There are hundreds or more drop shipping businesses and it can be difficult to compete on price alone. Accordingly, you need to find a niche and decide what sets you apart from the competition.  Find a niche where you can add value. For example, you can sell electronics equipment and run a blog that shows people how to put the equipment together. Or you could sell pet supplies and accessories on a website where you blog about the topic. Plan on selling products that are hard to purchase locally but instead are bought online.  Your products shouldn’t be too cheap. Ideally, a good niche is one where the products cost $100-200. This price point allows you to make a solid profit from each sale without having to provide a lot of customer support. When you charge more, customers usually want to talk to a person before buying. After choosing your niche, find suppliers who are willing to drop ship. There is no one place to look to find suppliers. Instead, try the following:  Search online for “wholesaler” and then the product you want to sell. Because wholesalers don’t invest much in online advertisement, you might have to dig through 20 or more pages to find results. If you can’t find anything, then swap out “wholesaler” for other terms like “distributor,” “bulk,” “reseller,” and “supplier.”  You can also look through your Yellow Pages under Suppliers or Wholesalers to see if there are any in your area.  If you know the manufacturer of the product, then you can contact the manufacturer directly and ask for a list of distributors. One good way to find a reliable supplier is to locate your competitors and then find out who they use. You can find other drop shipping sellers by searching the Internet. If the business has only one location listed on its “Contact Us” page, then it is probably a drop shipping business.  They may even highlight their bestselling brands. Chances are these are reliable suppliers you also can contact. If they don’t highlight any brands, then scroll through the products that they offer. Write down the names of any brands that offer products you want to sell. After identifying possible suppliers, reach out to them and ask if they handle drop shipping. Not every supplier is willing. Suppliers might be hard to reach, so plan on sending emails and making regular phone calls until you reach the right person. When you do, ask the following questions:  How long does it take them to ship after you’ve placed an order with them? What shipping methods do they offer? For example, ask if they ship overnight or internationally. Do they offer warranties on their products? If a product is defective, then you want them to replace it. What quality control systems do they use? Do they set minimum advertised prices? Ideally, they will. If not, then other drop shipping businesses could lower the prices too low for you to compete. Do they charge a monthly or annual fee? If so, then you might want to avoid them. Can you put their product photo on your website? Preferably, they will allow you to use their picture. Once you’ve found a supplier, you should go through their product pages and see what items you want to sell. Ideally, you will want to sell products that are in high demand. You can use a couple of different techniques to gauge a product’s popularity:  Perform market research. You can find out the demand for the product by using Google’s Keyword Tool. This tool provides data on the number of people who have searched for a term. For example, if you want to sell cat sweaters, then check how many people have searched for that term. Look at the completed listings on eBay. Go to “advanced search” and check the “completed listings” box. Then enter keywords and category. As you scroll through the pages of listings, check items that sell 60% or more. These items are usually popular. You should call or go online to set up your account. Some suppliers will require that you complete an application. They may also request a copy of your reseller’s certificate, business license, or other document. In that situation, you should form your business first.  Also discuss payment methods. You can pay upfront or pay on terms. When you pay upfront, you pay at the same time as you place your order. With pay on terms, you pay all of your orders at a later date, such as at the end of the month. Because you are just starting out, suppliers might only agree to work with you if you pay upfront. After you establish your reliability, they might be willing to change their billing.

Summary: Choose a niche. Identify suppliers. Check which suppliers your competitors use. Ask suppliers questions. Choose the best-selling products. Create an account with the supplier.


Buying clippers is a one-time investment and since you’ll be saving tons of money cutting your own hair, it’s worth getting the best pair that you can afford. You can get a decent pair for $30-$50. If cutting your own hair is going to be long term thing, consider getting professional grade clippers (usually $100-$120).  Look for a sturdy pair with sharp blades that won’t dull quickly. The Oyster brand is known for making high quality tools, although they tend to be on the pricy side. Look for a pair of clippers that comes with a nice variety of guards so that you can change your style whenever you want. Special guards for the ears are also a plus, since that area is one of the trickiest. It's good to have an assortment of durable and sharp blades on hand, as well. You’ll need one large mirror (preferably your bathroom mirror) and a handheld mirror – you’ll need to use both of them simultaneously when cutting the back of your hair. Optional tools that you might want to consider having on hand: a comb, scissors, hair thinning scissors and a razor blade.

Summary: Invest in a pair of quality clippers. Get an assortment of guards and blades. Have 2 accessible mirrors.


If you’ve had unprotected sex and are concerned that you could get pregnant, take the morning after pill, which is also called emergency contraception, as soon as you can. In most cases, you can take the morning after pill up to five days following unprotected sex.  Be aware that many states require women under the age of 17 to get a prescription for morning after pills.  You can take the pill anytime during your menstrual cycle.  The morning after pill is a safe and effective way to prevent pregnancy. However, you shouldn’t use this as a regular form of birth control. While everyone can use over the counter emergency contraception, it may not be as effective for every woman and some may be allergic to it. Make sure to read and understand any indications or contraindications that come along with emergency contraception.  The morning after pill may be less effective for women with a Body Mass Index (BMI) over 25.  Certain medications such as barbiturates, or other supplements such as St. John’s Wort may decrease the effectiveness of the morning after pill.  If you are allergic to any component of the morning after pill, it may be less effective. If you use any kind of morning after pill, you may experience some side effects. These usually subside after a few days.  You may experience nausea or vomiting after taking the morning after pill.  You may feel tired, dizzy, or have a headache after taking the morning after pill.  You may have breast tenderness, and lower abdominal pain or cramping after taking the morning after pill.  You may experience bleeding between periods or heavier menstrual cramps after taking the morning after pill.  Contact your doctor immediately if you experience bleeding or spotting that lasts longer than a week or if you have severe abdominal pain 3-5 weeks after taking the morning after pill. This can help rule out an ectopic pregnancy. One of the most common side effects of using emergency contraception is nausea. If you vomit within an hour of taking the pills, repeat the dosage.  Don’t repeat the entire process, just the dosage you threw up.  You may need to take an anti-nausea medication to help your stomach. Only use one form of emergency contraception. Not only is using two forms of emergency contraception not more effective at preventing pregnancy, but the different types of morning after pill may actually make the other less effective. You’re much more likely to have nausea, vomiting, and other side effects from using multiple forms of emergency contraception. If you’ve taken the morning after pill and don’t have a regular form of birth control, use a backup form of contraception. This can help prevent unwanted pregnancy.  Consider using condoms as your backup form of contraception.  Use backup contraception for 14 days after taking the morning after pill.
Summary: Take emergency contraception as soon as possible. Talk to your pharmacist about indications. Watch for side effects. Repeat the dosage if you throw up. Avoid using multiple forms of emergency contraception. Use backup contraception.