Side Hustles That Sound Good Until You Try Them (Dropshipping)

What’s better than one source of income? Two or more sources. A Plan B that goes hand in hand with your Plan A. 

We’ve all had that dream of making money while we sleep or making extra cash effortlessly after our full-time job. A sweet deal of quick money, made in your spare time, probably from home, while you’re chilling or out and about having fun.

Sounds dope right?

That is not always the case, “Home-based business” might turn into work from everywhere you go, and “flexible hours” may turn into working all hours. Side hustles may be a good source of making extra cash on the side while working your main job, but are you ready for the drama they come with? 

Let’s get right into this interview with Michael who tried dropshipping as a side hustle.

Dropshipping (Michael)

What inspired you to start dropshipping as a side hustle?

I really needed an extra source of income at that time and honestly, the hype online made it look like a gold mine with little effort. You know, seeing all these guys online earn in dollars and making over N200K consistently, just by being middlemen for trending products. Well, I thought to myself if they can do it, so can I!

What were the first steps you took to set up your dropshipping side hustle?

Besides the endless YouTube videos I watched, I did what every JJC(Johnny just come) would probably do, I bought an online course from a popular Naija dropshipper and followed through the class. Only to gain no real experience, just the basics, and a go-figure-it-out-yourself mindset.

I then researched trending products and followed a step-by-step guide in the online course provided on how to set up my Shopify account and store. I made it look professional and connected it to a bunch of suppliers. 

But guess what? People won’t magically find your store; you have to market it, and marketing isn’t as easy as it seems.

True! Marketing isn’t quite easy. What were the biggest challenges you faced? 

Where do I even start? Customer complaints, slow shipping, refund requests, the cost of running ads, and cases of “what I ordered vs what I got” which I had no control over because the supplier decided to send a poor-quality product over. The list just keeps going on, and yes! The sweet mental crisis of telling myself I should’ve just stuck with my main job.

Wow, that’s tough. What lessons have you learned from your dropshipping journey?

Honestly, I’ve learned plenty. Firstly, dropshipping as a side hustle is not as easy as it looks online, especially doing it from Nigeria. Also, making sales and profits aren’t easy. 

It definitely is not a passive income because you might find yourself always on your phone/laptop handling either customer complaints or supplier issues. 

RELATED: Personal Finance Tips: Side Hustles You Can Start With Less Than ₦50,000

If you want to, you should go in with a mindset that it is a full business, not an easy money side hustle. If not, you’ll end up broke and frustrated.

Hearing it from the horse’s mouth makes it even more understandable. All thanks to Michael for sharing his first-hand experience. 

Dropshipping has had the internet in a chokehold for some years now. And guess what? I almost went all in on it too. 

That’s why it is always good to seek out trusted information before putting money, time, and effort into any side hustle or business. And that is what the SME community is all about. Join us as we explore trusted information, ideas, and stories from hustlers like me and you.