The eCommerce industry can be quite lucrative when leveraged effectively, with many people benefiting successfully from some great Shopify business ideas, especially when they are just starting out. Many people erroneously believe that the only way to make money on Shopify is through dropshipping, and while that is a great idea, there are other ways to make its utilization lucrative. Some of the methods don’t even necessitate a Shopify store to be used at all.
For the sake of this post, we are going to discuss some great Shopify business ideas that can help make money on the platform even for users who are just getting started. The best part is that most of these suggestions can be implemented alongside working your typical 9-5-day job.
BEST Shopify Business Ideas
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1. Create An App
One of Shopify’s biggest strengths is app integration with several apps performing various functions on the platform, helping sellers issue their products to clients seamlessly. Some apps are targeted to custom store design, others for order fulfillment, while more gear to store conversions and boosting sales.
While many of these apps have a free version, it is typically scaled down. The app itself is not free. Some apps are based on a monthly subscription model. Tech-savvy coders can take advantage of this superb Shopify business idea. By designing a useful app that will be valuable to Shopify users, you can make a one-time investment that ends up generating passive income over time.
The key is that your app needs to perform something already existing apps do not. If it performs the same function as something else that already exists, the more established app will receive the lion’s share of the attention. Having an app that does something better than an existing one is a different story. You should research existing Shopify apps and study the areas in which those come up short, then produce an app that fills that void. If your app is seen as better and more robust, the business will come to you.
2. Build Shopify Stores
Store setup is a breeze for some, but a struggle for others, and not just on Shopify. Many will struggle even with a basic WordPress store and they are more than happy to pay someone to build an excellent Shopify store for them. If you hone your store-building skills, you can charge others to build stores for them. But how much can you make?
OuterBox Design’s research shows that a Shopify store that is custom-built starts at about $5,000. It is also common for builders to ask their clients to sign up for the service through an affiliate link, resulting in additional money made via affiliate commissions.
The best part is you don’t have to go looking for clients for this type of service. If you set up an account on Fiverr or UpWork, the clients will come to you asking if you would be willing to set up a Shopify store for them.
Of course, clients placing these types of orders are unlikely to invest that type of money just on your word, they will want to see some previous work, so make sure you have signed up for Shopify and created a sample store that you can show them. While doing so will cost you money, since you’re doing the building on your own, the cost of setting it up compared to what you will be bringing in for the job will be quite minimal.
3. Dropshipping
Dropshipping is a big part of selling on Shopify so it is hard to avoid mentioning it. Dropshipping is the idea of selling physical products without performing any of the manufacturing or shipping. This process bypasses the collection of raw materials, assembly, production, and distribution, focusing exclusively on making the sale.
Shopify businesses are generally following a particular business idea. To begin the dropshipping process simply go to AliExpress or Alibaba and find suppliers willing to perform product dropshipping for you.
Keep in mind that you don’t need to invest anything in starting dropshipping services on Shopify, especially since the platform offers a free trial that can let you start for free. Once your store makes a particular sale, you will place an order for the purchased item at your dropship supplier and have it sent to the address of your customer.
4. Drop Servicing
What dropshipping is to physical products, drop servicing is to services. The idea is the same otherwise; you set up a Shopify store that sells a digital service that you then purchase from a freelancing platform such as UpWork or Fiverr. You are in essence selling someone a service that you are paying someone else to do.
So how do you profit from this model? The key lies in finding a medium where you can get the same work done for lower costs. For instance, a site like SEOClerks has services similar to Fiverr, but at much cheaper prices. The way Shopify factors into this equation is that you can choose to use it as the platform to sell these services.
The real challenge here is finding buyers for the service, so the best way to reach an interested audience is through paid advertisements. With this approach, you can target those people specifically looking for your service and sell it to them easily.
5. Virtual Assistant
When a Shopify store gets big, the person running it will eventually need help managing, running, and upkeeping it. Of course, they are not likely to want to employ a full-time staff to do so, which is why they seek out virtual assistants for help. The virtual assistant can help big store owners source and list products, provide various customer services, and sometimes even be granted full responsibility for running the store so the owner could focus on other matters.
With this position, one should be ready to be available for a lot of hours of work. Before a Shopify store owner accepts you, they will want assurances that you are well versed on the platform. The benefit here that many don’t consider is that by working with the platform so much in a virtual assistant capacity, you will learn a ton about running a store on the platform, and you will be ready when it is time to set up your own Shopify store.
6. Shopify Course Sales
Have you succeeded with Shopify dropshipping? Remember how good it felt to finally taste that success? Well, here is another way to make more financial success: teach others how to reach your success levels. You can create a niche course based on your experiences and the thing you have learned to help others succeed as Shopify sellers.
Once you create a course you can sell it on platforms like Skillshare, Teachable, Kajabi, Udemy, and Thinkific. The best part is that you can continue your regular running of a Shopify store, while the course gets purchased and earns you passive income. The more credibility you have as a seller the more you can justify pricing your course higher.
All that is left is to make sure you make people aware of this course, which you can do by promoting it through various Shopify and eCommerce Facebook groups where you will meet other sellers on the platforms, some who are complete novices and others with small degree of experience.
If you can add value with your contributions to the group, you will garner a sense of agency. Then you can speak to the group’s administrator and request to be promoted. Just make sure your Facebook profile is optimized because before any group member takes a chance on you or your course, they will most certainly visit your profile.
7. Membership Site
The idea of a membership site is somewhat similar to building a course, with the difference being that rather than sell the course with a one-and-done strategy, you will have a group of subscribers who will consume your materials for a monthly subscription fee. Much like with a course, you will need to establish expert authority, so you will have to prove that you are a successful Shopify seller to your prospective customers.
The big draw of a subscription model like this is the human interaction that the subscribers will get from you as a seller. That means that you will need to have enough time available to communicate with your subscribers. This is especially pertinent when you consider that you will always have new subscribers joining, so the assistance they require may come at any time.
If you are generating enough business for this to be a round-the-clock endeavor, a virtual assistant can be hired to help manage things as a secondary administrator. The fact that you will have membership pricing will help fund the assistance you need. Typically, these types of memberships are priced on the higher end, and with good service, the lifetime value of each member is also long.
For exposure, you can focus on paid advertisements as well as get organic attention by making your presence felt on Facebook groups where you offer valuable advice to others and promote your membership platform to those who are interested in more.
8. Flipping Shopify Stores
Some people build websites, then flip them to those interested in ready-to-go products. You can do something very similar with a Shopify store. Many people do not have the skill and/or time to set up a Shopify store, and prefer to purchase an existing one instead.
Before you consider flipping the Shopify store, however, keep in mind that this isn’t you being hired to build one for someone. These are clients who want to jump into an already profitable store on the platform, take it over, and scale it up. So before a sale is made, you need to make sure the store is profitable. That means the product sold at the Shopify store should seamlessly be able to be transitioned for the new owners to sell and deliver to buyers.
Also important is the diligent collection and organization of sales data from your Shopify store. This will be the proof of efficiency that you will be expected to provide for the buyers of your store as they consider the purchase.
9. SEO Specialist For Ecommerce
To engage in this idea you don’t even need to be a Shopify store owner. Paid digital advertisement costs are constantly on the rise, which means that sellers want to get attention through as much organic traffic as possible. The key to doing so is SEO optimization. If you are an SEO expert, specifically in the eCommerce sphere, your skills are invaluable in helping Shopify store owners effectively optimize their stores on the platform so they can rank in search engines.
Your clients have a lot riding on the Shopify store SEO investment they are considering, so they will need proof of concept that your work will pass the efficacy test. You will need to illustrate that to them with examples of your previous work. The nice thing about SEO work is that with algorithms always shifting, SEO needs to be a fluid venture, so you won’t just be working with a client once, since they will want to come back to you for further SEO optimization services.
use a range of tools, such as ProRank Tracker, Serpstat, Kwfinder, and Longtail Pro, to monitor search engine rankings and identify opportunities for improvement. With a deep understanding of eCommerce SEO best practices, they work to improve website structure, content, and overall user experience, ultimately helping the store rank higher in search engine results pages and attract more customers.
10. Shopify Business Ideas, Digital Download Sales
One of the best ways to earn passive income is to sell digital downloads. It is a set it and forget it method. These don’t always have to be digital products in the form of courses either. In fact, it can be literally anything downloadable once the purchase payment has been collected. So what can you sell here?
The answer is selling a product of unlimited inventory. To sell digital downloads you will need to set up your sales page and link it to Shopify as a gateway for collecting payments. Once a buyer makes the purchase, the paywall comes down, and they are redirected to another location specifically set aside for them to download their purchase. Digital downloads can take the form of apps, themes, audio, video, eBooks, and tickets. The more promotion you invest in your digital sales, the more of them you will be able to move.
Shopify Business Ideas Final Thoughts
Shopify stores can be highly profitable business ventures, but you need to choose the right product or service to sell. The “right” choice is one that is convenient for you to sell. You also need to be prepared for investments on the financial end, so choosing a business that requires minimal start-up costs is ideal.
Of the recommended ideas, our recommendation to start out is to become a virtual assistant. This will help you be an understudy of a successful Shopify business, helping you to start your own one day in the future.
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Frequently asked questions:
What are the best products to sell on Shopify?
Think of products with an “evergreen” demand. In other words, these are things that will never lack consumer need. Alternatively, you can sell seasonal products where you are assured high turnovers during particular times of the year, like selling Christmas trees at Christmas time, for example.
How do I promote a Shopify store?
You can promote your Shopify organically through eCommerce SEO and social media traffic, or you can partner with an influencer who will promote your store through their wide-reaching channels. There is also the option of buying paid advertisements as well.
I’m Thomas, founder of Genie Dollars, a platform sharing proven strategies for making money online. With experience in affiliate marketing, print-on-demand, and freelance writing, I aim to inspire and guide others toward financial freedom through online entrepreneurship.
