Hi, I'm Seb.
I currently run several online businesses, which I started
by learning from online resources and YouTube tutorials.
Kind of like this one.
Today I'm going to talk to you about five different
online business ideas that you can start from home.
Let's first dive into dropshipping.
Dropshipping is an appealing business model to start
with because it's relatively accessible to anyone.
Now, I'm sure you've seen all of the ads and videos about how
you can make millions of dollars selling a spatula or something
else, and I'm not going to talk to you about any of that.
The only thing that I want to talk about is the concept of
dropshipping and who better to tell you about dropshipping than
Jessica from the Oberlo team.
Here's what she had to share.
I'm Jessica, and actually a lot of people know me as the Oberlo
lady because for the past couple of years I have been on Oberlos
YouTube channel talking about dropshipping and interviewing
successful dropshippers, and I myself am a dropshipper.
So if you're new to dropshipping, dropshipping is a business model.
And it's a model where you, the entrepreneur you don't
pay for or carry inventory.
Instead you find products and you import them virtually to your
online Shopify store so that your Shopify store shows the product
information, photos and price.
And you the entrepreneur, do the work of marketing that product.
And when a customer finds it and clicks buy, you go to the supplier,
you order the product from them, and the supplier ships that
product directly to your customer.
So you actually never see the inventory, but the
customer gets the product they ordered from your site.
Now, if this seems too good to be true, it really isn't.
The wholesaler may supply the product to your customer,
but you're still responsible for creating the positioning,
branding, online storefront, marketing and customer service.
A lot of new dropshippers want to know how they can
find winning products.
My advice is to think really deeply on what your customer's problems
are and then look for products that creatively solve those problems.
Another thing to keep in mind is you want to sell products
that are fairly inexpensive because you're selling these
products to customers who are going to buy them on impulse.
Customers go to Amazon or other big box stores to find products
that they already know they need, but when customers are
scrolling through Facebook, they're not in shopping mode.
That's when they see the drop shippers ad and they
go "oh my gosh, I didn't even know this existed.
This pet hair vacuum is perfect.
I want to get it".
They're not going to look for that anywhere else cause
they've never seen it before.
Dropshipping is worth considering if you've got very little space
to operate in or if you're starting with a tight budget.
For those of us that are still trying to figure out their
business, dropshipping can also quickly help you test and
validate different business ideas with very limited downside.
This then frees you up to learn more about choosing and
marketing in demand products.
To learn more about starting a successful dropshipping business
in 2020 check out our free webinar link down in the description below.
Now, for all of my passionate designer friends out there who
want to do dropshipping but also want to creatively flex print
on demand could be for you.
Print on demand is another dropshipping service that
puts inventory, shipping and fulfillment in the hands
of a third party supplier.
But unlike dropshipping, the focus here is on customizing these
products with your own designs to create something original.
These days, you can print it on almost anything.
Tee-shirts, hats, phone cases, hoodies, skirts,
tote bags, and more.
This method can also work for those of us who are not
blessed with design skills.
All you need is a good idea and you can find a designer to work with
using freelance sites like Fiverr, Upwork, Dribble, or 99designs.
Like with anything, there are many considerations to keep in
mind when weighing whether or not this model will work for you.
With many print on demand services, you're paying per product, so
the base price per unit will likely be more expensive than if
you were to order these in bulk.
The upside to this is if certain t-shirt designs don't
sell, you haven't actually paid for those items yet.
Now, even though shipping and fulfillment is out of your hands,
shipping costs can get quite complicated as it often varies
for different products, you'll really have to weigh base costs,
customization options, printing technique, and available
sizes, as those will all depend on the vendor you're
choosing to move forward with.
To find inspiration for your next print on demand store, follow the
link in the description down below.
Homemade Products.
If you make your own products, know someone who
does or have aspirations to,
you can also consider turning your hobby into a business.
I learned how to sew for mine.
With the ability to control nearly every aspect of the
product you sell, you can make them more cost effective, improve
their quality, or customize them for a specific audience.
Some examples of products that you could consider making
from home include candles, jewelry, art, or even apparel.
Food and cosmetics could also be made from home, but please be
aware of regulations concerning products that someone might
ingest light or put on their skin.
Each country has their own rules and regulations about
creating and selling products, so do your homework before you
start producing and selling.
Okay.
So I just wanted to give you all quickly a rundown of the
setup that we have at home when we're running our business.
And so we decided that we would need to be really, really organized
with, um, our products just so that we can make sure that when we
get home and we need to ship any orders, we can just get them into
a package and send them right off.
Um, it's super important when you're running a home based
business that whatever you're doing with your business doesn't
feel like added work so that you're not constantly burning
yourself out when you get home.
There is nothing more empowering than being able to sell a
service or your own expertise.
This business model is essentially crafted around who you are and what
you know, creative professionals like designers or marketers
might freelance or consult with other companies, juggling
multiple clients often remotely.
Others might operate based on appointments and bookings
to offer their service to individuals directly.
Services are even simpler than products to start selling
from home, but the challenge here is going to be how
you're allocating your time.
Time is money has never been truer than when you're running
your service based business.
An important thing to look out for with service based businesses
is that they often require a lot of networking and word of
mouth to find suitable clients.
You'll need to develop a solid marketing strategy to help
get your name out there when you're first getting started.
Additionally, you need to be incredibly attentive to
customer service initiatives and best practices to ensure
that you foster loyal customers who will return time and
time again for your business.
If you're able to build a small, loyal group of people, you
don't necessarily need to have a lot of customers to do well
because depending on the service you're offering, a handful of
high quality clients can be enough to support yourself full
time while working from home.
As I mentioned earlier, one of the biggest downsides of running
a service based business is that you're being paid strictly for
your skills, time, and effort.
Now to help alleviate some of these potential time issues, you
can also productize their service.
This means that you create physical or digital products that
package up with your expertise and streamline or compliment
the service that you offer.
Some ideas for adding product to your service based business
include courses, designs, digital assets, downloadable reports,
digital templates, merchandise or eBooks, which as an added bonus
for this business type means that there will be no physical
products to trip over at home.
In today's connected world, the ability to build an
audience by capturing and keeping them is an asset.
And access to that audience is something that businesses
are willing to pay for.
Whether you choose to grow your following on YouTube, Instagram,
or a blog, you have many different ways to monetize your audience.
You can do sponsored posts on behalf of brands, you can become
an affiliate, you can sell physical or digital products, or
you can create a Patreon page.
One thing I do want to highlight is that taking an audience
first approach to starting a business means that you're
definitely playing the long game.
So it might actually be months before you figure all of this out.
There you have it.
If this video has inspired you to start a business today, let
us know what idea you are going with in the comments below.
I'm like dreading saying service based business again.