How I Started A $100K/Month Business Mentoring Dropshipping Entrepreneurs
Hello! Who are you and what business did you start?🔗
Hello, my name is Kamil Sattar. I am an entrepreneur who’s developed many six-figure drop shipping businesses. I’ve also created systems to maximize opportunities in different markets and I’ve started companies in many industries. One of those companies specializes in helping people who are seeking to create drop ship companies of their own.
I have drop shipped products in many markets. I have sold high-fashion items, beauty products, gadgets, pet products, baby products, outdoor products, etc. There are just too many to name here but that’s the beauty of drop shipping. The opportunities are endless.
My parents immigrated from another Pakistan. They sought better opportunities for our family. Because we had to establish ourselves here, we were not what you would call well-to-do. While growing up, when it came to school, I wasn’t particularly motivated. I soon became frustrated, so I decided to join the workforce. I worked in retail, but I didn’t find it particularly exciting or interesting. However, there was one aspect of retail that I found enticing. I discovered that I had a passion for looking good. I realized that I loved great high-quality brands and I became fascinated with clothes that looked good on me and would make me look sophisticated.
My most successful students do not get deterred. If they do not have an answer, they find one. If any issue comes up, they find a way to resolve it. Although they may get disheartened at times, they get over it.
But lacking the funds that I needed, I had to find a way to become resourceful. Earning the minimum wage was not the way for me to be able to afford those clothes so I was forced to think of ways to accumulate enough money to buy the shoes and shirts and pants that I so badly wanted. I created an Instagram page and I slowly started buying and selling clothes online, which allowed me to save money. I knew that I was on to something. However, I realized that this business model was not scalable.
In 2017, I had heard about Shopify. I had heard about drop shipping and how you could sell products without actually owning them. It was beautiful! It was a safe way to start a business. Using the funds I had made selling high brand clothing, I started selling cell phone accessories. I used many of the techniques that I had learned from my first business. And that was one of the key distinctions that I made. There are certain steps that are universal to any successful business.
I have created many stores and I have also helped many of my students create stored that are generated hundreds of thousands of pounds Sterling. Though each store has its nuance, there are common steps that need to be followed.
That’s the best part of it. The techniques that I have learned are replicable. You can rinse and repeat and create new drop shipping stores.
Of course, with every store that I open, I am able to learn new things. With every new thing that I learn, it helps me improve my system that I use to create these six and seven-figure stores and it helps me improve my process for helping others generate their stores.
Take us through the process of designing, prototyping, and manufacturing your first product.🔗
Finding my first drop shipping supplier was by searching over AliExpress and looking for the supplier with the best reviews and years in business and most importantly communication reliability I would get on skype calls with the suppliers and do a mini-interview to see if they fit the criteria I was looking for, also another important thing was making sure my supplier had a license to sell these products I was marketing/selling.
My supplier would handle all the logistics like inventory and fulfillment that’s how the drop shipping business model works.
I set up an LLC in the US I got an accountant to manage the books using a Shopify app called Taxjar.
The start-up costs I faced were my Shopify plan, my Facebook marketing costs, my Shopify app costs, transaction fees, taxes, etc.
Since launch, what has worked to attract and retain customers?🔗
A lot of people don’t realize that drop shipping is not a get-rich-quick scheme. It is a legitimate way to create a business. But just like any other business, you have to work hard. Of course, it’ll start with great marketing, but there are many other things that come into play. You can choose a great product and market impeccably but if the logistics are terrible, the business may collapse. Besides, you must treat your customers like gold. Customer service must be a priority.
I stress this with my students incessantly. Owning a business, like any other endeavor, is about relationship building. When a customer orders from you, they are placing their trust in you. They are trusting that you will provide value for the money that they have given you. It’s up to us, as business owners, to come through for them as much as possible. Even after their orders have been fulfilled, we should maintain a relationship with them.
These days there are many ways to keep communicating with them, which enables us to provide more products and services. You shouldn’t underestimate the lifetime value of each one of your customers. I also tell my students that it costs less to sell to existing customers than it does to find newly acquired ones.
How are you doing today and what does the future look like?🔗
Many people don’t realize that drop shipping has been around for a very long time. It actually came about in the 1960s or 1970s, well before the Internet became as ubiquitous as it is today. I am convinced that it will always be around. Why?
Because that’s what business is all about. Manufacturers manufacture, accountants account, managers manage, but most importantly marketers market. What I mean by this is that wholesalers typically aren’t great marketers and this is where the opportunity arises for us. By marketing their products and eliminating the middleman, retailers, we can sell products and this allows us to create margins for ourselves. The more of the wholesaler’s products that we sell, the better margins we can negotiate.
I often get asked why people wouldn’t just go to Walmart or Amazon and get these products in places like that. Those are the types of people who don’t understand marketing. If marketing and customer experience were so black and white, products like Mercedes, Balenciaga, Louis Vuitton, and others wouldn’t exist. In other words, I would get a four-cylinder car because it can get me from point A to point B, I would get $30 tennis shoes because they cover my feet, and I would get a generic canvas bag because it holds all my stuff.
Of course, the markets continue to change. You must adapt to those changes. Product costs, marketing costs, and other changes in the landscape force us to continually improve and adjust our methods. Some people find it stressful and become paralyzed. But it is up to us as entrepreneurs to forge ahead and keep going. I mean that on a macro and micro level. On a macro level if things like pandemics hit, then we must see how it affects the marketplace and adapt. At a microlevel, it’s the same thing. If product costs rise, then we must find new ways, like finding new suppliers or even acquiring inventory, once we have a proven winning product.
My ultimate goal is to build many brands that are known throughout the world. I am currently sourcing many products and putting my brand labels on them. I still work on improving my processes and systems.
In my mentoring business, I want my company to be known as the best resource in the world where people can go to learn dropshipping. I want people to be afforded the same opportunities that I had. I want them to learn about the beautiful life they can have if they work hard and they help enough people by giving them great products and services.
Through starting the business, have you learned anything particularly helpful or advantageous?🔗
I’ve learned many things in my entrepreneurial journey. One of the most important things I’ve learned is that there is no magic bullet. You can buy courses and you can read books, but until you go out and do it you will never truly learn. Courses in books will never be able to tell you how to get through particular pitfalls. That’s why my students hire me to help them. I see it all the time.
Students feel that they need to buy new courses because they need to dissect everything. Many of them feel the need to start over every time. My job is to get them through those problems and to help them become successful quickly. But again, in the end, it’s about doing. Experience is the best teacher.
I’ve also learned that one of the best ways to reinforce what I’ve learned into even learning things is by teaching others. By seeing other student’s problems, helps me prevent problems for other students. For example, there are common problems that international students face that we in the Western countries would necessarily come across. This helps me, though, and helping others who come from countries that have more barriers to entry.
Most of all, I’ve learned that by having a philosophy of helping others, it comes back tenfold. Once I started developing the mentality of serving others, that’s when things really started taking off for me. I encourage all of you to have that same mentality. It can be difficult when you are short on funds or you are just beginning, but remember that you are serving people, your customers. Give them great service and great value and things will take care of themselves eventually.
What platform/tools do you use for your business?🔗
My favorite Shopify apps are:
- Loox reviews - imports reviews from Aliexpress
- Best currency converter pro - changes the currency depending on your location
- SMSBump - text message marketing
- Kylavio - email marketing
- Tido - live chat
My favorite fulfillment companies are:
I find all my virtual assistance from Upwork and I communicate with my team using Slack.
What have been the most influential books, podcasts, or other resources?🔗
I am constantly listening to podcasts and watching YouTube channels to learn more about my business and to feed my mind.
Some of my favorite people to listen to are:
- Inky Johnson
- Zig Ziglar
- Brian Tracy
- Tony Robbins
- Les Brown
- Dan Locke
- Dan Peña
- Jack Canfield
And many others.
Advice for other entrepreneurs who want to get started or are just starting out?🔗
Because I’m in a great position to notice, I see many people who have a dream to become successful entrepreneurs. I think the best thing that I can share with you is to let you know the best and most common quality that I see in my most successful students.
My most successful students do not get deterred. If they do not have an answer, they find one. If any issue comes up, they find a way to resolve it. Although they may get disheartened at times, they get over it.
So I would say you, don’t let anything stand in your way. If you truly want to become a successful entrepreneur, find a way, and get it done.
Where can we go to learn more?🔗
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Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
