Reflecting on My Business Journey: Dropshipping, Digital Products, and YouTube
As I sit down to reflect on the past year, I can't help but feel grateful for the success that I've experienced in my businesses. Specifically, my dropshipping, print-on-demand, and digital product businesses have seen tremendous growth, as has my YouTube channel. In this article, I'll share my journey and insights into these businesses, as well as my goals for the future.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Dropshipping and Digital Products
3. The Passive Income Model
4. Stepping Stones and Pursuing Passions
5. YouTube: A New Business Venture
6. The Challenges of YouTube
7. Monetizing a YouTube Channel
8. Pushing My Comfort Zone
9. Building a Team
10. Looking Ahead to 2024
Dropshipping and Digital Products
In the past year, my dropshipping and digital product businesses have seen tremendous growth. In fact, 2023 was the most successful year I've had so far, with an 80% increase in revenue compared to the prior year. What's even more impressive is that I was able to achieve this growth while drastically reducing the amount of time I was investing in the business. In 2023, I was doing only 20% of the work I was doing in 2022, yet I made 80% more money. This just goes to show how passive this style of business can be if you set it up in the right way.
The Passive Income Model
The passive income model is what drew me to dropshipping and digital products in the first place. It's a business model that allows you to generate income while doing very little work. Once you've set up your shop and your products, you can sit back and let the sales come in. Of course, there is some work involved in setting up the shop and finding the right products, but once you've done that, the income can be very passive.
Stepping Stones and Pursuing Passions
While I'm grateful for the success I've had with dropshipping and digital products, I view these businesses as stepping stones to something bigger. Making $20,000 to $40,000 a month is great, but it's not my long-term mission. Instead, I see these businesses as a way to learn the principles of business and to prove to myself that I can make a business and make income online. These businesses have also given me the freedom and resources to pursue other things that I'm more passionate about, such as making YouTube videos.
YouTube: A New Business Venture
My YouTube channel is a new business venture that I started about a year ago. It's been a side hustle for me, but it's grown into a very large income stream over the past year. I started with the0 to $100,000 challenge, which was essentially the birth of my channel. The challenge was to grow a print-on-demand shop on Etsy from $0 to $100,000 in sales over the course of the year. While I didn't complete the challenge, it was a valuable learning experience for me.
The Challenges of YouTube
I underestimated the amount of work that goes into growing a YouTube channel. It takes a lot of time and commitment to actually grow a channel and get good results. I'm competing with everyone else's content, and I have to continuously level up my content to make it more valuable and entertaining. But despite the challenges, I've been able to hit my goal of posting at least one video a week for the past year.
Monetizing a YouTube Channel
There are several ways to monetize a YouTube channel, including ad revenue, sponsorships, courses, and affiliate marketing. Ad revenue is great, but it's inconsistent. Sponsorships can be a good source of income, but I've only taken one sponsorship so far. Courses and affiliate marketing are more passive sources of income, and I've had success with both.
Pushing My Comfort Zone
Making YouTube videos is not something that's natural for me, but it's been a valuable learning experience. It's pushed me out of my comfort zone and expanded my limits. It's also allowed me to contribute back to the body of knowledge that I've learned from. I'm able to give back to the YouTube community that I learned from five years ago.
Building a Team
My top priority for the coming year is to build a team. I'm looking at hiring an editor for my videos, someone who can help me build out thumbnails and possibly script and structure my videos. I want to create refreshing, authentic, and highly valuable content every single week, and building a team will help me do that.
Looking Ahead to 2024
In 2024, I'm focused on putting out great content and building a team. I'm also looking at my next big business move, whether that's doubling down on my dropshipping business or doing a slight pivot into something else while keeping the channel and improving the content every single week. I want to create videos that are as valuable as possible while doing something that I'm extremely passionate about.
Conclusion
Reflecting on the past year has been incredibly encouraging and inspiring. I'm grateful for the success I've had in my businesses and on my YouTube channel. I'm excited to see what happens in 2024 and beyond. Thank you for watching and for subscribing to my channel. I'm looking forward to creating more valuable content for you in the coming year.
Highlights
- Dropshipping and digital products can be a great source of passive income.
- YouTube is a valuable business venture, but it takes a lot of work to grow a channel.
- There are several ways to monetize a YouTube channel, including ad revenue, sponsorships, courses, and affiliate marketing.
- Building a team can help you create better content and grow your business.
- Pursuing your passions is important, even if it means pivoting away from a successful business.
FAQ
Q: What is dropshipping?
A: Dropshipping is a business model where you sell products without holding inventory. When a customer places an order, you purchase the product from a third-party supplier who ships it directly to the customer.
Q: What is print-on-demand?
A: Print-on-demand is a business model where you create custom products, such as t-shirts or posters, only when a customer places an order. This eliminates the need for holding inventory.
Q: How do you monetize a YouTube channel?
A: You can monetize a YouTube channel through ad revenue, sponsorships, courses, and affiliate marketing.
Q: What is affiliate marketing?
A: Affiliate marketing is a way to earn a commission by promoting someone else's product. You create a unique link to the product, and when someone clicks on that link and makes a purchase, you earn a commission.
Q: How can I learn more about dropshipping and digital products?
A: You can check out my YouTube channel for more information, or you can sign up for my course, which goes into more detail about these businesses.
