The Dropship Unlocked Podcast

How Phil Made £52k in 3 Months Using UK Dropshipping (Episode 43)

• Lewis Smith & James Eardley • Season 1 • Episode 43

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👉 Ready to start your own online store? Start here: https://dropshipunlocked.com/online-event

Get your copy of Lewis’ new book - The Home-Turf Advantage ➡️ https://htabook.com?el=podcast-How-Phil-Made-52k-in-3 Months

🗣 ​​In this episode, hosted by e-commerce entrepreneurs Lewis Smith and James Eardley, we're joined by Phil, a member of the Dropship Unlocked Masterclass, who shares his remarkable journey of making £52k in just three months through UK dropshipping.

Phil's story is a testament to the power of commitment and the effectiveness of the dropshipping business model. If you're considering entering the world of e-commerce or need some inspiration, Phil's insights are a must-listen.

👉 Prefer to watch this on Youtube? Check it out here  ➡️ https://youtu.be/hyzg5zUoUqo

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Key Takeaways:

★ Challenges Before Joining: Phil's initial challenges and concerns before joining the Dropship Unlocked Masterclass.

★ Motivation to Join: What motivated Phil to choose this mentorship program over other e-commerce courses.

★ Impact of the Masterclass: How the program, including live coaching calls, aided Phil's journey to success.

★ Transformation and Growth: Phil's journey from making his first sale to earning £52k and the profound impact on his life.

★ Recommendations and Advice: Phil's recommendations for others considering joining the Dropship Unlocked Masterclass and his advice for those unsure about investing in themselves and their business.

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Links and Resources Mentioned:

For Aspiring Business Owners or Side Hustle Seekers Based In the UK…

New Book Reveals How To Launch A Low-Maintenance High-Profit E-Commerce Business Using The UK "Home-Turf Advantage”…

While also enjoying more time with your family, being free to travel, and setting the hours you work.

Click here to get your copy >>> https://htabook.com?el=podcast-How-Phil-Made-52k-in-3 Months

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Links and Resources Mentioned:

Get Shopify for £1 a month for 3 months: https://www.dropshipunlocked.com/shopify 

Get a free trial with a professional phone line: https://www.dropshipunlocked.com/circle 

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★★★Dropship Unlocked - Lewis Smith★★★



For anyone who's looking to break into E commerce, so that you're going to get loads of value from today's conversation. If you're on the fence about starting an E commerce venture, I'd say that Phil's story is exactly what you need to hear. He didn't mess around. He moved quickly, and within three months, has some incredible results that he'll share with you shortly, combined on the two stores as of yesterday, is 52,000 with a profit. When he joined, he was, like many of us, he was eager to start, but he was just a bit unsure about the process. Yeah, I absolutely Louis. Think that anybody could do this. Phil's journey and transformation is a real testament to the power of both the masterclass, but also what can be achieved with the right guidance, the right mindset and the right drive that feel definitely well. Welcome to the dropship unlocked podcast your key to unlocking the secrets of high ticket dropshipping. I'm Louis Smith, founder of dropship unlocked and with me is our client success coach. James Eardley, now when we're not recording podcast episodes, we're running our own e commerce businesses and helping aspiring entrepreneurs launch their own high ticket dropshipping businesses. So if you're ready to learn how to build your own six or even seven bigger business, pick up a copy of my book The home turf advantage, whether you're looking to replace your income or launch a side hustle. I wrote this book as a road map to help you launch a low maintenance, high profit e commerce business that gives you the freedom to spend more time with your family, travel the world and work on your own terms. Ready to join us? Visit htabook.com to get your copy today. Now sit back, relax, and let's unlock your potential with the dropship unlocked podcast. With this podcast, we aim to bring you success stories from real life, people that will ignite your entrepreneurial spirit. And this episode is no different from that. It's not just inspiring, it's also a blueprint of what is possible. In today's episode, we're going to be diving into Phil's journey, who's a member of the dropship unlock master class, and he has transformed his life through drop shipping. So if you're on the fence about starting an E commerce venture. I'd say that Phil's story is exactly what you need to hear before getting started. Yeah, completely agree. Phil's journey is a particularly easy one for us all to resonate with, because when he joined, he was like many of us, he was eager to start, but he was just a bit unsure about the process. Now, his achievements that he's made since joining speak volumes about the power of commitment and effectiveness of the home turf advantage business model. So Phil's story is a really powerful illustration of what happens when you combine our program's insights with the type of dedication and hard work that Phil's put in. It really is so this conversation, which we're going to cut to in a second. I can't wait for you to hear very enjoyable conversation to have with Phil and find out about the incredible success he's had in such a short amount of time. It's packed with genuine insights and valuable, actionable tips that you can take on with your own drop shipping business ventures as well. And he's a fantastic example of how this business model can change people's lives. For anyone new to e commerce or drop shipping and contemplating a change and creating a new business, then Phil's experience will be invaluable. This isn't just about tactics. It's a real, true transformation journey. Yeah, today's conversation with Phil is great in terms of the amount of valuable insights that he made. So for anyone who's looking to break into E commerce, I think you're going to get loads of value from today's conversation. And his experience really underscores the importance of that guided approach to building a successful online business. He didn't mess around. He moved quickly, and within three months, has some incredible results that he'll share with you shortly. So let's dive into this amazing conversation that we had with Phil. Well, Phil, thank you very much for joining us on the dropship unlocks podcast. We really appreciate you taking the time out of your day and your busy schedule. We can see you inside our DSE masterclass community, helping out all of the members in there. So you're definitely someone that's got lots of value to add. So we'd be delighted to pick your brains today, but also hear a bit about your journey and kind of what led you to where you are now. So what's your backstory? Phil, can you kind of take us through, like, how did you first find your way into this world? So it is a long time ago. I know only look 25 but actually I'm a lot older. I started out in the industry. Should we call it as a technical consultant about 35 years ago? So it was at the time when I started off helping out on some website design where, you know you you came to a number a cost, and because everybody was so desperate to get on this bandwagon, you could put a zero on the end, and nobody. A Blatter and eyelid. So yeah, I've been a technical consultant now for 35 odd years and heavily into the internet side of things. About 12 years ago now I started my own actual business rather than just being a sole trader, and that was to set up a web design and development agency, which is still running today. I employ about five people in that business. And years ago, you almost already know it, but I got on the the mambo wagon, and Mambo back in 2002 was a content management system. So I've been heavily involved in content management systems for a very long time. Not many years after that, mambo to turned into Joomla, which is sort of like the the second biggest content management system, alongside the WordPress. In 2012 I was invited on the board of directors for Joomla, so I was flying around the world, giving presentations, etc, but that's where I really got into communities and how useful and how helpful they are. So yeah, that's that's how I've got to where I am now to be honest with you, so Phil, just to kind of put this into context. Then prior to us, to you joining us at dropship unlocked. What would you say the biggest challenge that you were facing before you joined was, I think there were really two challenges, one of them my web design agency. We create a lot of great websites for people where they make a lot of money. Okay? And, you know, we just get the 10,000 pounds, or whatever it is, for creating this site. And the other thing is, you know, we have dabbled, and we've not done it really successfully in Google ads. Wasted a lot of money not doing it right, not really asking for the help. So I think Shopify wise, yeah, we can make it dance and stand on its head. That is not an issue. What I really wanted to find was some help with a view to actually, you know, getting in contact with suppliers, getting into bed with them. And, you know, once we got those suppliers on board, we couldn't really good margins, how we then manage the Google ads? They were the two specific things that some, you know, we were struggling with, to be honest with you. Yeah, that's really interesting, because I think there'll be a lot of people listening to this that perhaps resonate with that, in that they have the technical know how and the capabilities when it comes to design and putting together a website. But when it comes to like the actual negotiation, or even just the finding the right suppliers, like what you look for, the criteria, the vetting of suppliers, and then the approach, and obviously, once you sign them, like you said, then marketing the products and driving traffic. So to get the holistic skill set, like you say, sometimes you go, you go seeking, kind of those missing parts of the puzzle for other people listening, they might say, really understand the whole supply negotiation thing, but I've never run a website before, so I think that it's interesting that you identified the bit, the kind of, the gaps that you needed to fill to get up and running. And we'll dive into where you're at now as well. I mean, when you first found out about us at dropship unlocked, how did you find out about us and what, what motivated you to join the masterclass in my technical consultancy world, I have to do a lot of technical risk analysis, you know, is this the best solution for, you know, what I'm trying to achieve here? Etc. So, yes, I did do a lot of due diligence. I not only dropship unlocked and listened to virtually all of your videos, Lewis, but you know, I listened and did a lot of investigation into other offerings out there on the internet as well. And to be honest with you, I found a lot of good offerings, but it was not the whole shooting match, if you want to call it that. So you know, you could find a really good company to get into bed with, for Shopify, and another one for Google ads and another one for something else, you know. What really turned my head with dropship unlocked was the whole, you know, this was right at the start to right at the end. So if you follow the course, you know, you will have a business, you know, that is making money at the end of the day. Amazing. So great to hear. And in terms of the program then so far, so once you made that decision to join, have you enjoyed the program so far? And kind of, what specific elements stood out to you? You mentioned you were looking for that holistic, A to Z blueprint, the road map, you know, from start to finish. But what parts have you enjoyed about the program so far? I think the parts that I've enjoyed, to be honest with you, is that is the Google Ads learning for one okay, it was years ago that we dabbled in Google ads, and it's changed. You know, they changes. You know, most weeks and most months. But it's changed so much, and there's so much more you can do now. But I think one of the biggest learnings on Google Ads was data is king. Give it that 30 days. Don't touch it, don't change things, etc. Because you know what you tend to do if you don't have that knowledge, is you're looking at it every single day and they're like, oh, right, I'm going to change this. I'm going to change that. You really have to be pretty strong and just let it run for the 30 days. You will then have really good data to be able to change things. Yeah, it takes a lot of willpower, doesn't it? Certainly if it's the first time that you're running ads. So I, I can certainly relate to that. It's, it's nerve wracking, and I find that almost the easier thing to do is to not even log in, not not be able to see it, which takes some guts, I guess, in terms of hoping that everything's working. So maybe that's a step too far when you're first starting, but certainly it's very difficult to look at it and see something that maybe is underperforming because it's still in learning mode, or it hasn't quite got enough data yet. You just want to dive in and tinker, because that's what we do as entrepreneur. As entrepreneurs, but just letting it do its thing, optimize over time, and then eventually making those those tweaks, and then letting that play out as well, not making a tweak, and then the next day, jumping in and doing the same again. So it sounds like you were very strong willed when it came to that, and absolutely and, you know, to be honest with you, I think the other thing that really shone for me was I hadn't, you know, when, when you have a business for such a long time, you become a salesman. But the other thing that I got out of dropship unlocked was the scripting for contacting suppliers. It's something I haven't done before. Yeah, you know, I talk to my customers every day, you know, and we know exactly what we're talking about, but when it comes to actually talking to a, you know, a manufacturer or a supplier and negotiating that deal, that was all new to me. Phil, it's interesting because you've, you've come from a, you know, a lot of experience in your background, and then you come into this new world and dropship on not masterclass. Did you find it easy to trust the process straight away? Or were you looking to try and interject your own learnings and your own experience? Or did you just learn and do exactly as the program showed you to do? Yeah, I'll be honest with you. I mean, all of the videos in the course are, you know, it is wonderful. You know, there are, or sorry, were, some of the Shopify, pulling together your MBs, etc, videos that I could put on, you know, times 10 and just flip through. Because, you know, I knew that stuff. I knew how i i had to set it up, or a good 90% of it. I knew how to very quickly get images descriptions in, Shopify up so that part of the course. I mean, talk about my niches in a bit. But, you know, my second niche, I was able to get that envious, up and running, literally in a weekend, you know, then start contacting suppliers on the Monday morning, you know. So you know, there were some parts that I could, I wouldn't say, rush through, because I watched all of the videos. But, you know, some of the the more technical or Shopify things I could sort of go through really quite quickly. Yeah, that's, that's good to hear. I, I guess, just just to be aware of who might be listening to this, because there'll be people listening who don't have as technical a background as you feel. And they might, you know, they might have been in sales, for example, but not related to web design. What would you say to someone like that who maybe can't watch it at 10 times speed, having now gone through the content? Do you think that it's okay for someone to come in without much of that web design experience and still be able to get up and run Yeah, I absolutely, Louis. Think that anybody can do this. You know, there are things you're going to have to get your head around, of course, but it is so simple, if you just follow the course, follow the instructions, and do this, and then this, and then this, you will get there. I mean, you know, in the in the community, we've got electricians and nurses and etc, etc, you know, for goodness sake, they, you know, they, they never thought, even thought about web design or Google ads or even contacted a, you know, a manufacturer or a supplier. Yeah, it's such an eclectic mix of people, isn't it? It's a real diverse community. So it's great to see so many different professions, and I think part of it is once you've done the stuff that requires the laptop or the computer, like the complex, you know, complex web design stuff, once it's there and set up. I mean, a lot of the business you can run from your phone, right? So if you are currently still working your job as a nurse or an electrician, then this is a bit of a side income for you. You don't need to really be on the computer that. And so it's certainly once you have a VA to do that that, you know, some of the more involved stuff. So, um, yeah, that's great to hear, in terms of you mentioned you did a lot of due diligence. And I think that's that's great to hear that you didn't just blindly jump in, because you know that that means that you made a very informed decision. There are a lot of other programs out there, like you mentioned, a lot of these cheap courses. I mean, you could probably get a course on how to do dropship. Paying for $10 on Udemy or even for free on YouTube. But why did you choose the mentorship program instead? Yeah, I think there were. There were a couple of key things. One of them was, this is not a PDF that you get sent, or some videos you get sent. You know, there is a community. And also the Q and A's twice a week, and the collaboration call, you know, I'm heavily, as I said, you know, I'm heavily into communities. And I made a conscious decision, back in my my jumular days, during conflict management system days, that I would heavily be involved in a community. And since then, what I try and do with communities is give back. Hence why you see me on the DSU community quite a lot, because, you know, there are people out there who will struggle with technical side and what have you, and I will struggle with, you know, the talking to suppliers and the Google ad side. So to have a really great community like we've got, just makes things a lot simpler it does. And I'm glad you mentioned it, because the community, I feel is the best resource that we actually get access to when we when we join the program. And you mentioned there that you came in with absolutely the right attitude, that you are giving a lot. Have you found that by leading with value, you end up getting a lot back in return? Oh yeah, no, it's great. I mean, you know, I got to that point in my life where, you know, I've got a lot of knowledge, you know, in certain areas, and you know, to give back, you know, rather than just sort of keeping it all to myself, and, you know, making millions and millions, etc, you know, to give back is, it's great, and it's a really good feeling when, You know, I went onto a zoom call with one of the members, you know, last week, and she was totally struggling. And then once I showed her how to do something, and this is how I would do it, she was like, oh my goodness, you know, that is so simple, you know. And that feels great. It does. I can completely attest to that as well, because in a similar position, Phil, once you're up and running, it's amazing, fantastic for yourself, personally. But then there's also that rewarding side of giving back to other people that perhaps struggling, or they're they're just building their businesses up, and they're at an earlier stage than you. It's so rewarding. And obviously I do that now on the Q and A calls that we host and the collaboration calls as well. How have you found specifically, those live Q and A calls? I think they're fantastic. I don't think I've missed one over the last two or three weeks. I don't always have a question, and I just sit there and listen. And part of the reason, you know, a bit like the community, part of the reason I come to those Q A calls is because, you know, I might have another perspective or another idea or a question that that has been asked of you, James, which I can just type into the chat and let people know. But you know, I would just advise everybody who's on the dropship unlocked, just go along. Just listen. You know, you will learn so much. You know, just by listening. Rather, you don't have to go there to ask a question, just go and listen, sit in the background. Yeah, and I find you just immerse yourself, don't you? When you're listening to the Q and A calls, as well as watching the videos, you pick up a lot from other people. And that's the thing with the community, is that we're all on the same journey, whether we're a few steps ahead or whether we're starting at the same point. Everyone's got the same common goals, and so those live Q and A calls really make a huge difference. I feel for people. Yeah. I mean, you say every single time, James, you know, no question is a stupid question. And, you know, it's great that, you know, people are talking about, I don't know how to find my niche or, you know, I've got a campaign that is not working for me in Google ads or whatever. You know is, it's just great to hear that, you know, the different questions that go in, yeah, it's, I think it's easy for people to think initially, when they join that the problem they're facing is unique to them, and that no one's ever faced it before, and you're working on a desert island on your own, and soon as you you take the courage and you say, Okay, I'm going to post it in the community. And you see this influx of support. When you have a community like ours, suddenly, I think it just puts your mind at ease. And you think, ah, because all of these people have faced the same challenges as so it's great to hear from others what their solutions are talking about. Hearing from others, there will be people who are not as far into the journey as you are, Phil, and perhaps they haven't even started their journey yet. So something that I think is really exciting for people who are thinking about launching an E commerce business but haven't done so yet. Could you take us through kind of the duration that it took you from when you first started and, you know, set your site live up to making a sale, and where were you? I'm sure you vividly remember that that sound of the first Shopify cha ching notification coming through. So talk us through that. And what was that day like for you? Well, I did. It was actually really funny. I mean, I actually joined the course on the 17th of August this year. So not that long ago, I had my first campaign, my first Foreman's Max campaign, up and running at the end of. That month. That's how quickly it happened. I then literally a week later, one weekend, I thought I've got another niche that I found that is great as well. And Blimey, let's, let's double up. So that weekend, I locked myself away from seven o'clock in the morning Saturday until seven o'clock in the evening, Sunday, and I started ringing suppliers on the Monday morning after having an MBS set up. So I've now got two niches, both of which are doing quite well, quite well. My first cell came in, I live on the south coast, and was taking the dog for a walk along the beach, and I didn't take my phone, so I didn't get the Ka Ching unfortunately, for my first sale, it was when I got home from walking the dog along the beach, I checked my phone and Shopify said, you've got, you know, Sell for three and a half 1000. And I'm like, Okay, that's cool. That's cool. So, yeah, that was my first coaching to be honest with you, was, you know, I missed it, unfortunately, yeah, I walk in the dog, but that's, that's what I mean. I think that's, that's the perfect kind of sale, right? Because you weren't there, staring at the phone, hoping that it came through. You were getting on with life, you would you knew you'd front loaded that hard work, because, like you said, you locked yourself away and went into monk mode over the weekend to really focus on the business, and then it came through whilst you were out living your life. And I think that's almost symbolic of this model, isn't it? It's like if we could all have our first sale come through whilst we're out doing the things we want to do. That is the idea of it. So on a sale like that, just typically, with the suppliers that you have three and a half 1000 pounds is obviously top line revenue. What's the approximate profit that you take home from a sale like that? Phil, depending on the supplier, and also depending on different products in each supplier I'm looking at in between 35 and 45% so upwards of 1000 Yeah. Very nice. Thank you very much. Brilliant, brilliant. Well, then that, that's a nice contribution towards replacing that monthly wage, isn't it, or even just supplementing it, if like you say, you can do it whilst walking the dog and as a side business as well. So, um, where are you? So you've mentioned you've gone in at the deep end. You've launched two stores now, and you're only just to put this in context. You said you joined in August, and it's now November, so you've only been in for three months, and you have two stores. What are your total sales to date at this point combined, though? Okay, so combined on the two stores, as of yesterday, is 52,000 with a profit, or, you know, after expenses and Google ads and etc, etc. Of 35% fantastic. That's amazing to hear. In just three short months. So much progress already. Phil, and how do you feel like this success will change your life now that you've got these e commerce businesses up and running? Obviously, you're only three months in. But how do you foresee having these businesses changing your life? Well, I'm strange, most probably not like a lot of other people on the community, because I had my technical consultancy and I have my web design agency as well. This is the money side. You know, it's very strange for me to say, but the money side is not going to change my life. What I've done this for is one I wanted to learn something else. Okay, so the whole communicating and dealing with suppliers and the Google ads, but I've done this primarily to set up a future for my son and daughter, and I want this to be something that I'm able to at some point, you know, to be able to hand over to them and say, there you go. Is a little present. There's a little thing here that's gonna put 10,000 pound in your bank every month, sort of thing on one of my niches. I do have my son helping me out as well. So, you know, he's already sort of engaged in that. So, yeah, I'm a little bit different. This is, this is not going to give me, you know, more holidays than I already have. This is almost like a some sort of inheritance for my children, you know, which is something I wanted to do. That is incredible, Phil, and I love the the fact that you are doing this, like you said, not just for the money, but for essentially, the legacy right to pass on to your children. Can you talk us through because that, having just recently become a father myself, in the last couple of years, I'm starting to now feel that same sense of like, what can I give to them? That's not just money, you know, because you don't just want to spoil your children. Do you by saying, right, here's a million pounds and you know, off you go, because you know what that's going to do to their drive and their hunger. What do you think that does in terms of like character building and drive building and entrepreneurial traits for your children? Well, I mean, I've just become a granddad as well, so or twice in the last 18, last 18 months. So you know that that that's had a huge bear. And on it as well. But, you know, my son is very business orientated. Anyway. He's in the insurance industry, but, you know, he's, he has to go into the office, unfortunately, every single day, which is sort of like a, you know, a two hour round commute, you know. And he has the brain to be able to take this over. But my daughter, on the other hand, will have to have a, you know, more hand holding. But, you know, I just wanted them, you know, I just really wanted to give them something that, you know, they could take forward. You know, they were in charge of their own destiny and etc, etc. It's admirable, as Lewis says, to be able to do that, and the key is to a business that they can run from anywhere in the world. Obviously, it will take some upkeep, but it's already made 50,000 pounds in the first three months. What an amazing present. I'd love to receive that that present as well. But, yeah, fantastic, Phil, and it's a credit to what you've done. There's obviously will have been some challenges along the way, an obstacle was it within your first three months to get to this stage, but how specifically would you say that the dropship unlock masterclass was able to get you through those challenges? It's it's all down to the community. To be honest with you, I didn't know when I joined how big the community was actually going to be. I mean, you know, there are messages in there every two minutes, literally, you know. And they are just so, so helpful, you know. And that's what I want to give as well. Is, is my help back to those people. But I, you know, I think that one of the biggest winners is the community. Obviously the, you know, the Q and A calls where, you know, they everybody can talk to somebody who's been there and got the t shirt as well. But, you know, I think the biggest thing in the dropship community is that it's not only the course, the course is great, but you know, even when you've completed the course, you know, there are still going to be new things every single day that come up. And you think, Oh, my God, how do I sort this out? Literally, just jump into the community and within minutes, maybe give it half an hour. All right, you've got an answer from somebody fantastic. Even with the experience that you've got, it's interesting that you still cite the community as being so helpful for you. And I completely agree that even now, no matter what stage you're at, you learn so much from being in that community. Would you say it's been the biggest benefit? Then, if you had to say, out of the whole masterclass, would you, would you say the community was the number one? I would actually say it's the number one. Yes. I mean, you know, you you know, I've done courses in the past where, you know, you download the videos or PDF or whatever, and you know, you don't have that community wrapped around it, you know, to be able to say, I don't quite understand this, or I don't quite understand that with the community, even when you're halfway through a video, you know, if there's something you don't get, you can jump straight onto the community and get an answer, yeah, it's definitely a huge benefit, isn't it, having not, not working in isolation, on your own. So I imagine, when you were doing your due diligence, Phil about kind of thinking of what program to join in and how to get this, the A to Z blueprint of starting a business like this, potentially, there was some hesitancy, some skepticism. Otherwise, I imagine you wouldn't have done so much due diligence, like you said, Were you hesitant or skeptical about joining the masterclass initially? And if so, I guess what? What was it that changed your mind? You know, like, like I said, you know, having done a lot of technical risk analysis in the past, you know, I, I'm not the sort of person that would jump in with both feet into the first thing I see on the same with buying cars, you know, I'll look at several cars or or three or four cars and test drive them all. So I think, to be honest with you, you know, that's just the way I am. But you know, the dropship unlock just had this extra thing. And you know, I did see people on Trustpilot talking about, about, about the community, and you know, you did talk in your videos about the Q and A sessions, you know. So to be able to talk to somebody you know and have that community wrapped around the whole thing is just, you know, that was the overall winner for me. Yeah, great to hear. And you're a huge part of the community. I think it's easy to just de personify the community and just assuming that it's like a deliverable, but it really is made up of the people and their willingness to give first and take later. You know, it's that reciprocation element that I think you're now experiencing, where you just came in with a, Hey, I've got nothing to hold back here, so I'm just going to give as much as I can and support as many people as I can. You know, even jumping on Zoom calls, like you said, with members in the community, because you know that that will come back around, and when you need support, at some point, you'll have so much goodwill stacked up in your favor that when you need a favor, people will be queuing at the door to help you. So I guess with that, then, do you feel the investment that you made in the masterclass has been worth it for you? Because obviously, you've made back a lot more than the investment into the masterclass already, and you're only three months in which is. Fantastic. But how do you view that in terms of, like, a longer term ROI, would you say it was a good investment for you? Oh, absolutely, absolutely. You know, my father was, you've got to make your own money, okay? And he had a couple of things, which was, you know, don't lie in other people's pockets. Number one, and secondly, you've got to stipulate, to accumulate, and you always think about the money. That's why I did the due diligence. But I'm not even thinking about that money now, because it's, I know it's only three months or three and a half months, but that's in the past. You know, I'm, I'm now making money from these websites, and you know, it's going to be a lot bigger because of the effort that I will be pushing in. And again, you know you will get out of this. What you put in this is not a make a million pounds in two weeks. You know that just does not happen. You've got to put the effort in. You've got to put the time in. You will be rewarded. But you know, if you sit on your laurels, you're just not going to get anything. Completely agree, what would you say? Are you most excited about now with your E commerce business moving forward? Well, I've got two niches, two stores, and I've got two more, but ideally I'd like to have campaigns wrapped around them by the end of January. That's my goal. You know? The thing is, is that once you've been through the course, once you should be able to go through it a lot quicker. The second time, a lot quicker. The third time, you know, double up, treble up. You know, you can just make loads of money doing this. And you know, the course is there just to back it, yeah, I think it can be very much rinse and repeat at that stage. Can't it? Once you've seen the process through, from start to finish, the hard bit was learning the ropes for the first time, as it is in most walks of life, but once you've done it, you think, Well, I have the knowledge now no one can take that away from me, so I can build another business and another So, yeah, fantastic to hear that that's the approach you've taken. And talking about kind of the approach you've taken and what you're doing. You're obviously very early in your journey. Now, even just three months in, you're doing incredibly well. But how do you see the business evolving, or your business is evolving with the continued support of dropship unlock over the longer term? Phil, I have a goal. My goal is in three years, to be turning over a total of a million pounds, and ideally, in five years, because I'm not getting any younger, is to then hand over to my children and support them, you know, as and when I can, because, you know, I have other businesses as well, which, you know, I also need to look after and keep running So, you know, I do have a plan, you know, this is, this is not a quick win to make loads and loads of money. I have a plan for all of my businesses that is primarily to make money, but also to, you know, hand off that legacy, whatever you want to call it to, to my children at some point. Yeah, that's amazing. And so you're not just doing it for the asset value necessarily to sell the businesses. You're doing it from a cash flow perspective, to create a sustainable income source and a challenge for your children to take on one day as well, which I think is even more exciting than just selling it, because I know a lot of people who've sold their businesses, and then they're kind of like, Now, what if you know? And then they realized it was the challenge and the build and that that was the bit that motivated them. I know it is. For me, I wouldn't know what to do if I suddenly had no businesses. So, yeah, I would totally agree. Lewis, you know, I'll be honest with you, I will not retire. You know, even if I'm only working two or three hours a day, I will not retire. I will get so bored. You know, my father used to say there's only so that, only so many hours you could spend in the greenhouse. I believe that. I think, you know, I would just curl up and die if I weren't doing I've got to keep my brain active. I've got to be doing something. And this is just absolutely ideal, you know, I might be, you know, five years down the road on my 20th store, who knows? But some No, no, I I'm just going to keep it rolling. Yeah, I can't wait to document your journey even further. Phil, we'll be in touch all the time, because I want to know how you're getting on. If you've got an aim of turning over a million in three years time, and you've already done 50k in your first three months, you're absolutely well on the way. And also, I want to ask a few questions I think listeners will probably have as well. Is around, I know you've had some large orders as well, some single orders that have been for a large amount. What's been your largest order to date so far? Largest order was for just over I think it was about 11,250 but strangely enough, that didn't come from the internet. It came from a conversation with somebody who knew somebody else, who knew somebody else, and I bucked up the courage. I made the phone call and they said, Oh yeah, we're doing this in our business. You can help us out. So after three or four phone calls and one. Face to face. Yeah, I got the Katrina and that one I did here, it's a good one to hear. 11 and a half 1000. Oh, yeah, amazing, yeah. And that's the thing you you sort of make your own luck in life, I believe. And, you know, some people might think that was a bit of a stroke of luck. You knew the right person, but you put yourself in that position where you could have that luck. You had the business ready, you had the suppliers on board. So how much of that do you think is luck? Or do you think it was a lot of the effort that you put in to get yourself into that position? You know, a bit of luck always comes into it, of course. But you know, the thing I have learned, you know, from being in business for a number of years now, too many years, is, you know, you do become that salesman. You know, you're always talking about this, you know, whether it's down the pub or in a restaurant or on the train, and some of those conversations, you know, even if one of out of 100 comes to a, you know, a cell, then, you know, that's great. But yeah, I think, you know, once people have been doing this a while and been in business a while, you do become that salesman. Amazing. Yeah, it's no doubt. The success you've seen is attest to that as well. So circling back now, Phil, if you were to speak to somebody that was considering building their own e commerce business and they were thinking about joining the dropship or not, masterclass. Would you recommend it to them? And if so, why I would absolutely 100% recommend it to them. I would say two pieces of advice that I would give is, is one, make sure you've got the money. You will need the money, not only for the course, but your your first month or Google ad. So make sure you've got that money to one side and you can still, you know, put bread and butter on the table. My second thing is, is that, you know, you will have to put the time and the effort into this. Okay, so even if you've got a nine to five, you know, you're going to have to have to set an hour or two in the evening, a few hours over the weekend, to get through this course. But you know, if you do that and you follow the course, you will, or could be out of your nine to five pretty quickly. But you know, don't think that this is going to be easiest is, you know, there's, there's a lot of learnings, you know. And even for myself, you know, I was capable in some areas and in other areas, you know, I didn't have a clue, to be honest with you. But yeah, if you put the time and the effort in, you will get rewarded, amazing. And you are evidence of that exact mentality. Phil, so great, great that you can share those points. And I think in terms of the investment to start with, there are ways of doing it as well. We do have some more, I guess, flexibility around that, for anyone who is thinking that, you know, they need to break it up a little bit. So that's something that we, of course, we have flexibility on as well. But if there are people who are thinking about investing in themselves, and perhaps this is the first time they've done anything like this. And maybe they're thinking, I just don't know about joining a program like this, and they're unsure about whether to invest in themselves. If there's someone listening to this right now in the car on their way to work or on their way to the gym, or they're on the train, or, you know, walking through rainy city on the way to work, what would you say to them about taking that first step and investing in themselves and joining a program and a community like this, absolutely, just do it. Just absolutely do it. There are people in the community who, who now I believe, you know, we are friends, which is just crazy after sort of, you know, three months. But there are people in the community who have not done anything like this before, and if I can make it work, you know, that's just testament the course works. You all make money from this. You know, it's not a quick win by any shot of the imagination. And like I say, if you put the effort and the time into it, you will be rewarded. Yeah, fantastic. Well, it's like we always say, it's it's not easy, but it can be very simple. When you have a step by step process to follow, it can be very simple, but you still need to put the work in, because ultimately, it's your business that you're building. So thank you for sharing your your story and your journey so far to date, Phil, I know you're only three months in, but I think you are one to watch inside our community, and we will definitely be losing back and keeping in touch with you and finding out where your journey takes you. So we look forward to helping you with many more sales to come. And thank you for being such a valuable and trusted member of the dropship unlocked community. What an incredible story there from Phil really enjoyed that conversation, and I think his journey, it truly highlights the essence of entrepreneurship and turning a vision into his reality. Yeah, absolutely. Phil's a journey and transformation is a real testament to the power of both the masterclass, but also what can be achieved with the right guidance, the right mindset and the right drive that Phil definitely has in abundance. If Phil's story resonated with you and you're ready to take the plunge, remember, the journey starts with just a single step, just like Phil did, and that first step could be as simple as educating yourself. So to set yourself up on the right path to your own success story, a great starting point is my book The home turf advantage, which is a comprehensive guide to starting your high ticket drop shipping business. So head over to htabook.com grab your copy, and who knows, we might be discussing your success story on an upcoming podcast episode soon. Until then, keep pushing forward and remember your entrepreneurial journey is just one decision away. Just a quick heads up, if you'd like to share your questions, stories, successes or challenges. You can email us directly at podcast@dropshipunlocked.com and you never know, we might even feature you on the next podcast episode. Also, if you want access to today's show notes or any of the resources we've mentioned in the episode today, then head over to dropshipunlocked.com forward slash podcast. We also have a small favor to ask of you, if you enjoyed the show so far, you could take a minute to leave us a rating and review on your podcast platform of choice. You wouldn't believe how much your reviews help us grow the podcast. We'll even read out some of our favorites on the next episode. So if you want to be featured on the show, please do go ahead and leave us a review today. Thanks so much for your support. We really couldn't do it without you, and we absolutely love hearing what you think of the podcast. So now we've come to that part of the episode where we'll answer a question that's coming from a listener, and this question today has come in from Lauren. So thank you, Lauren. She's emailed her question. And if you want to get your questions answered on the podcast and all you need to do is email us. It's podcast@dropshipunlock.com and this is exactly what Lauren has done. So thank you, Lauren. She has asked, Is dropshipping still a viable business model? Can it still be profitable, and how can I adapt to stay ahead? Great question, Lauren. Thank you very much. And you're not alone in those thoughts. That's definitely a question we hear a lot, so it's an important one for us to answer for you today. So the first thing I'd say is that you have to think of dropshipping as purely a fulfillment method that many, many businesses use to get their products to customers. There are huge businesses. Think of Wayfair. They do about $12 billion per year, and they are 95% a drop shipping company, as in, they drop ship products that they don't even have the products in their warehouses. Anytime you order from Wayfair, usually the product comes directly from the supplier, from the manufacturer. So if companies like that are succeeding, I mean, they're they're not going anywhere anytime soon, right? And the other thing is that the technological advancements, especially in terms of E commerce, with platforms like Shopify, they've lowered that barrier to entry, because it means you don't now need a huge technological e commerce team that Wayfair probably have in the back end that set this up like for $29 a month. I can get started on Shopify as a solo entrepreneur and be up and running with a professionally branded website pretty much the same date. And so they're continuing to enhance and support drop shipping and make it easier and easier for individual entrepreneurs to get started. And with E commerce just growing as an industry, it's just there are continually going to be new markets emerging. There'll be new niches to explore, and so the pie now is bigger than ever to share. Just a small slice of will continue to expand, because the entire pie is going to grow as the market does so. The thing with dropshipping that it is crucial that you should choose the right niche to succeed. There's a process to doing that, and you just have to constantly adapt and stay ahead and try and embrace continuous learning. I know James and I are learning all the time, and you know, with our businesses, we're always adapting based on market feedback, so it's not a static thing. You're constantly evolving. You're constantly growing. And for you personally as an entrepreneur, to guarantee that you're keeping up to date with the latest trends, invest in learning, whether that's through courses or mentorship, just staying informed about industry trends is going to be your secret weapon. That'll be your advantage to keep ahead of this emerging trend. So hopefully that helped answer your question, for a more in depth answer, listen to the episode of the dropship unlocked podcast titled, is it too late to start drop shipping now? Because I think that would be a good one for you. And that's Episode 16, if you want to queue that one up for after this. Fantastic. Thank you, Lewis. And a great question there from Lauren, and a great answer as well, Lewis. So I completely agree. So now we want to highlight a recent review that we've had for the podcast as well. So a big thank you to Dickie for sharing your thoughts. Dickie said, Hey, Lewis and James, I've just discovered your podcast, and I'm in the process of binging the whole lot. It's such a high quality, both in terms of content and production, it's made me feel 1000 times more confident in what I'm doing. So thank you amazing. Really appreciate that review that came through in an email. Thank you, Dickie. I'm glad to hear that you've enjoyed the podcast so far. Yeah, genuinely, thank you so much for your review. That really, really means a lot, and I'm very glad to. Here that you've been enjoying the podcast and it's made you feel 1000 times more confident. So that's the aim of it, right? If today's conversation that we had with Phil has sparked some thoughts, we'd love to hear from you. Leaving us a review on your preferred podcast platform is a fantastic way to show support and even ask us a question. And if you're tuning in via YouTube, don't hesitate to leave us a comment below. We're always excited to feature your thoughts in our upcoming episodes, and as we wrap up today, why not share Phil's inspiring journey with someone you know his story could just be the motivation that they need to explore the world of E commerce. So sharing this episode might ignite a transformative conversation about achieving financial freedom and embarking on an entrepreneurial journey to help us spread the inspiration. Thanks for joining us on this episode of the dropship unlocked podcast. We hope you found the discussion both inspiring and entertaining. If you're ready to begin your own high ticket dropshipping journey, then here's what to do next. I've taken all of the years of my own experience, both in running my E commerce businesses and teaching hundreds of others how to do the same. And I've condensed it all into my book, the home turf advantage. It's your comprehensive guide designed to help you create your own e commerce business, and you can grab your copy today at h t a book.com Stay connected by subscribing to the podcast this way, you'll never miss an episode packed with valuable insights. And if you enjoyed what you heard today, please leave us a review. Your feedback motivates us, and we love sharing our favorite reviews on future episodes. And thank you for deciding to spend your time with us today. We really appreciate you, and we look forward to sharing more high ticket dropshipping insights with you on our next episode of the dropship unlocked podcast you.