Thought I'd create a bit of an overview to go over the steps I've taken so far in my attempt to set up an e-commerce brand. The aim is to modify an existing product and building a brand around it to create value (and margin). I believe that this is the best way to create a business that is actually sustainable, and differentiated (As opposed to dropshipping).I'll start with a few details of my product and go from there - I'm not afraid to share this as I know execution is everything!PRODUCTProduct Category - Dog Beds.Differentiating factors - Targets the Anti-anxiety market - Designed to my specificationSKUs - 3 (For each size of bed)WHY DOG BEDS? I'm the owner of a super anxious dog, and I know the product I'm creating will be beneficial to her. The margins on this product are also good in my opinion, so that's a big factor around why this product might be viable.SOURCING I used Alibaba to source my product. This involved initially contacting several suppliers. Ideally you want to look for suppliers who are verified, have been operating for multiple years, and have gold certification.INITIAL ORDER I eventually settled on a supplier who had reasonable costs and minimum order quantities for the larger order I will be making if I can validate my product (Explained below). They were also more than willing to customise the product for me. I ordered 3 samples for $100USD inc shipping. The plan is to use these samples to test product quality, and to create professional content for my website - I believe this last part is incredibly important, and it's my next step in this process.WHAT ARE THE MARGINS FOR MY PRODUCT? For the initial order i'm looking at £15 per unit - this includes shipping to my address. I'm intending to sell the product starting at between £60 and £80 depending on the size. This will allow me to spend £15 - £25 on Adspend at a later stage once the product is validated. Also worth noting that my initial order is only 90 units - and that cost per unit will reduce significantly with scale.WHAT TOOLS HAVE I UTILISED SO FAR/AM PLANNING ON USINGFB Ad Library - Competitor AnalysisSimilarweb - Competitor AnalysisAlibaba - Product SourcingShopify - Utilising a free theme + my own web dev skills (I'm a UX Designer)Looka - Logo and brand palette creationCanva - Advertising Contentklaviyo - Email marketingLoox widget - For user reviews (Plugged into Shopify)WHAT'S NEXT? My product samples will be arriving this week, so if the quality is there then I'll be working on product photos for the website. I've also been working on my website copy which has been quite challenging, but I'm getting a good idea of the tone-of-voice I need to convey by looking at competitor business'.I'm still yet to figure out my marketing strategy and have had mixed opinions when reaching out for advice. I think the fastest route to validation will come through FB ads though - so I'll be looking at creating content for this with the intention of setting up a few test campaigns once the website is up and running. I do have a few other ideas but I'd be interested to hear your opinions as to what I should do too.It's worth noting that everything up to this point is for validation purposes. If someone does click 'Buy' on my website, then I'll simply send them an apologetic email telling them that we're currently out of stock. If there is traction with this method then I intend to commit to an initial product order from my Chinese manufacturer. If there's no traction, well then it's back to the drawing board! see hubwealthy.com/wealthy
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