Dropshipping: The 5 Pieces Of Content To Learn More About It

The Internet is an endless source of information, but it can also be a bit overwhelming when one looks for specifics on a given topic. We gathered 10 pieces of content that we found useful in learning more about the dropshipping model.

First things first, let’s start with a little reminder of what the dropshipping model is. Dropshipping includes 3 parties: a reseller (you), a supplier and your customer.

  1. The customer orders your product on your website.
  2. You process the order and send it to your supplier.
  3. The supplier packs up and sends the product directly to the customer.

This model is great to start an online business with a low budget as you don’t have to order products in advance and stock them in your house or a warehouse. Your job is to advertise and sell the products. You get paid by the customer and in turn you pay the product cost to the supplier.

Now that we’re done with the introduction, let’s move on the core of this post.

1. Oberlo Blog

Oberlo is a Shopify app that connects your store to AliExpress (an online retail service where you can find your dropshipping suppliers), and ease the process whether it be adding products to your store or processing orders.

Their website is an well of knowledge when it comes to dropshipping. As you can imagine, Oberlo’s goal is to get as many people as possible using their app, so it only makes sense that they give their potential users all the tools at their disposal to build a successful dropshipping business.

They have a bunch of interesting resources, including success stories that will make you dream of your own success. However, the best page I found is this one: Everything You Need to Know About Dropshipping. As the title indicates, it gathers all the resources you need from Oberlo to get started with dropshipping.

I’ll most likely write another post dedicated to Oberlo blog later. I’ve read a lot of articles and will need sort them out before sharing my top 10 with you.

Want to go further? Sign up with the app and head to their online courses.

2. AliDropship Blog

Similar to Oberlo, AliDropship is a third-party tool. They offer 2 options, one where you can build your own website and install their plugin, and another where they build your store for you.

And just like Oberlo, they want to give you the key to success. Their blog would also deserve a dedicated post, but I said I’d give you my selection, so here we go. AliDropship is one of the only websites where I found information about dropshipping in Australia: What You Need To Know About Dropshipping In Australia.

I also recommend having a look at their success stories section.

4. Oberlo Podcast

At the beginning of the year, I was still pretty new in my former job. As a Social Media Specialist, I had to be on top of the latest trends when it came to of course, social media, but also social media advertising and online marketing. I hate being asked a question and not being able to answer, specially when I’m supposed to be the expert, and that’s why I started to do some research outside of work (agency life didn’t really allow me to take on my time at work to do so).

That’s when I discovered the magical and incredible world of podcasts! I knew what it was, but I thought it was just for people talking about their lives, or reviewing their latest purchase. Little did I know I could also learn from it.

As mentioned before, Oberlo blog is a big source of information. Their podcast is no different. Between interviews and advice, you can find very valuable insight on dropshipping. If you’re just starting with dropshipping, I recommend: Dropshipping Questions: 10 FAQs Every Dropshipper Asks in 2020.

5. Wholesale Ted YouTube Channel

Alright, this one is by far my favourite. Wholesale Ted is a YouTube channel owned by Sarah Chrisp, an absolute online biz genius. Not only the knowledge she shares is relevant and useful, it also comes with a lot of honesty.

For the purpose of this post, I’d recommend you watch What You NEED To Know Before Dropshipping In 2020.

If you want to learn more, please check out her channel, it’s a gold mine.

That’s it for this post. And I’m going to let you in a little confidence: it’s the first I wrote for this blog ;). Hope it helps! Feel free to let me know your thoughts in the comments.

Which Business Structure For My Online Business In Australia?

Starting a business comes with its questions. What kind of business? How much investment will I need? And of course, what business structure should I choose?

Luckily, there are not hundreds of options. Actually, there are 4 commonly used business structures in Australia:

  1. Sole Trader
  2. Company
  3. Partnership
  4. Trust

1. Sole Trader

If you are going to be the only individual running the business, it is by far the most convenient structure. It’s cheap and easy to set up and you pay taxes on the individual income tax rate.

In my experience, the only cost I had was the registration of a business name for my e-commerce store and it was $37.

You are legally responsible for all things financials, meaning that if your business gets a debt and doesn’t have the financial resources, you may be asked to use your personal assets to pay it off.

You can hire employees and will be responsible for paying their super.

According to the ATO (Australian Taxation Office), as a sole trader you:

  • “use your individual tax file number when lodging your income tax return
  • report all your income in your individual tax return, using the section for business items to show your business income and expenses (there is no separate business tax return for sole traders)
  • apply for an ABN and use your ABN for all your business dealings
  • register for Goods and Services Tax (GST) if your annual GST turnover is $75,000 or more
  • pay tax at the same income tax rates as individual taxpayers and you may be eligible for the small business tax offset
  • put aside money to pay your income tax at the end of the financial year – usually, you will do this by paying quarterly Pay As You Go (PAYG) instalments
  • claim a deduction for any personal super contributions you make after notifying your fund.“

Find more info on their web page about Sole Trader.

2. Company

You can be on your own and start a company, however it costs more money to set up and get running. According to business.gov.au, when you set up company you need to pay for:

  • choosing and reserving a company name – from $51,
  • registering your company – $506 for a proprietary limited company,
  • registering a business name – $37 for a year, $87 for 3 years.

There are 2 types of company tax rates: the full company tax rate (30%) and the lower company tax rate (27.5%). You can find more info on this here.

According to the ATO, the company:

  • “must apply for a tax file number (TFN) and use it when lodging its annual tax return
  • is entitled to an Australian business number (ABN) if it is registered under the Corporations Act 2001. A company not registered under the Corporations law may register for an ABN if it is carrying on an enterprise in Australia
  • must be registered for GST if its annual GST turnover is $75,000 or more
  • owns the money that the business earns – the individuals who control the business cannot take money out of the business, except as a formal distribution of the profits or wages
  • must lodge an annual company tax return
  • usually pays its income tax by instalments through the pay as you go (PAYG) instalments system
  • pays tax at the company tax rate or lower company tax rate (if a base rate entity)
  • may be eligible for small business concessions
  • must pay super guarantee contributions (SGC) for any eligible workers. This includes you, if you are a director of the company, and any other company directors.”

You can find more information about it on their page Company. Go to this page to see the main differences between Sole Trader and Company.

3. Partnership

If you’re planning on starting your business with a friend or relative, you may want to consider this business structure. It is quite easy and cheap to set up, and you’ll need to choose among 3 types of partnership. According to business.gov.au, these are:

  • General partnership (GP) – is where all partners are equally responsible for the management of the business, and each has unlimited liability for the debts and obligations it may incur.
  • Limited partnership (LP) – is made up of general partners whose liability is limited to the amount of money they have contributed to the partnership. Limited partners are usually passive investors who don’t play any role in the day-to-day management of the business.
  • Incorporated Limited Partnership (ILP) – is where partners in an ILP can have limited liability for the debts of the business. However under an ILP there must be at least one general partner with unlimited liability. If the business cannot meet its obligations, the general partner (or partners) become personally liable for the shortfall.

More information on the ATO dedicated page.

4. Trust

Now, I have to say that this one is a bit more complicated to me, and having chosen the Sole Trader structure, I haven’t really considered this option. For this reason, I will give you the definition from business.gov.au:

“A trust is an obligation imposed on a person (a trustee) to hold property or assets (such as business assets) for the benefit of others, known as beneficiaries.

If you want to set up a trust, keep in mind that trust structures:

  • can be expensive to set-up and operate
  • require a formal trust deed that outlines how the trust operates
  • require the trustee to undertake formal yearly administrative tasks

If you operate your business as a trust, the trustee is legally responsible for its operations. A trustee of a trust can be a company, providing some asset protection.”

Here is the information from ATO.

I’ve established my business as a Sole Trader, so feel free to let me know if you have any questions on the matter. I am also open to contributions if anyone has experience with the other business structures, just email me with your details and I’ll update the post.

My Journey So Far…

It is only the 3rd blog post I write for My Laptop Life, but I’ve been at it for a while now. Exactly 2 months as I write these words. Time for a little catch up.

What happened since May 2020? Well, let’s avoid the discussions around COVID-19, everybody’s been (being) through it already and that won’t bring nothing new to the conversation.

Time for a change.

12 May 2020 marked my last day in my last job, as a Social Media Specialist in a local marketing agency. The beginning of a new journey, if possible, as far as I could go from the 9-5 life. My past 2 experiences were just too negative, having to deal with bosses with toxic personalities in toxic environments. Some people have the guts to stay, I decided I had the gust to leave it behind with nothing ahead.

So here we are. I didn’t really have a clear idea of what kind of business I was going to get into. Still don’t really to be honest. I just know that I want to work for myself and be able to build this laptop life I’ve read about so much. I want to be the master of my time, work like I want and take my mini-retirements whenever I want (for those who are not familiar with the concept, it comes from Tim Ferris and his 4-hour work week).

There is always so much you can learn but…

I love learning. Working in an agency with pressure on billable work made me realise that, as I didn’t have as much time as I wanted to do some learning.

Being finally on my own, I had so much time to read articles, listen to podcasts, watch YouTube videos… all the more reasons to actually postpone taking action. Beware, getting more knowledge is great, but practice makes perfection. You can have all the knowledge in the world, but what good does it make if you’re not using it?

Seeing the time goes by and my money go low, I confronted myself “Adeline, wtf dude? Why aren’t you doing anything?“. And then I remembered a TED Talk I watched about procrastination (sorry, I couldn’t find it but as soon as I can I’ll link it here). It was about how procrastination is stress-related. Stress related to the task you’re putting so much effort avoiding. That was it. After nailing down that requesting an ABN, subscribing to Shopify and ordering samples for a dropshipping store would make everything way too real, and therefore scary, I kicked myself in the a**.

There is a great TED Talk from Tim Ferris about Why you should define your fears. Fears cripple you. They keep you from moving forward. Defining those fears is defining their outcome (would it be that bad?) and their solutions/workaround (does it make this challenge less scary?).

Making decisions.

The next week, I then decided to just go for it. I got more to lose doing nothing than actually taking action. In the matter of a day, I got my ABN, my Shopify account, an AliExpress account and samples on the way.

Having decided as well that you shouldn’t put all your eggs in the same basket, I also started designing some Print-On-Demand items. Nothing crazy really, but I thought “you’re a woman who wants to be an entrepreneur, there’s your niche” and that’s how my designs came to life (on Canva). You can see my designs here.

That’s it for now.

I didn’t want to write something too long (and therefore boring), however I’ll be more than happy to answer any questions, clear out any vague information. Just contact me here.