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Best Business Models and Dropshipping in 2020
https://www.johnnyfd.com/2020/04/best-business-models-and-dropshipping.html
This has been a crazy year so far business wise. While the offline world is entering a recession, the online business world has seen black friday levels of traffic and sales across the board. While people should be saving, even the unemployed, at least in places in American and some parts of Europe are using their $4,000 a month unemployment checks and $1,200 cash stimulus payments to shop online out of boredom. While some businesses are still at a standstill, or have completely run out of inventory others have been thriving.
Right now, if you have an online business, chances are, you are making more money than you ever have before, and spending less as you physically can't leave the house or buy anything. If you don't have a business yet, this is the perfect time to start one as you have nothing but free time and nothing to do with it. Most people are going to waste these next two months scrolling through social media, binge watching TV shows on Netflix, stressing out about things that are out of their control, and complaining online to their friends and strangers. But many of you will take this time to start or scale up your online business, and create a new life for yourself with new streams of income, and have even more freedom and money once this is all over. The choice is yours, and this following article and embedded videos are for those who want to start a new online business in 2020.
Selling on Amazon, whether it was through FBA (Fulfilled By Amazon), Kindle (ebooks) or even as an Amazon Associate used to be very lucrative. But as I've warned for years now, Amazon is a behemoth that doesn't care about it's sellers and will turn on you at a moment's notice and there's nothing you can do about it.
The first blow to Amazon Associates, which are affiliates who send their customers to buy products on Amazon. As of April 21st, 2020 Amazon has decreased commission rates from 8% down to 1-3% for all categories. That now means that for the exact same amount of sales it normally took you to earn $800, you are now earning only $100-$300 at most and there's nothing you can do about it if you stay with Amazon. Sure you can follow what I teach inside my Income Boss affiliate marketing course to learn how to find better paying private affiliate offers, and how to quality for 30-50% commissions instead, but for most people they're now screwed and forced to take a lower commission from Amazon.
As for Amazon FBA, while some people are still doing very well, the smart ones are all building up their brands and attempting to move their sales and customers off of Amazon and onto their own Shopify Store so that they can truly own their customers and not get screwed when Amazon collects enough data on what items are selling and launches their own Amazon Basics or private label brand. They've also done so with their own non basics brands such as Pinzon, Solimo, Wag, Mama Bear, Presto!, Happy Belly, Mae, Goodthreads, 206 Collective or more being launched all of the time. With Amazon, you are 100% at their mercy, and I would not recomend you put yourself in that position with a new business.
You would think that dropshipping has become too competitive and that it's a dying or dead business model in 2020. And you would be correct if you were selling cheap products from China via Aliexpress which was what most people thought of us dropshipping as it was the easy shortcut method to start dropshipping products online. The problem with that method however, which I explained here in my 2017 Dropshipping on Aliexpress video is that it's not a real business. From day one I warned people that if might work for another few months, but you're basically tricking customers into paying more money for the same terrible product they could order directly from Aliexpress for a lot less money. Most people also didn't provide good customer service and weren't forthcoming that products would take 20-35 days to arrive.
However, the type of dropshipping I do is high ticket, home country sourced ecommerce. I learned this method through Anton Kraly when I took his course back in 2013 and have been using the exact same system since. His method teaches you how to find American companies who either manufacture or already have all of the products locally in their warehouse. It also works for many other countries in Europe, Australia, etc, but you'll always be looking for and trying to get approved as an authorized dealer in that home country where your customers are. This leads to fast 3-5 day shipping times, as well as better quality products and a better overall customer experience.
Even as recently as last year me and my team have build new dropshipping stores on Shopify and have been selling products ever since. But it wasn't until these past 30 days during the quarantine that we've reallys seen some our stores hit record sales. Watch the video below for more details on why Americans are shopping online so much during this recession and why this is the best time ever to start a new dropshipping store.
We've all seen by now the quote "If you don't get out of this quarantine with a new skill, more knowledge, or a side hustle started, you never lacked time, you lacked discipline"
The truth is, even though many people are having a tough financial or physical time during this lockdown, and we should do everything we can to help them through it. Most people's biggest problem right now is boredom, especially ones scrolling on their smartphones or laptops now like you are right now.
I've made a few videos below, and recorded an episode with Kristin Wilson on Episode 246 of Travel Like a Boss on why most digital nomads are not only coping better than the average person during the quarantine, but why many of them are crushing it. So if you've ever wished you had the time to start a new online business. This is your time. I've given you all of the tools above, now it's your time to make it happen.
Right now, if you have an online business, chances are, you are making more money than you ever have before, and spending less as you physically can't leave the house or buy anything. If you don't have a business yet, this is the perfect time to start one as you have nothing but free time and nothing to do with it. Most people are going to waste these next two months scrolling through social media, binge watching TV shows on Netflix, stressing out about things that are out of their control, and complaining online to their friends and strangers. But many of you will take this time to start or scale up your online business, and create a new life for yourself with new streams of income, and have even more freedom and money once this is all over. The choice is yours, and this following article and embedded videos are for those who want to start a new online business in 2020.
Business Model Breakdowns
In this video below, I talk about the state of online businesses in 2020 across all fields. The ones I mention and breakdown include Amazon FBA, Amazon Kindle Publishing, Affiliate Marketing, Ecommerce, Dropshipping from Aliexpress, High Ticket Dropshipping, Online Courses, App Development, and selling on Shopify.
Watch the video below for a full breakdown of all the different business models and how are currently working in 2020.
Watch the video below for a full breakdown of all the different business models and how are currently working in 2020.
The New Amazon Changes
Selling on Amazon, whether it was through FBA (Fulfilled By Amazon), Kindle (ebooks) or even as an Amazon Associate used to be very lucrative. But as I've warned for years now, Amazon is a behemoth that doesn't care about it's sellers and will turn on you at a moment's notice and there's nothing you can do about it.
The first blow to Amazon Associates, which are affiliates who send their customers to buy products on Amazon. As of April 21st, 2020 Amazon has decreased commission rates from 8% down to 1-3% for all categories. That now means that for the exact same amount of sales it normally took you to earn $800, you are now earning only $100-$300 at most and there's nothing you can do about it if you stay with Amazon. Sure you can follow what I teach inside my Income Boss affiliate marketing course to learn how to find better paying private affiliate offers, and how to quality for 30-50% commissions instead, but for most people they're now screwed and forced to take a lower commission from Amazon.
As for Amazon FBA, while some people are still doing very well, the smart ones are all building up their brands and attempting to move their sales and customers off of Amazon and onto their own Shopify Store so that they can truly own their customers and not get screwed when Amazon collects enough data on what items are selling and launches their own Amazon Basics or private label brand. They've also done so with their own non basics brands such as Pinzon, Solimo, Wag, Mama Bear, Presto!, Happy Belly, Mae, Goodthreads, 206 Collective or more being launched all of the time. With Amazon, you are 100% at their mercy, and I would not recomend you put yourself in that position with a new business.
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| Amazon Private Label is Choking FBA |
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| Amazon Associates Affiliate Payouts for 2020 |
State of Dropshipping
You would think that dropshipping has become too competitive and that it's a dying or dead business model in 2020. And you would be correct if you were selling cheap products from China via Aliexpress which was what most people thought of us dropshipping as it was the easy shortcut method to start dropshipping products online. The problem with that method however, which I explained here in my 2017 Dropshipping on Aliexpress video is that it's not a real business. From day one I warned people that if might work for another few months, but you're basically tricking customers into paying more money for the same terrible product they could order directly from Aliexpress for a lot less money. Most people also didn't provide good customer service and weren't forthcoming that products would take 20-35 days to arrive.
However, the type of dropshipping I do is high ticket, home country sourced ecommerce. I learned this method through Anton Kraly when I took his course back in 2013 and have been using the exact same system since. His method teaches you how to find American companies who either manufacture or already have all of the products locally in their warehouse. It also works for many other countries in Europe, Australia, etc, but you'll always be looking for and trying to get approved as an authorized dealer in that home country where your customers are. This leads to fast 3-5 day shipping times, as well as better quality products and a better overall customer experience.
Even as recently as last year me and my team have build new dropshipping stores on Shopify and have been selling products ever since. But it wasn't until these past 30 days during the quarantine that we've reallys seen some our stores hit record sales. Watch the video below for more details on why Americans are shopping online so much during this recession and why this is the best time ever to start a new dropshipping store.
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| One of my dropshipping stores built with Anton's Method |
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| My other Dropship Store also Built with Anton's Method. |
The Choice is Yours
We've all seen by now the quote "If you don't get out of this quarantine with a new skill, more knowledge, or a side hustle started, you never lacked time, you lacked discipline"
The truth is, even though many people are having a tough financial or physical time during this lockdown, and we should do everything we can to help them through it. Most people's biggest problem right now is boredom, especially ones scrolling on their smartphones or laptops now like you are right now.
I've made a few videos below, and recorded an episode with Kristin Wilson on Episode 246 of Travel Like a Boss on why most digital nomads are not only coping better than the average person during the quarantine, but why many of them are crushing it. So if you've ever wished you had the time to start a new online business. This is your time. I've given you all of the tools above, now it's your time to make it happen.
If you've read this far, leave a comment so I can hear from you!
Warm Regards,
Johnny FD
What business are you currently in and how's it going in 2020?
ReplyDelete"If you don't get out of this quarantine with a new skill, more knowledge, or a side hustle started, you never lacked time, you lacked discipline" --> Love this Quote!
ReplyDeleteI am getting my side hustle in Coaching started. #excited. Thanks for the Blog Post
Happy to help Bella! Get it done!
DeleteGrear post! Do you think you will ever create a dropshipping store by yourself again?
ReplyDeleteI still actually own a couple of dropshipping stores that I started with partners last year. But yes, I would absolutely start another store on my own again.
DeleteGreat post, thank you! Did you need to setup up a corporation in the country that you are dropshipping from, or were you able to run it as a sole proprietor?
ReplyDeleteI started off as a Sole Proprietor and recomend that as the easiest way to start. For your second store, once you've built up some assets worth protecting then you can start an LLC. But start just with your name as a sole prop, it's much easier.
Delete> What business are you currently in and how's it going in 2020?
ReplyDeleteAffiliate sites, and I knew the Amazon fee decrease would happen one day...just not this soon. I was planning to move away from it, so now I'll be expediting moving to much more ad revenue & other programs.
And look into ("real") dropshipping again.
One question Johnny: How did you find out Amazon is doing their own private label brands aside from Amazon Basics? I heard they're stealing FBA seller product ideas from Ron Stefanski (The One Hour Professor) who was in Doug Cunnington's YouTube channel, but I hadn't heard they're disguising it by creating side brands/private labels.
Just curious how you found that out. Thanks for the post! :)
I've known about Amazon's shady tactics for years now as i have a lot of friends who sell on FBA. But recently there's been a lot of anti-trust lawsuits so Amazon has had to become more upfront about their private label brands, but still 99.9% of consumers will just choose the cheapest option, which will be Amazon's private label or basics brand. Problem is, they only got that info after stealing the data from the sellers...but consumers won't care.
DeleteAh ok, thanks for the reply. I saw where they denied it in 2019 but clearly it's true. Thanks for putting the info out there!
ReplyDelete(And yeah, I totally get the point about buyers not caring typically)
Amazon now has over 135 private label brands supposedly, but they're really hard to track. Here's a good source: https://this.just.in/amazon-brand-database/
Delete