[JOURNEY] WooCommerce + IG!

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Hey guys! This thread will be my source of motivation / tips / something to look back on for a project I've been working on for a few days. Please share any tips or ideas!

ABOUT ME
Just a little background: I'm a 16 year old dutch guy. Currently in a little tough situation (which was the reason I had to quit my 9-5 job too). I have some experience with IG marketing, creating websites, Wordpress and WooCommerce.

GOALS
  • Doesn't cost too much time to maintain: I am on vacation now, but I need to have time for my schoolwork when I go back to school in around 9 days.
  • Earn my initial investment (around $35 for 1 year hosting + domain + domain privacy) back before February 28th.
  • Earn myself some nice money - 100K a month would be nice, but I'm more than happy with $50/month!
  • Slowly scale up every vacation I have.
WHAT AM I GOING TO CREATE?
  • eCommerce site using the WooCommerce plugin for Wordpress. Either dropshipping or with inventory.
WHAT I HAVE DONE SO FAR
  • Buy hosting + domain + domain privacy.
  • Setup Wordpress + WooCommerce.
  • Setup IG account from scratch + FB page from scratch.
  • Design logo.
  • Figure out a brand name + slogan.
  • Starting to grow my IG account (100+ followers in around 24 hours!).
  • Find 6 good products on Aliexpress.
MY PROBLEMS
  • As a 16 year old, I can't legally own a credit card. Possible solution: prepaid credit card. Will have to investigate.
  • PayPal suspended my account and forced me to send them my ID. They saw that I was a minor and blocked my PayPal account. (This happened 2 years ago). Possible solution: opening a new account with the prepaid credit card.
  • I can't buy ads on Facebook or Instagram as I don't have a credit card. Possible solution: see problem 1.
MY QUESTIONS
  • I'm still not sure if I want to dropship or have inventory. The 6 items I chose on AliExpress right now only cost a few bucks each, so I am considering having inventory.
    • If I do indeed go local, how do I target local customers on Instagram in a specific niche?
That's it for now, I probably forgot thousands of things so make sure to ask whatever you want to know!

- Wolf
 
why instagram just asking.
You mean why I'm using Instagram as a marketing platform? It's because my niche is quite active on Instagram (they love sharing pictures of their gear) so I have a lot of potential customers there. That, and I like Instagram :D
 
Following! As a fellow Dutch guy, who's also using woocommerce and Instagram to do business, I'd love to see your progress here!
 
Following! As a fellow Dutch guy, who's also using woocommerce and Instagram to do business, I'd love to see your progress here!
Thanks washand! Leuke username trouwens ;) will send you a DM tomorrow!

good luck !
Thanks alot!
so funny reading this after this "instagram loop" issue :D

16 yrs old thats impressive. I was playing world of warcraft 24/7 when i was 16.
If you want withdraw cash from PayPal u will need your parents bank account.
Thanks for the kind words! And yeah, opinions on Instagram are mixed at the moment :D
 
Een paar dingen.

Unless you verify everything your account is limited.

Also when dropshipping in the beginning there is a big chance PayPal will freeze your funds for 21 days the first 60 days.

AliExpress don't use PP and as you are Dutch you can use ideal how are you going to deal with that?

And you already know the belastingdienst fucking sucks.
 
Unless you verify everything your account is limited.
Talking PayPal right? Yeah, I absolutely fucking hate PayPal.
Also when dropshipping in the beginning there is a big chance PayPal will freeze your funds for 21 days the first 60 days.
Fuck almost forgot about that. Now I hate PayPal even more.
AliExpress don't use PP and as you are Dutch you can use ideal how are you going to deal with that?
Getting the goods won't be a problem. Payment methods on my WooCommerce site is the big problem here. iDeal on my site means KvK which means belastingen and as a minor a hell of a lot of paperwork
And you already know the belastingdienst fucking sucks.
Yeah, just going to ignore them right now and put the btw away so that if they ever ask for it on a later point I can pay them I guess?
 
Talking PayPal right? Yeah, I absolutely fucking hate PayPal.

Fuck almost forgot about that. Now I hate PayPal even more.

Getting the goods won't be a problem. Payment methods on my WooCommerce site is the big problem here. iDeal on my site means KvK which means belastingen and as a minor a hell of a lot of paperwork

Yeah, just going to ignore them right now and put the btw away so that if they ever ask for it on a later point I can pay them I guess?
Yeah you should just save 50% of everything for taxes and unexpected costs.

If I'm honest, I don't think it's a good idea starting dropshipping at your age because of all the limits and bureaucracy.
 
Yeah you should just save 50% of everything for taxes and unexpected costs.

If I'm honest, I don't think it's a good idea starting dropshipping at your age because of all the limits and bureaucracy.
Not dropshipping and not local either?
 
Not dropshipping and not local either?
The problem really is your age.

Everything got restrictions and works against you. There are ways around it but they have high risks and could lose you your money.

Now I'm planning a new service which involves Woo, I was planning to hire an extra VA but depending on your skills and volwassenheid I might consider you.

You build up some experience and earn a little on the side till your 18 to blast off.
 
The problem really is your age.

Everything got restrictions and works against you. There are ways around it but they have high risks and could lose you your money.

Now I'm planning a new service which involves Woo, I was planning to hire an extra VA but depending on your skills and volwassenheid I might consider you.

You build up some experience and earn a little on the side till your 18 to blast off.
Dat klinkt me als muziek in de oren as the Dutch would say! Could you send me a PM? I'm all ears!
 
I can buy FB ads with a Debit Card just fine. I'm also under 18 and have no problems with FaceBook. PayPal on the other hand...
 
I'd like to collab with your woocommerce skills too
 
If cc is your problem then try your parents card. Tell them what you are going to do.

[QUOTE="
MY PROBLEMS
  • As a 16 year old, I can't legally own a credit card. Possible solution: prepaid credit card. Will have to investigate.
  • PayPal suspended my account and forced me to send them my ID. They saw that I was a minor and blocked my PayPal account. (This happened 2 years ago). Possible solution: opening a new account with the prepaid credit card.
  • I can't buy ads on Facebook or Instagram as I don't have a credit card. Possible solution: see problem 1."
[/QUOTE]​
 
TIIIIIIME FOR AN UPDATE
Good morning y'all. As we entered 2018 I continued working on the site and on working out some of my problems, so just a quick rundown of what's happening and what has happened:
  • Goals:
    • Kinda obviously no updates as site is not yet live.
  • My problems:
    • Wowaaaa solved all 3 of them! Here's what I did: I made a VCC (Virtual Credit Card) and put some money on it. I opened a personal business account with PayPal and verified it with the VCC --> BOOM! Restrictions gone! Apparently PayPal doesn't ask for an ID when verifying business accounts. Cool.
    • Can buy ads on FB + IG with the VCC now.
    • New problem: IG or FB won't let me promote my pictures as they violate their ads policy. Oops :mad:
  • My questions:
    • Not really a definitive answer, but 90% sure I'm going local with inventory.
  • Site:
    • Obviously worked a lot on the site. The magic hands of @Billy_Batts changed the site from scoring D to scoring A on GT metrix which is 100% incredible. He is a real magician.
  • Instagram:
    • Approaching 200 real and engaging followers and talking with some influencers / big accounts. Already made a few friends which is very nice.
I feel like that's all for now. Have a good one y'all!

- Wolf
 
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