Anyone who said that creativity and entrepreneurship don’t mix has probably never spent hours agonizing about color and font combinations for their logo. To be a successful businessperson, you must have a lot of creativity. Creative people have better chances of success. Dropshipping stores allow creatives to use their writing, design, and marketing skills without spending much money upfront.
Recently, I talked to someone who had done precisely that. Vasco San Payo, a native of Lisbon, quit his job as a designer at an advertising agency to concentrate on his dropshipping company full-time.
By leveraging his design and creativity skills, he was able to create a strong brand. This helped his store, The Lion Chain, earn over $170,000 in revenue in its first year. He has since moved from Lisbon to Bali, living the digital nomad lifestyle.
Creative Beginnings and Business Ideas
Vasco San-Payo’s parents believed he would become an artist as a child. “I started to draw early,” says San-Payo.
He knew that his passion for creation was more than just a hobby.
I think that I have always been ambitious. “I want to make something people will actually buy and enjoy, as well as that I can earn some money from.”
He followed his passions and became a designer in Lisbon, Portugal, where he worked for some of the world’s biggest brands. Working in advertising allowed him to be creative and earn money, but he also knew there were limits to his freedom.
He says, “At one point in my career I wanted to be my boss and travel around the world.” “I just started looking at opportunities.” “I started Googling to learn how to earn money online and how to start an online business.”
According to Jordan French, a serial entrepreneur, this mentality is shared by creatives and entrepreneurs: “Creatives and business owners tend to be self-starters who thrive on flexibility.” They want to accomplish their goals without having others look over their shoulder.
Vasco was intrigued by the concept of dropshipping and ecommerce. The business model seemed to fit his personality. “I was interested in ecommerce because I could control everything. I could create my website. “I could create and choose my products.”
The Logo That Inspired A Business
Vasco’s Lion Chain store was created around his passion for hip-hop culture and streetwear.
He sells clothing and accessories for men, including custom-designed printed-on-demand products.
An old Vasco advertising project inspired the store’s name and its iconic lion head logo.
“I worked at one of the biggest soccer teams in Lisbon. I was asked to design the season logo by the advertising team. “The club’s symbol is a Lion, so I designed this logo. But they didn’t approve it,” says he.
“But I liked it and thought, ‘I want to use this someday to create something for myself.’ I used it to make The Lion Chain.”
Why is Dropshipping an Ideal First Business for Artists?
Many things can go awry when you start a business.
Dropshipping takes care of a lot of these potential issues.
Dropshippers can focus on what the customer can see.
It would be best to focus all your efforts on marketing and advertising your business.
Dropshipping creativity is not just about writing and designing – there are many other ways to show it.
Your creativity will be forced as soon as you begin to brainstorm niches or products. The best ideas are often created by combining two concepts to create something new.
Vasco used his creativity to combine a profitable category of men’s clothing and accessories with a lifestyle (hip-hop) and an image that could be turned into a unique brand.
Each detail, from the logo to the copy in his ads and his models, reflects his lifestyle. Together, they create a targeted audience by speaking to a specific type of person.
Dropshipper Yuliya Cernykhovskaya has the best advice: “The fewer people you speak to, and the more customers you attract.”
Get Things Off the Ground
Vasco is not someone who does things half-heartedly. He gave it his all when he decided to work for himself and pursue a business.
“I was a bit insane.” I had nothing when I quit my job. “I had EUR 1,500 in my account and invested it all in my Shopify shop.”
Things started slow. He had some experience with Facebook advertising through his design work, but for the most part, he was starting from scratch in ecommerce. He spent as much as 14 hours daily reading blogs and watching YouTube videos about ecommerce.
In my first three months, I worked at least 12-14 hours daily. “I locked myself in my house for those months, and I just slogged,” he says.
He sacrificed even his grocery budget to achieve his goal.
He says, “AtAt the beginning of the month, I spent about EUR800, but did not get any sales.” In February, I believe I spent the remaining EUR1,500 I had. But I began to get some sales. Even then, I was reinvesting it all and eating Ramen noodles daily.
Vasco attributes his success to a desperate situation, even though it may not have seemed glamorous.
He says, “I never wanted to give up because it was my only choice.” “And it’s good because I was thinking, ‘I must make this work. I have no other option.’ I really had tunnel vision.”
After months of barely scraping by and investing everything back in the business, his fortunes began to change.
He says, “In September the price just went through the roof.” “That’s when i left Portugal to come to Bali and live.”