My experience dropshipping in Uganda: Lessons I learnt.

 

 NOTE: This is not a comprehensive guide but more of a few tips you can use to guide you through starting a dropshipping business.

Drop shipping is  a business model that has always existed but has only recently become "Trendy" but as "Trendy" as it is, it is also very risky. When I tried drop shipping, I did not succeed at it but I learnt from my experience. I know when I was starting and doing my research, I  probably bought a lot of the marketing ploys that only made my pockets emptier. Here I share with you a few key tips that not only help the 'newbie' but specifically my Ugandan brothers and sisters because there's not enough content putting you first, anyway, here's my advice;

To those new to drop shipping this is a business model wherein the seller accepts orders for a product but does not keep it in stock. in fact the order is passed on to the supplier who then ships the product directly to the customer. 

1.Pick a niche and a product to sell

Now from what I recall when you want to start a business you need to have a niche. When I started I zeroed down on the 'Fashion' niche specifically accessories like sunglasses, jewelry, belts now and stuff like that. For you it can be 'Phone Accessories' specifically Phone covers, Glass Screen guards, Power banks etc. During my research, I kept reading that I should choose a trending product in my niche. I suggest you look to Tiktok and Instagram Reels to find trending products because we have seen how social media now controls what people will buy. Social media can be more than a pass time and a "nuisance" (as some of our parents say), it can help you make some dough! Like this year on Tiktok, 'butt-lifting' leggings were blowing up, a smart dropshipper jumped on this while it was hot and made loads of money. You can also use google trends to see whats trending in the world right now.There are other tools/sites you can use to find trending  products in your niche like 'Exploding topics' and 'Amazon' ( Amazon Movers and Shakers or Best Sellers list)

NOTE: Do not just choose to sell any product you see is trending, choose a product you too would personally use. That way you can market it from your own POV. It is easier to market a product you would use yourself.

2.Pick a dropshipping platform

 Now you have a product(s) to sell, next you need a dropshipping platform to start your business. I started with Shopify specifically because of their 14 day free trial which i hoped to use to set up my store and make enough money to pay the $29 subscription fee. Here's my advice on this particular manner, if you can get around UGX300,000 and put it aside for 3 months of subscription fees(6 Months is better, though). It will set up time to swallow the initial dry spell that most startup businesses face. I did not do that and sadly it was one of the reasons I had to close shop. The 14 Day trial can be enough time to set up a store, if  you aren't a perfectionist like me. From the YouTube tutorials I watched on setting up a Shopify store, if you choose to set up a pretty basic site in terms of design for time management purposes then 14 days will do but in the long run it won't. We humans are visual creatures so that means you should play on colors and design to hook the customers. Let's be honest you wouldn't trust a poorly designed shopping site that looks likes a 10 year old designed it over a intricately designed shopping site that could be made by an amateur who just put time into it. Designing a great website won't necessarily take 14 days nor will it take 5 minutes, it depend on your ability. But if you want to take less time that the average user, look into tutorials on setting up a Shopify store. If Shopify isn't your cup of tea then there is 'Woo Commerce', 'Big Commerce' and 'Oberlo', do your research on each specifically if they can work with you who is in Uganda ( Sometimes they only work with specific countries).

3. Plan how to market your product(s)

Marketing is another thing you need to be keen on. Now for dropshipping, what is usually recommended is Facebook and Instagram more specifically Facebook Ads. Facebook Ads are not a simple thing, I lost UGX250,000 on my first try and I have never gone back since so trust mewhen i say it isn't a simple thing. One thing I want to emphasize is that you will find loads of people sharing their Facebook Ad strategies but  their strategies won't help you in the long run because they aren't made for your target audience. I  tried 2 strategies made by these YouTube 'Gurus' and not only did i lose money but i also never managed to convert any ad viewers into a customer, let alone a website visitor. Their strategies should be a benchmark for how to set up your Facebook Ads not what you do because their strategies are tailor made for them. In fact Facebook offers great courses that teach you how to use Facebook ads because its not just paying for your Facebook posts to be seen by your target audience in factit's more about testing, great CTA's (Call To Actions), and loads of keyword research.

As for Tiktok, the Big Boy of social media nowadays, I highly recommend using Tiktok as your main social media account. Tiktok is the best marketing platform, firstly, because it is free and secondly, a single Tiktok video can reach 100 people and out of those 100 viewers, 20 can turn into potential customers. Now if you are posting at least 2 Tiktok videos per day you could be reaching 40 potential customers every day. Tiktok has over 500 million users and you aren't the only dropshipper using it to reach customer so you have to make videos that don't just show your product but how your product can help them. The 'butt-lifting' leggings solved an issue regarding the confidence of women when they wear leggings, these leggings gave women confidence to feel sexy again....at least that's how i see it. So how is your product going to solve their problem?

4. Understand how the

Last but not least, Shipping. Shipping should not only be affordable for your customer but quick as well. Now if your customer is in Uganda, shipping is going to cost you an arm and a leg because we are a landlocked state. You also have to consider where supplier is situated, when I was dropshipping I  used Aliexpress to source my supplier and they were mostly in China. Shipping can  be a tricky matter because you can  not always be sure where your customer will order from and shipping costs vary from country to country. Shipping to Uganda using express shipping can cost up to UGX200,000 but if time is not an issue i.e 30-50  day shipping, you  can spend as low as UGX4000. Now what some people do is offer free shipping and instead include in the product price while others offer flat shipping rates. You can also just be straight up with the shipping costs as well, you just have to pick a strategy that works for you.

Dropshipping is a great side hustle but not an easy one, it is also very possible in Uganda. I did dropshipping and I may have not succeeded at it but I learnt a lot from that experience. I also hope my experience can give you the courage to start your side hustle. I encourage you to do your research before fully committing to this business because it's not the type you jump into unplanned or else you'll end up UGX250,000 broker like i did. You can become a millionaire doing this but it won't happen in day or maybe you could? 

If you have any question/advice/remarks, please feel as free as a bird to share them in the comments below.