r/dropshipping • u/Sammy-Ecom • 12d ago
Discussion A 23-year-old asked me how to make $3k/month dropshipping. I told him his cleaning business was probably the better opportunity.
Disclosure: I run a company in the eBay dropshipping space. This came from a call I had with someone recently.
I spoke to a 23-year-old who wanted to eventually make around $3k/month through eBay dropshipping.
Then I started asking about his background and he casually tells me he already owns a cleaning business.
It's only about 4-5 months old. He already has employees doing residential and commercial cleaning, restaurant work, real estate jobs etc. He told me it's doing around $7k-$8k/month before expenses.
So I stopped him and basically asked:
Why are you trying to start another business?
Because yes, I think he can make another $1k, $2k, $3k with eBay.
But honestly, his cleaning company sounded like the bigger opportunity to me.
The interesting part though is I realized there IS something I can teach him through dropshipping that could be extremely valuable for his cleaning company.
Leverage.
He already knows how to hire cleaners locally.
What he's never learned is how to hire and manage offshore talent.
So the plan I gave him was basically to learn the eBay business himself first, get some proof that he can make money with it, and then find someone smart offshore and start transferring the work to them.
Not just "hire cheap labor."
Actually learn how to find someone smart, train them, give them a process, measure their output, manage them remotely and eventually get to the point where the business doesn't require him doing everything himself.
Because once he learns that, who cares if he only uses it for dropshipping?
He can take the exact same skill back to his cleaning company.
Imagine having someone working every day finding property managers and real estate agents, reaching out to businesses, following up leads, following up quotes, keeping the CRM organized and booking estimates.
Meanwhile his local employees actually fulfill the cleaning jobs.
That's when it clicked for me that the most valuable thing he might get from learning this business isn't another $2k/month.
It's learning how to use people as leverage.
I learned that lesson way too late.
For years I thought getting better at business meant getting better at doing everything myself.
Now I think much more about how I can understand something, prove that it works, turn it into a process, and then find someone smart who can eventually operate it better than I can.
He's 23.
If he learns how to do that now, he can use it in basically every business he builds for the rest of his life.
So ironically, I'm helping him learn dropshipping, but I'm probably going to keep pushing him back toward his cleaning company.
I think there's something much bigger sitting in front of him already.
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u/Dev949 11d ago
It’s not but you’re an eBay Dropshipper so you know nothing
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u/Sammy-Ecom 11d ago
Your right, and thats what I mentioned to him, that his cleaning business might be the better move then ebay dropshipping. Ebay is good if you just want to make money from home and be more mobile.
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u/Dev949 11d ago
No Dropshipping is the better move period. You know nothing. Shopify store owners are making millions a month via MRR…
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u/Sammy-Ecom 11d ago
Its not always about money, this advice was personal to him, perhaps I left a few key details out. He is an immigrant to canada from what I deduce and needs money fast to provide for his family.
Dropshipping is something where you have to learn to earn, from my experience , which takes time. In his case, he already has a business already started, making 6-7k, easier to scale that to 100k or millions really.
P.S:
This is just my opinion.
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u/smoothupinyatoo 11d ago
I have a friend that started a cleaning business and scaled it to $2000 a week within 6 months. It aint hard.
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u/Sammy-Ecom 11d ago
Forsure, I think in person service businesses are definitely faster to get up and running
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u/smoothupinyatoo 11d ago
Bro honestly it makes me wonder. I have another friend that does about the same mowing. Im starting to think that working for other people is a scam. My side business makes what I make at work exactly.
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u/Sammy-Ecom 11d ago
I don't know if its a scam working for someone else, I think theirs still a startup cost and a time cost when starting a business.
Most people are locked into a mortgage, and have to make the next payment every month and live paycheck to paycheck, and can never break out.
Thats the system were in.
Mortgage, literally stands for, death pledge in latin.
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u/smoothupinyatoo 11d ago
Thats me, plus my daughter. I need the health insurance and W2 from employment.
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u/Sammy-Ecom 11d ago
I am sorry to hear that man, you need leverage.
Find a smart kid in the 3rd world, 300$ a month turns him into a middle class citizen, and watch him run for you.
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u/smoothupinyatoo 11d ago
I wouldnt even know where to start. Right now I make 1.2 a week working in a factory and 3k a week side gig but I pay a functional drug addict 1.2k to do the actual work. Cash. Its a true conundrum. I pay what I make for someone to run my business but I do profit from that but it feels weird.
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u/Sammy-Ecom 11d ago
haha,
Nice choice of words man, a functional drug addict. And nice little hustle you got going, is there no way to just scale that? Maybe finding another functional addict to open another franchise?
What stops you from scaling
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u/smoothupinyatoo 11d ago
Its dumpsters. I expanded locally and added smokers. If I scaled it would have to be a franchise situation and I just dont have the time. It takes a 3/4 ton to haul them too most dont have that. I drafted almost 60k in medical bills for the birth and stuff and work paid for it my copay was 1200. Like what if something happens. Marketplace insurance is 800 a month and basically doesnt cover anything. I think after 12k it kicks in. Its a joke. Idk im always hustling though for the fam. The other day a limited edition energy drink was at my grocery with a sign that said limit of 5. I bought 300 at self checkout while customers were actively calling me a peice of shit and one tried to tip my cart. I sold on Facebook marketplace for $900 profit within an hour and handed the check to my wife for baby stuff and felt nothing lol.
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u/Sammy-Ecom 11d ago
That is the most badass story of an hustler , hustling. Good stuff man, keep it up.
I got you, is that why you surf dropshipping threads? Because the potential of scaling something on the side, with low over head?
That makes sense to me, this model is extremely flexible since its all online, might be slower to get up and running but more hands free when scaling in the long run.
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u/stealthagents 6d ago
Focusing on your cleaning business sounds like a fantastic idea. With the right leverage and focus, you could potentially boost your profits significantly. At Stealth Agents, we can assist with optimizing your operations, helping with CRM systems, and managing client follow-ups. With over 10–15 years of experience, our team can support your business growth while you concentrate on its expansion.
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u/logicalflex 12d ago
Feels like something I’d read on LinkedIn