The Benefits of a Home-Based Business
The most obvious benefits of choosing a home-based business are the convenience and added flexibility of working from home. No longer will you endure long hours of traffic to and from the office. Rather than eating lunch out, you can take lunch at home, saving you money. You will have the freedom to set your own hours and schedule; an ideal situation if you happen to be a full-time parent or you have just reached the age of retirement. Finally, setting up an online retail-based website is easier than ever before. The entire process can be completed within a short time frame and you may begin selling products immediately.
While convenience is indeed king, we also need to remember that there are literally thousands of items and services which you are able to promote to your viewing audience. Some of these might involve mass production (such as customised t-shirts) while others could be more technically oriented (a dedicated mobile phone application is a perfect example in this case). You also have the ability to sell multiple items simultaneously. This will enable your website to appeal to a wider audience and the chances are high that you will enjoy a significant return on investment.
However, many would-be online freelancers often run into a major problem. - they don't have the means to physically store a large number of products. If your home is not big enough or you can't afford to rent a warehouse what can you do? What would happen if the logistics behind shipping become extremely confusing (such as if you suddenly witness a massive influx of customers)? These are both valid questions and the good news is that a process known as drop shipping has the answers.
What is Drop Shipping?
One of the reasons why countless entrepreneurs start a drop shipping business in UK markets, is the utter simplicity of the process itself. In the past, online firms had two options, they could either store inventory and ship items using in-house methods or they could instead choose to outsource these metrics to third-party providers. The main issue here was that third parties would often charge exorbitant rates and they were not always reliable in terms of customer satisfaction. Drop shipping is perfect in this situation.
You can envisage drop shipping as a virtual "middleman" between the seller and the buyer. The seller (you) promotes a certain product and an online customer thereafter makes a purchase. This notification is immediately sent to the drop shipper. The product is packed and delivered to the end user within a short period of time. So, it is clear that you have been essentially taken out of the logistical "loop". This enables you to return your efforts towards daily operations such as sales and marketing needs. However, the benefits do not stop here.
Three takeaway points to appreciate include:
- You will not be required to physically store any inventory.
- Shipping rates are often dramatically reduced (especially when dealing with bulk orders).
- The fees associated with a drop shipping provider are amenable and flexible.
While larger organisations could very well be capable of sourcing such services through traditional methods, this is not always the case when referring to small- and medium-sized businesses. This is the real power of drop shipping. You can provide reliable services while not having to sacrifice an existing revenue stream. Customers will appreciate such efforts and thus, brand loyalty is likely to increase over time.
Please keep in mind that this was only a very brief overview of what drop shipping has to offer. Firms such as Oberlo provide you with the ability to open up a free account in order to fully appreciate the mechanics behind such a novel method. If you have been looking to take logistics out of the equation, why not give drop shipping a try?
Have you ever considered a home based business?
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