The Dropship Unlocked Podcast

👉 Ready to build something of your own alongside your job? Start here → https://dropshipunlocked.com/start?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=ep208-can-you-build-an-online-business-with-a-full-time-job

🗣 Can you build an online business when your full-time job already takes up most of the week? Lewis Smith and James Eardley share how they approached that challenge themselves — and why keeping your salary can give you room to make better decisions.
They discuss finding time without relying on motivation, choosing a business model that fits your goals, and building systems that can eventually reduce your day-to-day workload. Plus, they answer a listener’s question about telling your employer you’re starting an ecommerce business.

🎥 Prefer to watch instead? Watch on YouTube → https://youtu.be/cIWZAJbWijA

🧭 Topics Discussed
★ Your Salary Can Give You Breathing Room — Why Lewis and James see keeping a job as a way to build patiently, rather than rushing decisions because you need immediate income.
★ Finding Time You Can Actually Protect — How a time audit, a look at your phone’s screen time and one clear task per session can help you make steady progress.
★ Choosing The Right Business Model — Lewis explains the importance of considering time, capital, scalability and whether you want to be the face of a brand.
★ Learning From The Wrong Starting Point — James shares what happened when he sold low-ticket products from overseas, including delivery delays, unhappy customers and difficulty scaling profitably.
★ Building Beyond Your Own Working Hours — How AI tools, repeatable processes and eventually a virtual assistant can help with the work around the business.
★ The Motivation Behind Making A Change — Lewis and James reflect on their former jobs, early-morning work sessions and the desire to regain control of their time.
★ Listener Q&A: Should You Tell Your Employer? — Lewis shares his view, while stressing the need to read your contract and check your own circumstances.

🛠 Links & Resources Mentioned
🛒 Shopify → https://dropshipunlocked.com/shopify
📞 Professional Phone Line → https://dropshipunlocked.com/circle
📖 The 4-Hour Workweek — The book James mentions when discussing Lewis’s route into online business.
🤖 ChatGPT Work — Lewis and James discuss using AI agents to help with business tasks.
🛍 AliExpress — James shares his experience of sourcing low-ticket products through the platform.

💡 Key Takeaways
★ Give Yourself Room To Get The Foundations Right — A salary can reduce the pressure to rush niche research, build a store too quickly or launch ads before you’re ready.
★ Make Each Work Session Count — A specific task, such as uploading products or working on your website, gives limited time a clear purpose.
★ Choose A Model That Fits Your Life — Consider how the business uses your time, what it costs to start and whether it can grow beyond your own hours.
★ Build The System Before Expecting Freedom — Lewis and James describe the upfront work involved before tools, processes and support can reduce your involvement.
★ Know Why You Want To Do This — A clear reason for wanting more autonomy can help you keep showing up when learning something new feels uncomfortable.

📲 Follow Us
Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/dropshipunlocked/
X / Twitter → https://twitter.com/DropshipUnlockd
LinkedIn → https://uk.linkedin.com/company/dropship-unlocked
YouTube → https://www.youtube.com/c/dropshipunlockedlewissmith
Website → https://www.dropshipunlocked.com/

🚀 Free Training
🌏 Want to create location, time, and financial freedom?
Watch our free training → https://dropshipunlocked.com/start?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=ep208-can-you-build-an-online-business-with-a-full-time-job

👉 Ready to start your own online store? Start here → https://dropshipunlocked.com/start?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=ep207-why-people-buy-from-dropshippers-everyday-not-amazon

🗣 In this episode, Lewis Smith and James Eardley tackle one of the biggest doubts new ecommerce entrepreneurs have — why would anyone buy from my new online store when they could just go to Amazon?
They explain why high-ticket customers often actively seek out specialist retailers, how niche stores can offer expertise and service that huge marketplaces struggle to match, and why you only need a tiny slice of an existing market to build a highly profitable ecommerce business.

🎥 Prefer to watch instead? Watch on YouTube → https://youtu.be/mkFg9u73fQI

🧭 Topics Discussed
★ Why Customers Don't Always Choose Amazon — When buying specialist, higher-value products, customers care about more than simply finding the biggest retailer.
★ Your Niche Is Your Competitive Advantage — Why specialising in one category allows you to understand the customer, answer their questions and provide an experience a general marketplace can't easily replicate.
★ How A New Store Builds Trust — From reviews and social proof to UK suppliers, fast delivery, live chat, phone support and familiar payment methods, Lewis and James explain the signals that give customers confidence to buy.
★ Why Google Can Put You In Front Of Buyers First — How Google Shopping and Search ads allow specialist stores to appear when somebody is already actively searching for the product they sell.
★ You Only Need A Tiny Slice Of The Market — Why high-ticket ecommerce doesn't require thousands of daily customers — a relatively small number of valuable orders can create a substantial business.
★ Listener Q&A: Getting Through To The Right Supplier Contact — How to bypass gatekeepers, find the person responsible for new trade or retail accounts and improve your chances of signing a supplier.

🛠 Links & Resources Mentioned
Shopify £1-for-3-months Offer → https://dropshipunlocked.com/shopify
Free Trial of a Professional Phone Line → https://dropshipunlocked.com/circle
🎧 Listen to Episode 155: Is Dropshipping Saturated?

💡 Key Takeaways
★ You Don't Need To Beat Amazon — The goal isn't to become another everything-store. A specialist retailer competes on expertise, service and relevance rather than sheer scale.
★ Niching Down Can Make You More Valuable — Customers making significant purchases often want confidence that they're buying from people who genuinely understand the products they're selling.
★ Give Customers Reasons To Trust You — A professional store, clear reviews, UK suppliers, fast delivery and accessible customer support can give shoppers the confidence to spend thousands with a retailer they've never used before.
★ You Don't Need The Whole Market — Lewis and James explain how even a tiny fraction of an established high-ticket market can be enough to build an income-replacing ecommerce business.
★ Validate Demand Before You Enter — Rather than guessing whether people want your products, validate the niche first and then focus on capturing a small share of demand that's already there.

📲 Follow Us
Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/dropshipunlocked/
X / Twitter → https://twitter.com/DropshipUnlockd
LinkedIn → https://uk.linkedin.com/company/dropship-unlocked
YouTube → https://www.youtube.com/c/dropshipunlockedlewissmith
Website → https://www.dropshipunlocked.com/

🚀 Free Training
🌏 Want to create location, time, and financial freedom?
Watch our free training →
https://dropshipunlocked.com/start?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=ep207-why-people-buy-from-dropshippers-everyday-not-amazon

👉 Ready to start your own online store? Start here → https://dropshipunlocked.com/start?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=ep206-the-budget-is-coming-how-were-building-income-we-actually-control

🗣 In this episode, Lewis Smith and James Eardley discuss why the upcoming UK Budget is a timely reminder of how little control can come from relying on a single salary — and what they’ve done differently to take greater ownership of their income.
Drawing on their own experiences of leaving nine-to-five careers and building ecommerce businesses, they explore the difference between earning a salary and owning an income-producing asset, why high-ticket ecommerce gives them greater flexibility, and how you can start building something alongside your existing job without needing to quit first.

🎥 Prefer to watch instead? Watch on YouTube → https://youtu.be/zKNCemQnvzQ

🧭 Topics Discussed
★ Why A Single Salary Can Feel Out Of Your Control — How changes to taxes, costs, employment and the wider economy can quickly affect people who depend entirely on one source of income.
★ Renting Your Income vs Owning The Asset — Lewis explains why a salary stops when you stop showing up, while a business can become an asset capable of generating income beyond your own working hours.
★ Why Ownership Creates More Options — How owning a business can give you greater control over reinvestment, growth and how the money generated by your work is used.
★ Why High-Ticket Ecommerce Fits The Goal — How stronger margins, UK suppliers, fast delivery and lower overheads can create a more resilient business model.
★ The Skills Nobody Can Take Away From You — Why learning supplier negotiation, paid advertising, systems, customer service and ecommerce can create value far beyond one individual business.
★ Starting Without Quitting Your Job — Why Lewis and James recommend building alongside your existing income, taking a long-term approach and developing the foundations before considering leaving employment.
★ Listener Q&A: Can You Use An Existing Limited Company? — What to consider if you already own a UK limited company and want to use it for your new ecommerce business.

🛠 Links & Resources Mentioned
Shopify £1-for-3-months Offer → https://dropshipunlocked.com/shopify
Free Trial of a Professional Phone Line → https://dropshipunlocked.com/circle

💡 Key Takeaways
★ Build Something You Own — You may not be able to control government policy or the wider economy, but you can work towards owning an asset and developing additional sources of income.
★ Ownership Gives You More Options — A business can give you greater flexibility over how income is generated, reinvested and ultimately used.
★ Higher Margins Create Breathing Room — High-ticket products can generate hundreds or even thousands of pounds per sale, helping a business absorb rising operating costs more easily.
★ Your Skills Are An Asset Too — Learning how to sell online, negotiate with suppliers, run ads and build systems gives you transferable skills that can compound throughout your career.
★ You Don't Need To Quit Your Job Tomorrow — Building alongside employment can give you the financial stability and time needed to make sensible long-term decisions rather than chasing overnight results.

📲 Follow Us
Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/dropshipunlocked/
X / Twitter → https://twitter.com/DropshipUnlockd
LinkedIn → https://uk.linkedin.com/company/dropship-unlocked
YouTube → https://www.youtube.com/c/dropshipunlockedlewissmith
Website → https://www.dropshipunlocked.com/

🚀 Free Training
🌏 Want to create location, time, and financial freedom?
Watch our free training →
https://dropshipunlocked.com/start?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=ep206-the-budget-is-coming-how-were-building-income-we-actually-control

👉 Ready to start your own online store? Start here → https://dropshipunlocked.com/start?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=ep205-i-was-burned-by-online-business-before-heres-the-model-that-finally-worked

🗣 In this episode, Lewis Smith and James Eardley share their experiences of trying online business models that simply didn’t work — from print-on-demand and affiliate marketing to low-ticket dropshipping from China.
Rather than giving up on online business altogether, they explain the lessons those failures taught them and why switching to high-ticket ecommerce with UK suppliers finally gave them the margins, customer experience and sustainable business model they had been searching for.

🎥 Prefer to watch instead? Watch on YouTube → https://youtu.be/v-cZMuFq7f4 

🧭 Topics Discussed
★ Lewis & James’ Failed Online Businesses — The print-on-demand, affiliate marketing and low-ticket dropshipping experiments that left them questioning whether they had found the right model.
★ Why Low-Ticket Dropshipping Didn’t Add Up — How small profit margins, advertising costs, overseas suppliers and poor customer experiences made it difficult to build something sustainable.
★ What Made High-Ticket Ecommerce Different — Why selling higher-value products through established UK suppliers provided more margin, greater control and room to learn while building the business.
★ Why UK Suppliers Reduce The Risk — How domestic suppliers, faster delivery and established trade relationships remove many of the problems Lewis and James experienced when sourcing directly from overseas.
★ Building Something Real Online — Why a business involving real suppliers, real physical products and real customers felt fundamentally different from chasing the latest online money-making opportunity.
★ Listener Q&A: Funding Your First High-Ticket Order — How customer payments, Shopify payouts, business credit cards and eventually supplier credit terms can work when fulfilling high-value orders.

🛠 Links & Resources Mentioned
Shopify £1-for-3-months Offer → https://dropshipunlocked.com/shopify
Free Trial of a Professional Phone Line → https://dropshipunlocked.com/circle

💡 Key Takeaways
★ A Failed Model Doesn't Mean Online Business Doesn't Work — Both Lewis and James saw enough early success to realise there was genuine opportunity online; they simply needed stronger business fundamentals.
★ Margins Give You Room To Learn — Making hundreds of pounds rather than a few pounds per sale gives a new business far more breathing room when testing advertising and learning how to acquire customers.
★ Build Something Sustainable, Not Just Trendy — The model Lewis and James eventually chose is based on established retail principles: customers buy products, retailers earn a margin and suppliers fulfil the orders.
★ Keep The Benefits Of Online Business Without The Overseas Headaches — Working with UK suppliers combines the remote, low-overhead advantages of ecommerce with faster delivery and more tangible supplier relationships.
★ Don't Let Previous Failures Stop You — Being burned by one opportunity can make you more sceptical, but the answer may be to become more selective about the model and process you commit to rather than abandoning the goal altogether.

📲 Follow Us
Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/dropshipunlocked/
X / Twitter → https://twitter.com/DropshipUnlockd
LinkedIn → https://uk.linkedin.com/company/dropship-unlocked
YouTube → https://www.youtube.com/c/dropshipunlockedlewissmith
Website → https://www.dropshipunlocked.com/

🚀 Free Training
🌏 Want to create location, time, and financial freedom?
 Watch our free training →
https://dropshipunlocked.com/start?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=ep205-i-was-burned-by-online-business-before-heres-the-model-that-finally-worked

👉 Ready to start your own online store? Start here → https://dropshipunlocked.com/start?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=ep204-the-uk-high-street-is-dying-whos-winning

🗣 In this episode, Lewis Smith and James Eardley explore the major shift happening in UK retail — as the high street shrinks and more consumer spending moves online, who is actually positioned to benefit?
They break down why specialist online retailers are capturing more of the market, how high-ticket UK dropshipping can tap into this changing behaviour, and why building an online asset could offer everyday people an alternative to spending their best years building someone else’s company. They also discuss an interesting possibility: using the cash flow and data from an online business to eventually fund a bricks-and-mortar business of your own.

🎥 Prefer to watch instead? Watch on YouTube → https://youtu.be/e4jE2iILDL4

🧭 Topics Discussed
★ Why UK Retail Is Moving Online — High street retail space is shrinking while specialist online stores are capturing spending that previously stayed with physical retailers.
★ Why Specialist Stores Have An Advantage — Customers searching for niche, high-ticket products can now find specialist retailers online rather than relying on whatever happens to be available locally.
★ The Supply & Demand Shift Creating An Opportunity — Suppliers are increasingly comfortable fulfilling orders directly to customers, while consumers have become increasingly comfortable buying specialist products online.
★ Why High-Ticket Products Change The Numbers — Selling higher-value products can create enough cash margin per transaction to cover paid customer acquisition while still leaving room for profit.
★ Could Online Businesses Actually Help The High Street? — Lewis and James discuss an online-first approach where entrepreneurs build cash flow, learn which products sell and potentially use those profits to fund a physical business later.

🛠 Links & Resources Mentioned
Shopify £1-for-3-months Offer → https://dropshipunlocked.com/shopify
Free Trial of a Professional Phone Line → https://dropshipunlocked.com/circle

💡 Key Takeaways
★ Follow Where Customers Are Going — Consumer spending hasn’t disappeared simply because physical retail is struggling. Specialist online businesses can position themselves to capture demand as buying behaviour moves online.
★ Specialisation Builds Trust — Rather than trying to sell everything to everyone, a focused online store can speak directly to customers searching for a particular category of products and provide the specialist experience they want.
★ Own The Asset You’re Building — An e-commerce business gives you the opportunity to put your work into an asset you control, with systems and support eventually allowing you to step back from day-to-day customer service.
★ Online Doesn't Have To Mean Online Forever — For entrepreneurs who ultimately want a physical business, an online-first model could provide a lower-risk way to generate cash flow and discover what customers actually buy before committing heavily to premises and stock.

📲 Follow Us
Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/dropshipunlocked/
X / Twitter → https://twitter.com/DropshipUnlockd
LinkedIn → https://uk.linkedin.com/company/dropship-unlocked
YouTube → https://www.youtube.com/c/dropshipunlockedlewissmith
Website → https://www.dropshipunlocked.com/

🚀 Free Training
🌏 Want to create location, time, and financial freedom?
Watch our free training →
https://dropshipunlocked.com/start?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=ep204-the-uk-high-street-is-dying-whos-winning