UK Education can be expensive. For home students (UK and EU), cost of public university education is capped at £9,250. Welsh students enjoy sponsorship from their home government paying around £3,900.
However, international students, medical students or undergraduates of private universities pay up to £38,000.
To afford this students can:
- obtain scholarship
- get sponsorship from parents/guardians
- take out student loan,
- work part time,
- start business/side gig, etc
Besides school, students need money for other expenses. One way to make extra money in school is starting a business, and one of the best business ideas you can start in school is dropshipping.
So,
What Exactly is Dropshipping?
Drop shipping or dropshipping is an online ecommerce business that allows you display and sell other people’s products at your own price without needing to buy or own the stock yourself.
All it’ll take is a few minutes/hours each day, the right tools and some guidance on how to dropship.
Some Reasons Why Dropshipping is Cool for School:
- Low/no startup capital
- Low running cost
- Part time business
- Anytime, anywhere access
- 24/7 market
- Global market
- Unlimited products
- Stocking, warehousing, shipping and other logistics handled for you
- Unlimited profit potentials
- You’re your own boss, etc
3 Basic Things You’ll Need To Start Dropshipping from School
- PC, Tablet or Smartphone
Ecommerce or dropshipping is an online business, so you’ll need a PC, tablet or smartphone. Chances are you already own one or all of these.
Some apps, plugins, store customization, optimization and other backend activities work best or only on PC, while you can keep tabs on sales notifications, emails and other client communication on the go via mobile.
- Good Internet
You’ll need good and steady internet connection to do online businesses like dropshipping.
You could get a modem, router, or share smartphone hotspot. Prompt response to customer questions, concerns or issues will set you apart from the competition.
- Online Store
Your online store is your digital storefront or show glass. Think of it as a physical supermarket or retail outlet. How would you want it designed if you had £100b to play with?
Use your creativity and imagination; with it you can design a wow online shop.
There are 3 broad options here:
- Self hosted
- Hosted
- Online marketplace
Each works well, but you’ll need to decide which works best for you. Let’s take a look at two.
One: Self Hosted Online Shop
This is a DIY option which requires coding or ability to use WordPress. There are also drag and drop website builders e.g Wix.
Self hosting offers total control over your online store, but also places total responsibility for things like domain registration, hosting, security, etc on you. This could be time consuming, eating into your study time.
Two: Hosted Online Store
With this option the heavy lifting is done for you for a monthly or annual subscription. Ecommerce platforms like Shopify offer such services. For $29 a month you can have your own Shopify store up and running, featuring website, blog, integrated shopping cart, unlimited products, apps for dropshipping automation and thousands of other apps, plugins and extensions with which to customize your online shop.
Conclusion
With dropshipping you no longer have to choose between school and business. Now you can effectively spend your Facebook or Instagram time your dropshipping business and pocketing your profits.
