question, James. And I think naturally, you know, everyone's had some experience in a course or they'd been burned with something and they thought, you know, I can buy something for, you know, $97 or$47. And it will be the answer to everything I need. And naturally, that does kind of burden you a little bit. So I think my apprehension was, was definitely there, I was maybe a little bit nervous about it, because it was, you know, I save it with respect yet another dropshipping course, that you're seeing ads for. But like I said, at the very start of this, this episode, there's something different about about this, the fact that it was UK based the fact that there was a discovery call upfront, it wasn't just someone saying your right click here and send me to a very long landing page or sales page and click a button to buy and never hear from them. Again, it felt very personal. And I think that was the difference. There's obviously the other difference, which is the pricing of this mentoring, it kind of legitimizes it, because if you charged $100, for this, maybe it would devalue it massively. And I think that's where a lot of people feel burned, because they want to believe that $100 course, is going to be the answer to their prayers, because you desperately want the win, you desperately want the success. And you want to believe you make yourself believe that I can just keep buying something cheap and cheerful. And, you know, eventually I'll make it the fact that there is a, you know, a serious investment in this mentoring. The fact that there's a the discovery call upfront, really to answer questions, I think you're providing that value upfront. And with with a lot of other courses, you have to buy in first and hope there's value afterwards. And you kind of convince yourself, nevermind, there was one nugget that I got out of it. And you end up doing that 10 times, or sometimes more. And you end up with these virtual products sitting on a shelf with no one to contact, no word no sort of recourse, no support. And, dare I say, before you end up spending the same amount of money over a longer period of time on a bunch of smaller courses that don't dive as deep and don't go in as much detail and don't give you that support and you can't relate to it. There's only so much you can relate to a I say this with the respect anyone listening but it's only so much we can relate to an American sales pitch or a course where there is no one in the UK everyone's in somewhere in the States or around the world somewhere else and you feel like you've been you've kind of been scammed a little bit, even if it's a legit course and there's something in that you don't feel fully settled because there's no one to go to for support. There's no community and I'm sure people listening will have spent more than just Do you know the $100 there's courses out there that are able to squeeze $1,000 out of you or more and not provide the value. So I would bet that there are I'm not a betting man, but I, I would bet that there are people who have spent as much if not more than they've spent and invested, sorry, not spent bit invested in this course, through other courses. And, you know, that's that's, for me the apprehension was quickly I guess, you know, dissolved because of a the call with one of your team members. And secondly, the case studies of people I could relate to, and you weren't selling the dream you were you were selling a business model. You weren't selling a dream or you know, quick buck and all the things that that you said, I remember one part of the the sales process Lewis was he talks about Wayfair Wayfair. You know, for those of you in the UK will know Wayfarer were very well. I bought a ton of stuff from Wayfarer had zero idea that that was their business model. And I think that was another one of those sort of aha moments like, oh, yeah, he's absolutely right, that that is that model. And then you start connecting the dots and seeing seeing around you and like, I remember one of the one of the videos was like, What is magic glasses, he starts seeing this everywhere, like, oh my god, this is not like a new concept. But you've kind of you know, explained it in such a way that makes complete sense rather than it being so pie in the sky, airy fairy sit on a beach with your laptop. And you know, money comes out of your laptop screen, you see you see those stock images, right? And I I've been in the beach, no one's sitting there with the laptop, guys. Like no one's on the beach, in their swimming trunks with a laptop and money's sort of coming out of the the USB port or whatever, like the the stock images portray, that just doesn't happen. I hate to break it to anyone listening. It's not real. And that's what a lot of things that we we, you know, we get caught up in brilliant. I was stung as well, not so much in pain for other courses. But I was stung in the way that I followed YouTube free advice, but I ended up spending through losing adspend. I think a similar story as well is you have to choose where you're going to invest your money, you can invest in yourself, you can invest in mentorship, or you can invest in mistakes. And it Yeah, so it's a well trodden path that I completely relate to as well. Suraj. And yes, and also some home truths about money not coming out of a USB port. I'm yet to see it maybe one day. But in terms of moving forward, Now, Sue and Sue, I'd like to know your plans and what you have in mind and your vision for the future. Where would you like to take your E commerce business? Now? Where would you like to be? In a year? Five years? 10 years time? Yep. Great question, Jim. So where I am at right now with this one store, I want to continue to tweak it and to grow, I don't want to just sort of leave it where it is and say, Hey, Alright, I'm done with this one store. I know there is a lot still that I can get out of this, this this first store, it's still technically an MBs. I'm still using the free theme on on Shopify, I think it was dawn or something like that. So I know, there's a lot of opportunity still with this store. So my plan that, at least for the immediate and short term future, right now going into the new year, is to continue to sign up suppliers to improve the conversion rate on the on the store now that I know that it converts, it's just start looking at ways to tweak the conversion rate make it an easier smoother experience for the customers to buy. Continue building relationships with the suppliers that I am seeing really good success with. And and that's not just about squeezing more margin out of them, it's just about making sure that we have a very long term future I'd rather stay at the margins and currently on with them, the be with making sales with them for many years to come. Rather than try to sort of be too greedy about it and say, well, now I want you know, 10% more, there's only been two months so they don't want to don't want to come across. In that way. It's all about long term relationships here with the store in a real brandable business. And then eventually, I guess I haven't quite got as far as this yet, but start thinking about a second nature and a second store. Go back to the research spreadsheet from the beginning of the course. Look at what what else was on my list. Also, now that I've seen others, their experiences and also got that extra experience myself in a real retail online store with real UK products. I can I can see, that experience gives me insight into which niches on my list may be ones to avoid even if the numbers match up even if you know the spreadsheet and the data telling me which way to go. There are sort of non spreadsheet insights that you can, you can only get from actually running, running ads running a store, speaking to suppliers, seeing how that industry works. And yeah, eventually starting a second, third, fourth store and so on. But for now, it's still very much in that learning phase for for this first store. But yeah, the long term future, don't sort of jinx myself or predicted too much too far ahead. But definitely want want something that I can then say, well, this is my choice now whether I want to stay in my job, or, or not. And make that as a very conscious choice. Rather than be forced to, to make the choice to stay. I'd rather stay out of choice. I think that changes the whole mentality about turning up to work every day, if you have to go to work, compared to when I get to go to work, because it's my choice. And I think that changes the whole changes the game forever. Yeah, it's clear that freedom is like the ultimate success and having the choice to do as you please. And how you can provide for your family in the way that you choose to is the way that ultimately you're going towards and with this conversation, and what I can see in the community and the progress you've made so far. So I'd have absolutely no doubt that you'll achieve those goals and meet all of the aspirations that you've set out. You're not just having the fun, but also with the with your family planning that you've got up and coming, you've got so much to look forward to. And I'm sure this ecommerce business model is going to help you out a lot as you continue to put the work in that you have done so far. Yes, inspirational. And something that you should add for your long term plan is that we'd love to catch up with you again, I'm sure I speak on behalf of Louis as well, that will catch up with you and find out how you getting on in the future. But a question I've wanted to ask as well is, if you have somebody in your life that was considering starting a business, would you recommend the dropship? Or not masterclass or a program to follow if they wanted to get started? Yeah, first of all, I definitely would love to stay in touch and keep sharing my journey in the community through through your shares these podcasts. And it's just giving back to that community, which, you know, I am taking a lot out of the moment and really get good at getting the benefits from in terms of recommending the dropshipping model and specifically dropship unlocked to other studying business. Absolutely. There's, there's nothing to suggest, why wouldn't they understand being really greedy, and they want anyone else in on the action, which is not a nice, nice thought, right? I want people around me to succeed, if someone is thinking of leaving their job or starting a second side hustle, if you will, to create another income stream. Knowing how the structured you make the cause and how easy and it's easy if you follow the steps, which which are simple. There is a learning curve for sure that all good things have have to take you a little bit out of your comfort zone. And I think that's for that reason, I would definitely recommend dropship unlocked to anyone starting a business or thinking of starting a business. Even if they haven't considered a dropship or direct to consumer online business. Maybe they're thinking maybe they've heard someone say I should start eBay business or an Amazon business. You know, even if they're sort of in the in the ballpark of dropshipping I think I would recommend it. But even if, if not if someone wants to, you know, start a more traditional offline business, I would still I would be doing them a disservice if I didn't say all right, that's great. Have a think about that is another option, you know, consider it. Yeah, I love that. I love that. And that's exactly the mentality that we try to encourage in our community, Eric just shows that you are the perfect fit for us throughout in terms of coming into our community leading with value, not pulling up the ladder, you know, just because you're now making sales doesn't mean you can't help someone who's just joined yesterday and is like nervous and feeling that apprehension. So any final words of wisdom to maybe the former Suraj who was thinking maybe on the fence about joining a program like this or even just someone who's on the commute right now or on a tube or in the gym thinking I really don't want to go into my job today. I need to do something different any final words of advice for them? Yeah, it's really cliche I'm afraid, Louis but it's you know, recognize your wife figure out what you want to do and and why you want to do it. Don't do it for the sake of it. But he probably won't. everything into it that we won't go into will all your your heart and your your your effort and your commitment. And once you are in once once you've taken that decision, be all in like immerse yourself fully don't fall into the the dabble mindset where you think I'll do a little bit here and there. Because if you treat it like a hobby and another cliche, I love my cliches guys. If you treat it like a hobby really earn, like a hobby. If you treat it like a business and you, you allocate some time, even if you have a job, and most of us have jobs and start this, this this enjoyment community, allocate some time, if that means evenings and weekends, so be it for a sake of a few months, if that's the sacrifice that you need to make, do it and kind of be hard on yourself as well. You're going to make the investment. Invest in yourself properly commit to it, immerse yourself in it, and kind of don't, don't take no for an answer. But a use the community. So lots of final words, their lives. So not just one final, final word, but get involved get stuck in. Because this works out great. Well, you're testament to that. And as James said, we can't wait to continue to follow your journey. Suraj hear more from you down the line, we'd love to have you back on the podcast to share your updates in months or years to come even so I can see you have a very successful long term future with your new venture and potentially even more ventures as well, if you branch out and say thank you for joining us today. It's been a really enlightening educational conversation. I think you'll have inspired a lot. Thanks, Louis. Thanks, James. Great to be part of it. Well, that was a fantastic interview with Suraj really enjoyable, and amazing to see what's possible in just a few short months after starting your first e commerce business. Absolutely, yeah, it was a great interview really, really great to chat with Suraj. His achievements so far have been impressive. And I've got no doubt that he will be going very far with this business. If Suraj his journey resonated with you today, and you've been listening to this and you're ready to take that plunge. Remember, your journey starts just like it did for Suraj with a single step. And that first step could be as simple as educating yourself to set yourself on the path to your own success story. A great starting point is my book. The home turf advantage is a comprehensive guide to starting your own high ticket drop shipping business. So to pick up a copy of that, head over to H T A book.com. Grab your copy. And who knows we might be discussing your success story on our podcast soon. Until then, keep pushing forward. And remember your entrepreneurial journey is just one decision away. 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. 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. 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. Now let's answer a question that we've had from a listener. And remember, if you want your questions answered on the podcast, all you need to do is email us it's podcast at dropship on loc.com. And Paul has got his question in today. And Paul actually left this question below a Spotify episode in the q&a section. So thank you for your question, Paul. I will ask his question to you now, Louis. So Paul's asked, what type of products do you sell? Hey, thanks for your question, Paul. And it's, it's a seemingly quite a simple question. But it actually is quite complex. So we'll we'll take you through it. Now, using my home turf advantage model of dropshipping. We sell high ticket products. So what that means is higher priced products. Now when we define high ticket or high priced, typically we talk about products that are priced above 300 pounds. But ideally, you want to be selling products somewhere around about 1000 to 2000 to 3000 pound mark, and I'll explain why that works that way. By doing this, this opens up a variety of products that we can sell, and also ones that we can see being sold by members of our program. So some tangible examples of this might include things like high end barbecue grills, you know, outdoor barbecue grills, outdoor furniture set, indoor furniture sets, think of like luxury sofas, living room tables, garden equipment, sports supplies, gym equipment, treadmills, cross trainers, office furniture is the standard desk that I'm at right now, you know, the list goes on and on. There are a variety of different higher priced items that fit the home turf advantage model. Now before you decide on which product to sell, the key is passing any high ticket product idea that you might have. So any niche idea that you think that could work, I could sell that before you go and make a decision based on gut instinct or feeling or passion, pass it through our niche validation criteria. So this is a list of nine different validation criteria that we've seen if it meets each of these then is very, very likely to succeed because you're basically ruling out the chance failure by putting it through these criteria first. So this is a process of checking if a group of high ticket products or a niche are already successful in the market so that we could start selling those products with confidence that we can sell those things as well. So just to give you an overview, these validation criteria include things like the level of search demand. So how many people in the UK are searching for those products already? What's the average price point? Is it above 300? Is it above 500? Is it above 700? What's the price consistency, have you got some retailers selling the items for really cheap, so it's going to become a pricing war in a race to the bottom, that's not an issue you'd want to be at. Another one is are the suppliers themselves selling directly to consumers, if they're selling directly to consumers, then there probably needs to be a fairly compelling reason for them to buy from your website, rather than just going straight to the suppliers website and buying it directly. The next is then asking yourself are the niches that I'm considering going into dominated by global brands and big corporates who are very unlikely to want to work with us as a beginner and supply us as one of their retailers. So if I say I'm gonna go and sell laptops, for example, I'm unlikely to be signing Apple or HP or Sony as my suppliers anytime soon. So that's probably not a niche that we would recommend going into for that criteria. And then finally, the number of brands that are available. If you pin all of your hopes on a niche that maybe has three brands, you only have three chances to sign a supplier. Whereas if you've got 20 different options, you're much more likely to sign a few suppliers who can make all the difference to your business. So once you've put your niche ideas through our nine different data criteria, validation points, then you can be confident that the high ticket niche you've chosen meets those criteria, and then we can start selling those products and scaling your business to high levels of profitability. Now, if you want a full guide on how we do this, because that was really just a whistlestop tour of the nine criteria, we break this down in much, much more detail, then you can head over to Episode 11 of the dropship unlocked podcast, maybe line that one up after this one. That's titled The full guide to drop shipping in the UK. And I think you'll get a lot of value from that one too. Fantastic. Thank you, Louis. And they are 1000s of different ideas, different niches, different products that fit into our criteria. So be creative. And you'll come up with a fantastic idea, put it through the criteria, and then you've got a business set up on fantastic foundations for great success. Thank you, Louis, for your answer to that. We're also going to highlight a review that we've had in from a listener as well. So thank you to Jay more 74 for leaving a review on a recent podcast. And he said, really enjoying these episodes, something interesting each week. And I want to take this journey to the next level. I need to book in my call. So thank you for your review. Yeah, thank you so much for your review. J Mart, you do need to book in your call. Absolutely. We can't wait to speak with you are really glad to hear that you've been enjoying the podcast as well. So if you've also enjoyed the podcast today, then maybe consider sharing Suraj is motivating story with someone in your circle. We were just looking through the stats of our podcast recently. And we can see that the platform that gets the most shares for the podcast is WhatsApp. That's where you guys are sharing the podcast the most. So perhaps think Is this a great episode to share with somebody close to you who's maybe considering starting their own business? If not, maybe share it with them on WhatsApp. Also, we'd love to get your feedback as well. So feel free to leave us a review on your favorite podcast platform just like Jay Mohr did today. And for our YouTube audience, your comments below are always very welcome. So please do leave us a comment your thoughts and opinions could very well be highlighted to in our next episode. Thanks for joining us on this episode of the dropship unlocked podcast. We hope you found the discussion both inspiring and entertaining if you're ready to begin your own high ticket dropshipping journey and 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. 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 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.