Case Study: From $0 to $10,000/Month in 60 Days

The Challenge

Alex, a DropScale Academy student, challenged himself to build a profitable dropshipping store from scratch in 60 days. He chose the "Home Improvement" niche—a category he had zero prior experience in.

This case study breaks down exactly what he did, the mistakes he made, and the strategies that worked. Every number is real.

Week 1: Research & Product Selection

The Process:

Alex spent 20+ hours on product research using the TikTok method we teach:

Created a "burner" TikTok account
Trained the algorithm on home improvement content
Documented every product with 50k+ likes
Cross-referenced with CJ Dropshipping availability

The Discovery:

He found a "Drill Brush Attachment Set"—a pack of scrubbing brushes that attach to a power drill for deep cleaning. It was:

Going viral in Brazil but NOT saturated in the US
Solving a real problem (hard scrubbing tasks)
Highly visual (satisfying cleaning videos)
$6 sourcing cost, potential $29-39 selling price

Week 2: Store Build

Setup Decisions:

Platform: Shopify (Refresh theme - free)
Domain: $12/year from Namecheap
Product Photos: Sourced from supplier + 2 custom lifestyle mockups via Canva
Copywriting: Used ChatGPT for initial draft, then manually refined

Store Build Time:

Homepage: 3 hours
Product Page: 4 hours
Policy Pages: 1 hour (template-based)
Total: 8 hours

Key decision: Alex resisted the urge to "perfect" the store. He knew a 90% good store with ads running beats a perfect store with no traffic.

Week 3: First Ad Tests

Initial Strategy:

Platform: TikTok Ads
Budget: $50/day (split across 3 ad sets)
Targeting: Broad (US, 25-55, no interests)
Creative: 3 UGC-style videos created with stock footage + CapCut

Day 1-3 Results:

Metric	Result
Total Spend	$150
Impressions	45,000
Clicks	312
CTR	0.69%
Add to Carts	8
Sales	0

Analysis: Good traffic, no sales = creative or landing page problem. The CTR was below 1%, suggesting the hook wasn't strong enough.

The Pivot:

Alex rewatched viral drill brush videos. He noticed the most engaging ones focused on the "satisfying" cleaning aspect—grime disappearing, surfaces transforming.

He created a new video with:

Hook: Close-up of dirty tile being instantly cleaned
Satisfying transformation shots
Before/after comparison

Week 4: First Traction

Day 20-25 Results (New Creative):

Metric	Result
Total Spend	$250
CTR	1.8%
Sales	9
Revenue	$261
CPA	$27.78

The new creative worked! CTR jumped to 1.8% (excellent for TikTok). First sale came on Day 22.

End of Month 1 Summary:

Total Spend: $600
Total Revenue: $780
Profit: Break-even (expected for testing phase)
Key Learning: Creative matters more than targeting

Month 2: The Scale

Audience Discovery:

Analyzing customer data, Alex discovered two distinct buyer segments:

"Car Guys" - Using the brushes to clean rims and engines
"Cleaning Enthusiasts" - Primarily women cleaning bathrooms/showers

He created angle-specific creatives for each segment:

Creative A: "This is how pros clean their rims" (car guys)
Creative B: "My shower has never been this clean" (cleaning enthusiasts)

Scaling Strategy:

Increased budget 20% every 2 days on winning ad sets
Launched separate campaigns for each angle
Added Facebook Ads as second channel (using winning TikTok creatives)

Day 40:

Daily Revenue: $300
Daily Ad Spend: $120
Daily Profit: ~$60

Day 50:

Daily Revenue: $600
Daily Ad Spend: $200
CPA stabilized at $12 (selling price $39.99)

Day 60:

Hit first $1,000 revenue day
Running both TikTok and Facebook profitably

Final Month 2 Numbers

Metric	Amount
Total Revenue	$11,400
Ad Spend	$4,100
COGS (Product + Shipping)	$3,200
Net Profit	$4,100
Profit Margin	36%

Key Takeaways

1. Research Time Matters

Alex spent 20 hours on research before spending $1 on ads. That upfront investment prevented him from testing mediocre products.

2. Creative is King

His first creatives failed. His pivot—focusing on satisfying visual content—made all the difference. Don't give up after one creative fails.

3. Audience Angles Unlock Scale

Discovering the "car guys" vs "cleaning enthusiasts" segments allowed him to create targeted content that resonated. Same product, different angles.

4. Patience Through Testing

Month 1 was break-even. Many would have quit. Month 2 made $4,100 profit. The testing phase is an investment, not a loss.

5. Multi-Channel = Stability

By the end, Alex was running on both TikTok and Facebook. This reduced risk and increased reach.

This is not a "get rich quick" story. It's a story about methodical testing, data-driven decisions, and persistent execution. Anyone can replicate these results with the right approach.