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The dropshipping industry has had its fair share of ups and downs since its inception way back in the 1960s. As part of the dot com bubble, dropshipping quickly expanded and exploded, which led to fierce competition. Numerous companies created tools and platforms designed to give their users a competitive edge, but none of them truly lived up to expectations or provided entrepreneurs with everything they needed – at least, not until Why Unified launched to the general public in 2018.
Robert Nikic, Why Unified’s founder and CEO, sat down to answer some incredibly insightful questions about the dropshipping industry and the Why Unified Platform.
Can you us a little bit about yourself and how you got into the dropshipping industry?
Robert Nikic:
“Due to the Balkan War, I immigrated to the United States from Yugoslavia many years ago. I had always heard about the American Dream and how anyone had the chance to be successful if they put in the time and effort, and I wanted that for myself. I got into dropshipping and launched my own store a few years after I arrived in the States, and it wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be. I put lots of time and money into it, but it never earned any money. It was disappointing to say the least.”
How did you come up with the concept for Why Unified?
Robert Nikic:
“I was determined to figure out why my store wasn’t generating any revenue, so I started looking at all the different factors that influenced traffic and sales. The biggest problem – and the reason why as many as 90% of new dropshipping stores fail in their first month of operation – was lack of knowledge and support. I just didn’t know how to open and operate a virtual store. I didn’t know how to market effectively. I didn’t know which products to sell or which suppliers to choose. It was all brand new.
I bought countless tools that promised to make things easier, but none of them did. Most of them required me to purchase another plugin, and then yet another plugin, just to make the first one work. They were all expensive and by the time it was said and done, I had spent thousands of dollars on tools that I didn’t know how to use. I could have spent even more money taking online courses to teach me how to use them, but instead, I decided that if I was going to sink time, money, and effort into it, I was going to make something even better. That’s how I came up with the concept for Why Unified.”
When did you first release Why Unified?
Robert Nikic:
“The first iteration of Why Unified released in 2011, but back then, it was more about marketing. Amazon and eBay and other major e-commerce retailers were really ramping up, so people who wanted to break into dropshipping were having a really hard time even getting noticed. Why Unified was originally released as a Marketing as a Service platform to help generate traffic and build sales funnels, and I tested it on my own online store before launching it. Of course, it has changed a great deal since then. It went from a marketing platform to an all-in-one dropshipping hub.”
How and when did Why Unified change to what it is today?
Robert Nikic:
“My team and I released Why Unified to the public in 2018 with a few additional features designed to help dropshippers succeed. I spent a lot of time thinking about how to solve the problems that I faced as a dropshipper, and each time I came up with a solution, I integrated it into my own e-commerce store. When that solution worked, it became a prominent feature in the Why Unified platform. Eventually, the store that had originally failed ended up earning $2 million in revenue in a single year. I sold that store for $4 million and focused my efforts on continuing to develop Why Unified.”
What makes Why Unified different from the other dropshipping tools and platforms on the market?
Robert Nikic:
“It’s so frustrating when you’re running a business that’s in the red, and it’s even more frustrating when you spend your money on these tools and programs that don’t do what they claim to do. You’re already struggling, and then these companies come along and promise you the world if you’ll just spend more money on their products. It’s disheartening, and I can’t tell you how many times I almost gave up completely. It seemed so unfair and wrong, and I wanted Why Unified to be the one platform that really did what it claimed.
Why Unified takes transparency very seriously. If we tell you our platform will do something, you can feel confident that you’ll see results. We don’t promise that our clients will make millions overnight. We set realistic expectations and then work toward achieving those goals. We are the only company offering four unique plans that are perfect for any dropshipper no matter where they are in their business, and to date, we are the only company that gives our clients access to two-day shipping on brand-name products from trusted names like Crest and Starbucks.”
Why should dropshippers choose Why Unified over the competitors?
Robert Nikic:
“Our competitors don’t sell solutions to dropshippers’ problems. They sell more problems, and then claim to sell the solutions to the problems they’ve created. It’s an endless cycle that has caused countless entrepreneurs to throw in the towel, and I created Why Unified to keep them in the game. It really does do everything it says. Do you already have an online store, but you aren’t getting any traffic? The dropshipping advertising plan is perfect for you! Do you have traffic, but your sales are falling flat? Try the dropshipping funnels plan! Do you need us to help you start from scratch? Our all-in-one dropshipping plan do just that.
Our competitors don’t do any of these things. They sell you individual tools or plugins that cost a small fortune, and they don’t even show you how to use them. Why Unified offers four individual plans and we do all the hard work for you.”
What is Why Unified’s most popular plan, and why do you think it’s so popular?
Robert Nikic:
“Dropship Plus is our most popular plan by far. We have thousands of Dropship Plus clients who are enjoying varying levels of success thanks to all the additional perks it offers. Dropship Plus gives you the option to sell brand-name products and access to two-day shipping, which can help you compete with the big brands like Walmart and Amazon! People like the flat monthly fee, too. They don’t have to worry about learning to use 15 different plugins and tools, and they don’t have to buy anything else to get the most out of Dropship Plus. It’s a flat fee paid every month, and the Why Unified team handles the rest.
A lot of dropshippers who are coming over from AliDropship and other similar tools are shocked when they hear how high our profit margins are, especially with our brand name products. Many of our clients are able to sell some of Starbucks’ most popular K-cups for less than the huge retailers in their area, and they turn a significant profit, too. We don’t charge per-sale fees like our competitors, either. Our clients keep what they earn. They just pay that one flat monthly fee. The only thing that isn’t included in the fee is the paid advertising budget, of course, but our clients choose how much they want to spend on paid ads, and it starts at just $10 a day.
Dropship Plus continues to grow in popularity because it includes everything. The Why Unified team can develop your brand, build your online store, develop and execute an effective marketing campaign, manage the products in your store so that you’re always selling the trendiest items, handle your inventory and supply chain management, and so much more. Honestly, many of our clients run their stores completely hands-off. They check out their weekly reports and look at their dashboards now and then, but otherwise, they just collect their profits after putting in the time, patience and investment.”
What do you see for the future of Why Unified?
“Dropshipping has been stagnant for a while now, but with the introduction of Why Unified in 2018, we have helped tens of thousands of entrepreneurs become successful e-commerce store owners. We currently have more than 20,000 clients from all corners of the world earning a collective $200 million plus annually, and we are even slated to make it onto Inc’s 5000 Fastest-Growing Companies list for 2023! Why Unified was designed to revive dropshipping and give people a transparent, easy-to-understand solution for building and managing online stores.
We currently have more than 30 employees in our Clearwater, Florida office ranging from web developers to marketing specialists and product analysts. We are always looking for new ways to give our clients an advantage, and we expect to continue to add new features in the coming years.”
