---
title: 'How to Actually Start Shopify Dropshipping (FOR BEGINNERS)'
source: 'https://youtube.com/watch?v=YImqGsOPqU8'
video_id: 'YImqGsOPqU8'
date: 2026-06-28
duration_sec: 1112
---

# How to Actually Start Shopify Dropshipping (FOR BEGINNERS)

> Source: [How to Actually Start Shopify Dropshipping (FOR BEGINNERS)](https://youtube.com/watch?v=YImqGsOPqU8)

## Summary

The video provides a step-by-step guide for beginners to start a Shopify dropshipping business in 2025, even with no experience and minimal funds. The speaker shares his personal story of losing everything and rebuilding a $1.7 million business in five months, emphasizing that knowledge and skills are more valuable than money. The guide covers niche selection, store building with AI, product research, supply chain setup, traffic generation, and scaling strategies.

### Key Points

- **Personal story and mindset** [0:00] — The speaker lost everything in a disaster but rebuilt a $1.7M business in 5 months using only his knowledge. He emphasizes that skills are the most valuable asset.
- **Niche selection criteria** [1:58] — Choose a niche that balances passion, profit (2.5x margin), and practicality (avoid heavy/fragile/oversaturated products). Use AutoDS for data-driven niche selection.
- **Building the store with AI** [4:40] — Use Shopify's AI store builder to create a professional store in minutes. Customize colors and logo to improve conversion rates.
- **Finding winning products** [6:37] — Use a three-step method: data analysis (AutoDS trend score 7+), competition check, and profit margin verification (2.5x). Look for problem-solving, wow factor, and impulse purchase potential.
- **Supply chain setup** [9:01] — Traditional dropshipping (China) offers better margins but longer shipping; domestic is faster but thinner margins. Connect Shopify to AutoDS, choose reliable suppliers, and always have backups.
- **Driving traffic** [11:43] — Start with organic TikTok/Instagram using the PPS formula (Problem, Pain, Solution). Post daily for 30 days. For paid ads, start with $10–20/day and scale only on positive results.
- **Optimization and scaling** [13:56] — Analyze data to double down on what works. Use email marketing (Omnisend) to retain customers. Reinvest 25–50% of profits back into the business.

## Transcript

I've literally started over from scratch
with nothing more than what was in my
head and still became successful at drop
shipping. Which means that I'm living
proof that you don't need the perfect
opportunity or a startup budget to make
it big. You just need the fundamental
skills that I'll be sharing with you
today. And the best part, it's easily
achievable even if you work a 9 to5 just
like I did when I started out. Now look,
I know exactly where you're at right
now. You're probably sitting at home
after 9 to5 scrolling through videos
trying to figure out how to escape that
daily grind. and drop shipping seems
like the perfect solution, right? Low
investment, no inventory, and the
potential to make some serious money
while you sleep. But you're also
probably overwhelmed with all the
different advice out there. Should you
be using Facebook ads, Tik Tok? What
products should you be selling? How do
you even set up a store? And listen, I
get it because I was exactly where you
are not too long ago. That's why in this
video, I'm going to show you the exact
step-by-step process to start a Shopify
drop shipping business in 2025. even if
you have zero experience and are
starting with basically no money. And
I'm not going to waste your time with
generic advice like find a good product
or build a store. I'm going to give you
the exact 2025 playbook that I wish
someone had given me when I first
started. And before we dive in, let me
just quickly share something personal
that should paint the picture of how
powerful knowledge actually is. You see,
a few years back, I had to start
completely from scratch. A disaster
wiped out everything that I owned. My
apartment, my belongings, everything was
gone overnight. But here's the thing. I
still had the most valuable asset, the
knowledge in my head. I already knew
exactly how to build a profitable drop
shipping business. And that's something
that nobody could take away from me.
With just my laptop and that knowledge,
I was able to build a brand new business
that generated $1.7 million in just 5
months. That's why I'm so passionate
about teaching this stuff, because once
you learn these skills, they're yours
forever, no matter what life throws at
you. And with that said, let's jump
straight into the process so you can
develop those skills for yourself as
well. The first step to starting your
Shopify drop shipping store is choosing
the right niche. Now, most people tell
you to follow your passion or pick
something that you're interested in. But
in 2025, that advice is outdated and it
can actually hurt your chances of
success. So instead, here's what you
need to do. First, you want to find a
niche that hits the sweet spot between
passion, profit, and practicality. Let
me break that down for you. Starting
with passion. Yes, you should be
somewhat interested in that niche, but
it doesn't have to be your life calling.
Next is the profit. The niche needs to
have products with good profit margins
where you're aiming for at least 2.5x of
the product cost itself for what the
current market is selling the product
for. Then practicality. You see, now
this is where most beginners go wrong.
Your niche needs to be practical for
drop shipping. meaning that the products
that you sell shouldn't be too heavy,
too fragile, and oversaturated. This is
important because you don't want to add
potential problems before you even get
started. For example, let's say that you
sell something like luxury wine glasses
or gym equipment. Well, you're basically
shooting yourself in the foot because
problems like broken products and
massive shipping costs due to the weight
will be an everyday thing that you have
to face. So, instead, you want to choose
products that will always have a smooth
time traveling across the world. and
small gadgets. Those are ones that often
work the best. So, these are the
requirements, but how do you actually
find this perfect niche? Well, it's a
lot easier than it may seem at first.
Because, you see, most beginners, they
struggle to find a niche that actually
makes sales. They often choose the
oversaturated ones that just seem cool
and then later wonder why they're not
getting any results. But that's not even
the worst part. They then spend weeks,
if not months, building a store around a
product that was doomed from the start.
No sales, no growth, just wasted time
and effort. Which is exactly why I use
AutoDS to skip past that and why you
should, too. Autods has been a game
changer for my business, because it
doesn't just show you random products.
It shows you products are actually
selling right now based off of real-time
data. Plus, it gives you insights into
profit margins, competition levels, and
even shipping times. basically
everything that you need to make an
informed decision about your niche. So,
the key is to avoid ultra competitive
niches like general fashion or
electronics and instead look for
specific subniches with passionate
buyers. For example, instead of fitness
equipment, you might focus on home yoga
equipment for beginners that is much
more specific and way less competition.
And just to make this even better for
you, I've also secured a special
discount with AutoDS, which you can
access from the link down below this
video. So, make sure to not miss out on
this because finding the right niche
will either make or break your store.
Now that you've chosen your niche, it is
time to build your store. This right
here is where most beginners get stuck
and end up wasting weeks trying to
perfect every little detail. But here's
the truth. In 2025, you don't need to be
a web designer or spend weeks building
your store. Thanks to AI, you can have a
professional looking store up and
running in less than an hour. First,
you'll need to sign up for Shopify. And
I've already got a special link in the
description down below that will give
you your first three months for just $1,
which is perfect when you're just
starting out and trying to keep costs
low. So once you sign up for Shopify,
here's where the magic happens. Instead
of trying to design your store from
scratch, you're going to use the AI
store builder. This tool is absolutely
incredible. You just enter in your
niche, pick some basic design
preferences, and it builds an entire
professional store for 100% free in only
a couple minutes. I'm talking about a
professional designed homepage, product
page templates that are optimized for
conversions and trust badging elements
that boost sales. So, what used to take
me weeks to build a store from scratch
now only takes a couple minutes. And the
stores that it builds achieve conversion
rates two to three times higher than
beginner built stores. So, here's a
quick tip. When using the AI store
builder, don't just accept the default
settings. Take an extra 15 to 20 minutes
to customize the colors, logo, and
overall feel to match your niche. You
see, this small step can dramatically
increase your conversion rates. And the
reason that this tool is so powerful is
that it's built on data from thousands
of successful stores. It knows exactly
what elements that you need to have on
your homepage, what your product pages
should look like, and how to structure
your checkout process for maximum
conversions. In the description down
below, I've included a link where you
can get started with this free AI store
builder and build your store in the next
hour. And hey, if you've been gaining
value from this video so far, then make
sure to comment start along with your
biggest takeaway for a chance to win a
free one-on-one consulting call with me,
where we will map out your drop shipping
game plan from A through Z to ensure
that you get success. So, with your
perfect niche and store ready to go, it
is time to find the winning products
that you'll fill it up with. This is the
biggest make or break step for your drop
shipping business because you could have
the best looking store in the world. But
if you're selling products that nobody
wants, you're not going to be making any
money. So the question is, how do you
find winning products in 2025? Well,
first, forget about using AliExpress to
browse randomly. This method is dead.
It's like trying to find a needle in a
haststack. Possible, but extremely
timeconuming. So instead, you need a
datadriven approach. Here's my
three-step product research method that
you can follow right now. Data analysis.
Use AutoDS to find products that are
already selling well. Their trend
analysis tool shows you exactly what's
hot right now with real sales data to
back it up. Competition check. Look at
how many other drop shippers are selling
this exact same product. Because if
everyone in their mom is selling it,
you're going to have a hard time
standing out. But also make sure to not
reinvent the wheel. You want to pick
something that clearly is working but
isn't the most popular one out there.
That way, you'll hit the sweet spot
between supply and demand. Profit margin
verification. You want to make sure that
the product has at least a 2.5x profit
margin. That gives you room to run ads
and still be able to make money. Now,
another thing that I absolutely love
about AutoDS is that it shows you the
trend score for each product. This is
like a snapshot of how popular a product
is right now, where you want to be
aiming for products with a trend score
of seven or higher. But here's a pro
tip. Don't just look at the current
trend score. Look at the trend history
where you want to be finding products
that are consistently trending up, not
ones that just spiked up one time and
are now declining. When evaluating
products, also consider these three
factors. Problem solving. The best
products solve a specific problem for
your customers. Wow factor. It should
have something unique or surprising that
make people want to share it. And
lastly, impulse purchase potential. The
price should be low enough that people
can buy it without too much thought. For
example, one of the best performing
products that I've seen recently is a
portable pet water bottle with a
built-in bowl. It solves a clear
problem. Hydrating pets on the go, has a
wow factor, which is the clever design,
and it's priced low enough for an
impulse buy. Remember, product research,
it's not a one-time thing. In 2025,
trends, they move fast. So, you should
be constantly researching and testing
new products in your niche to always
stay ahead of the curve. And now that
you have your store and your products,
you now need to set up your supply
chain. This is what makes drop shipping
different from traditional e-commerce
because you don't have to hold any
inventory. And for those of you who
don't know what a supply chain is, it's
just essentially explains how your
product gets from the suppliers into the
hands of the customers. So, a customer
places an order, it gets sent to the
supplier, they package it, ship it to
the customer, and then you keep a
percentage. That's your supply chain.
Now, in 2025, there are two main
approaches to drop shipping supply
chains. There is traditional drop
shipping where you're working directly
with suppliers, usually from China, or
there's domestic drop shipping, where
you're working with suppliers in your
own country. Traditional drop shipping
typically offers better profit margins,
but way longer shipping times, while
domestic drop shipping has thinner
margins, but much faster shipping. For
beginners, I recommend starting with
traditional drop shipping to learn the
ropes. Then, as you scale, you can
transition to domestic suppliers or even
consider holding some inventory for your
bestselling products. So, here's how to
set up your supply chain. First thing
you want to do is connect your Shopify
store to AutoDS. This is going to allow
you to import products directly from
suppliers and automate much of the
fulfillment process. Next, you want to
choose your suppliers carefully. You
want to be looking for communication
quality, like do they respond quickly
and is it clearly? Then processing
times, asking yourself, how quickly do
they ship after an order? And last,
product quality. Getting order samples
if possible. This is how you can always
ensure that you're selling a good,
high-quality product. You see, one
mistake that I see beginners make is
using the cheapest supplier that they
can find. This almost always backfires
when the quality is poor or shipping
times take forever. Instead, focus on
finding reliable suppliers who may
charge a little bit more, but deliver
consistently good products on time. It
is worth a slightly smaller margin for
reliability. Also, always have backup
suppliers for your bestselling products.
Nothing kills a drop shipping business
faster than suppliers suddenly running
out of stock or just disappearing. After
I found my first winning product and I
started scaling, I learned a crucial
lesson about managing success. In just
five months, I went from having nothing
to generating over $1.7 million in
revenue and
$450,000 plus in profit. Let me just say
that success was incredible. But it also
came with new challenges. As the orders
started pouring in, I had to make sure
that my supply chain could handle the
volume. One small hiccup in the supply
chain could have derailed everything
that I'd already built. That's why I
always recommend having backup suppliers
in place from day one. It might seem
excessive when you're just starting, but
it's so much easier to set this up
before you need it than to scramble when
you're in the middle of rapid growth.
And now that you got your store, you've
got your products, and you've got your
suppliers, you need customers. But
interestingly, this isn't actually the
part where most drop shippers fail. Even
though it may seem like it, most of them
fail in the next step, purely because
they fail to realize its importance. But
before we get into that, let's get you
some initial customers. In 2025, there
are several ways to drive traffic to
your store, but not all of them are
created equally. Let me go and break
down what actually works for complete
beginners. Starting with Tik Tok
organic, create short, engaging videos
about your products. Focus on showing
the problems that your product solves,
then the solution that it provides. No
fancy equipment is going to be needed,
just your phone and good lighting. Next
is through Instagram reels. This is
similar to Tik Tok, but it can be easier
to build an initial following if you
already have some Instagram presence.
After that is Facebook or Instagram ads.
Still effective, but more expensive than
it was just a few years ago. So, start
with a small budget around like $10 to
$20 per day and it scale only when you
see positive results. So, for beginners,
I do recommend starting with organic
social media. And here's why. It's free.
It helps you test product interest
before spending on ads. and it builds a
following that you can market to again
and again. But if you got some money to
spend, I definitely recommend using paid
ads. That's because paid ads, they drive
even way more traffic. They're better at
targeting your ideal customers, and you
save valuable time. So, when you are
creating content, I want you to follow
what I call the PPS formula. Starting
with the first P, which is problem. You
got to start by highlighting a specific
problem that your audience faces. Then
the next P is pain. Amplify the
emotional impact of that problem. And
lastly, S for solution. Introduce your
product as the perfect solution. And
remember, the key is consistency. You
want to be posting at least once per day
for 30 days straight. And I know this
might seem like a lot, but just keep in
mind, you're building a business, so you
need to treat it like one. On a side
note, I'd love to know what part of the
process seems most challenging to you.
Is it finding products? Is it building
your store? Or creating content? drop a
comment down below and let me know so I
can talk more about that in future
videos. Now, the final step is to
optimize and scale your business. This
is where the real money is made. Once
you start getting sales, you need to
analyze your data to see what is working
and what's not. Here, you want to be
paying attention to what products that
are selling the best, the traffic
sources that are bringing in the most
customers, and of course, your profit
margins after all the expenses. And use
this data to double down on what's
working and to cut what's not. If one
product is out selling everything else,
focus more of your energy and your ad
budget on that product. Then, as you
start to scale, consider these
strategies where you're adding in
complimentary products to increase your
average order value. You're implementing
email marketing to bring customers back
for repeat purchases, and you're
exploring new traffic sources to be able
to diversify your customer acquisition.
Because one of the biggest mistakes I
see drop shippers do after seeing some
initial success is not maximizing value
per customer. They end up spending all
their energy on gaining new customers,
which just is not sustainable in the
long term. Look at it like pouring water
into a bucket that is leaking from the
bottom where the water represents your
customers. You see, you can pour in as
much as you want, but the water level
stays the same. You're essentially
missing out on two to 3x in your
business because previous customers
never come back for more. And what's
worse, you're spending all that time and
energy finding new customers while just
setting up an email system with patch up
the league and get you scaling without
breaking a sweat. And that's exactly why
I use Omnisend. This is a super
effective email and SMS marketing tool
that allows you to automate follow-ups
to old customers so that they won't
forget about your store. But besides
that, it's also really great for sending
follow-ups for people who ditch their
cart. Omnison allows you to maximize the
value of a single customer, which is
just as important to marketing to new
customers. This is the tool that I
personally use as well as recommend to
most of my students. So definitely make
sure to go and check it out as the link
is down below in the description. Now
the key to scaling successfully is
reinvestment. In the early days, people
used to reinvest at least 50% of their
profits back into the business. Better
products, more advertising, and tools
that can save you time. So before you go
crazy and you start spending all the
profits, make sure to invest at least 25
to 50% back into the business so that
you can continue to keep scaling. It's
also essential to have some sort of
backup fund just in case some emergency
happens. So, there you have it. The
complete step-by-step guide to starting
a Shopify drop shipping business in
2025. But here's the thing. While this
information is powerful, information
alone doesn't build businesses. Action
does. So, if you're serious about
applying this, then you've got all the
components of drop shipping success
nailed down. But perhaps you feel like
you need somebody to point out your
blind spots during this entire process.
Well, you're not alone. I know from
experience that having the right
guidance, it can accelerate your success
by months or even years. And that's why
I created my one-on-one mentorship
program to provide a personalized
guidance, support, and accountability
that can take you from zero to a
profitable drop shipping business in
record time. In my mentorship program,
you'll get immediate access to
personalized one-on-one coaching calls,
access to my exclusive product research
database, proven ad templates and
copywriting formulas, a private
community of successful drop shippers,
and a step-by-step implementation plan
customized to your specific situation.
But I want to be clear, this program
isn't for everyone. I only work with
action takers who are serious about
building a real business. So, if that's
you, which I'm sure it is since you're
still watching, the link to apply is in
the description. Now, spots are very
limited, so make sure to apply now if
you're ready to fasttrack your success.
And remember, in 2025, drop shipping has
evolved drastically, and the people who
are thriving are the ones who've adapted
to the new landscape. But if you
actually apply what I've taught you here
today, and make sure to always improve
moving forward, I can guarantee that
you'll be thriving as well. I mean,
think about the freedom that you'll gain
just by implementing these steps
consistently. You can finally quit the
9ine toive job that you hate, travel the
world, buy freedom for your family, and
get the dream car that you've always
wanted. All it takes is just starting
today. Because remember, the beginning
is always going to be the hardest. And
then once you gain momentum, it gets so
much easier. So, with the right
knowledge, the tools, and the mindset,
you can build a profitable drop shipping
business from scratch, even if you're
starting from zero experience and
minimal funds. And if you're ready to
dive deeper, check out my next video on
how to find $10,000 a month winning drop
shipping products in 2025. It's linked
right here, and it's also in the
description down below. I'll see you at
that video. This is AC with Supreme Ecom
and I'm