Imagine making passive income from anywhere in the world, selling products without holding inventory, and even letting AI help run your store. That’s exactly what I set out to do in this 7-day AI dropshipping challenge. Here’s how I built a profitable Shopify store using only free tools, all from my laptop, and under a $1 budget.
The Three Rules:
Well, today I want to put it to the test by only using free tools to make a Shopify store and see how many products I can sell online, but I’m setting myself three rules. Number one, I must use free AI tools and keep the total cost of the shop creation under $1.
Number two, I have to be able to do it all from my laptop.
And number three, I need to finish it in less than an hour. Okay, start the timer. Right, I’ve got a list of steps to complete.
Step 1: Find an AI Tool & Pick a Niche:
The first thing on my plan is to find a free AI tool to create our Shopify store. Now, I’ve done quite a lot of searching around, and the best one I found is Build Your Store. It claims to be able to build a Shopify store for us, and let us sell other people’s products without needing our own inventory or doing any of the work ourselves.
The idea is that when the store receives an order, the product is shipped directly to the customer, which allows us to make a profit without any more work on our end. If you wanna follow along, feel free to head down to the description of the video and click the top link. So I’ve loaded up the page, and now I’m gonna click this button here that says Build My Free Store, because that’s exactly what we want it to do.
Now they’re asking for my full name, which is, of course, Mark Tilbury, and they want an email address and to pick a password. Right, that’s done. And then just click next. Now it’s asking me to choose a niche.
You have six options here to choose from: fashion and apparel, pets, electronics and gadgets, home and garden, sports and fitness, and finally, an option for, I’m not sure.
Lots of people would just pick something they’re interested in. However, it’s best to approach this with a business mind and ask yourself, What do you confidently know that has a large market? Honestly, all of these options are pretty good. However, I’m just gonna go for sports and fitness because my son is always at boxing or running, or in the gym.
So I’m pretty sure there’s a big demand for these types of products, especially amongst younger people. I’ve even heard that Gen Z are now meeting people at running clubs instead of nightclubs.
Very different from back in my day, that’s for sure. Right, that’s the first one off my list. The next thing on my list is to customize the store.
Step 2: Customize Store:
Make it appealing to our customers. Now, there are six banners on here to choose from, so let’s go through them and find out what suits our store best. The first one has a lot of different sporting items, which may seem good, but if we don’t end up selling those products, it could confuse our customers, so we’ll skip that one.
Then there’s this one with just a woman on her own. While it’s a nice design, it doesn’t really represent our entire audience, and we want our store to appeal to both men and women. So using this logic, the bottom right one also feels a bit too female only, so we’ll pass on that. So out of these remaining three, I think the bottom left one works great, and the middle right one pops really nicely with the sunset, which could help grab attention and create a positive first impression.
Remember, the banners are the first thing our customers will see when they land on our store, so it’s important they reflect what we’re about and what we’re offering. If you don’t feel like any of these work for you, then don’t worry, as you can always change them later on.
Now that we’ve chosen our banners, let’s hit continue and move on to the next step.
To let the AI build our store, we need to set up a free Shopify account.
Step 3: Set up a FREE Shopify Account:
So that’s the next thing on my list. The first thing I’m gonna do is click on Access Shopify, which opens up in a new tab. Now I’m gonna type in my email address and then hit Start Free Trial. Then I just need to pick a password and click Create Shopify Account.
Now, as you can see, Shopify is asking us a few setup questions, but since AI is gonna handle most of the work for us, we can just select, I Don’t Want Help Setting Up, to save us time. Now it’s asking us to choose a plan for when the free trial ends.
The basic plan looks good enough for what we’re building, as it’s designed for solo entrepreneurs, and it’s also the most popular option.
So I’m just gonna go ahead and select that one. Then, I quickly add in my payment details so we’re all ready when the trial ends. But don’t worry right now because it’s completely free, and after the trial, it’s just one pound or $1 per month for the first three months. As we’re not paying anything right now, this doesn’t count towards our $1 budget. I know we’ll probably have to pay it before we get some sales in, but technically, I haven’t paid it yet.
So I think you can let me off with this one.
Once that’s all set up, Shopify takes us to this dashboard for our new store, where we can manage everything. Now, it does look pretty confusing, but that’s fine, as we won’t have too much to do in here ourselves because soon the AI will be taking control. That sounded pretty scary. I hope this AI stuff doesn’t lead us into a “Terminator” situation.
Now we need to install the Build Your Store app.
This might seem like it’s getting a bit confusing, but after this, it gets a whole lot easier. So I’m gonna click Access Shopify again, which opens another tab. On this page, I’m gonna click the Install button to add the app to our Shopify account. With this done, I can click Create My Custom Store.
Now we just need to give the AI a bit of time to work its magic and build the store website for us in the background.
We’ll check out the results later to see what it’s created, but for now, let’s keep things moving and jump onto the next step.
Step 4: Find Winning Products:
Right, the next thing on my list is to find some winning products for our store. This is so important because the right products can make or break the store. They attract customers, drive sales, and ultimately set us apart from our competition. To make this as easy and efficient as possible, we’re gonna register for AutoDS. This tool does the heavy lifting for us by selecting products that are proven to sell. It also takes care of pricing, uploading professional photos, and once we start making sales, it’ll also ship the products directly to our customers. I’m going to go back to the Build Your Store website and select Register to AutoDS.
This gives us the option to either sign up with a Google account or to enter our details manually. Just make sure that you use the same email address you use for Shopify and Build Your Store to keep everything linked. Okay, so now it’s asking me where we will be selling?
So, of course, I’m choosing Shopify. Now, we need to pick the right plan.
AutoDS offers the first 30 days for just 99 cents on any plan. This gives us a chance to test everything out and see how well it works.
In my opinion, the basic plan doesn’t have enough features to make this truly passive, but we don’t need the advanced plan yet either.
The Starter 500 plan looks perfect for what we need, so I’m selecting Start now for 99 cents. There are a few different payment methods available. I’m gonna go with PayPal as I always use it, right? So there we go, all sorted. And just like that, that’s my $1 budget officially spent.
Hopefully, there’s nothing else left to pay for while setting up this store, because at this point, I’ve only got 1 cent left.
Now it’s finally time to publish our store. I’m actually quite excited to see everything come together. The last thing we need to do here is to click Access Shopify and then uncheck the box that says, Restrict Access to Visitors with the Password. Now, that’s done. I’m gonna press continue, and boom, our store is officially live with winning products.
Step 5: Optimize with Manual Tweaks:
Now that our Shopify store is live, the next thing on my list is to take a proper look and make any tweaks we might need before sending customers over there. This actually looks a lot better than I thought it would.
Our two banners are in place, and the AI has set up buttons that lead straight to the New Product Arrivals page, which should make it easy for customers to get around the site.
Below are some of the winning products that AutoDS has added for us.
First, we have what looks like some kind of breathing trainer.
Actually, I have seen my son use one of these before.
It works kind of like high altitude training by limiting the amount of oxygen you can take in.
I think the idea is that when you compete, your body can carry more oxygen in your blood, which should make you perform better.
To be honest, the more I talk about it, the more I want one for myself. So I think this will sell really, really well.
Next, we’ve got bag clips for your golf club. Now, I personally use these all the time because they stop the clubs rattling together and getting damaged, and if you’ve ever had to replace a carbon shaft, you know how expensive that can be. Then we have the classic resistance band, which I imagine is always a good seller, and a warm jogging hat to round things off, as it’s getting a little bit chilly this time of year.
So honestly, I’m pretty impressed with the items it’s picked, but if we did want to pick more, then it’s pretty simple to do that too.
I’ll just have to head over to AutoDS, click Marketplace, and then Trending Products.
Now, this brings up a page with all the products that are selling very, very well, and we could pick any of these, even if they don’t necessarily fit with our niche. To be honest, though, it’s probably not a good idea to be too random with it, as your customers need to know what your store is about. So I’m gonna click on this filter for sports and fitness, and it pulls up some products that would fit really well into our store.
Now, if I wanted to add one of these, then all I’d have to do is click Import Draft and then wait for the import of the product. Then it gives me the option to adjust all the information and photos before publishing it to the store.
Now I’m pretty impressed so far, but let’s dive a bit deeper and check out what our product page looks like and see if we can spot any mistakes we need to fix. Let’s click on the golf club clips.
Now, there is a decent selection of product photos, and to be fair, they do look quite professional. There’s also quite a wide range of different shots, which is important because when I’m buying something, I always like to look at a few different photos. According to AutoDS, these golf clips cost me $6.84, and dropshippers normally sell their items for two to two and a half times their cost. So I should be able to sell these for at least $13.68, which will give us $6.84 profit per sale, not taking into account any marketing costs.
Now, I’ll be honest, that’s not a crazy amount of money, but when you’re selling at scale, it could definitely start to add up.
Plus, if I think these clips could sell for more than $13, I can always bump up the price manually and see how it goes.
One small detail I really like on here is the little animation on the PayPal button. Now, I’ve always found that having PayPal payments available on my website adds a bit more trust and often improves sales. The AI has even written the product descriptions for us and thrown in some emojis. I’ll admit that it is handy and saves a lot of time, which I am a bit short of right now. It’s also included related product suggestions at the bottom of each page, which could help with upselling.
I admit it’s fairly basic, but I found that basic websites often perform better.
This footer is actually a bit of a surprise, huh? I wasn’t expecting much here because, let’s be honest, footers are usually an afterthought, but the AI has done a decent job with it. All the important pages are already set up, like the shipping policies and terms and conditions. These little details might not seem like a big deal, but they do make the store look a lot more professional.
Now, let me click into the Terms and Conditions page and take a look.
Yep, most of the heavy lifting’s already been done. All I need to do is drop in a store name, our location, and some contact details to finish off. Now, the only thing letting the store down right now is the domain name. It’s just a random jumble of characters, and honestly, it doesn’t scream professional. A good domain name is so important because it’s the first thing customers see.
So I’m gonna head back to Build Your Store AI to sort that out.
I’m gonna set up a .store domain, instead of a .com, because it’s specifically designed for online stores. There have actually been studies that show websites with a .store domain get 87% more traffic and rank two times higher on Google. So using a domain like this should actually help us sell more. When you think about it, this makes sense because when someone sees a .store domain, they know right away they’re visiting a shop.
Luckily, we can get a .store domain for free as we’re using the Build Your Store AI tool. However, if you aren’t using this, then you can also buy one from sites like GoDaddy and Namecheap. Let’s go with something simple like Tilbury Fitness because, let’s face it, I have the body of a Greek God, and obviously, everyone wants to look like me.
Now, I’ve got to link the domain name to the store, so I’m gonna press Connect Now and enter the new domain name here. Now, it will take a few moments to verify, and then we’re ready to go. Before we officially start selling, I’m gonna spend my last bit of time left on the clock to tweak the website, stuff like filling in the footer details, linking some social media accounts, and making sure everything looks polished.
There we go. All done and just in time. Now it’s time to move on to the exciting part.
Step 6: Advertise Store:
Promoting the store and getting those first sales in. Okay, so it’s a couple of days later now, as I needed some time to order a couple of the products.
The next thing on my list is to advertise our store.
So to get some eyeballs on our store, I’ve decided to work with some influencers.
Now, Gym Shark has proved this strategy works very well in the fitness niche, and it’s great, because I’ll get a positive endorsement from a trusted figure and traffic to my store.
So it’s essentially killing two birds with one stone. But don’t worry, I’m not gonna be spending thousands of dollars working with huge influencers. I’ve got a much better plan. I’m gonna use micro-influencers. These are accounts with anywhere from 10 to 50,000 followers, whereas macro-influencers are accounts with 500,000 to a million followers.
So what does that make me then, super macro? That is terrible, I’m not. I’m not doing this just to save costs. According to Social Bakers, micro-influencers boast up to a 60% increased engagement rate compared to macro-influencers. Micro-influencers also have a 20% plus higher conversion rate. This can help brands boost their e-commerce sales. That sounds perfect for what we need.
So I’ve reached out to a couple of lads I know called the Gray Brothers.
They’ve been making short videos for a couple of years now and have around 14,500 followers on Instagram. They do have more on other platforms, but I’m more interested in Instagram because I want them to post a story with a link. I could also get them to promote the other products, but first I wanna test out if their audience will actually buy before risking any more money. And who knows, people might even explore the shop and buy other items without me having to promote them directly.
I approved their script yesterday, and they’ve just sent me the final video. But before we have a look, let’s do a bit of quality check on the items I ordered. This is the breathing trainer, and it feels pretty damn good and is built to last. I think my son might even take it for himself, but seriously, it’s always good to know that the quality is good because the last thing we want is unhappy customers wanting refunds.
Okay, so we also have the hat, nice and woolly, that should keep us nice and warm. I like the fact it’s got a peak on it, very stylish, can’t be bad.
And the golf clips, do you know what? They are really good.
They are better quality ’cause my ones slip off and they’ve got a lot more power behind them, so I think I’ll be having those for myself.
And then a resistance band. They’re always popular, so I think we should be onto a winner with those.
- What are you doing?
- I’m just wearing my respirator.
- Respirator?
You’re in a gym, not a hospital, mate. - But it’s improving my cardio.
- What are you on about?
- The breathing training respirator restricts your breathing, which increases your red blood cell count, helping you improve your cardio. Buy it today using the link in the bio.
- Well, that’s definitely a bit wacky, but that’s part of the charm.
It’s quick, attention-grabbing, and shows off the breathing trainer in action, which is exactly what we needed.
That high-energy energy slightly off-the-wall style works really well on Instagram stories because it stops people from skipping and pulls them in.
Even though it’s not the most traditional approach, it fits the Grays brothers’ audience perfectly.
Their followers love this kind of content, and it feels so natural coming from them.
I’m gonna get them to put this story up with a link to the product page and check back tomorrow.
So let’s hope we make some sales.
Step 7: Review Sales & Profits:
So, it’s been 24 hours and we’ve made some sales. We sold 12 breathing trainers, two of which were test orders, leaving 10 genuine purchases at £13.42 each, totaling £134.20, or about $170.85. The product cost averaged $3.95 each, plus $50 paid to the Gray Brothers for promotion and a $1 Shopify fee, bringing the total costs to $90.50. That leaves a profit of $80.35.
Not life-changing yet, but all done with minimal effort using AI tools and a $1 setup plus $50 marketing. Scaling this by promoting more products could easily turn this into thousands per month.
Conclusion:
That’s the blog, thanks for reading it. This 7-day AI dropshipping challenge shows just how easy it can be to set up a profitable Shopify store with minimal cost, effort, and risk. By using free AI tools, smart product selection, and micro-influencer marketing, even beginners can start generating passive income quickly. With the right strategies and a bit of experimentation, scaling your store could turn a small $1 investment into a consistent revenue stream.
FAQs:
1. What is AI dropshipping?
AI dropshipping uses artificial intelligence to help run a store, pick products, and manage tasks without holding inventory.
2. How much did it cost to start your store?
The store was built for under $1 using free AI tools and a low-cost 30-day trial.
3. Which niche did you choose and why?
Sports and fitness, due to high demand and personal familiarity with the market.
4. How do you find winning products?
Using AutoDS, which selects high-demand items, handles photos, pricing, and fulfillment.
5. How did you promote the store?
Through micro-influencers, leveraging their high engagement and conversion rates on social media.
6. What were the results after 7 days?
10 real orders were sold, generating a profit of around $80 with minimal effort and AI automation.
