When people approach me for help in starting an online business, the first thing they ask me is "Whats the most popular item I can sell?"
or
"I don't have any products, where can I get them". Well the first thing you need is a market, and then you STILL don't really need a physical product.
You don't even need dropshippers!
In fact, dropshippers should only be used as a 'supplement' to running your current business.
Lets get even more deeper . . .
What is a product?
A product is the 'solution' that you are offering people in exchange for money - or to monetize your online efforts.
Makes sense right?
Now, this thing called 'product' doesn't always have to be physical. It could be information or it could be a service etc.
This is what is amazing about the internet - you don't have to offer a physical product.
What I'm trying to tell you is dropshipping is just a small way of making money online. Why just do dropshipping when there are tons of other and more exciting ways of making REAL money.
When I first started making money online, it was through dropshipping. However, my income was soon stuck and to be honest, dropshipping was getting kind of boring.
Although I was dealing with just one product - which means everything was easy to manage. To grow my income, I could either add more dropshippers or do something completely new.
I started researching for other ways of making money as managing more dropshippers could be hard but more importantly boring.
Being the super creative person that I am, I started researching and studying other sites.
This is where I realized that I don't really need a physical products.
I was like "If I'm so good at finding dropshippers, why not turn this skill into a web based service?"
So I used my 4M Formula
Market Research + Market Solution + Market Location + Market Promotion = A real business.
Market Research
I did my research. At that time when I started, there was hardly any dropshipper lists around, 2 to be exact. I was like I really like finding dropshippers, I can do this and did some heavy research using special 'keyword' research tools.
See when someone tells you that you need to do 'research' first on the internet, they are telling you to find the right keywords.
You can literally pinpoint the keywords using these tools and 'drill down' to the most lucrative market. Remember, this is the most important step. Market Research is the foundation of an online business.
Market Solution
The solution people were looking for reliable and real source of dropshippers. My product was me reviewing dropshippers. This is how I got started and was the original purpose of WDclub.
I only had like a list of 20 dropshippers, but I was the only 'human being' reviewing them - I was giving people the real on dropshippers and dropshipping.
Another great thing about the internet is there is no such thing as competition.
Why? Because when you are selling something online, you are not selling the product, your are selling YOU. People get in there for the product, but they make a purchase and continue to do so because they like your 'uniqueness'. It's all about building trust and relationships and no matter how many people sell the same product, if you've gained your customer's trust, and established credibility, you've won! Because you will always make sales. Your customer is 'comfortable' with you and appreciates your 'uniqueness'.
Market Location
Remember when I told you that market research is the most important step. Since I did my research right. I knew exactly what keywords will bring in the most traffic. And before I knew, I started attracting some serious traffic.
So since I did my research, I found keywords with the most amount of traffic and with the least amount of competition. Less competition means getting top 10 rankings under keywords that actually mattered was a breeze.
I just optimized my pages for the search engines - Little SEO Action- and soon I shot up in the search engines. Do your research right on the internet and you are guaranteed
to be a success.
See why 'research' is the most important step of all. Research leads you to the right market, then just find a solution -easiest part of all-, getting top 10 rankings becomes very easy and guaranteed to bring you results.
90% of businesses fail because they cant seem to establish an online presence in the search engines. Well most business don't do there research and no nothing about 'keywords'. Ofcourse they are going to fail.
Remember, you are working with computers - which means its all about the power of numbers. No assumptions, no guess work.
Straight numbers. And numbers don't lie. Get your numbers right, and you are guaranteed to catch the 'success' flight.
This leads to the last step.
Market Promotion
Now here is where you focus on what matters - your customers. I built solid relationships with each of my customers and BAM!
Before I knew it, I just turned my skills into a full time online business. Simply educate your customer, solve there problem and they will pay you for it. Give them free information to establish trust and credibility, send them free information on a consistent basis to educate them and help them make an informed decision.
And finally, give them a killer solution and they will praise you forever.
And that is all there is to it!
Market Research -The Foundation-
+
Market Solution -The Product-
+
Market Location -The TOP 10 Rankings-
+
Market Promotion -The Business-
That is the '4Step Formula' in a nutshell. Hope it helps.
Internet 
