A Dropshipping Newbie’s Experience: How Ruslan Started Online Business In Cyprus

What’s the most convenient way for a dropshipping newbie to start an online business? Newcomers tend to look for ready solutions that let them leave out the unfamiliar setup procedures and complex tech tasks.

Ruslan, our today’s guest, has followed this strategy, too. He opted for a store with a polished layout, premade product range, and tailored ad materials for an effortless promotion. Let’s see how this decision is working out for him!

Disclaimer: all the success stories published in AliDropship blog are the results of interviews conducted in the written form. Even though the editors may make some minor changes to the grammar, spelling, and/or punctuation, the respondents’ writing styles, views, opinions, stores screenshots and personal photos are left unchanged.

Hi, please introduce yourself!

Hi, I’m Ruslan Pintea from Cyprus, an owner of a store selling cosmetics and perfumes. I have been selling online for some time, and had little e-commerce experience. This is how I gained practical knowledge and first-hand understanding of business administration, management, and marketing. And when I saw an ad for already tested online stores offered by AliDropship, I decided to try it, too, and even registered as a self-employed online business owner.

As a dropshipping newbie, how did you start your new ecommerce journey?

When I saw an ad for Premium stores, I liked the idea of buying a store that’s made and already tested by a pro team. I’ve chosen the Buy It Carl store to be copied for me, and also got the Marketing package together with it to help me with the new business promotion.

Following the instructions provided by the team has paid off. In 15 days after I launched the website, my first sale happened! There was an order for a $49 car organizer set, and I felt really excited.

How is your business performing now?

In the first 1.5 months of running my store (July 22 – September 10) I had 22 orders for the total amount of $650. As you can see from the top buying countries stats, I don’t sell to my own country only – my store has an international reach and I can target customers from anywhere.

Even though the numbers are small now, this is a promising start. Using all the instructions and recommendations that come with the package, I will definitely be able to reach my goal and reach the profit I want and plan for. Thanks to the Alidropship team for their support and guidance!

How do you promote your store?

My only promotional channels are Facebook and Instagram. I take all the advertising instructions from the Marketing package I purchased together with the site. There are detailed recommendations on how to set up advertising on Facebook.

Now I’m trying to make small changes to my marketing strategy. I want to set just the ‘Add to cart’ event for my campaigns to let Facebook optimize the algorithm for my site better with the minimal ad spendings. The first period was just a test to see how the sales will go. I know it’s not much but the beginning is always difficult. FB just needs time to apply the algorithm to my site.

Also, I am in search of new products to add to the store. Now, I’m selling the ones already optimized by the team and guided by the prices initially set by Alidropship. But I want to also use my own experience and understanding of the target audience to help the store grow.

Is managing the store challenging for a dropshipping newbie?

It takes me about 1-2 hours daily to run the store. Mostly, I spend this time to overlook and process orders, and analyze the performance of the advertising campaigns now running. I’m trying to make a plan for my business activities and stick to it.

I would say that going through the beginning period is the most difficult thing for me right now. Even human factor and customer service are not a problem. Though, once I had a difficult case when the order arrived a little late and the buyer was unhappy. But as an excuse, I offered them a gift, and it all ended well.

How has your life changed? What are your plans for the future?

The opening of an online store has inspired my confidence. I am sure that I made the right choice during this difficult period.

Now, my goal is to increase the store sales. I want to be able to reach an income that will provide stability to my family.

What can you advise our readers – both dropshipping newbies and experienced entrepreneurs?

I would recommend that everyone who starts online sales start promoting with a well-established plan and get acquainted with the informative materials offered by AliDropship to focus on just a few products at the beginning, to make steady progress in increasing sales and to avoid losing money.

Seems like a Premium Store, which is basically an exact copy of a well-performing ecommerce website, is a fitting choice for a dropshipping newbie! Having avoided costly experiments, tests, and store setup procedures, Ruslan became an owner of a business that can be put into operation right away. Now, as he works out the promotional tactics to scale his store, we wish him the best of luck on this road and thank him for sharing this easy-to-follow strategy of launching an independent online business!