Dropshipping is the perfect place to start when setting up an eCommerce business. This business model is famous for its little upfront investment and the freedom from keeping products in stock.

With a lot of businesses forced to close due to the pandemic, eCommerce and dropshipping have thrived around the world. In fact, for 2021, the digital commerce transaction value is expected to reach over $4,195,631 million, resulting in an annual growth rate of 8.8%.

If you’re thinking of trying out dropshipping this year, you’ll battle with a lot of questions. Is it too late to start now? What are the profitable products and best dropshipping niches to choose from? Where and how can you find them?

Choosing dropshipping as a launching pad for your eCommerce business can be overwhelming. Next to choosing the right platform for you comes the challenge of choosing a highly profitable niche and products.

In this article, we’ll help you dial down your dropshipping niche. We’ll also provide you with the best dropshipping products right now and the best available dropshipping platforms to find them.

Table of Contents

Why Choosing the Right Dropshipping Niche and Product Is Important

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Many people often perceive dropshipping as an easy-money scheme, so they give little to no attention to choosing the right product. Most of the time, sellers depend on their emotions or interests when choosing the products they sell. Approximately 90 percent of dropshippers consider their business to fail during their first month of not making enough money, and selecting the wrong niche is one reason for failure.

It’s important to narrow down to a specific niche so that you know who you’re targeting with your products. You can tailor your marketing and messaging based on your ideal customers. When you target everyone, the more you’ll fail to reach anyone. It’ll be too broad and chaotic.

How to Find Profitable Dropshipping Products and Niches?

When deciding on which products and niches to go for, think first of the product ideas you’re passionate about. Brainstorm on products based on your personal choices. Building your store based on something that you know well will make you more convincing and engaging in your marketing efforts. Customers can easily spot if you’re an expert based on your social network content or even by reading your product descriptions.

Another way to do it is to look for popular products on marketplaces. Some dropshipping platforms provide best-sellers ranking to recommend products to you.

Take note that other dropshippers who stop with the first two steps are more likely to fail. After considering their interests, they didn’t verify the niche with a data-driven approach.

We’ll teach you how to do it.

The next step is to check the keywords related to your niche ideas. This will help you identify the products that have the most favorable number of searches. There are a lot of keyword research tools you can use to test the niche potential manually:

Let’s take Google Trends as an example. Google Trends allows you to evaluate the potential of a market that you want to target based on search queries of internet users. Go to Google Trends and type the keyword in the search bar. Let’s assume that you have pet toys in mind. google-trends

The graph shows the dynamics of people’s queries of pet toys. For our example, we’ve chosen the past five years to know if it’s a pretty stable niche. It shows the seasonal surges, especially in the months of December and January, which is a good indicator that these products are in demand during the holiday seasons.

Different countries have different demands. If you want to explore a specific geographic market, you can also change the location, the time range, the categories, and the search types (i.e., web search, image search).

If you have several niche ideas in mind and you would like to compare them, Google Trends also provides you with a feature to compare up to five groups of terms and up to 25 terms in each group at one time.

There are other ways to evaluate niche potentials automatically. You can make use of a special niche tool or ask the professionals. For instance, AliDropshipping has free AliDropship Niche Research Tools, and it also provides support through its “Services Section” on the AliDropship website.

Once you find the profitable products, the process doesn’t end there. It’s crucial to find good suppliers as well since they’ll be the ones to produce and handle the products. Find a supplier that can be trusted in meeting customer expectations in terms of outstanding quality and delivery time.

The key to success is to find suppliers that have the same goals as you. Just like how you consider your expertise in choosing a niche, you must also find suppliers that are experts in your product and target market. They’re more problem solvers in common quality issues and legal requirements.

Another factor to consider, especially if you’re choosing overseas suppliers, is their ability to communicate well. This will prevent more challenges and will assure success on your part.

What Should You Look For In Dropshipping Products and Niches?

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Now that you have evaluated the potential of the product ideas you have in mind, it’s essential to know what to look for next in choosing the best dropshipping products and niches.

High Demand

The competition in eCommerce is stiff because many markets are saturated with sellers. It’s important to decide on a specific niche to serve a specific audience because no two countries have the same demands. There has to be enough demand for a product in a specific geographic market before you sell it; otherwise, you’ll be spending more on advertising but have little to no sales at all. Who would want to waste time, money, and effort in vain?

One way to increase demand in your business is to choose unsaturated products and bring them in front of the right audience through effective advertising.

Solid Profit Margin

Profit margin represents the percentage of sales that’s considered a profit. It also refers to the company’s financial health and its flexibility to grow and expand.

You don’t only focus on the profit margin in dropshipping—pricing your products is a key factor to success. It’s crucial in balancing costs and profits. The most common pricing strategy is cost-based pricing where you add a fixed margin to the cost of your product. Cost refers to all the costs associated with your product. For example, if the supplier charges a base cost of $10 on a product, you can add a markup of $5 and sell it for $15. So, you make $5 for each sale.

The costs that you have to consider include charge product fees, processing fees, warehouse fees, shipping costs, and even monthly fees for platforms that require membership or premium fees. Additionally, you also have to spend on marketing and advertising.

In a nutshell, it’s desirable to have a higher profit margin since it means you generate more income from your sales. However, it’s not always the case. You can’t always put a high profit margin just because you want it. Fortunately, you can optimize profit in dropshipping.

If you have low-profit margins, you can make up for them by having a high sales volume. You can source cheap items from suppliers that sell at a much lower price and sell them in your store similar to or even cheaper than your competitor’s prices.

It takes a lot of studying and trying to markup dropshipping products. Using a generic markup to all your products can lead to failure. Do your research. Take your product cost, competitor’s price, and customer’s value into account.

Low Shipping Costs

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Since you don’t manage the products yourself and you pay for the shipping cost, you need to search for suppliers that offer you the best shipping options. Others provide free shipping if you order in bulk, but most of the time, suppliers have varying shipping fees depending on the products and locations.

As mentioned above, shipping costs cut into your profit margins, which are already lower on average. You’re also encouraged to avoid big items like furniture as this can rocket your shipping cost to more than $100 per order—which will destroy your profits unless you are selling the items at a very high margin.

If you don’t know how to add the shipping cost to your retail price, you’d probably lose your profit. The right way to price your product is to add the listed price, the shipping cost, and the sales tax and multiply it with your markup. There are free platforms like eBay salecalc that help you calculate fees and profit of a potential sale.

Easy to advertise

Being able to attract traffic to your website is one of the key essentials to eCommerce success. You shouldn’t wait for customers to find you. Instead, you need to tell the world that you exist. As a beginner in the industry, you should establish your business by developing your SEO strategy and traffic generation tactics for the first six months.

Consider products that are easy to advertise on social media, which is where you can attract the most traffic. However, you also need to review the list of products and services that are restricted in different platforms before promoting your business. Facebook and Instagram, for example, restrict adult goods, including e-cigarette, alcohol, weapons, and counterfeit goods.

Repeat purchases

Repeat purchases are a good indicator of your customers’ loyalty to your brand. It’s important to establish your marketing in the first few months to gain traffic, which can lead to a high repeat purchase rate. Retaining customers means your marketing and your products work because you have found the right audience.

More long-term customers will help you reduce the cost and effort in acquiring new customers, especially if you don’t have a huge budget to stay in business. In the long run, it increases overall profitability.

Some products drive repeat orders, including consumable goods like beauty products that need repeat purchases, which can mean a higher lifetime value per customer.

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Now that we’ve established what to look for in a winning dropship product, let’s go through the best dropshipping niches and products to grow your business in 2021:

Clothing and Accessories

Clothing and accessories are always in demand. Clothes aren’t only basic needs; they’ve also been part of a fashion statement for individuals.

Face Masks

Face masks have become one of the best sellers in dropshipping due to the Coronavirus pandemic. They’ve become fashion items, too. Plain and boring masks were upgraded to colorful and creative designs. Face masks are typically made of washable fabrics like polyester, spandex, and cotton, but other variations including silk are also available. Prices range from $0.43 to $1.99 per piece.

Popular dropshipping suppliers with face masks:

Yoga Pants

Yoga has been a popular workout routine in recent years. Even amid the pandemic, yoga pants are in demand because most studios and gyms are doing live stream sessions. People are squeezing in workouts in the comforts of their homes. Products designated for yoga at pure-play active retailers across the US and UK increased 36% in 2020.

America is also known as a Nation of Yoga Pants. Yoga pants are now the common street fashion style loved by women. Price ranges differ according to location, but for China suppliers, you can purchase for as low as $2.29 per piece.

Popular dropshipping suppliers with yoga pants:

Sports Bras

Sports bras are famous among millennials and baby boomers, especially those who work out or engage in sports activities. It’s great to dropship sports bras because there is a wide variety for you to choose from. Price ranges from $6 to $10.

Popular dropshipping suppliers with sports bras:

T-Shirts

Although there is stiff competition in selling shirts online, people can’t get enough of them. More colors and designs hit the marketplace every year. By 2024, apparel and accessories are expected to generate over $153.6 billion.

People demand different shirt styles so sellers have rolled up their sleeves to produce their designs. Fortunately, there are print-on-demand platforms to fulfill orders. Base prices start for as low as $13.87, and you can sell it for around $25.

Popular dropshipping suppliers with t-shirts:

Tote Bags

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Tote bags are eco-friendly and serve as an easy carry-all for busy days. They’re typically used for running errands in grocery or shopping, but they’ve turned into a popular accessory. Tote bags are typically made of weather-resistant polyester and have a base white color as a background. More colors and sizes, and print designs have populated the marketplace. A customized tote bag ranges from $10.60 to $18.21.

Popular dropshipping suppliers with tote bags:

RFID Wallets

Radio Frequency Identification Wallets are made to protect your credit card information from smart criminals or skimmers. The skimmers use RFID Scanners to automatically scan your credit card number, expiration dates, and CVV Codes, which results in identity and digital theft. RFID Wallets protect your card with a layer of wrap typically made from carbon fiber or metal. The wrap blocks electromagnetic fields to enter through the shield and it spreads electromagnetic waves from a skimmer’s scanner. Its average price is $16.61.

Popular dropshipping suppliers with RFID wallets:

Sunglasses

Sunglasses protect your eyes from UltraViolet (UV) light that can harm your eyelid, cornea, retina, and lens. It’s not only for summer days but for everyday use since you’re always exposed to UV light. With dropshipping, you have an enormous variety of sunglasses that are not only helpful to eyes but are also aesthetic-worthy. Sunglasses types differ in price, but you can purchase high-quality polarized sunglasses for as low as $13.95.

Popular dropshipping suppliers with sunglasses:

Home and Garden

The pandemic has turned many people into garden enthusiasts. In the UK alone, a survey said 93% of the respondents found gardening as a lifesaver. People spend most of their time at home, which stimulated their appetite to invest in house beautification. People are more intentional in making their spaces look good, so it’s high time for sellers to meet these demands.

Blenders

People have become more health-conscious nowadays, so there’s been a rise in searches for smoothie blenders. You don’t necessarily have to dropship the most expensive blender available in the marketplace, as people practically look for a blender that can get the job done. It has an average price of $50.

Popular dropshipping suppliers with blenders:

Curtains

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Curtains are like dresses that set the mood of your home. Popular curtains are the ones that keep the sunlight out yet maintain coolness inside and set an elegant look. There is an ample chance to be successful in this niche since there are a lot of adjustments to make in terms of window sizes, shapes, and thickness depending on the demographics. The most common curtain types are cotton, silk, polyester, velvet, lace, and voile. Prices differ depending on types, but the wholesale price can be as low as $2 apiece.

Popular dropshipping suppliers with curtains:

Air Purifiers

Indoor air is estimated to be five times as polluted as outdoor air. Air purifiers refresh stale air and filter airborne pollutants to reduce health issues triggered by indoor pollutants. Air purifiers are pricey in general, but health is worth investing in. Prices range from $40 to $45. Other air purifiers with UV Light Sanitizer can cost up to $254.

Popular dropshipping suppliers with air purifiers:

LED Lamps

LED light has more benefits compared to traditional light solutions. It has a longer life span and consumes lesser energy power. More people are switching to LED lamps amid the pandemic, and students study and employees work at home. You can purchase one for as low as $3.99.

Popular dropshipping suppliers with LED lamps:

Pets

Pet goods as a niche is pretty stable as shown in our example above. More fur parents have adopted pets during lockdown to which pets are linked to reducing loneliness and maintaining better mental health. This niche won’t die as long as animals are still alive around the world.

Dog Beds

Pet lovers have become fond of buying dog beds. A dog bed provides a small space for their pets to snuggle. They’re available in many shapes, sizes, and colors. Prices vary depending on the width and length of the bed. Small nest dog beds start at $7.59 while bigger beds start at $27.18.

Popular dropshipping suppliers with dog beds:

Chew Toys

Chew toys are not just mere toys for your pets. They also promote dental health as they help in smoothing a dog’s teeth and scraping away at the tartar. They also ease the pain of a puppy that is teething. A lot of options are available, with prices starting for as low as $0.01.

Popular dropshipping suppliers with chew toys:

Pet Dog Jogging Waist Belts

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Pet dog jogging waist belts are safer and comfortable than hand leashes. It allows you free use of your hands while you run since the waist leashes are tied around your waist and are hooked to your dog’s harness or collar. A padded waist bag belt costs $19.99 to $28.56 while an ordinary jogging waist belt starts at $10.12.

Popular dropshipping suppliers with pet dog jogging waist belts:

Beauty and Health

Beauty and health is another steady niche. It remains in the high-performing categories because these products are consumable leading to a repeated purchase. With the pandemic going on, people are more intentional in having good proper hygiene.

Hand Sanitizer

The pandemic caused a meteoric rise in demands for hand sanitizers in 2020, and it’s expected to make remarkable progress in the following years. You can purchase one starting at $11.50 and can sell it up from $18.99 to $24.99.

Popular dropshipping suppliers with hand sanitizer:

Beard Oil

These days beard oil has become an essential beard care product for men. It provides proper hydration for your follicles, making your skin smooth and beard shiny. Prices start at $1.88.

Popular dropshipping suppliers with beard oil:

Anti-Aging Cream

Women are likely to obsess with an anti-aging cream aiming to still look fresh and young as they age. It has become a gift for many as it is handy and easier to apply. Women can address pesky skin changes without going to a local spa. It has an average sale price of $25.94.

Popular dropshipping suppliers with anti-aging cream:

Massagers

There are many types of massagers available, but one that stands out is the massage gun. Ever since the pandemic began, massage spas have been prohibited. These paved the way for home massagers to be popular. Prices range from $47.58 to $54.21, and you can sell it up to $89.43.

Popular dropshipping suppliers with massagers:

Jewelry

The jewelry niche offers a wide selection of products. Studies show that online sales for jewelry are drastically increasing, having the US, Europe, and China as the most popular markets.

Necklaces and Pendants

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There are a lot of options you can choose and do for a necklace alone. You can explore different pendants or customize engraving to make it more personalized. A necklace’s price ranges from $1.87 to $13.71 while a necklace engraving starts at $26.73 with free shipping. Thousands of pendants are also available for as low as $0.01.

Popular dropshipping suppliers with necklaces and pendants:

Rings

Rings appeal to both men and women regardless of age. Rings are also popular around the world as they’re what people use as engagement and wedding symbols. You can purchase one for as low as $1.55 and can customize it on POD platforms starting at $18.95 each.

Popular dropshipping suppliers with rings:

Earrings

Earrings are quite a popular form of jewelry. They come in different types and designs, so there’s a lot you can offer to customers. They’re easy to dropship because they’re small and light, so you can save on packaging and shipping costs. Earrings prices start at $0.59.

Popular dropshipping suppliers with earrings:

Bracelets

Bracelets are best known as a symbol of relationships and they’ve become a trend, especially among teens. Friendship bracelets are the most popular. Their design differs according to the occasion. You can purchase a bead bracelet for as low as $0.01. There are friendship bracelet sets for as low as $0.40, while luxury bracelets roughly start at $15.

Popular dropshipping suppliers with bracelets:

Camera and Cell Phone Accessories

It is said that electronic devices outnumber the human population. Phone companies provide new models every year. Although the competition is high for this niche, you have a huge audience before you who also upgrade their mobile devices frequently.

USB Phone Chargers

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Although developers are aiming for wireless charging, USB phone chargers remain a steady product. It’s because USB-C is still in the process of fulfilling its promises. A large number of people haven’t upgraded yet to different mobile models and chargers.

Additionally, the latest development supports a dynamic fast charging technology called USB-C Power Delivery. Many new phones also offer a quick-charge capability.

USB Phone cable Chargers range from $1.80 to $3.66 while USB Phone Chargers Adapters $1.22 to $5.30.

Popular dropshipping suppliers with USB phone chargers:

Wireless Chargers

Wireless chargers have been around since 2016 and are trending now. Their flexibility and freedom are what people love the most. You can sell different wireless charging products, like the ones for cars and portable units. You might be competing against big brand names, so you must focus on giving good quality wireless chargers to your customers. Price ranges from $10 to $49.

Popular dropshipping suppliers with wireless chargers:

Phone Cases

Phone cases are easy to manage and ship. They’re available at a cheaper price for as low as $1.20. You can also start with the POD to start with lower risk and for better margins. You can make your design for as low as $9.50.

Popular dropshipping suppliers with phone cases:

Screen Protectors

Screen protectors are quite useful in keeping gadgets safe from scratches and dents. Several designs have flooded the marketplace, but the good thing is you have a lot of solutions to market it to the right audience. For instance, an anti-spy screen protector is best for customers who seek to secure their phone’s security and privacy. Screen protectors start at $0.69.

Popular dropshipping suppliers with screen protectors:

Toys and Hobbies

The toys and hobbies niche is expected to increase in market volume to $106,766 million by 2025. This means you can profit greatly in this niche. Toys will always be in demand because there are about 385,000 babies born each day.

Slime

Slime is quite popular with kids. It’s a fun material to learn science as it turns from solid to liquid and vice versa. Some people also like it as a stress reliever because it’s gooey. You can purchase a fancy laboratory kit for $19.78. Usual slime starts at $0.29 to $4.

Popular dropshipping suppliers with slime:

Kid’s Tents

Now is the perfect time to dropship tents for kids because they’re more deprived of adventures. Buying them a kid’s tent house will give them a fresh perspective and will stimulate their imagination to work. You can sell different designs that kids will surely love. Prices range from $5 to $10. And for $43.69 to $59.10, you can purchase a portable space play tent or a dessert house for pretend play.

Popular dropshipping suppliers with kid’s tents:

Digital Drawing Boards

This is a great material for children to learn spelling, count numbers, and enjoy drawing without spending a lot of paper and art materials. This also prevents the child from making a mess on your floor or walls since everything is digital. Prices range from $5.64 to $13.16.

Popular dropshipping suppliers with digital drawing boards:

Electronics

Electronics products are always present in every house. They make people’s lives easier and convenient. They’re easy to upsell even without a large inventory. Most sellers sell them wholesale. There’s a wide range of customers to cater to and the demand is always high.

Fitness Trackers

Smartwatches have become people’s favorite fitness trackers as they’re handy and automatic. They can monitor the human body’s information just by touching the skin. They collect data, such as heart rate, exercise tracks, steps, calories, and more. Smartwatch Fitness range from $17.09 to $65.08.

Popular dropshipping suppliers with fitness trackers:

Bluetooth Headphones

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People are always looking for Bluetooth headphones and earphones. Who wants to deal with tangled messy cords anyway? Bluetooth headphones are also convenient to use when you walk, jog, and workout. A high-quality Bluetooth headphones’ price starts at $29.60.

Popular dropshipping suppliers with Bluetooth headphones:

Security Cameras

There’s a great demand for security cameras and some people prefer DIY security camera systems. It’s a great chance for beginners in dropshipping to tap into this potential. A high-quality security camera system’s price starts at $41.40.

Popular dropshipping suppliers with security cameras:

Drones and Accessories

Drones are widely popular since they’re used for video footage. They’re commonly used by vloggers and travelers. Some drone models don’t cost you much. Mini-drones are also available in the marketplace. Prices start at $13.11 for high-definition aerial photography drones.

Popular dropshipping suppliers with drones and accessories:

Sports and Outdoors

A lot of people focus on getting fit and healthy, so outdoors and sports products are always in demand. Sports and outdoor items are some of the things that have the highest numbers in Google searches.

Resistance Bands

Some people can’t go to the gym to workout, but buying exercise equipment can be costly. Fortunately, resistance bands are available in the marketplace. This product will continue to thrive as more people are exercising in their own spaces. Prices range from $3.87 to $15.25.

Popular dropshipping suppliers with resistance bands:

Waterproof Bags

People love to spend time outdoors to reconnect with nature. However, the weather is not always in our favor. Waterproof bags are a solution for people who love to go on an adventure whether it rains or shines. Prices range from $1.30 to $13.99.

Popular dropshipping suppliers with resistance bands:

Insulated Water Bottles

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Insulated water bottles are great replacements for single-use plastic bottles. They’re designed to keep liquid cold or hot. Other sellers optimize this product by customizing it. Some POD platforms make custom-printed water bottles. The water bottle industry is expected to rise to $10.19 billion by 2024. Isn’t that promising?

Personalized bottles range from $20 to $80, while the normal insulated bottles start at $7.01.

Popular dropshipping suppliers with insulated water bottles:

Yoga Mats

Your customers who might have purchased yoga pants, smoothie blenders, and resistance bands from you are more likely to search for a yoga mat too. Give them the complete experience by adding this to your dropshipping product this 2021. Yoga mats are trending with their increased focus on using sustainable raw materials. A non-slip eco-friendly yoga mat costs $23.71 to $29.95.

Popular dropshipping suppliers with yoga mats:

Best Dropshipping Products and Niches FAQs

Is dropshipping still profitable in 2021?

Yes, dropshipping is still profitable in 2021 and will continue to thrive for many years. People misunderstood product saturation as a dropshipping failure. Dropshipping is not saturated because it’s a fulfillment method. Selling unsaturated products alongside great advertising to the right audience is the game you should master to solve product saturation. With a lot of eCommerce activities going around the world, it’s not too late to start dropshipping in 2021.

The world is still in the middle of a pandemic and people have become accustomed to the new normal. The trending products in 2021 are mostly related to recreation and well-being. More house materials have made their way on top since most people stay at home and see opportunities to improve their homes. Aside from the ones listed above, other trending products in 2021 include acupressure mats, teeth whitening strips, organic skincare, portable vacuum cleaner, and board games. sale

What do people buy the most online?

People buy fashion items the most online. Ecommerce presents customers with wide options in terms of colors, styles, sizes, uniqueness, and cheaper prices.

Where can I find a winning product for dropshipping in 2021?

Each dropshipping platform has bestsellers you can check out. Do your research and if you find a product that’s not available yet on the dropshipping platform that you prefer, you can also request them to source a product for you.

What should I not dropship?

Don’t dropship products that don’t meet the requirements mentioned above. Big items like furniture or a human-sized stuffed toy are costly in shipping fees. Shipping lines have a maximum requirement for height and width. It’s also harder to source and manage big items that might be damaged even before your customer receives them.

Avoid items that are hard to advertise, such as adult items and counterfeit goods. Marketing is crucial to gain traffic, but don’t attempt to post restricted adult items on Facebook out of desperation. You’d risk your account being banned.

Avoid fitting clothes because there’s no universal size chart. Clothing sizes vary from different stores and countries. Even if you include a chart size, customers are more likely to confuse the difference. You can choose items that can be stretched like square pants, loose pants, and leggings. Don’t dropship tight jeans or skinny jeans as these have a high probability of customer returns and refunds.

Best Dropshipping Products and Niches 2021 Summary

The best dropshipping products are not always trendy but instead the steady ones. Times may change but it’s wise to invest in products that solve people’s problems. Understand that identifying the best niches and finding the best dropshipping products are just roadmaps to success in your dropshipping journey. You have to do your homework too by following the steps and process we have laid out for you.