Running a dropshipping store is hard enough, but what if you had to do it twice?
If you have been thinking about starting a second dropshipping store, you should consider a few things before you start.
Running multiple dropshipping stores is not impossible, but it's not easy, either. In other words, you can run multiple dropshipping stores, but the decision of whether or not you should do it will depend on your personal situation.
In this article, I will guide you in the right direction on how to run multiple dropshipping stores and walk you through the pros and cons of starting a second dropshipping store.
Finally, I will show you some tools that will hopefully make the process a whole lot smoother!
Let's start!
How do you run multiple dropshipping stores?
First things first, can you run multiple dropshipping stores? And if so, how?
Well, you definitely can run multiple dropshipping stores. The creation of multiple dropshipping stores isn't that hard.
Actually, it works in the same way as the process of creating a single dropshipping store. The only thing is that you will have to create two accounts for everything!
The question of how to run multiple dropshipping stores will depend on the ecommerce platform you are using.
Most ecommerce platforms won't support the possibility of managing multiple dropshipping stores from one account. However, nothing stops you from creating a new account for each dropshipping store you set up!
Some ecommerce platforms do offer you the possibility to manage multiple stores from one account.
Unfortunately, it often requires an expensive plan, so it won't be a viable option for most people. For example, the Shopify Plus plan on Shopify allows you to manage all your stores from one location in your Shopify admin, but it costs $2,000 per month or more.
Remember that if you are going to start running multiple dropshipping stores, you will not only have to set up multiple accounts for your dropshipping stores but also for each store's social media pages, Facebook ad accounts, and other dropshipping tools.
The pros and cons of running multiple dropshipping stores
Running a dropshipping store is an exciting experience. It can be a lot of fun to start a store, build up your social media presence, and watch the orders come in. After all the hard work, you will hopefully be left with a sustainable and profitable business!
If you are currently running a profitable dropshipping store, you might be asking yourself if you should start a second, third, fourth, or even fifth store.
It's a great question with a complicated answer that depends on your personal situation. To make the decision easier, let's take a look at the pros and cons of running multiple dropshipping stores!
The pros of running multiple dropshipping stores
Why would you run multiple stores if there weren't some benefits involved?
Let's take a look at the pros of running multiple dropshipping stores:
Diversify your product portfolio and test more niches
The first benefit of running multiple dropshipping stores is that you will be able to diversify your product portfolio and test more niches.
Of course, this will only count as a benefit if you are running niche stores. General dropshipping stores can already sell anything and everything!
Niche dropshipping stores are limited in the types of products they can sell. They are catered for a type of people with the same interests.
So, if you are running a successful store in the fitness niche, but have just found an awesome-looking cat toy in the pet niche, then you might be missing out on sales because publishing that cat toy on your fitness niche store isn't an option.
If you would dropship with multiple stores, you would be able to create a store in the pet niche and start selling the product there!
Create multiple income streams
Running multiple dropshipping stores allows you to create multiple income streams.
The importance of this is illustrated by a popular quote from American business magnate and investor Warren Buffett:
Never depend on a single income source. Make investments to create a second source.
Warren Buffett
Personally, I would rather run two dropshipping stores generating me $2,000 per month each than running one dropshipping store that generates me $4,000 per month.
In both situations, my monthly profit would be $4,000. However, relying on all that profit from one dropshipping store is a lot riskier.
For example, what would happen if my PayPal account gets banned? Or if my Facebook ad account gets disabled?
I would be forced to stop selling. The profits would disappear, and I would be left with no income.
Meanwhile, if I would have two dropshipping stores and one would stop (for whatever reason), I would still be able to run the second store for a profit of $2,000 per month.
It helps you avoid getting stuck with a single product
If you are running a one-product store or even a niche store with one main product, then it can be hard to realize that the product just won't work and move on. Trust me. I have been there!
It's a situation where you are trying to apply all tips to get your first dropshipping sale or to become profitable. However, it just isn't working.
Sometimes, people can get stuck trying to become profitable with a single product. This is also called "marrying a product".
Don’t worry. It’s okay to step away from a product and move on to a different one.
You will have more chance of succeeding by testing new products than marrying one product and trying to make it work for too long.
Running multiple dropshipping stores can prevent this situation because if one product or store doesn't work, you will be able to simply concentrate your efforts on your other products for a while.
In the meantime, you can learn how a winning product looks like and use tools like Sell The Trend, which allow you to find winning products like this one:
Allows you to expand to different countries
Let's say you have been successfully running a local dropshipping store in one of the best countries for dropshipping, Germany.
Your whole store is created specifically with the goal of operating in Germany. You have set up the right payment gateways, the best suppliers from Europe, and the whole store is written in the German language.
However, the store is running so well that you want to expand your business to other countries.
In this situation, it is not always possible to use a tool like Langify to simply translate your store and start selling worldwide.
In some situations, it's crucial to use the right translations, other currencies, other suppliers, other payment gateways, or other products.
If this is the case, then running a second store might be a great solution. You can leave your German store running, and in the meantime, create multiple stores catered for other countries.
You will be able to set up everything ranging from the product descriptions to the currencies and suppliers specifically for that country!
The cons of running multiple dropshipping stores
Running dropshipping stores has multiple pros, but don't forget about the cons!
Many people want to run multiple dropshipping stores because they believe they have a better chance of success.
This might be true, but there are a few cons to consider before you start a new dropshipping store.
Let's start with the first one; focus:
It's difficult not to lose focus
You probably know that running a dropshipping store is incredibly challenging. It's a lot of work, especially if you are planning on staying in business for the long run.
Therefore, it requires a lot of focus.
Just to set up a store, you will have to go through several tasks, from content to branding and marketing.
When running multiple dropshipping stores, you will need a lot of time to keep the right focus for all your stores and keep them running well. And as I said, that isn't an easy task.
If your first store isn't running that well yet and you try to start a new store, your first store will likely just end up getting neglected. It will be difficult to focus on both stores at the same time. In the end, you may end up with two stores that look pretty bad.
So, don't start running multiple dropshipping stores if you don't have enough time for it!
You will have to deal with more issues
When running multiple dropshipping stores, you will have to deal with more issues.
If you are managing a dropshipping store, you will have to deal with suppliers, customer issues, payment gateway issues, advertising issues, and more.
Running two dropshipping stores means having to double your efforts to solve all kinds of issues.
In the end, this also equates to needing more time to properly run multiple dropshipping stores!
More costs
Lastly, there is one more con that you shouldn't forget about; the costs!
Doubling the amount of dropshipping stores equals doubling your fixed costs.
Here are some of the costs you will have to incur for each of your dropshipping stores:
- Ecommerce platform plan. For example, Shopify charges a fee of $39 to $399 per month plus credit card fees between 2.4% and 2.9% + 30¢ per transaction, depending on your plan.
- Theme. If you want to use a paid theme, you will have to pay a certain amount for the theme of each of your dropshipping stores. Typically, the costs for a theme are between $0 and $180.
- Apps. Each of your dropshipping stores will need apps to get access to the best features. Let's assume you own Shopify stores. On average, each Shopify store has installed six apps. The average price of a Shopify app is $14.77 per month. Therefore, we can make a rough estimate that an average Shopify store spends around $90 per month on apps!
Outside of these costs, you may have to pay for things like your domain, business email, and more!
If you multiply all these costs by the number of stores you are planning to run, you will end up with your total fixed costs.
For several dropshipping stores, these costs can add up quickly and will become a serious consideration.
In the end, the added costs are an added risk for running multiple dropshipping stores. However, remember that multiple dropshipping stores can also bring in more revenue!
So, should you run multiple dropshipping stores?
With the pros and cons out of the way, let's continue with the question above.
Should you run multiple dropshipping stores?
Well, as you have read, running multiple dropshipping stores does allow you to test more niches, create multiple income streams, expand to other countries, and therefore increase your revenue.
However, you will also have to consider the extra time you will need to make all of your stores run well. You will have to deal with more issues and pay more for fixed costs.
In my opinion, you should run multiple dropshipping stores, but only if:
- Your current dropshipping store has been scaled and is automated.
- You have enough time on your hands to manage both stores properly.
If this is the case, you will have enough time and resources to start running multiple dropshipping stores.
If time is an issue for you, you could try to further automate your dropshipping stores using automation tools. These tools can automate some tasks of your dropshipping business and can therefore save you some time!
An example of a dropshipping automation tool is Dropified:
3 Tools that can help you to run multiple dropshipping stores
As I mentioned before, running multiple dropshipping stores is time-consuming.
Luckily, some tools have been created that will help you with some of the tasks you have to perform.
In the following section, I will show you three tools that can help you if you are running multiple dropshipping stores.
But don't forget that there are more tools out there that can help you organize your tasks/accounts from multiple stores, for example, your social media accounts.
1. ShipStation
The first tool is called ShipStation. As the name implies, ShipStation is shipping software for your ecommerce store.
It allows you to import orders from all your dropshipping stores into one dashboard.
Then, you can use scan-based workflows, bulk updates, and automation processes to quickly fulfill your day's shipments.
Once the tracking information is available, ShipStation can instantly send an update of the information to your ecommerce platform, and the customer will be notified!
Besides this, ShipStation can also help you to brand your shipping using branded tracking pages, SMS tracking pages, and more.
To find out everything about ShipStation, check out their website here!
2. SkuVault
Let's continue with a tool for ecommerce inventory management: SkuVault.
When running multiple dropshipping stores, you will likely be using multiple dropshipping suppliers as well.
SkuVault allows you to connect all your stores and efficiently organize all your suppliers' warehouses and inventory.
The tool uses simple workflows and can lead to faster order fulfillment, fewer out-of-stock cases, and fewer shipping mistakes. Check them out!
3. DSers
DSers is a dropshipping tool designed to simplify dropshipping with AliExpress.
For instance, it offers a Shopify app and Chrome extension designed to help you import products from AliExpress into your store. And you can also use those to automatically fulfill your orders!
But the feature that may be more relevant for you is the multi-store management.
Using DSers, you can connect your stores from Shopify, Woocommerce, and Wix.
It allows you to manage your products, orders, pricing rules, and more in one place!
Conclusion
Finally, the tools for managing multiple dropshipping stores bring me to a conclusion.
After looking at how you can run multiple dropshipping stores and the pros and cons of running multiple dropshipping stores, we can answer the question in this article's title.
You definitely can run multiple dropshipping stores. Whether or not you should do it depends on yourself.
Try to outweigh the pros and cons to find out your best path to take.
And remember, you don't have that decision right now.
If you are unsure about taking the next step, it's often better to wait a few more days or weeks. Running a dropshipping store takes up more of your time than you might think!
If you have any questions about running multiple dropshipping stores, then don't hesitate to contact us or leave a comment down below!
Good luck with everything!
4 Comments
Quite an inspirational read
Hi Jane,
Thank you so much for your positive comment!
Have a great rest of your day!
– Patryk
Was a Great read! TY…
Hi there,
Thank you for your awesome comment!
Have a great day!
– Patryk