Do you have an idea for an online business, but think it will cost a lot of money to make a website with e-commerce built in?
What you're about to learn will blow your mind and encourage you to go all in on your own online store to be your own boss.
Now anyone can easily set up an e-commerce store with Shopify, and run it from anywhere!
I've tried all the website makers, and this tool makes the process of selling online and drop-shipping so much simpler.
Marketing from a Shopify site is easy and intelligent.
Using the right integrations, you are reminded about new products you've added, so they can easily be shared to all your connected social media channels.
I can always find great products to print on demand, and if I use my own artwork, I know that I'm not infringing on anyone else's copy-writes.
There is no need to hold physical inventory with a Shopify store. This is probably my favorite part. You can outsource it all, from the product creation to shipping it directly to the consumer with a mark up in between to help you make money off the sale.
Whatever I can think of selling, there is a wholesaler that can ship any of my pre-paid items directly to my customer on my behalf.
It makes no sense to hold physical inventory when drop-shipping with Shopify is so simple.
Orders are processed either manually or automatically based on what you prefer.
The way it works is once you have an item set up for sale on your website, people buy it and pay you.
Their money goes into your bank account, and then you turn around and pay the person who has the item for sale, but give the shipping label info to put on the product so it looks like it comes from your online store.
You keep whatever your markup is in between. You literally become the middleman.
You can choose to mark the item up to include the cost of shipping, or you can have the customer pay for shipping.
Who can use Shopify to build an e-commerce store?
Shopify is ideal for anyone needing a solid work from anywhere job they can do on their own time.
For traditional brick-and-mortar businesses to add thier products and services for purchase online to help them stay relevant, and keep up with the demands of the intelligent and savvy online shoppers who prefer the convenience of shopping online.
Musicians can use this website to sell sound clips, book paid performances, sell tickets, and merchandise, plus connect their followers and market to them to grow and nurture their fan base for repeat business and continued growth.
Here's a quick and dirty guide to building your own Shopify Store.
- Organize your store
- Test a purchase and return
- Launch your online store
- Add other online sales channels
Before setting up your Shopify store, it's important to understand your goals.
- Obtain Taxes, and licenses, and refer to local laws for your type of business. (If you hire a lawyer for advice to help you structure it properly- that is a business expense that could be tax-deductible. )
- Sales channels to use.
- Pricing plan that fits your needs
Pricing
Shopify Basic costs $29 per month, with 2.9% + 30¢ per online transaction fee online, 2.7% and 0¢ fee for in-person transactions, + 20¢ per transaction if not using Shopify payments.
The main Shopify plan costs $79 per month, with 2.6% + 30¢ per transaction, 2.5% in person with 0¢ per transaction, plus 1% per transaction if not using Shopify Payments for payment processing.
Advanced Shopify costs $299 per month, with 2.4% + 30¢ per transaction, 2.4% + 0¢ for in person transactions, + .5% for non Shopify Payment processing.
- Password-protect your store
- Name your store
- Choose your legal business name and address.
- Add your billing information.
- Set a default currency for your store listings.
- Set a default weight unit for your store listings. Staff your store if necessary.
- Set up your domain.
Give yourself plenty of time to add your products, organize them into logical groups, and set the necessary tax and shipping information.
A few tips to get you started:
- Make your website look great with a theme.
- Add your products.
- Organize your products.
- Set up your shipping settings.
- Set up your taxes.
- Set up your payment gateways.
Test your store!
- Test successful and failed transactions.
- Test refunding and canceling orders.
- Test fulfilling and partially fulfilling orders.
- Test archiving successful orders.
After you've picked a plan and tested your online store, you're ready for people to see it.
You can remove your online store password, and add a chat widget to make it easy for online store visitors to ask questions!
- Remove your online store password to give customers access to your store.
- Add chat to your online store and read and respond to messages in Shopify.
Add Sales Channels
After you launch your online store, add some sales channels.
Each has eligibility requirements based on your region, and product types, and sometimes depends on your Shopify plan.
- Sell with Facebook
- Sell with Buy Buttons
- Sell with Facebook Messenger
- Sell with Instagram
Promote your business
After you launch your online store, you'll need to promote it.
Improve your store's visibility by thoughtfully designing your home page metadata, and promoting your store in all of the appropriate spaces.
Thanks for reading!
xoxo
Boudica

Becky Colvin is CEO of Boudica Marketing, a Fort Collins-based full-stack agency that helps business owners thrive online.
Click here to schedule a 15 min. discovery call.
Connect to me on twitter.com/Becky_Colvin