Sotirios’ Journey to Becoming a Small Business Owner: From $0 to $18K+ in Sales

Embarking on the journey of becoming a small business owner is no walk in the park, and building a venture from scratch can present its fair share of hurdles. However, is this a good enough reason to put your dreams on hold?

Today, we’re having an insightful conversation with Sotirios, a small online business owner brimming with ideas to turn his store into a smashing success!

Hi, would you mind introducing yourself?

Hello there!  My name is Sotirios Bogris, a 61-year-old resident of Greece. I moved to Canada for my studies at the age of 19 and have been working as an IT consultant since then. I lived in Toronto for 40 years before returning to my roots. In my free time, I love indulging in swimming, bicycling, and various outdoor activities.

Can you share your backstory leading up to becoming a small business owner?

In the past, I had some experience with dropshipping through eBay using AliExpress products. Though it wasn’t a roaring success, it wasn’t a complete failure either.

I explored other ecommerce business models online and came across AliDropship’s Premium Store offering – a clone of a profitable online store. The numbers seemed promising, and I decided to have a lucrative car accessories store replicated for me.

Shipping time was always a significant concern for me. During my stint with eBay dropshipping, I had to contend with customer complaints about prolonged shipping times. Even though AliExpress has improved its logistics with more overseas warehouses, it still takes a few weeks for the products to reach the customers.

AliDropship has effectively addressed this issue. By adding the Sellvia option, I get tons of advantages in the form of access to the expansive USA market, and fast shipping among everything else.

Given these fast shipping benefits your customers enjoy, how is your store performing?

I have been managing it for 5 months, and the results over the last 4 months have been enlightening.

I am considering the July-October period because I began advertising my store in July, shortly before becoming a member of AliDropship. The marketing materials are a life-saver!

During this period, I’ve received 438 orders and made just over $18K in sales. However, I must confess that I am not yet in the profitable zone since my expenses considerably outweigh my revenue.

Revenue in July was just over $1,000, which increased to $4,500 in August. In September, it reached $4,700, and in October, it soared to $8,300.

Could you shed light on your promotional strategies?

Primarily, I rely on Facebook ads. I initially commenced with PPE and later experimented with conversion campaigns.

The response has been quite encouraging: people are liking the page and interacting with the posts. To keep the audience engaged, I publish a new post every week or fortnight to showcase the products and introduce fresh items.

Recently, I have also begun experimenting with Instagram ads.

Additionally, I employ sales promotions. I had a discount coupon on my site for Halloween, and I have conducted similar thematic campaigns for Black Friday and Christmas.

What plans do you have for the future?

As mentioned, I aim to boost profits while reducing ad expenditure, which is currently my primary focus. I plan to modify how I conduct Facebook campaigns in terms of the creatives I use and the audience/display settings I select. Additionally, I intend to add more products to gain a broader market understanding. With my existing campaigns, I’m solely promoting three flagship products.

I’m considering email marketing campaigns as well because I have acquired several hundred customers to date. I plan to utilize their email addresses as a database and explore where that leads me.

If these strategies yield more positive financial results, I’m open to the idea of setting up another store in the future!

Having successfully processed over $18,000 worth of online orders, Sotirios is clear about his next goals and is well on his path towards becoming a small business owner. AliDropship provides all the necessary tools to help his vision materialize. We wish Sotirios the best of luck with his exciting plans and hope his story serves as an inspiration for everyone aspiring to become a small business owner!