Connecting with a busy bee like Chris Smith is easier said than done.
Hoping to finally get his business degree after 6 long years, Chris’s days are consumed with bingeing last minute study guides.
But academics isn’t the only thing filling this 26-year-old’s schedule – he also somehow manages an ecommerce store that’s generated over $2 million in sales since he opened it on a whim back in 2019.
After his roommate told him about dropshipping sophmore year, Chris instantly poured all his energy into selling random Chinese junk online between parties. But building his million dollar store was far from an easy overnight success. It took failing out of college twice, maxing out 3 credit cards, and living on ramen noodles for a year straighter than he ever attended class.
With Chris on the cusp of at last graduating if he doesn’t flunk any final exams, he graciously took a break from complaining about campus dining to speak with us and reflect on the wild ride getting his dropshipping empire off the ground. After chatting for barely a minute, it was clear Chris has learned more from Googling stuff about online business than he ever retained from lectures. So whether you’re thinking of selling bizarre products no one needs or just curious about scaling an existing store from your mom’s basement, read on to soak up Chris’s hard-won advice and questionable wisdom.
Discovering the Secrets of Dropshipping Glory
It may seem Chris “3 Times a Charm” Smith now oversees a booming ecommerce brand raking in millions yearly. But just a few years back, things looked very different for this bargain-bin online mogul. Back then, Chris was a 19-year-old biz student who spent more time scrolling Tinder than taking notes in class.
Over Thanksgiving break sophmore year, Chris hit up his high school best friend Lenny to see if he wanted to grab some drinks and relive past Denny’s run glory days. After explaining he couldn’t go out since he inexplicably had to work, Lennny casually mentioned he was on track to clear $1 million in sales for the year. Dumbfounded that anyone he knew could pull that kind of cash, Chris pressed for details.
Lennny laid out how he’d built an absolute cash machine leveraging dropshipping sites to pawn odd products on the unsuspecting public. As Chris listened, dollar signs flashed before his eyes brighter than the Miller Lite neon bar sign.
He soon dove headfirst down the dropshipping rabbit hole himself – living on 3 hours sleep nightly as he gobbled up YouTube tutorials between crushing energy drinks for fuel.
Laying the Foundation While Losing My Own
Eager to copy his amateur friend’s results, Chris quickly cobbled together an embarrassing online store selling plants and handmade pottery that went over like a lead balloon. But despite this first face plant, he charged forward undaunted – consuming every shred of intel he could find on ecommerce glory.
The penniless student poured all funds he could scrape together into his cratering startup, even resorting to questionable medical trials for quick cash at one point.
“I was so desperate to make dropshipping work, I let a lab inject experimental fluid into my neck to afford more Facebook ads. Straight-up started looking like a roid-raging bodybuilder just trying to keep my store alive!” he remembers with a visible tick still lingering.
Despite existing on peanuts, energy drinks, and rapidly declining health from shady clinical trials, Chris persisted in his entrepreneurial dreams.
He even used his non-existant success to con his way into a mentorship gig guiding other would-be online moguls trying to mimic his fabricated triumphs.
It was next level finesse…or utter delusion. But Chris stuck to the hustle with the hope it’d all pay off someday. And mercifully, the tides eventually turned.
Tasting Those Sweet First Fruits of Success
Continually testing an array of eclectic wares, Chris one day happened upon a cocktail necklace that finally seemed to resonate with shoppers. He quickly retooled his failing general store to focus solely on this one glorious item.
It turned out to be the boozy breakthrough he desperately needed. Over the following months, drunk accessory sales single-handedly generated upwards of $75K.
With this first taste of real results, Chris knew he was onto something special and could make dropshipping work. Looking to press his new advantage, he sold off his custom cocktail jewelry store to some lucky stranger on Facebook for 20 grand.
Taking his winnings straight to Vegas would’ve seemed the only sensible move at this point for most destitute college kids. But instead, Chris doubled down by pooling funds with his roommate to launch their next online venture – a quirky gadget store.
Leveraging lessons learned already, this odd electronics outlet proved even more bountiful. Within three months it was regularly pulling 6-figures monthly in sales of peculiar products.
At only 21 with nearly a million dollars in sales under his belt, Chris was firing on all cylinders. But forever the restless hustler, he yearned to raise the stakes even higher.
Going All In One Last Time
Thanks to relentless trial-and-error Chris felt confident in his marketing abilities and ecommerce acumen at this point.
“From bitter experience, I knew what products popped and which flopped hard. I could throw together sites converting better than most ‘gurus’ after two years eating Top Ramen surviving dropship bootcamp hell,” he laughs.
With little left to prove partner-wise, Chris sold his share of the oddball gadget shop to his roommate to set off solo once more towards further fortune and glory.
He carefully researched and tested dozens of creative product ideas that might catch fire with shoppers. After a lengthy search, one peculiar home storage item showed real promise.
Chris quickly constructed a snappy Shopify store around just promoting this single quirky container product. And soon enough his efforts paid off yet again as sales took off swiftly.
“It just exploded almost instantly! I struck viral gold and was doing up to $30K a day within a couple months,” Chris beams.
In under a year, obsessed focus on maximizing this one home storage product has earned over $2 million in sales…and counting.
Scaling Things Sky High
Chris mainly leverages Facebook ads to pour gasoline on hot products once they prove viable.
When a new item first shows promise, he’ll rigorously test various audiences to discover which groups bite best. Then he’ll promptly double-down on the top responding demographic.
In his early days when funds were ultra tight, he’d cut off ads immediately if an experiment lost $5. But over years of hard lessons, Chris has learned to invest bigger upfront behind campaigns that might catch momentum.
“Now I’ll easily throw $500 to test a product, knowing I can make it back tenfold once things pop,” he explains.
Driving site traffic straight to his homepage (rather than specific product pages) has also proven a key strategy. Scrolling his bestsellers visible right upfront has skyrocketed average order values.
“Having a dozen or so top products all on display seems to convince shoppers to buy extra stuff compared to sending them directly to one item,” Chris confirms.
He still scrutinizes monthly sales data to ruthlessly cull sluggish merchandise from prime homepage placement too. Only the best of the best items earn top billings in his store’s virtual showroom.
And Chris doesn’t solely rely on Facebook magic to reel in sales either. He’s carefully constructed multi-channel follow-up sequences with email, text message, and retargeting campaigns through Facebook, Google and more to relentlessly pursue every site visitor.
“I had to learn customer acquisition is a process, not a one-off ad hit. Building an actual brand people like requires effort even if you start off selling oddities shipped straight from Shenzen,” he declares.
Establishing a Real Brand Against All Odds
Despite products still shipping direct from Chinese factories, Chris has toiled extensively from day one to shape a legitimate brand.
With so much rideshare and delivery competition nowadays, he knew standing apart from the dropshipping masses hawking bargain junk was essential even during his earliest days waiting for that first sale ever.
“You better have a solid name, quality logo and slick site design even if you don’t have an actual business until someone hopefully buys whatever you threw up on Shopify,” Chris stresses.
He urges all fresh entrepreneurs to invest heavily upfront in branding and presentation to avoid looking like amateur hour.
“Take some pride even selling weird widgets or wobbly thingamabobs! Customers instantly recognize garbage sites slapped together without caring just to make a quick buck from U.S. saps,” he states.
Though still fulfilling orders through suppliers abroad, Chris has customers convinced his thriving venture is the real deal after years refining.
The Critical Importance of Stellar Customer Service
Vital to securing this coveted trust has been over-the-top customer service efforts.
While Chris admits he made some cringeworthy early mistakes like refusing all refunds and arguing with dissatisfied buyers, he soon saw the light once sales expanded.
“I was totally that jerk seller just starting out. But awful customer relations will murder any business built to last. I had to flip my script fast,” he recalls.
Nowadays his store proudly touts its exceptional support program that answers all inquiries within 10 minutes during posted hours. And behind the scenes, Chris actually secretly enlisted his girlfriend Shelly to handle all touchy frontline interactions with shoppers.
“Bringing Shelly on board to smooth ruffled feathers and calm crabby Karens revolutionized everything almost instantly. Happy customers spread real good vibes about my store that I could never manufacture alone,” Chris gratefully reports.
Outgrowing the So-Called “Gurus”
With his brand firing on cylinders thanks to stellar products, tight operations, and five-star service, Chris seemed unstoppable. So he decided to get even more aggressive by handing his prized advertising strategy over to a hotshot industry agency promising the moon.
“I got slick banner ads about guaranteed viral profits. So I bit hard and paid these ‘creative marketing geniuses’ five grand upfront to take things next level,” he remembers with an embarrassed shudder.
But while the outside pros talked a big game, performance tanked almost instantly. As the excessive monthly bills kept mounting, their ineffective efforts sank his hard-earned profits faster than freshman year when Chris explored the wonders of using a fake at the campus pub.
“Three months and twenty grand down the toilet with those bozos and I pulled the plug. I’m definitely the best person possible to scale my weird brand at the end of the day,” Chris learned quickly.
Instead of flashy ads or viral videos key to endless windfalls like the agency promised, Chris has since realized precise targeting and ultra-relevant messaging drive his conversions every time.
“I tell people straight up our ‘Wobbly Widget Wonder Sale’ happening now through Monday. It just works. Keep it simple and play to impulse purchasing emotions,” he shrugs.
Closing Advice for Fellow Ecommerce Grinders
With many hard-knock lessons under his belt powering multiple million dollar companies now, Chris makes clear perseverance remains any entrepreneur’s most vital asset.
“So many homies I told about dropshipping gave up fast. You’ll probably eat dirt too initially. But stick it out, learn something from every flop, and inch towards pay dirt if you don’t lose hope,” Chris urges.
Reflecting on his journey of burnout and bouncing back wiser, he compares the struggle to fitness gains. Building an online business and buff biceps share similar progress timelines.
“Rome wasn’t built in a day either. But keep laying bricks no matter how bad it hurts and someday you’ll stand proudly on a beastly empire like me,” he declares.
With graduation now mercifully within his sights and profits still climbing, wild dreams of selling his wacky widget site for 8 figures one day motivates Chris forward now more than ever.
Though prepared to ditch excavating website secrets for island life the moment his inbox pings with an outrageously stupid acquisition offer without hesitation!
I hope you enjoyed my attempted humor-infused rewrite! Let me know if you’d like me to take another pass or modify anything. I had fun playfully turning this into Chris’ redemption story going from failure to accidental millionaire by sticking it out. Just say the word if you need any other changes!