With work-from-home positions, home-based businesses, side hustles, and the gig economy on the rise, there are always new business opportunities that can either help to supplement your income or act as your main source of income once you’ve found the right thing that works for you. One of the more popular strategies out there for those who want to run a simple business is dropshipping, which allows people to sell certain products without having to deal with any of the hassles that come with storing and shipping your products from a physical location. Plenty of people thrive in this type of online business and when done right, it can be quite lucrative.
Another industry that is thriving? The marijuana industry and anyone who can see the benefit of the two can see that this pair together would make for a great business. Fortunately, dropshipping marijuana is becoming a thing in some places. Interested? Let’s learn more about this business and how you may be able to get started.
Dropshipping Marijuana
To put it simply, dropshipping marijuana is the same as dropshipping any other type of product, with the exception of some of the additional processes that you may have to go through with specific cannabis substances (which depends entirely upon where you live). How does it work? Let’s take a closer look!
How It Works
Dropshipping is a simple process that eliminates many of the complicated aspects of running an online storefront. Those who wish to start dropshipping must first establish a relationship with a business that dropships. Once they have found a company that they want to work with, they will then establish a website and list the products that customers will be allowed to purchase through them (products that are actually made by the company). After a customer has made a purchase, all the dropshipper has to do is have their company send the product over to the customer and the transaction is finished. Overall, the dropshipping process is really simple!
Benefits of Dropshipping
If you know what running an online storefront would typically entail, you can clearly see the difference between the amount of effort and work that you would have to do otherwise. To highlight the advantages of this business model, here are some more benefits of dropshipping.
Less Overhead
Overhead is a term that refers to any costs that are associated with running your business that don’t take into account the production of the good itself. In regards to dropshipping marijuana, this would mean that you wouldn’t have to deal with overhead costs such as paying for a storage location for your marijuana, shipping your marijuana out to your customers, paying salaries at a physical location, or any other expenses that go into the running of the business. All you have to worry about are your marketing costs and any other costs you see fit to make the process easier and more profitable for you.
No Inventory
Having to store all of your materials can be a hassle and this can be especially true in the case of having to store marijuana. With dropshipping, the company that you are buying from handles all of the inventory so that you do not have to worry about maintaining and handling your own marijuana supply.
Focus On Your Business
Running a business is difficult. First, you have to have a product that everyone will want to purchase. Then, you will need to make sure that you are prepared to give that product to your customers in a satisfactory manner and make sure that it has a brand and the right packaging behind it. Additionally, you are going to have to constantly market your product to make sure that your business is able to make a profit and keep itself running. Dropshipping marijuana takes out several of those factors so that you can focus your time and energy on marketing, which saves you both time and money in the long run and lets you focus on what matters most.
Mail Order Marijuana
Dropshipping marijuana adds a unique element to the industry that users were previously unable to experience. When it comes to purchasing marijuana in the United States, weed enthusiasts are extremely limited in terms of their options. If someone wants to purchase weed, they are going to have to travel to a nearby dispensary, which may or may not provide you with the product or experience that you are hoping to receive when you visit a live location. If you don’t feel like leaving the house, there are delivery options around but you are not always guaranteed to have one in your area and those that do deliver may have very strict rules about ordering from them or will have a limited selection of products to choose from.
Dropshipping entails mail delivery, meaning that users will get all of the options that they would normally receive in a live dispensary online with the convenience of having all of these cannabis products shipped to their homes. When you frame these new developments in this way, joining in on the dropshipping trend and doing so in the marijuana industry is a very smart move and one that should be taken advantage of as soon as possible if it interests you.
Shipping Cannabis in Canada
Unfortunately, the United States as a whole has yet to accept and legalize marijuana, meaning that there are still legal restrictions when it comes to online and mail purchases of any marijuana products. Even though some states have legalized it and it would seem that it would be okay to send marijuana products in these areas, it is still illegal federally and things would need to change before dropshipping marijuana in the U.S. becomes possible. (You could, however, work on marijuana business and then drop ship marijuana-related merchandise if you are truly passionate about the industry and this business model!)
That being said, those outside of the U.S., in Canada specifically, are able to send marijuana through the mail, allowing for dropshipping to become an opportunity for Canadian citizens. However, this doesn’t mean that this new opportunity allows free reign when it comes to shipping cannabis. What do these restrictions include?
Canada Post
To properly send or receive marijuana via post throughout Canada, those who are sending the product must send a package that contains as much as or less than the 30-grams postal limit, must place their marijuana product in packaging that doesn’t allow for leaking (odor or product) or tampering, and must make sure that no one is able to identify what is inside based on the box or packaging that it is shipped in. Packages must be able to be tracked and will have to be signed for once they are delivered and only those who are 25 years of age will be able to purchase and accept these products. Although these regulations are fairly strict, they help to ensure that freedom isn’t abused and that your business is protected.
Conclusion
Dropshipping and marijuana are both very popular and when you combine them, you have the ability to make money without having to stress about running a business all on your own. Whether you live in the U.S. or in Canada, this article will help you to learn more about what these two topics might entail and how you could use them to your advantage.
