How to Start a Dropshipping Business With No Money and See Results

Wondering how to start a dropshipping business with no money? The good news is, it's definitely doable. The not-so-good news is starting out with zero capital means you need to put in a lot of legwork to see it succeed. 

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Is It Really Possible To Start A Dropshipping Business With No Money?

Technically, yes, you can start dropshipping with no money. More realistically, having basic equipment (like a computer, Internet) and a small sum to get started is the best setup for success.

There are a few ways you can start a new business without so much as a dollar to your name. Take advantage of free trials and choose free options over paid versions whenever you get the chance.

If you can spend time scouring the internet, you'll find a few free products to get started and you can even find e-commerce platforms to host your site on for free until you're ready to invest money and make the upgrade.

At the bare minimum, the one thing you need to start dropshipping with no money is access to a computer and a stable Internet connection. Beyond that, you should be ready to invest a lot of time to get your business going in exchange for the lack of capital.

How Do You Start Dropshipping for free?

So, how to start a dropshipping business with no money? Here's all the information you need to know to leverage free options and get your store ready to start your dropshipping journey without having to invest money.

Step 1. Find A Profitable Niche To Work In

The first thing you want to do is find a profitable niche. Remember, this isn't a get-rich-quick scheme, it takes time to start seeing a decent profit.

So, pick a niche that you can stick to over the long term, and not just one that you think will make a lot of money. You should also look out for niches that will have fierce competition.

The best niches for drop shippers are those with many potential products that are lightweight and won’t break easily.

Potentially Good Niches For Dropshipping:

• Fishing
• Painting
• Golf
• Gardening

Potentially Bad Niches For Dropshipping:

• Video Games (high failure rate)
• Furniture (costly to ship)
• Videography/Photography (expensive and breakable)

Consider your customer information—what market do you want to target? And think of what products are in high demand for that market.

Step 2. Source Products Within Your Niche

One of the most important steps to starting a drop shipping business is to find the right supplier. The easy way will be to go over to AliExpress, Banggod, or a similar website.

However, you might want to consider local manufacturers in your niche. If you choose suppliers local to you there is a good chance their products are of higher quality and you can expect a lesser shipping time, leading to higher customer satisfaction.

Use this to find manufacturers or wholesalers and contact them to set up a dropshipping agreement. Finding reliable suppliers and the right product will make or break your online business.

Step 3. Pick A Platform To Sell On

Once you choose your products, the next step is to decide on which of the many e-commerce platforms out there is right for you. If you're trying to build your dropshipping business for free, you'll likely be looking to Amazon or eBay.

However, if you can spare roughly $3/month for a basic plan with a web host then in the long-term your best bet is starting your own website. Whether that looks like a Shopify store or a WordPress site is up to you, there are lots of different options.

Alternatively, you can use a free hosting service. I tried one of them called Infinity Free and managed to come out with a very basic website.

It was overly complicated to get started, there is no support, uptime is not a promise, and security is questionable at best.

Instead, I highly encourage you to start with the lowest tier plan on a hosting provider like Bluehost. You will get a free domain for the first year, and the hosting is decent enough to get started until you can move to something better.

Your goal is to get set up and get your first few sales coming in. Once you have consistent sales, you can scale up to a better hosting provider.

Or another great option is to get a true store all set up with Shopify, which is probably the most common platform that drop shippers use.

Step 4. Create a Store

Assuming you followed the advice and used Bluehost or a similar service, you can set up a WordPress store. Your hosting provider will help you to install WordPress (and for help, check out our list of the best DNS hosting providers). This will give you the ability to customize things completely.

Use WooCommerce to get started. This is a free eCommerce platform for WordPress. You will be able to host all of your pictures, take payments, and run every aspect of your store using this software.

Make sure that you have ways to take payments. Two of the best methods, when first getting started, are PayPal or Stripe. 

Alternatively you can also avoid getting your own hosting or worrying about WordPress, by getting set up on Shopify.

Step 5. Add Products And Write Unique Descriptions

Once you have all of the basics of your store and WooCommerce set up, you will need to add products. You can use a free service such as Canva to add backgrounds and filters. Try and touch up the photos that the manufacturer sent to you if you can.

Make sure you use unique product descriptions. Under no circumstances should you ever just copy the product description from the dropshipping supplier. You can copy over the product features, but that should be a few bullet points at the most.

People don’t just buy things for the sake of spending money. They buy products that will fill a hole or solve a problem in their lives. Do your homework on who your target audience and potential customer base are. Figure out their problems and how your products solve them and make that the primary message. 

Step 6. Invest Your Time In Marketing

Finally, after everything is set up, put the peddle to the floor with digital marketing. People cannot come to a store they know nothing about.

Create a content schedule for both social media and articles for your website. If you can get through the first year, you should be making enough money to begin outsourcing much of the work.

What Skills Do You Need To Start A Dropshipping Business With No Money?

Regardless of the dropshipping model you follow, it takes specialized skills to make a website work. That’s even more true for an eCommerce website. The most critical areas to focus on in order to appeal to potential customers will be the following:

Sales Focused Copywriting Skills

I’ve seen low quality websites hosted on $3/month hosting plans making tens of thousands of dollars each week. Most of these were single landing pages pitching a course or eBook. Why?

Because the sales copy was so precise and well crafted, the offer was so good that nothing else mattered. If you want to sell, the one thing you need to learn is how to write persuasive copy.

Content Marketing Skills and Search Engine Optimization

The difference between copywriting and content writing is as follows:

• Content writing is focused on being informative and educational. Typically, content writing is long-form but not always. While content can help sell a product, it isn’t the focus.
• Copywriting is typically always sales and marketing-focused. The purpose is to get the reader to perform a specific action such as filling out a form, purchasing a product, etc. While usually shorter, long-form copywriting has its place when crafting sales landing pages, email copy, and similar text.

While copywriting will help you sell your products when people arrive on your website or listing, content writing will help bring them there. 

You can use content to gain traction in search engine rankings. When searching for something, people will find your pages, click on the result, and land on your website. This is called content marketing through search engine optimization. 

Basic Data Analysis Skills

You are unlikely to get your messaging and branding right the first time. Yet, anyone will tell you that a strong brand identity is critical to success. To improve your message to convert more sales, you need data.

Companies spend billions each year on data acquisition. It’s the lifeblood of any online business. However, it doesn't mean anything if you can’t interpret it.

Google Analytics is a great, free tool to get started and focus on key metrics. You will also want to pay close attention to Google Search Console to see how visible your website is.

Basic Conversion Focused Web Design Skills

Amazon is an outstanding example of a website that does not look great, doesn't promise product quality, and still makes tons of money. Over $200 billion, to be exact.

Yes, you want a good-looking website that inspires trust. However, e commerce is more about learning to improve the conversion rate through conversion-focused design and less time on colors, fonts, and other aesthetic aspects.

Basic Graphic Design Skills

Graphic design can be a bit complex. Thankfully, there are free tools that you can use to make creating aesthetically pleasing graphics much more effortless.

You will want to learn a bit about graphic design to make sure that your dropshipping product photos and the overall look of your website inspire trust. Things don’t need to be perfect, but spend time to make sure they at least pass the skim test.

Customer Support Skills

Finally, you will be interacting with customers regularly. People will have questions about your product range or things like delivery time. They may also have concerns about ordering through your site. In addition, especially as a new business, you will inevitably find yourself having to handle product returns or requests for refunds. 

Tips For Growing Your Dropshipping Store With No Money

Aside from a lot of time and work, there are a few other tips that you can implement to improve your odds of creating a successful dropshipping store with no money.

Focus On Strong Branding

It cannot be stated enough that a strong brand will help you beat out the competition. Many new drop sellers will try and take products from AliExpress and list them on eBay or Amazon. The issue here is that there might be dozens of sellers with the same product.

To do this, you need to build a strong brand. 

Provide Top-Notch Customer Service

Customer service is free to provide, only costing you time. You cannot compete in many areas with dropshippers with money, but customer service is one of them.

Even though you may be selling the same products as other dropshippers, they will keep coming back if people feel special when they shop through your online store.

Create Strong Relationships With A Reliable Supplier

Just as you want to provide excellent customer service, you also want to create good relationships with your dropship supplier. This goes for suppliers all around the world. 

The better you know and communicate with a dropshipping supplier, the less likely you will have issues with product shipping, inventory running out, or difficulty with returns. All of this means that you will have fewer issues and less stress running your online store over time. 

What Are The Pros Of Dropshipping If You Don't Have Startup Money?

There are quite a few pros to dropshipping aside from the fact that you can get started for free or with the most minimal of investments. Some of the top benefits include:

Easy To Get Started

Dropshipping isn’t difficult to get started. While you will be spending a lot of time and energy to get going, none of this is particularly challenging. 

As long as you are patient and willing to learn a basic level of some new skills, you shouldn’t have any problems getting started. If you find yourself getting stuck, there are tons of guides and videos that can help you push forward towards the results you are after. 

The main area that you may struggle with initially is building your website. Just stay patient and remember that thousands of the most successful online entrepreneurs started in the same place as you.

No Need For Inventory

With dropshipping, you don’t ever have to carry inventory. This means you can avoid the associated costs such as warehousing, maintenance, and product loss. You also don’t have to worry about insurance or hiring employees.

This all contributes to you getting started for free using the dropshipping business model. The only time you may want to carry inventory is when you receive returns. Instead of shipping the item back, keep it to mail to the next person.

Location Independence

Along with not having to keep inventory is the fact that you don’t have to be based out of any one place. As long as you have stable internet and a computer, you are good to go. 

If you are starting a dropshipping business with no money, this gives you the flexibility of using public spaces such as libraries. You can work from friends’ houses if they will let you or, once you start making money, from a hotel on the road. 

Easier To Scale

The final benefit to a successful dropshipping business model, especially if you have no money to start, is that you can more easily scale. Once the foundation has been laid, you will find that scaling becomes a lot easier. 

In the beginning, you will have to put in manual effort to scale. However, as you get more traffic in, you can use tools like email marketing to keep your website growing. 

What Are The Cons Of Dropshipping If You Don't Have Startup Money?

Dropshipping without having money has a few significant downsides that shouldn’t be overlooked when getting started.

You Need To Invest A Lot Of Time Into Marketing

Since you are operating without money for advertising, you won’t have the luxury of getting your word out quickly. Instead, you are going to need to hustle the hard way.

This means content marketing, social media, and community posting such as Reddit. All of this takes extraordinary amounts of time to do correctly.

It Takes You Much Longer To Turn A Reasonable Profit

The fastest way to get started with dropshipping is through paid advertising. All of the other marketing methods, such as content and social media, take time.

Not just time to do the work, but also to see the results. A reasonable estimate is at least six months before you start seeing any consistent results. However, it can be as much as a year or more before you see a reasonable profit that you can work with.

Competition Will Be Fierce

Anything free or easy to get started will attract a lot of people. Dropshipping is no different. However, where you will beat them is through consistency and hard work.

Most new online businesses fail after the first year. Not because they were terrible or destined for failure, but because the owner gave up. Usually, right before the results they wanted started to appear. Patience and consistency will help you move past your competition. 

What Are Alternatives To A Dropshipping Business Model If You Have Little Money

Dropshipping isn’t the only business you can start without money, and it certainly isn’t the best. 

Affiliate Marketing

If you plan on starting a dropshipping business with no money, you may look into affiliate marketing instead. 

You will run into the same problems with having to pay for hosting, but you won’t have to worry about finding a dropshipping supplier and managing customers when first starting. 

Selling Digital Products

Digital products are free to make if you have no money to pay for professionals. You will need to put a bit of time and effort into perfecting your offering, but you can get it done with free tools such as Canva.

If you know about a topic that can help others, creating digital products such as eBooks or courses can be a great way to make money online.

Selling Services Online

Lastly, if you have a skill such as content writing, copywriting, graphic design, or anything else that can be done online, you can sell your services. Tons of websites hire freelancers, and getting started won’t cost you anything. 

This can be a great way to earn extra money for dropshipping or other online businesses.

Common Questions About How To Start A Dropshipping Business With No Money

To help you even further learn how to start a dropshipping business with no money, here are answers to some of the most commonly asked questions on the subject.

Is Dropshipping Profitable?

Dropshipping is highly profitable for consistent online store owners who put the work in. If you don’t have a lot of money to start your online dropshipping store, you will need to substitute with a lot of time and labor instead. 

How Long Does It Take To Start Making Money Dropshipping?

It can take as little as a few hours to start making money on dropshipping for exports. If you are just getting started, though, you should plan on at least six months to begin seeing results. You need to overcome a high learning curve before seeing consistent sales.

Can You Start A Dropshipping Store With $0?

You can start a dropshipping store with $0. However, you should plan at the very least to spend about $3 per month on hosting if you want to succeed. It is possible to dropship on Amazon or eBay for free, but competition is greater. Creating your own store will improve your chances of success.

How Much Do Beginner Dropshippers Make?

Beginner dropshippers tend to make tens to hundreds of dollars for the first six months to a year. Having prior marketing experience or skills in web design or copywriting can help improve your earnings by cutting down on learning time.

Final Verdict

How to start a dropshipping business with no money? Use free versions whenever possible, work hard, and stick to a single niche.

It's possible, but the best thing to do is plan to spend at least a little bit of money on hosting if you want to do things right. While it is possible to start completely free, you will be fighting an extreme uphill battle to succeed.

Assuming that you are committed to success and consistently dedicate the time and labor to your dropshipping store, you will see results. Remember that it will take time and effort to compensate for the lack of money starting out. 

Want more in-depth dropship training? Check out our Dropship Lifestyle review.

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