Go Big or Go Home?
One of the great things about Shopify, apart from a nice long free trial, is the possibility of running a shop with low overheads and just a few products.
It's the way forward isn't it? For only a few dollars per month, you can fulfil your dreams of quitting your day job and carving your way forward to a bright future.
Let's get real for a minute, though. Running a Store is NOT cheap.
Shopify might be very reasonably priced and you don't have to worry about designing your store. You can buy the perfect Shopify theme right here after all.
Let's break down the real expense
In no particular order:
- Shopify Monthly Payments
- Facebook Advertising
- Search Engine Advertising
- Email Service (Mailchimp etc.)
- Purchasing Stock (Even drop shipping has it's own price to pay)
- Your Salary/s
- Product Photography or Product Image Creation / Mockups
- Various Applications that help to grow your store
I am sure I have missed a few important items from the list, but you get the picture. Now imagine the time you need to put into getting your Store off the ground and growing your customer base. You have committed to a set of monthly financial commitments which will leave your bank account regardless of whether people buy anything or not! That's pretty daunting, right?
So why do it?
How many times have you wondered what would happen if you started your own business? How many times have you missed, or avoided an opportunity and regretted it later? This will is the very Human desire to create, achieve and to feel fulfilled. Marketing experts use this desire to make you buy things every day.
I have painted a bleak picture above, sure. But you know, people open online stores all the time and, yes, many will 'fail' (that is to say, 'be a learning process'), although some will break through and go on to bring happiness to the owner and others.
You can read a thousand Blog articles about persistence, commitment, communication in an authentic way. It is true to say that all of these things must be backed up by a product set that is a fantastic idea, or neatly finds it's own niche. Honestly, if you think that you have found something that a large section of society will go nuts for, and you have done your research. No amount of monthly outgoings will stop you from taking a running jump towards your dream of owning a successful online store.
Please, just do your research, have belief in your products, and keep those costs as low as you can.
The best of everything in all of your endeavours!