Dropshipping Mindset: 6 Things to Know Before You Start

Are you currently researching about dropshipping but not sure if you have the correct mindset to launch your store?

If so, then this article will be great for you! We will go over six things that you should know, so you can start your online store the right way.

1. Don't believe everything you see online

Personally, I believe this is also the number one reason people fail with dropshipping.

They have such high expectations because of so many ‘high-number YouTube videos/articles' that are geared towards dropshipping.

These people now think something like “dropshipping equals getting rich fast” or “dropshipping equals easy money”.

But is that true?

Well, no…

Dropshipping is a real business that you're starting, and earning money with it still depends on a few factors.

And yes, most of these people do this so they can sell you something like their dropshipping course.

If you're interested in learning more about these kinds of people and why they are selling courses, check out this funny rant here:

6 Things That Dropshipping Gurus Do Not Tell You As Beginner

Trust me, after reading that article, you will suddenly look different at these ‘online gurus'.

2. Dropshipping is just a fulfillment method

This is another great thing you should know before starting with dropshipping.

Dropshipping is just a fulfillment method!

If you're not sure what a fulfillment method is, then let me explain it real quick to you:

A fulfillment method is the method you use to fulfill your orders. There are three main ecommerce fulfillment methods:

• In-house order fulfillment. For example, you store the stock in your house and send the orders from there as well.
• Third-party fulfillment (or 3PL). This company will handle everything for you, from receiving your inventory from your manufacturer to restocking returned products.
• Dropshipping. With this fulfillment method, your dropshipping supplier will handle everything for you. (Producing the products, shipping, storing, etc.) You can read about what dropshipping is here. Plus, you can read more about the pros and cons here.

The big thing to remember now is that it doesn't matter what way you send your orders; the basics of ecommerce don't change.

It doesn't matter if you're dropshipping or buying in bulk by using a 3PL, you will still need an online store. (Which you can learn more about here!)

Yes, a few things are different if you're dropshipping. For example, if you're dropshipping from China, then you will have to make sure that you make the long shipping times clear for your customers.

But you don't need to learn dropshipping specific things; you can learn ecommerce in general!

For example, instead of reading dropshipping specific Facebook Ads articles, read an ecommerce in general Facebook Ads guide.

And yes, before you’re wondering, there are also big ecommerce stores that are using dropshipping as their fulfillment method.

3. Be unique, not like the rest

You might be thinking now, ‘Huh, but I'm dropshipping, my store should look like other dropshipping stores, right?'

Look, there are so many people learning about dropshipping and starting dropshipping stores right now.

For example, type in Google Trends “Dropshipping”:

Do you see how popular dropshipping is?

Everyone wants a piece of it because so many of these “gurus” advertised it as an easy way to earn money online. (As I covered above)

But do you know what the sad thing is?

Most of them don’t put any effort into their dropshipping store.

They open their store, import some products without changing anything, and start advertising.

This means that a lot of people that are dropshipping are selling the same products with the same information they got from maybe even the same dropshipping suppliers.

Of course, having the same product is not a bad thing yet, as you can read here.

But to also have the same images, descriptions, theme, and so on will definitely not help you in the long run!

One thing to note here, I'm not saying you shouldn't look at other dropshipping stores or ecommerce stores at all, but just take inspiration from them, like what are they doing good or what can you improve.

Don't literally copy everything! (Click here for more information about why inspiration is great)

If you're interested in learning how to make your dropshipping store unique, then I suggest reading the article I linked to below:

Unique Dropshipping Store: 11 Amazing Tips to Create One

4. You don't need to purchase a premade store

If you are thinking about starting a new dropshipping venture, you may have stumbled upon the possibility of buying a premade dropshipping store from one of the many websites that offer them.

A lot of discussions are made about whether it is smart to purchase a premade dropshipping as a beginner, so if you're interested in learning about the pros and cons of purchasing one, then I suggest reading the article I linked to below:

Premade Dropshipping Stores: Buy One or Build Yourself?

5. Know when to stop dropshipping

Look, the advantage of dropshipping is that you don’t have to purchase hundreds or thousands of the same product before you can sell them in your online store.

You can literally purchase them one by one. This means that you only pay for products when someone places an order on your online store! Isn’t that nice?

Yes, that has its own disadvantage as well (which you can read here), but the nice thing now is that you can see if you can sell the product before committing to a huge bulk order.

If you can’t sell the product, then you can easily move on to new products without worrying about having any leftover stock in your warehouse or home (wherever you store the products).

Now the big thing you need to remember here is that you need to know when to stop dropshipping.

Look, if your product is selling well and you know you found a market to sell your product to, then it’s awesome to purchase your product in bulk. (Using a different fulfillment method as I talked about at the beginning of the article)

This has its own advantages, which I won’t go over now, but you can read this article here if you’re interested in learning more.

The other thing you need to keep in mind is that if a product is not selling well, you should know when to stop dropshipping it.

6. You can learn for free if you want

First of all, as I covered above, most people believe that they need a paid dropshipping course in order to succeed with dropshipping.

The sad thing is that that's not true.

Just don't get me wrong, there are awesome courses out there, but don't purchase a course because it promises you a certain income.

Purchase a course because you want to learn more about, for example, Facebook Ads. (Something specific)

As an example, when I started blogging, I purchased a few blogging courses on Udemy for around $10 per course. (They run a lot of promotions, making their courses around $10-$15)

These courses didn't promise me to get rich the next week, but instead, they focussed on the core things that you should know as a beginner.

If you're interested in free courses, then take a look at the articles below:

• The 16 Best Free Ecommerce Courses for Entrepreneurs
• The 17 Best Free Dropshipping Courses

The first one is focused on all kinds of skills that you will need, and the second one is focused on courses that will teach you the basics of dropshipping.

I also suggest you take a look at this article here, which covers how to start dropshipping for free. (Spoiler: you can start for free, but sooner or later you will have to spend money)

And don't forget to check out our blog Do Dropshipping to learn more!

Summary

Before we go to the conclusion, I created a quick summary of this article for you, so you can easily remember it:

• Know that dropshipping is a real business (just like starting a “normal” ecommerce store), not a way to get-rich-quick.
• Make sure that your dropshipping store doesn't look like other stores out there.
• You don't need to purchase a premade dropshipping store in order to succeed.
• Dropshipping is nice to get started and to learn tons of skills, but once you get a lot of orders on a certain product, moving on to buying in bulk has lots of benefits as well.
• Only pay for a course if it teaches you a skill. Don't pay for a course because it promises you a certain income after you took it.

Plus, you can check out this amazing infographic here:

Conclusion

There you have it! Six tips that you can use to put your mindset right before you start with dropshipping.

Don't worry though if you already started, then I hope these tips still helped you!

Also, if you're currently stuck in the research phase, then check out this article here, which goes over seven tips that you can use to get started if you're not sure if you can start or not.

If you have any other tips for this article or if you have any questions, then let me know by commenting below or contacting me directly by pressing the “Contact Us” button at the top.

Good luck if you’re going to start dropshipping after reading this article!

Getting Started with Dropshipping in 2023

So, are you ready to get started with dropshipping? Or maybe you have already started, but you’re looking to get some inspiration?

If so, then I suggest reading this complete Shopify dropshipping guide.

It’s a huge article, but it contains everything that you need to know to create your own Shopify dropshipping store in 2023. It’s like a dropshipping course, but then for free!

Reading this article will surely help you to get started and to stay motivated while beginning and continuing your dropshipping journey.

Just don’t forget that success takes time. Keep improving each and every day!

Shopify Dropshipping: A 20-Step Guide to Starting Your Store

And here are the articles I suggest you read next:

• The 25 Best Dropshipping Niche Ideas for Your Store
• 15 Best & Worst Countries to Target as a Dropshipper
• The 25 Best Dropshipping Websites & Companies for Your Store
• 14 Best Free Dropshipping Suppliers (+ Niche Suppliers Included)

And also, if you didn’t create a Shopify account yet (to get your dropshipping store online), then you can click here to get a free 3-day trial + pay $1/month for the first 3 months!