Most content about dropshipping assumes an online store from day one. But a genuinely zero-capital entry point is offline/hybrid dropshipping:

• Catalog selling — you show physical or printed photos/samples to people in your network or community, take orders and payment upfront, then order from your supplier and deliver once it arrives. No website, no ads, no platform fees.
• WhatsApp Business catalog — a free digital storefront inside an app nearly everyone already has. You post products, take orders via chat, and fulfill from a supplier. This is arguably the lowest-friction starting point covered in this entire course.
• Local market/consignment arrangements — placing a small stock of fast-moving items with a local shop on a consignment basis (you’re paid only when it sells), effectively dropshipping through a physical human intermediary instead of a website.

The strategic reason to start here: it validates whether people will actually buy a product from you, using real money, before you spend a naira/dollar on a website or ads. Module 5 covers exactly when and how to graduate from this stage into a real online store.