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#EventCanvas

What is the #eventcanvas?

The #eventcanvas in words:

The #eventcanvas is a strategic management template for developing new or documenting existing events and conference models.

It’s a visual chart with elements describing an event’s promise, how it helps stakeholders to get their jobs done, resolving pains, and creating gains within a set framework of commitment and expected return. The canvas articulates how the behavior changes as a result of having participated in the event as well as stating the required levels of satisfaction against expectations. Additionally, the canvas outlines the costs and expected revenues in relation to the customer journey (service design) and the instructional design of the event.

The Canvas helps organizations align their activities by illustrating potential trade-offs of their events. Building a thorough #eventcanvas can be achieved through a 10 step #eventcanvas methodology where the team involved in the event systematically analyses, describes and outlines the inputs for the components in the final canvas prototypes. The methodology is sequential and makes use of a range of visual thinking techniques including Empathy Mapping (courtesy of xplane), Value Proposition Canvas (courtesy Osterwalder), event ROI methodology (courtesy Phillips ROI Methodology), the Business Model Canvas (courtesy of Osterwalder), Service Design Canvas (Stickdorn & Schneider) and Instructional Design Model (Dick & Carey).

The #eventcanvas was created by Ruud Janssen and Roel Frissen which builds on the visual framework initially proposed by Alexander Osterwalder’s Business Model Canvas based on the earlier work on Business Model Ontology. The #eventcanvas is available for free download under a Creative Commons 4.0 license at www.edco.global

What is the Event Canvas methodology?

The Event CanvasTM methodology is an effective tool for creating impactful events in a shorter amount of time. This approach helps teams to clearly define the purpose of their event and the stakeholders involved. By analyzing each stakeholder’s role in the Event CanvasTM and determining the desired behavior change, the Event Delta is created. The Event Delta, the design goal, is the basis for prototyping being the final step of the design process.

Who created the #eventcanvas and how can I use it?

The #EventCanvas was created by Ruud Janssen and Roel Frissen which builds on the visual framework initially proposed by Alexander Osterwalder’s Business Model Canvas. Please note that the use of the free Event Canvas is limited to personal, non-commercial use. For commercial use of the Event Canvas please contact us for licensing options or see the pricing options here .

Where can I download it?

You can download the #EventCanvas under the creative commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives 4.0 license for free. We only ask you to leave your name, e-mail, organization, and city you live in to keep track of the usage and to keep you informed about new developments. Subscribe here to receive your free copy of the #EventCanvas in English, and several other languages.

I have an Event to design, what are my options?

In a changing business landscape, event owners are faced with the need for change, and event teams are challenged on how to implement that change. The Event Design Collective uses a three-stage methodology to get a grip on how events create value and how to measure success through behavioral change. Find out how you can lead change in your organization.

By following a structured process, and not just skipping to the final step of producing an event based on the first rough sketch, you will produce more effective events; reduce risk in the results; find a structured method that can be applied at any time, looking forward and looking back, allowing you to create and analyze patterns in your history. You can design for change, and create a team that is user-centric, meaning they are sensitive to context, fluid, and responsive to change. We can help you. Click here for more information.

How can I become an Event Designer?

Completing in-person training with the Event Design Collective will give you the invaluable tools and methodology proficiency to raise your events to the next level. Additionally, you will be able to meet and collaborate with a powerful network of event designers from around the world. Whether you complete a training unit with your team or alone, the common visual language is a professional investment that is translatable into events worth attending in the future. The Event Design Certificate (EDC) program provides training on 3 levels.

Who are we?

Event Design Collective GmbH is an organization operating as a training and consulting company around the globe based in Switzerland with representations in 14 countries in Europe, the Americas & Asia. Launched by entrepreneurs Ruud Janssen and Roel Frissen in 2014, the #EventCanvas is a methodology and visual prototyping tool that can be used by planning professionals and event owners to improve their current and future events. Industry adoption of the methodology has grown exponentially becoming the gold standard Event Design methodology. This has sparked an expanding network of licensees, with a global community of practitioners with training & resources available in multiple languages.

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Event canvas template

Design an event worth attending.

DESIGN AN EVENT WORTH ATTENDING

The Event Canvas is used to design better and more effective events in less time. This template helps you describe your event's purpose and value to stakeholders and outlines the expected costs and benefits, such as customer behavior changes, for having the event. ‍

Watch this video to see the #EventCanvas explained in 111 seconds:

How to create a Event canvas template

Get started with this template right now.

Event canvas template frequently asked questions

Template by Event Design Collective

Ruud Janssen and Roel Frissen are innovators and game changers in the hospitality and meetings & events industry.

Together they’ve co-founded Event Design Collective (the event design consulting & training firm), aimed at creating a common language for meetings & events.

Mural is the only platform that offers both a shared workspace and training on the LUMA System™, a practical way to collaborate that anyone can learn and apply.

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The Business Model Canvas

The Business Model Canvas is a strategic management and entrepreneurial tool. It allows you to describe, design, challenge, invent, and pivot your business model. This method from the bestselling management book Business Model Generation is applied in leading organizations and start-ups worldwide.

The Business Model Canvas enables you to:

• Visualize and communicate a simple story of your existing business model.
• Use the canvas to design new business models, whether you are a start-up or an existing businessManage a portfolio of business models
• You can use the canvas to easily juggle between "Explore" and "Exploit" business models.

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Mastering business models

A self-paced online course with 
Alex Osterwalder and Yves Pigneur.

Are you trying to improve your existing business model? Or trying to create a new one that can compete in today’s market?

Business Model Canvas: Explained with Examples

Got a new business idea, but don’t know how to put it to work? Want to improve your existing business model? Overwhelmed by writing your business plan? There is a one-page technique that can provide you the solution you are looking for, and that’s the business model canvas.

In this guide, you’ll have the Business Model Canvas explained, along with steps on how to create one. All business model canvas examples in the post can be edited online.

What is a Business Model Canvas

A business model is simply a plan describing how a business intends to make money. It explains who your customer base is and how you deliver value to them and the related details of financing. And the business model canvas lets you define these different components on a single page.   

The Business Model Canvas is a strategic management tool that lets you visualize and assess your business idea or concept. It’s a one-page document containing nine boxes that represent different fundamental elements of a business.  

The business model canvas beats the traditional business plan that spans across several pages, by offering a much easier way to understand the different core elements of a business.

The right side of the canvas focuses on the customer or the market (external factors that are not under your control) while the left side of the canvas focuses on the business (internal factors that are mostly under your control). In the middle, you get the value propositions that represent the exchange of value between your business and your customers.

The business model canvas was originally developed by Alex Osterwalder and Yves Pigneur and introduced in their book ‘ Business Model Generation ’ as a visual framework for planning, developing and testing the business model(s) of an organization.

What Are the Benefits of Using a Business Model Canvas

Why do you need a business model canvas? The answer is simple. The business model canvas offers several benefits for businesses and entrepreneurs. It is a valuable tool and provides a visual and structured approach to designing, analyzing, optimizing, and communicating your business model.

• The business model canvas provides a comprehensive overview of a business model’s essential aspects. The BMC provides a quick outline of the business model and is devoid of unnecessary details compared to the traditional business plan.
• The comprehensive overview also ensures that the team considers all required components of their business model and can identify gaps or areas for improvement.
• The BMC allows the team to have a holistic and shared understanding of the business model while enabling them to align and collaborate effectively.
• The visual nature of the business model canvas makes it easier to refer to and understand by anyone. The business model canvas combines all vital business model elements in a single, easy-to-understand canvas.
• The BMC can be considered a strategic analysis tool as it enables you to examine a business model’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and challenges.
• It’s easier to edit and can be easily shared with employees and stakeholders.
• The BMC is a flexible and adaptable tool that can be updated and revised as the business evolves. Keep your business agile and responsive to market changes and customer needs.
• The business model canvas can be used by large corporations and startups with just a few employees.
• The business model canvas effectively facilitates discussions among team members, investors, partners, customers, and other stakeholders. It clarifies how different aspects of the business are related and ensures a shared understanding of the business model.
• You can use a BMC template to facilitate discussions and guide brainstorming brainstorming sessions to generate insights and ideas to refine the business model and make strategic decisions.
• The BMC is action-oriented, encouraging businesses to identify activities and initiatives to improve their business model to drive business growth.
• A business model canvas provides a structured approach for businesses to explore possibilities and experiment with new ideas. This encourages creativity and innovation, which in turn encourages team members to think outside the box.

How to Make a Business Model Canvas

Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to create a business canvas model.

Step 1: Gather your team and the required material Bring a team or a group of people from your company together to collaborate. It is better to bring in a diverse group to cover all aspects.

While you can create a business model canvas with whiteboards, sticky notes, and markers, using an online platform like Creately will ensure that your work can be accessed from anywhere, anytime. Create a workspace in Creately and provide editing/reviewing permission to start.

Step 2: Set the context Clearly define the purpose and the scope of what you want to map out and visualize in the business model canvas. Narrow down the business or idea you want to analyze with the team and its context.

Step 3: Draw the canvas Divide the workspace into nine equal sections to represent the nine building blocks of the business model canvas.

Step 4: Identify the key building blocks Label each section as customer segment, value proposition, channels, customer relationships, revenue streams, key resources, key activities, and cost structure.

Step 5: Fill in the canvas Work with your team to fill in each section of the canvas with relevant information. You can use data, keywords, diagrams, and more to represent ideas and concepts.

Step 6: Analyze and iterate Once your team has filled in the business model canvas, analyze the relationships to identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and challenges. Discuss improvements and make adjustments as necessary.

Step 7: Finalize Finalize and use the model as a visual reference to communicate and align your business model with stakeholders. You can also use the model to make informed and strategic decisions and guide your business.

What are the Key Building Blocks of the Business Model Canvas?

There are nine building blocks in the business model canvas and they are:

Customer Segments

Customer relationships, revenue streams, key activities, key resources, key partners, cost structure.

• Value Proposition

When filling out a Business Model Canvas, you will brainstorm and conduct research on each of these elements. The data you collect can be placed in each relevant section of the canvas. So have a business model canvas ready when you start the exercise.  

Let’s look into what the 9 components of the BMC are in more detail.

These are the groups of people or companies that you are trying to target and sell your product or service to.

Segmenting your customers based on similarities such as geographical area, gender, age, behaviors, interests, etc. gives you the opportunity to better serve their needs, specifically by customizing the solution you are providing them.

After a thorough analysis of your customer segments, you can determine who you should serve and ignore. Then create customer personas for each of the selected customer segments.

There are different customer segments a business model can target and they are;

• Mass market: A business model that focuses on mass markets doesn’t group its customers into segments. Instead, it focuses on the general population or a large group of people with similar needs. For example, a product like a phone.  
• Niche market: Here the focus is centered on a specific group of people with unique needs and traits. Here the value propositions, distribution channels, and customer relationships should be customized to meet their specific requirements. An example would be buyers of sports shoes.
• Segmented: Based on slightly different needs, there could be different groups within the main customer segment. Accordingly, you can create different value propositions, distribution channels, etc. to meet the different needs of these segments.
• Diversified: A diversified market segment includes customers with very different needs.
• Multi-sided markets: this includes interdependent customer segments. For example, a credit card company caters to both their credit card holders as well as merchants who accept those cards.

Use STP Model templates for segmenting your market and developing ideal marketing campaigns

Visualize, assess, and update your business model. Collaborate on brainstorming with your team on your next business model innovation.

In this section, you need to establish the type of relationship you will have with each of your customer segments or how you will interact with them throughout their journey with your company.

There are several types of customer relationships

• Personal assistance: you interact with the customer in person or by email, through phone call or other means.
• Dedicated personal assistance: you assign a dedicated customer representative to an individual customer.  
• Self-service: here you maintain no relationship with the customer, but provides what the customer needs to help themselves.
• Automated services: this includes automated processes or machinery that helps customers perform services themselves.
• Communities: these include online communities where customers can help each other solve their own problems with regard to the product or service.
• Co-creation: here the company allows the customer to get involved in the designing or development of the product. For example, YouTube has given its users the opportunity to create content for its audience.

You can understand the kind of relationship your customer has with your company through a customer journey map . It will help you identify the different stages your customers go through when interacting with your company. And it will help you make sense of how to acquire, retain and grow your customers.

This block is to describe how your company will communicate with and reach out to your customers. Channels are the touchpoints that let your customers connect with your company.

Channels play a role in raising awareness of your product or service among customers and delivering your value propositions to them. Channels can also be used to allow customers the avenue to buy products or services and offer post-purchase support.

There are two types of channels

• Owned channels: company website, social media sites, in-house sales, etc.
• Partner channels: partner-owned websites, wholesale distribution, retail, etc.

Revenues streams are the sources from which a company generates money by selling their product or service to the customers. And in this block, you should describe how you will earn revenue from your value propositions.  

A revenue stream can belong to one of the following revenue models,

• Transaction-based revenue: made from customers who make a one-time payment
• Recurring revenue: made from ongoing payments for continuing services or post-sale services

There are several ways you can generate revenue from

• Asset sales: by selling the rights of ownership for a product to a buyer
• Usage fee: by charging the customer for the use of its product or service
• Subscription fee: by charging the customer for using its product regularly and consistently
• Lending/ leasing/ renting: the customer pays to get exclusive rights to use an asset for a fixed period of time
• Licensing: customer pays to get permission to use the company’s intellectual property
• Brokerage fees: revenue generated by acting as an intermediary between two or more parties
• Advertising: by charging the customer to advertise a product, service or brand using company platforms

What are the activities/ tasks that need to be completed to fulfill your business purpose? In this section, you should list down all the key activities you need to do to make your business model work.

These key activities should focus on fulfilling its value proposition, reaching customer segments and maintaining customer relationships, and generating revenue.

There are 3 categories of key activities;

• Production: designing, manufacturing and delivering a product in significant quantities and/ or of superior quality.
• Problem-solving: finding new solutions to individual problems faced by customers.
• Platform/ network: Creating and maintaining platforms. For example, Microsoft provides a reliable operating system to support third-party software products.

This is where you list down which key resources or the main inputs you need to carry out your key activities in order to create your value proposition.

There are several types of key resources and they are

• Human (employees)
• Financial (cash, lines of credit, etc.)
• Intellectual (brand, patents, IP, copyright)
• Physical (equipment, inventory, buildings)

Key partners are the external companies or suppliers that will help you carry out your key activities. These partnerships are forged in oder to reduce risks and acquire resources.

Types of partnerships are

• Strategic alliance: partnership between non-competitors
• Coopetition: strategic partnership between partners
• Joint ventures: partners developing a new business
• Buyer-supplier relationships: ensure reliable supplies

In this block, you identify all the costs associated with operating your business model.

You’ll need to focus on evaluating the cost of creating and delivering your value propositions, creating revenue streams, and maintaining customer relationships. And this will be easier to do so once you have defined your key resources, activities, and partners.  

Businesses can either be cost-driven (focuses on minimizing costs whenever possible) and value-driven (focuses on providing maximum value to the customer).

Value Propositions

This is the building block that is at the heart of the business model canvas. And it represents your unique solution (product or service) for a problem faced by a customer segment, or that creates value for the customer segment.

A value proposition should be unique or should be different from that of your competitors. If you are offering a new product, it should be innovative and disruptive. And if you are offering a product that already exists in the market, it should stand out with new features and attributes.

Value propositions can be either quantitative (price and speed of service) or qualitative (customer experience or design).

What to Avoid When Creating a Business Model Canvas

One thing to remember when creating a business model canvas is that it is a concise and focused document. It is designed to capture key elements of a business model and, as such, should not include detailed information. Some of the items to avoid include,

• Detailed financial projections such as revenue forecasts, cost breakdowns, and financial ratios. Revenue streams and cost structure should be represented at a high level, providing an overview rather than detailed projections.
• Detailed operational processes such as standard operating procedures of a business. The BMC focuses on the strategic and conceptual aspects.
• Comprehensive marketing or sales strategies. The business model canvas does not provide space for comprehensive marketing or sales strategies. These should be included in marketing or sales plans, which allow you to expand into more details.
• Legal or regulatory details such as intellectual property, licensing agreements, or compliance requirements. As these require more detailed and specialized attention, they are better suited to be addressed in separate legal or regulatory documents.
• Long-term strategic goals or vision statements. While the canvas helps to align the business model with the overall strategy, it should focus on the immediate and tangible aspects.
• Irrelevant or unnecessary information that does not directly relate to the business model. Including extra or unnecessary information can clutter the BMC and make it less effective in communicating the core elements.

What Are Your Thoughts on the Business Model Canvas?

Once you have completed your business model canvas, you can share it with your organization and stakeholders and get their feedback as well. The business model canvas is a living document, therefore after completing it you need to revisit and ensure that it is relevant, updated and accurate.

What best practices do you follow when creating a business model canvas? Do share your tips with us in the comments section below.

Join over thousands of organizations that use Creately to brainstorm, plan, analyze, and execute their projects successfully.

FAQs About the Business Model Canvas

• Use clear and concise language
• Use visual-aids
• Customize for your audience
• Highlight key insights
• Be open to feedback and discussion

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Amanda Athuraliya is the communication specialist/content writer at Creately, online diagramming and collaboration tool. She is an avid reader, a budding writer and a passionate researcher who loves to write about all kinds of topics.

The 9-Step Business Model Canvas Explained (2023 Update)

Written by Raquel Alberdi

Business | entrepreneurship, 13 comments(s).

Blog » The 9-Step Business Model Canvas Explained (2023 Update)

“A major mistake made by many start-ups around the world is focusing on the technology, the software, the product, and the design, but neglecting to ever figure out the business . And by “business” we simply mean how the company makes money by acquiring and serving its customers”.

-Reid Hoffman

After meeting with hundreds of entrepreneurs and business owners over the years I believe the LinkedIn co-founder and Blitzscaling author Reid Hoffman’s got it spot on.

People tend to focus on specific parts of their business, such as which software packages are being used, which is the cheapest supplier, how to optimize internal processes…?

They get so bogged down in the details of the day-to-day running that they lose the overall vision of their business.

Without this vision they are unable to scale, they make marginal profits, miss opportunities, struggle to innovate, and end up running “just another” business.

Another handy metaphor in understanding this common mistake is the soldier in the trenches .

Every meter of ground gained comes at a heavy cost, mistakes are made, and progress is hard-fought and slow…a day-to-day experience for 99% of entrepreneurs and businessmen.

But when you do have that 360 vision you see the entire battlefield. Decisions are much clearer, fewer mistakes are made, and progress is fast and methodical.

Fortunately, a business model framework exists that gives you both vision and clarity .

The Business Model Canvas provides entrepreneurs, business owners, and strategists with a tool to analyze, structure, and evolve a business while always keeping the bigger picture front of mind.

So let’s take a closer look at how it works.

Table of Content

What is the Business Model Canvas?

Created by Swiss entrepreneur and Strategyzer co-founder, Alexander Osterwalder, the Business Model Canvas is a visual representation of the 9 key building blocks that form the foundations of every successful business. It’s a blueprint to help entrepreneurs invent, design, and build models with a more systematic approach.

Why is it so popular within the business community?

Its simplicity. The business model canvas allows us to carry out a high-level analysis without drilling down and getting lost in the details. You just draw out the 9 building blocks on a blank canvas, fill them in as each concept relates to your business, and hang it somewhere everybody can see.

It’s a visual overview of your entire business on a single canvas.

While the Business Model Canvas is an extremely fluid concept and hyper-specific to individual companies, each canvas is still broken down into these 9 key building blocks:

Customer Segments

Value propositions, customer relationships, revenue streams, key resources, key activities, key partners.

When laid out on the canvas the model will look something like this:

While you’ve probably come across each of the 9 building blocks before, the attractiveness of the Business Model Canvas is that it confines them to a single page , not a traditional 42-page document.

This makes it a lot easier to digest, as well as assess existing business models or map out new ideas.

How do I fill out the Business Model Canvas?

To start your Business Model Canvas you will need to breakdown and analyze each of the 9 building blocks.

A good way to approach this is to gather the heads from marketing, sales, operations, finance, and manufacturing (if product-based) and pencil-in a morning where you can all meet together.

Then, after drawing a mock canvas onto a whiteboard, proceed to dissect and discuss each of the 9 building blocks as they relate to your business. You can use sticky notes to better organize your thoughts around the canvas.

If you are an entrepreneur or new business owner working alone and don’t have a team to bounce your ideas off, not to worry. You can still carry out your analysis before sharing it with a like-minded entrepreneurial community or forum, like those found on ThePowerMBA , to get useful, insightful feedback.

Whichever way you decide to approach it, I recommend you complete each block in the following order:

• Cost structure

For continuity, I’m going to use the fashion retail giant Zara when analyzing each of the 9 key building blocks.

If you’d like to skip to another case study similar to your own business, navigate to the table of contents at the top of the page and select one of the other business model canvas examples.

The first block of the Business Canvas Model is about understanding who is the most important customer(s) you’re delivering value to. Or, in other words, who are they? What do they do? And why would they buy your product or service?

Not a single company exists without its clients, making customer segments the best block to start with while drawing out your business model canvas.

A great exercise to define your customer segments is to brainstorm and create your company’s buyer persona (s) .

Buyer personas are fictional depictions of an ideal or hypothetical client. Typically when brainstorming a buyer persona you’d want to define certain characteristics (age, demographic, gender, income, industry, pain points, goals, etc.)

However, remember at this stage we want a snapshot of our customer segment. There’s no need to jump into great detail just yet.

In the case of Zara, there are three distinct customer segments to whom they offer different products.

The products created for each of these customer segments (clothing, shoes, and accessories) are not trans-consumable. That is to say, a woman’s dress is highly unlikely to be worn by a 7-year-old child.

Once we know exactly who it is we are targeting, it’s time to look at what we as a company have to offer.

The second phase is about figuring out your company’s value propositions , and importantly, your UVP (unique value proposition). The “what” that makes customers turn to you, over your competitors? Which of their problems are you best at solving?

Each value proposition consists of a bundle of products or services that fulfill the needs of a buyer persona from your customer segment. It’s the intersection between what your company offers, and the reason or impulse customers have for purchasing.

Some popular questions to ask while determining your UVP are:

• Which specific customer pain point are you trying to solve?
• What job are you helping customers get done?
• How does your UVP eliminate customer pain points?
• What products or services do you provide that answer this specific pain point?

So let’s try and apply this to Zara. Why do people choose to purchase from them, over their competitors?

Zara’s principal value propositions are fairly clear. They offer various ranges of stylish men’s, women’s, and children’s clothing and accessories at an affordable price.

But there’s more to it than that.

If we dive a little deeper we see Zara’s value propositions are more complex, which are behind the success of the brand:

Fast fashion

Zara adds new clothes and designs to its collections every 2-3 weeks, both in its stores and online. It keeps the brand updated, fresh, and modern while maintaining its all-important medium price point

Great eCommerce experience

Once you enter Zara’s online store you’re presented with a clean, easy-to-navigate, and high-end feel. The customer segments are visible on the left navigation bar with a search tab to further aid customers with their online experience.

Localized stores

You can find a store in nearly all major retail locations (shopping malls, retail outlets, airports, etc.) meaning accessibility is not an issue for the majority of consumers.

Flagship stores

Zara demonstrates its aesthetic evolution to customers through its flagship stores. The recent opening of their Hudson Yards , New York City flagship is a great example of this. Customers shop around its vivid, minimalist layout offering them an experience aligned with the brand’s deeper, eco-friendly values.

Zara Hudson Yards, New York

The next step is to ask yourself how you are reaching your customers, and through which channels ?

This includes both the channels that customers want to communicate with you as well as how they’ll receive your products or services.

Is it going to be a physical channel? (store, field sales representatives, etc.) Or is it a digital channel? (mobile, web, cloud, etc.).

Zara has 3 primary channels in which they communicate and deliver products to its customers:

• Direct sales through their stores
• Online (both app and website)
• Social media

Customers can go to a traditional “bricks and mortar” store to browse, model, and purchase different items of clothing at one of their retail stores.

Alternatively, they can shop online or through their mobile application and have the product delivered straight to their door or nearest store. The choice is completely up to them!

So that covers Zara’s commercial channels, but what about how they communicate with customers?

While they do communicate through their mobile app, their predominant channel is social media.

What’s more, they’re really, really good at it.

For example, did you know that Zara invests less than 0.3% of its sales revenue into advertising?

This is only possible due to an A-rated social media presence . Customer queries are not only dealt with quickly, but recommended re-works are sent back to HQ, forwarded onto in-house designers who then apply the feedback to future collections.

This customer-first approach through fluid communication channels has saved them thousands of dollars in marketing, strengthened their brand, and created a loyal customer base.

You should only step away from this building block once you’ve decided how each of your customer segments want to be reached.

Once you have acquired customers, you will need to think about how you can build , nurture, and grow those relationships.

Now, this can be automated and transactional like large eCommerce brands Amazon or Alibaba. Or, it could be at the complete opposite end of the scale and require a more personal relationship you’d typically have with a bank or your local bike shop.

Zara’s relationship with its customers is threefold, and lies somewhere in the middle of transactional and personal:

• Salesperson at store
• Brand through social media
• Sentimental attachment to a product

Yes, you have the initial transactional touchpoint at the store or online, something relatively impersonal and for many the only interaction they’ll have with the brand.

However, customers (especially in the fashion industry) are encouraged to continue to interact with a brand through social media platforms.

As we mentioned before when discussing channels, Zara has a very effective communication system in place. Not only can people instantly get in touch with the brand, but also engage with new posts, images, and collections uploaded to social media.

This personal approach to customer relationship building can, in some cases, lead to the natural growth of brand ambassadors and communities .

An attachment can also develop between customers and particular garments or accessories from one of their collections. The sentimental attachment to these products also creates another potential form of brand loyalty.

Now that you’ve described how you are going to create real value for your customers, it’s time to look at how you plan to capture that value.

What are your revenue streams? Is it going to be a transactional, direct sales strategy ? Are you going to consider a freemium mode l, where you give a portion of your product or service away for free with the idea of converting later on down the line?

If you’re a SaaS company such as SalesForce or Strava , then it’s likely that a licensing or subscription revenue model will be more appropriate.

At Zara, it’s extremely simple. They make their money by selling clothes and accessories either at a store or online.

As you can see, we’ve filled in the entire right-hand side of our business model canvas. We touched upon:

Customer segments

• Value propositions
• Revenue streams
• Distribution channels

Now it’s time to move over to the left side of the business canvas model and look at what we need, internally , to deliver our value propositions.

To start with, let’s take a look at key resources.

The key resources are all things you need to have, or the assets required to create that value for customers.

This could be anything from intellectual property (patents, trademarks, copyrights, etc.) to physical holdings (factories, offices, delivery vans, etc.) right down to finances (the initial cash flow perhaps needed to start your brand).

Another key resource every company needs to consider is its human capital . Are you going to need highly specialized software engineers? Or field-based sales teams?

They are relatively capital-heavy resources that need to be factored into your business model.

In the case of Zara, they are going to need a number of key resources if they hope to deliver their propositions:

• Stock management
• A large, interconnected network of physical stores
• A strong brand
• Logistics and supply chain infrastructure

Stock is vital for both online and offline customers.

If they are unable to supply their range of products and meet customer demands, satisfaction levels fall and they have a serious problem on their hands.

A large distribution network of brick and mortar stores combined with a strong brand name help mitigate these factors, as well as reinforce any ongoing marketing activities and communication efforts.

Finally, an efficient logistics process within Zara is critical, especially when you consider the complexities involved with such a large-scale operation.

They will require the necessary technology to analyze data on inventory, storage, materials, production, and packaging, with the staff to execute each of these stages and manage the delivery of the final products.

The next step is to define the key activities – the areas you need to be good at to create value for your customers.

To mix it up a little let’s take a look at a slightly different business in Uber .

Their key activities can be broken down into:

• Web and mobile app development
• Driver recruitment
• Marketing: customer acquisition
• Customer service activities : drivers’ ratings, incidents, etc.

They need a fast, clean UX for their customers using the app, drivers to carry out their service, and the ability to both market the product and deal with any customer queries.

Zara’s key activities will differ to those of Uber. Some of the things they need to consider would be:

• Manufacturing
• Retail process (point of sale and 3rd party management)
• Distribution channel / logistics

Design is a key activity as Zara’s value proposition is to provide stylish garments at an affordable price. Their collections need to be constantly updated to follow the latest fashion trends at the time.

To produce their collections Zara will also require manufacturing capabilities. Now Zara doesn’t own their own factories (we will get to that in the Key Partners section) but they still need to be involved in the garment manufacturing process.

Everything from fabric selection to pattern making, to detailing and dyeing affects the outcome of the final product which of course they have to then go on and sell.

The effective management of the retail and distribution channels (online, offline, shipping, and communication with providers) is also key. A breakdown in either of these activities, such as a poor relationship with an important provider will have serious consequences for the business.

Most modern business models now require brands to build out and work with various key partners to fully leverage their business model.

This includes partnerships such as joint ventures and non-equity strategic alliances as well as typical relationships with buyers, suppliers, and producers.

A great example of a strategic partnership would be between ThePowerMBA and Forbes . In exchange for exposure of our brand to the magazine’s global audience, we provide expertise and content on high-level business education programs.

As we touched upon when discussing key activities , Zara requires strategic partnerships with many different providers if they are to design and produce their collections.

Another key partner is their major holding company, Inditex .

Inditex has several subsidiaries including Massimo Dutti , Pull & Bear , and Oysho . Being a subsidiary of Inditex means they share a consolidated balance sheet, stakeholders, management and control, and various legal responsibilities.

While as a subsidiary Zara is afforded certain freedoms when it comes to design, delivery, and the general running of the company, the overall strategy will need to be aligned with Inditex and its other subsidiaries.

The final step of the Business Model Canvas is to ask yourself, how much is it going to cost to run this model?

This includes some of the more obvious needs such as manufacturing costs, physical space, rent, payroll, but also areas such as marketing activities.

If you are unsure of exactly what to include in your cost structure take a look at a Profit and Loss statement ( P&L ) from a competitor or company in a similar industry to yours. You’ll find many items overlap such as research and development ( R&D ), cost of goods sold, admin expenses, operating costs, etc.

Once that’s done you should prioritize your key activities and resources and find out if they are fixed or variable costs .

As Zara is such a large, corporate business they are going to have both fixed costs (rent, payroll, point of sales personnel) and variables, such as costs associated with the fluctuating sale of goods, purchase of materials and, manufacturing costs.

Once you’ve completed these 9 steps, your Business Canvas Model should look something like this:

Business Model Canvas Examples

Hopefully, you were able to get a good feel for the effectiveness of the business model canvas with our run-through of Zara.

However, if you found it difficult to follow due to the stark difference between your industries, I’m going to quickly go through 3 more companies to demonstrate the tool’s flexibility:

• Netflix (Media service/production)
• Vintae (Vineyard)

Even if these business model canvas examples don’t align exactly with your industry, I honestly believe that studying different models gives you a competitive advantage in your professional career regardless.

If you’re currently employed by a company, you’ll better understand how your specific role helps the company achieve some of its “long-term” goals.

Alternatively, if you are a business owner yourself (or perhaps thinking of starting your own business) you’ll have a better understanding of your business and where potential opportunities lay.

I’m sure you’re familiar with our next business model canvas example candidate, Netflix .

The global media company offers an online streaming service of various movies, documentaries, and TV programs produced in-house or licensed 3rd-party content. Their success sparked a revolution in the online media world with the likes of Amazon, Apple, Disney, HBO, and Hulu all rushing to launch their own online video streaming platforms.

Netflix started life as an online DVD rental company, basically a web version of the more popular (at least at that time) “bricks and mortar” Blockbuster.

Co-founder Reed Hastings predicted as far back as 1999 that the future of media was in online streaming, saying “postage rates were going to keep going up and the internet was going to get twice as fast at half the price every 18 months.”

It wouldn’t be until 2007 that Hasting’s prediction would become true when Netflix, as we now know it, was born.

So let’s take a current look at their business model canvas:

As you probably know, there are very few people out there who haven’t subscribed, watched, or at least heard of Netflix. There is content for everybody: wildlife documentaries, sci-fi movies, rom coms, action-thrillers, you name it – it’s there.

That’s why their customer segment can be classified as a “ mass market ” as the base is just so diverse.

All people require is a computer, TV, internet, and/or smartphone and they’re good to go. For most developed markets, that covers just about everybody.

Value Proposition

Whether on the train to work, sitting in the car (if you’re not driving!), or relaxing at home in front of the TV, you can consume their online, on-demand video streaming service.

They also have a huge library of content for consumers to choose from, ensuring that people keep coming back, as well as increasing their mass-market appeal.

They also produce high-quality, original content to differentiate themselves from their competitors.

Most people access Netflix either through their website or mobile/TV App . Another popular channel that you may have picked up on is their affiliate partners .

You’ve perhaps signed up for a mobile, TV, and internet package where the provider offers Netflix as an extra to sweeten the deal, so to speak.

That would be an example of an affiliate partnership between Netflix and mobile service providers.

I doubt many consumers have had direct contact with Netflix unless it’s to resolve a subscription issue or general query. It’s very much a self-automated service – you download the app, select the program you wish to watch, and hit play.

Very simple, very effective.

Again, this doesn’t need much embellishment. Netflix generates money from the different tiers and packages put together in their subscription services.

This varies depending on the region to account for local markets, but on the whole, it’s sold at a low price point.

Originally, Netflix’s Key Resources would have been their unrivaled DVD collection combined with a cost-effective mail-order system.

Nowadays it’s undoubtedly the rights to stream online video content. Netflix has brokered deals with some of the biggest production studios worldwide.

Combined with their huge library of in-house productions , it’s more than enough to encourage customers to renew their subscriptions.

To help sustain interest in their product, Netflix understands they need to serve-up relevant content for each sub-sector of their mass audience. Therefore their machine learning algorithm selects content for consumers based on streaming habits (what they watched, at what time, etc,.) to personalize the customer experience.

This explains why over 80% of all content streamed on Netflix was cherry-picked by this algorithm, making it a Key Resource for their business model.

Also, Netflix accounts for a whopping 12.6% of global bandwidth usage . The literal capacity to stream their services must be met meaning bandwidth must also be included here.

Content procurement is arguably their biggest Key Activity. They need to find people to produce and deliver their original content, including actors, studios, writers, etc. as well as secure the licensing and streaming rights from 3rd party producers such as Sony, Warner Bros, and Disney.

Finally, they need a fast, easy-to-use application to host their online streaming service. This needs to be available for both TV and mobile devices if they are to deliver their “on-demand” value proposition.

K ey Partners

Seeing as Netflix’s entire business model is largely based around streaming 3rd party content, key partnerships need to be built with production studios . No content, no Netflix!

Also, as we touched upon earlier Netflix is one of the largest consumers of bandwidth worldwide. If the speed and delivery of their streaming service are to be continued then deals will also need to be made with internet service providers (ISPs).

Netflix’s biggest expenditures come from both their in-house content procurement and 3rd party licensing agreements . The high-quality standard of video streamed on Netflix is only possible due to the speed and performance of its online platform and application , which has additional costs of staff, software, etc.

To show you just how flexible the business model canvas can be, I wanted to throw in a slightly leftfield example. Vintae is a Spanish wine producer who, after a detailed analysis of the business model canvas, was able to innovate and disrupt one of the world’s most competitive industries.

As some of you may know, the wine industry is extremely competitive. It’s also steeped in history and tradition , making it very challenging for newcomers to grab market share, let alone think about year-on-year growth and revenue.

However, CEO “Richi” Arambarri looked at the traditional “ bodega ” business model and saw a chink in its armor.

A “small” innovation in the business canvas model helped them to become one of the region’s most important winery groups, with over 10 installations and a presence across all regional denominations (Rioja, Priorat, Rias Baixas, etc.) with year on year growth of 30% – practically unheard of in such a competitive industry.

So how did Vintae analyze the business model canvas to find a niche in their market?

To answer that question, we must first look at the traditional winery business model .

As you can see, the wine industry has historically been patrimonial. Vineyards and estates are passed down through generations with the winery responsible for all phases of production, clarification, and distribution.

The traditional winery business canvas model suggests you must be the owner of the winery/vineyard where the wine is “manufactured”, meaning physical assets are a key resource of the business model.

So, if you wanted to start producing a Rioja, for example, you’d have to set up your vineyard in the region.

This is monumentally expensive as you need to:

• Purchase the land
• Plant a vineyard
• Absorb set-up and installation costs
• Deal with maintenance costs

It’s here where Vintae saw their opportunity.

What if we move vineyard ownership across the business model canvas from key resources to key partners ?

By leasing the equipment and space of large wineries (of which there was plenty), they could still produce their wine but reduce the cost and exposure associated with land purchase, crushing equipment, huge storage tanks, vineyard maintenance, and their bottling line.

This enabled them to focus on their sales, marketing, and distribution channels to create a better brand experience for their customers.

Also, it afforded them more flexibility when creating new wines as they were no longer confined to the limitations of grapes grown on their vineyard.

The lightness of this new business model eliminates maintenance overheads, channels energy into personalizing the customer experience, and allows for unprecedented levels of growth in one of the world’s most competitive industries.

Business Model Canvas Software

Although I did mention starting with a large whiteboard, sticky notes, and a pack of colorful sharpies there are several options in which you can digitize the business canvas model production process.

While I still believe the aforementioned process is extremely valuable (it gets your entire team’s input in a single hour-long session) you may decide it more viable for each member of management to pool their ideas digitally before sharing with the rest of the group.

If that’s the case, then take a look at some of the following software tools for creating your business model canvas.

Strategyzer

Created by the founders of the business model canvas Alex Osterwalder and Yves Pigneur , Strategyzer offers a range of business model canvas templates for you to get started with.

If you opt for the paid model (there is a 30-day free trial period) they offer a series of various classes that teach you how to build and test different value propositions and business models.

A real-time built-in cost estimator analyzes the financial viability of some of your business ideas, identifying alternative areas you may wish to explore with your model.

All-in-all, it’s a great resource to play around with and test some of your business ideas, with the option to dive into further detail if you see fit.

Canvanizer is a free, easy-to-use web tool that allows you to share links between team members who are brainstorming ideas for a business model canvas, but working remotely.

Like Strategyzer, there are several business model canvas templates provided to help you get started with your analysis. The strength of this platform is its accessibility. Much like a Google Doc., several people can brainstorm on the same canvas simultaneously with changes being synchronized automatically.

Business Model Canvas Tool

A ThePowerMBA alumni, impressed by the simplicity and effectiveness of the tool, went ahead and created the free application Business Model Canvas Tool .

It’s an incredibly intuitive, and easy-to-use tool that allows you to create templates simply by clicking the + button in each building block.

Each business model canvas created can be downloaded and shared as a pdf. with the rest of the team.

Would You Like to Learn More about Business Models?

If, after going through our 9-step guide on how to use the Business Model Canvas you’d like to learn more about different business model analysis tools , take a look at our alternative MBA business program .

As you’ll see, the course gives students a 360-degree view of business and management practices – such as engines of growth, segmentation and targeting, and value propositions.

I highly recommend you go check it out.

Regardless, I’d love to hear what you thought about this guide. Was it helpful? Would you like to see additional business cases analyzed from your industry?

Let us know in the comments below.

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13 Comments

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Well explained with practical business case

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What is a Business Model Canvas? Definition, Examples, Channels and Key Resources

By Paul VanZandt

Published on: July 26, 2023

Table of Contents

What is a Business Model Canvas?

9 business model canvas examples, business model canvas explained, business model canvas channels, key resources of business model canvas.

Using a Business Model Canvas has become one of the premium alternatives to dragging one out on paper. These boards make creating and interpreting business plans or go-to-market strategies a collaborative endeavor and something anyone can create.

This article will define what a business model canvas is and discuss its various advantages, and how to use them, and walk you through our very own business model canvas. If you’re interested in learning more about our other template definitions, you can look at our guides on Kanban , customer journey maps , and SWOTs .

A business model canvas is defined as an organizational tool that helps visualize the development of a potential business model. It describes the components required to successfully take a business to market.

The end goal of using a business model canvas is to gain a better understanding of a target customer base, how to drive a profit, and how to deliver a unique value proposition. These are some of the key components to using a business model canvas and must be defined in order to achieve a successful go-to-market strategy.

Business model canvases are an effective alternative to the traditional method of documenting a business plan, which is usually presented in long multi-page documents.

These templates make the core elements of a business plan more palatable and easy to understand while providing quick visualizations of these pieces of information. When used through an online whiteboard like IdeaScale Whiteboard , it also enables collaboration on these items, inherently making the results more accurate and informed.

The Business Model Canvas consists of nine building blocks, each representing a critical aspect of a business:

• Customer Segments: Identifying the specific groups of customers or market segments a business aims to serve.
• Value Proposition: Describing the unique value or benefits that the business offers to its target customers.
• Channels: Explaining the methods and channels used to reach and interact with customers to deliver the value proposition.
• Customer Relationships: Outlining the type of relationships and interactions the business establishes and maintains with its customers.
• Revenue Streams: Identifying the sources of revenue and how the business plans to generate income from its customers.
• Key Resources: Listing the essential assets, skills, and resources required to operate the business.
• Key Activities: Identifying the critical tasks and actions the business must perform to deliver its value proposition and generate revenue.
• Key Partnerships: Describing any external entities or organizations that the business collaborates with to strengthen its business model.
• Cost Structure: Detailing the costs and expenses incurred in operating the business.

Once you completely understand why to use a business model canvas, it’s time to dive into the methodology behind each step. In this section, we will explain how to properly plan for success on a business model canvas .

1. Key Partners

Questions to ask: “What are your key partners to getting a competitive advantage?”

This question prods at the possible strategic partnerships to align your business with in order to gain an advantage over the competition. This could be certain people, other companies, or any type of collaborative partnership.

It’s important to consider partnerships when developing a business plan because they will eventually not only come in handy but be necessary for the growth and publicity of the business. They can also serve as an early advantage and can push a small business forward at exponential levels.

2. Key Resources

Questions to ask: What resources are needed to make your idea work? If you don’t already have these resources, what steps can be taken to obtain them?

Resources are one of the biggest drivers of change within a business, and it’s important to recognize which resources you have and which resources you need. By thinking about the resources you need to create a business, you tangentially focus on the steps that need to be taken in order to get it off the ground. The resources play directly into that and will affect how you are able to strategically create your plan.

3. Key Activities

Questions to ask: What activities will your business enable for customers?

This is effectively where you detail the product/service that is being provided. When thinking about what activities your business enables or improves, you are inherently thinking about the customer’s journey and what they will experience as a user.

The product/service that users interact with will be the driving force for the entire business, so it’s important to have a solid understanding of what this will be and how exactly they will use it. While thinking about the product/service is important, you should also think about the activities that are made possible as an extension of your business. These could be tangential actions or actions done in collaboration with other businesses. All of these scenarios are examples of how your business enables and improves other activities.

4. Key Propositions

Questions to ask: What is your unique value proposition? What do you bring to your customer’s lives that weren’t present before? How do you make their life/job easier?

The value proposition should be one of the most fleshed-out details of the entire business model because it is the core reason for creating the business. Without a value proposition, there is no meaning behind the business and customers will not feel like they can identify and find loyalty with your brand.

The value proposition should be something that is both in demand and unique. It doesn’t have to be an entirely unique idea, but it does have to have some kind of defining feature to make it stand out. This gives customers a reason to use your product/service over another. Because of the importance and centrality of the entire business model, the unique value proposition should be one of the most descriptive and prioritized sections of the template.

5. Customer Relationships

Questions to ask: How will you manage interactions with your current and potential customers? How will you get your value proposition across to them?

Building and maintaining customer relationships is key to a successful business plan, and thinking about these interactions in advance is greatly helpful in communicating your team goals and expectations. It can be easy to assume customer interactions will happen naturally, but especially when starting a business there has to be a strong push to facilitate these interactions.

It’s equally important to think about how you will allow your value proposition to shine through in these instances. This unique element to your business is ideally what will attract new customers and provide demand to those who are currently using your product/service. It’s important to think about ways to provide this information when planning your interactions so that your customers understand your special features.

6. Channels

Questions to ask: How are you going to reach your customers? What channels of communication will you utilize?

For this point, think about the various ways you will plan to reach your customers. This could be through direct outreach, word of mouth, blog posting, advertising, or any other medium. These outlets will generate different unique interactions with different customer bases and should be considered to optimize your outreach.

7. Customer Segments

Questions to ask: Who is your business targeting? Describe your target audience in a few words.

This section is meant to highlight the specific persona that your business is targeting. Think about the profile that defines your target audience, and write these details in a couple of notes.

This is arguably one of the most important sections in the business model canvas because this principal user will define your entire strategy and method of outreach. They are the end goal of the business plan and many of your features will eventually be catered to their needs. It can be smart to pair this part of the template with a Persona Map in order to gain the deepest understanding of your principal user that you possibly can.

8. Cost Structure

Questions to ask: What are you planning to spend on marketing and product development? Are you planning to charge for your product/service?

The final two points are meant to be logistic markers for how you plan to operate the financials of your business plan. Firstly, you must think about the marketing, development, and advertising costs of creating your business. These can be fixed or dynamic depending on how you want to set up your business. Next, think about the pricing structure of your product/service. Will it be a SaaS service? Will people pay for it or will it be free? These are important things to consider when thinking about your business’s cost structure.

9. Revenue Streams

Questions to ask: Where will the money come from? How will these revenue streams drive profits?

Revenue streams are effectively how your business makes a profit and the exact location of where this money comes from. Mainly, it should be coming from a point detailed in the cost structure (how you charge for your product/service). Think about the specific cost structure and how that will end up driving a profit for your business.

Learn more: What is Lean Canvas?

Here are five explanations of how the Business Model Canvas can be applied to various types of businesses:

1. E-commerce Business

• Customer Segments: Online shoppers, B2B buyers, wholesale customers.
• Value Proposition: Wide product selection, convenience, fast shipping, competitive pricing.
• Channels: Utilizing online platforms including the website, mobile application, social media, and email marketing.
• Customer Relationships: Self-service, automated support, personalized recommendations.
• Key Activities: Inventory management, online marketing, website maintenance.
• Key Resources: E-commerce platform, warehouse, delivery partners.
• Key Partners: Suppliers, payment processors, and delivery companies.
• Revenue Streams: Product sales, subscription fees, advertising.

2. Software as a Service (SaaS) Company

• Customer Segments: Small businesses, enterprises, educational institutions.
• Value Proposition: Scalable cloud-based software, cost-effective solutions, and regular updates.
• Channels: Website, free trials, sales team, online communities.
• Customer Relationships: Online support, account managers, knowledge base.
• Key Activities: Software development, customer onboarding, support and updates.
• Key Resources: Development team, servers, customer data.
• Key Partners: Cloud service providers, integration partners, and resellers.
• Revenue Streams: Subscription fees, premium features, consulting services.

3. Restaurant Business

• Customer Segments: Locals, tourists, event planners, food delivery services.
• Value Proposition: Delicious cuisine, welcoming ambiance, special events.
• Channels: Physical location, online reservations, food delivery apps.
• Customer Relationships: In-person service, reservation systems, loyalty programs.
• Key Activities: Food preparation, staff training, marketing, event hosting.
• Key Resources: Kitchen equipment, skilled chefs, dining space.
• Key Partners: Local suppliers, food delivery platforms, and event organizers.
• Revenue Streams: Food and beverage sales, event hosting fees, catering services.

4. Subscription Box Service

• Customer Segments: Subscription box enthusiasts, gift buyers, and niche hobbyists.
• Value Proposition: Curated selection, surprise factor, convenience.
• Channels: Website, social media, influencer partnerships.
• Customer Relationships: Subscription management, customization options, feedback loops.
• Key Activities: Product curation, packaging, logistics, and customer support.
• Key Resources: Product suppliers, subscription management software, warehouse.
• Key Partners: Product suppliers, shipping companies, influencers.
• Revenue Streams: Subscription fees, one-time purchases, affiliate marketing.

5. Freemium Mobile App

• Customer Segments: Casual users, power users, and businesses.
• Value Proposition: Free basic functionality, premium features, and convenience.
• Channels: App stores, social media, referral programs.
• Customer Relationships: In-app support, user communities, push notifications.
• Key Activities: App development, updates, user data analysis.
• Key Resources: Development team, user data, servers.
• Key Partners: App stores, advertisers, third-party integrations.
• Revenue Streams: In-app purchases, advertising, premium subscriptions.

These are just a few examples of how the Business Model Canvas can be used to describe different types of businesses. The canvas can be customized and adapted to fit the specific needs and characteristics of any business model.

Learn more: 4 Key Business Model Canvas Advantages

In the Business Model Canvas, the “Channels” component refers to the various ways a business reaches and interacts with its customers in order to deliver its value proposition. It encompasses the distribution and communication methods used to make products or services accessible to the target market. Channels can be both physical and digital, and they play a crucial role in shaping the overall business model. Here are some common examples of channels:

• Direct Sales: The business sells its products or services directly to customers through its own sales team or physical stores. For example, a luxury jewelry brand may operate high-end boutiques to sell its products directly to customers.
• Online Sales: Products or services are sold through an e-commerce website or mobile app. For instance, Amazon and eBay primarily operate through online sales channels.
• Retail Stores: Businesses may use physical retail stores, such as supermarkets, malls, or specialty shops, to sell their products directly to customers.
• Wholesale: Businesses may sell their products in bulk to other businesses (wholesalers or distributors), who then resell them to retailers or end consumers.
• Franchise: Franchise businesses utilize a network of franchisees who operate their own outlets, using the parent company’s brand and business model. Examples include fast-food chains like McDonald’s and Subway.
• Marketplaces: These are platforms that connect buyers and sellers. Examples include Amazon Marketplace, eBay, and Etsy, where individual sellers list and sell products to a broader audience.

• App Stores: Mobile app stores like the Apple App Store and Google Play Store provide a platform for businesses to distribute and sell mobile applications directly to users.
• Agent/Broker: Intermediaries, such as real estate agents or insurance brokers, help connect buyers with sellers and facilitate transactions.
• Social Media: Social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram can serve as channels for businesses to reach customers, advertise products, and interact with their audience.
• Subscription Services: Businesses may use subscription models, such as streaming services like Netflix, to provide content or access to their products or services on a regular basis.
• Content Marketing: Businesses create valuable content to attract and engage potential customers. This can include blogs, videos, and podcasts distributed through websites or social media.
• Events and Trade Shows: Participating in industry-specific events and trade shows can be an effective channel to showcase products, generate leads, and network with potential customers.
• Telecommunications: Businesses can use phone and email channels to communicate with customers, provide customer support, and even take orders.
• Third-Party Platforms: Businesses may leverage third-party platforms and marketplaces, such as Airbnb or Uber, to reach a wider audience without having to create their own platform from scratch.
• Brick-and-Click: A combination of physical and digital channels, where customers can shop both in physical stores and online, with features like in-store pickup and online ordering.

The choice of channels depends on the nature of the business, the target audience, and the specific industry. Effective channel selection is essential for reaching and engaging with customers to deliver the value proposition and generate revenue. Businesses may use multiple channels in a multi-channel strategy to optimize their market reach and customer experience.

Learn more: What is Mind Map?

In the Business Model Canvas, “Key Resources” refers to the essential assets, capabilities, and infrastructure that a business needs to create, deliver, and capture value. These resources are fundamental to the business model and help define the core competencies and advantages of the company. The key resources vary depending on the type of business and industry, but here are some common examples:

1. Physical Assets:

• Manufacturing facilities
• Equipment and machinery
• Inventory and stock
• Real estate and facilities

2. Intellectual Property:

• Trademarks, patents, and copyrights
• Proprietary technology or software
• Trade secrets and know-how

3. Human Resources:

• Skilled employees and management
• Expertise and specialized knowledge
• Training and development programs

4. Financial Resources:

• Capital and funding
• Lines of credit or loans
• Cash reserves

5. Networks and Partnerships:

• Strategic alliances and partnerships
• Supplier relationships
• Distribution networks

6. Brand and Reputation:

• Brand recognition and reputation
• Customer loyalty
• Positive reviews and testimonials

7. Customer Data:

• Customer databases and profiles
• Market research and customer insights
• Feedback and analytics

8. Technological Infrastructure:

• Data centers and server infrastructure
• Software and IT systems
• Communication networks

9. Distribution and Logistics:

• Supply chain and logistics networks
• Transportation and delivery resources
• Warehousing and storage facilities

10. Unique Processes:

• Proprietary production processes
• Innovative research and development methods
• Efficient operational procedures

11. Reputation and Trust:

• Strong relationships with stakeholders
• Regulatory approvals and certifications
• A track record of reliability and quality

12. Content and Intellectual Capital:

• A library of content (e.g., books, music, videos)
• Expertise in a particular domain
• Educational materials or courses

13. Legal and Regulatory Permissions:

• Licenses and permits to operate
• Compliance with industry regulations
• Exclusive rights to operate in a certain region

14. Geographical Presence:

• Strategic locations or access to specific markets
• Regional or global presence
• Local knowledge and connections

15. Physical Locations:

• Retail stores, offices, or service centers
• Pop-up shops or event spaces
• Showrooms or experience centers

Selecting and managing key resources effectively is critical for the success of a business. These resources support the business model’s value proposition, help it achieve a competitive advantage, and enable the efficient operation of the business. The specific combination of key resources can vary widely depending on the business’s industry, strategy, and objectives.

Learn more: Lean Canvas vs. Business Model Canvas

Using a business model canvas is one of the best ways to create a comprehensive business plan, and as we’ve shown, is only made better by using an online whiteboard. If you want to see more IdeaScale Whiteboard content make sure to check out our guest-written blog posts on Lander and TryMyUI blogs.

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Vizologi is a platform powered by artificial intelligence that searches, analyzes and visualizes the world’s collective business model intelligence to help answer strategic questions, it combines the simplicity of business model canvas with the innovation power of mash-up method .

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The Business Model Canvas: A Quick How-To Guide

Every company is a story. Anyone looking to invest in a company will need to know this story. The Business Model Canvas is one popular format for presenting your company’s story. Let’s take a look.

A canvas for your business model

Your company story isn’t a marketing ploy: it does not need to be new, innovative, or made-up. In fact, you already have your company story—it’s your business model. The business model canvas is one framework for sharing your story, or business model, with potential investors.

This strategic management framework was first developed by Alexander Osterwalder in the mid-2000s. While the original canvas is applicable to any business, regardless of size, history, or budget, additional canvases have popped up in various niches.

The simplicity of the business model canvas is what makes it so successful. The canvas is plain, looking much like a billboard or whiteboard. It’s comprised of nine criteria that express the important character traits for your business’ story, ranging from who you know to how you make money to what you have. The canvas acts as an advertisement to attract business investors or other founders.

There are several benefits of using this framework:

• Simplicity. This single, straightforward sheet means there’s no filler. Your canvas highlights the basics of your business, so you should already know the answers to most of these. The compiling of information might be overwhelming, but the business model canvas ensures a simple process.
• Customer focused. Your canvas shows how you think about and interact with your customer, and it can help expose any weaknesses.
• For any company. Whether you’re a one-person start up or part of a multi-national company, the business model canvas works.

Know your audience: 3 tips

Before we explore the nine criterion of your canvas, it’s important to consider your audience when creating a canvas. Your audience is potential investors, and these three tips will help strengthen your business model canvas.

When creating a canvas, you should assume these things about your audience:

• They are smarter than you. Be clear, be concise. There is no reason for great exposition. This is a place to create a bullet point list for the reasons why you’ll succeed. Let the audience see the data and piece it together.
• They see through your mask. There is a little room for embellishment—after all, you want to stand out. But too much embellishing can kill a project because your audience can see it. There is a fine line between confidence and foolishness, and if you can’t tell the difference, stick to talking straight.
• They hope you are The One. Your audience wants, more than anything, for you to succeed. They want to find a good match. They do not take the time to listen and read these just because they enjoy critiquing everything that passes over their desk. They enjoy the thrill of finding The One.

9 criteria of the business model canvas

The nine criteria are subsets of four major categories in the business model canvas:

Infrastructure

Each major category is comprised of one or a few criterion.

This section is all about the things you need— people, processes, technology, and partners —to run your business.

• Key activities. What does your business do? Are you managing large software teams? Do you have to manage a large supply chain? These are activities essential to the business. If your business is a salon, for examples, your key activities might be hiring and training staff, cutting and styling hair, opening and closing the shop, sending emails and offers, and making thank you cards to improve customer relations.
• Key resources. These are the things you need to perform your key activities, in order to create value . The key resources of a salon are staff, a physical location, marketing, and customers. Which resources do you have that are unique to you and give you an advantage? It might be an excellent 3-year contract on a prime downtown property because its owner had to sell quickly. It could be that you get discounted hair products from the manufacturer because you worked there for 15 years or negotiated a deal.
• Partner network. These are people in your network who can help you. People reading your business model canvas like to see that you are not a lone wolf, starting from scratch. They want to see you have support. They want to see that they are not the only ones who are signing up to help your business succeed. The partner network is the place to brag about who you know. These can be team members, suppliers, marketing avenues, etc. Anyone who is on board to contribute to the business.

This section explores the value you offer.

• Value proposition. Your value proposition is the most important component of any business. Why are you valuable? If the business provides no value, then, why? Why should anyone buy into it? Why should anyone support it? Why does anyone need it? This value needs to be directed at who your business serves in the marketplace. The proposition is not why you are valuable to the readers and the investors. The value needs to be directed at who your business targets. Google helps people find things they wish to know. Apple makes elegant, simple products designed to work out of the box. Your salon cuts and styles people’s hair.

This section is all about your customers: whether, where, and how you talk to them and they buy from you.

• Customer segments. These are the people to purchase your product. It is helpful to think of your first customer. In the end, you may want everyone to be a customer, but, right now, who will be the first person to buy your product? Customer segmentation can be categorized by demographic, geography, social class, financial class, personalities, etc.
• Channels. How do you meet your customers? Do you go to them? Do they come to you? Channels could be Twitch.tv for a media platform. It could be a writing contest for a Hack-A-Thon. It could be the business location for a coffee shop. It could be a website for a microservice. It could be engineers’ Twitter accounts for any software company. The channel is a pathway of communication that links a community to the business.
• Customer relationships. What kind of relationship do you want to have with your customer? What is the relationship’s nature? Transactional, personal, automated, self-service, community oriented. A vending machine is self-service. Major cloud providers are mostly self-service. They lack in support so much that other companies can be built entirely around providing customer service for their platform. Other cloud providers are popping up, too, whose business’ value proposition is that they have phone-call customer service—a unique value for certain categories of customers.

The finances section really wants to know your income statement. What are your costs and how do you bring in money?

• Cost structure. What are your company’s costs? Income statements do a good job of putting expenses into operating expenses and capital expenses , and that can serve as a good model for this part of the canvas. Operating expenses are the day-to-day costs of doing business. At the salon, it would be largely labor costs for hiring stylists to cut hair. Capital expenditures would be costs associated with stocking shelves with hair products, rent costs, and electricity costs.
• Revenue streams. Finally, how does your company make money? The salon makes money by cutting and styling hair. They maintain a register to sell hair products. Maybe they create distinctions in their stylist offerings and do normal cuts, styled cuts, perms, colorings, and events like weddings or model shoots.

Spend some time on the canvas: make it flow, edit each section, and present your company with a complete story.

Additional resources

For more on strategic business planning and aligning technology to your business, browse our BMC Business of IT Blog or check out these articles:

• What Is “IT-Business Alignment”?
• Introduction to Business Process Management (BPM)
• Why Business Value is Key to IT Success
• What is Technology Business Management? TBM Explained

How to evolve IT to drive digital business success

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These postings are my own and do not necessarily represent BMC's position, strategies, or opinion.

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Original text

The Business Model Canvas (BMC) is a one-page visual framework for planning, developing, and testing the business model(s) of an organization. While AN IMPORTANT strategic management tool, utilizing the BMC alone MAY NOT BE SUFFICIENT TO HELP you clearly identify areas of improvement, and develop the tangible steps crucial to the growth of your business.

The Business Model Canvas PLUS  is a  unique  21st Century business management tool that takes the 9 building blocks of the BMC further by  identifying strategies to implement  key areas of improvement, developing concrete action steps, and prioritizing them.

Presented by the developers of the Business Model Canvas PLUS, Bob Kerwin and Joe Whitaker will guide you through the essential next steps of your business model planning so you can grow your company efficiently and profitably.

An Easier Way to Prepare Your Business Plan -The Business Model Canvas The Business Model Canvas (BMC) is a one-page business plan that allows you to test and validate the key parts of your business in a manageable format.

The Startup Roadmap: Business Plan or Business Model Canvas? In this module of the Startup Roadmap, you’ll create a business plan that maps out a detailed blueprint for getting to your goal of owning a business.

Copyright © 2023 SCORE Association, SCORE.org

Funded, in part, through a Cooperative Agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration. All opinions, and/or recommendations expressed herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the SBA.

Business Model Canvas Workshop

The Business Model Canvas (BMC) from Strategyzer is a simple, visual tool that maps out the nine key areas that are essential to any project, initiative, or business. This workshop guides a group through the BMC and provides space for ideation, reflection and feedback.

Created by SessionLab

• Time: 6 hours
• Participants: 2 - 20
• Difficulty: Medium
• Facilitators: 1-2
• Work through and complete the Business Model Canvas template from Strategyzer
• Develop a strong understanding of the BMC, with space to discuss and explore each section as a group
• Present ideas and get feedback from the group
• Have a concrete idea of next steps for your completed business model

When should this session be delivered?

By thinking through and completing the nine sections of a BMC, early stage change-makers, like entrepreneurs and intrepreneurs, not only design their business model but also answer the fundamental questions any business must solve.

The BMC enables people to temporarily separate themselves from their idea and adopt a bird’s eye view of how things will work, in practice.

While BMCs are extremely helpful to flesh out ideas at the earliest stages of development, they can also bring much value even when the project or business already exists.

By thinking through the nine essential areas of the BMC, aspiring entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs gain the traction to experiment and take progressive steps toward bringing their ideas to life.

Based upon Strategyzer’s Business Model Canvas. Utilized under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0

Download the Business Model Canvas here: https://www.strategyzer.com/canvas/business-model-canvas

Who can facilitate it?

Facilitators and team leads are ideally positioned to run this Business Model Canvas workshop. If you have experience starting a business, developing a go to market strategy or are otherwise experienced in running or developing businesses, that can be a massive help! 

You can run this workshop offline or online by using on online whiteboard and a virtual meeting space such as Zoom. We recommend bringing a co-facilitator or tech support to get the most from your session. 

Design your next workshop with SessionLab

Join the 150,000 facilitators using SessionLab

• Business Model Canvas: A Complete Guide

Featured in:

A business model describes how a company creates, delivers and captures value. Everyone has their unique way of viewing the business model. During discussions about this, there has been an increasing need for an uniform template to define and discuss the business model. This template should be applicable to new and old businesses alike, across industries.

© Flickr | marcfonteijn

In this article we will look at 1) what is a business model canvas? , 2) the traditional approach to a business model , 3) the 9 building blocks , 4) why to use the business model canvas , and 5) applying the business model canvas .

WHAT IS A BUSINESS MODEL CANVAS?

The Business Model Canvas , developed by Alexander Osterwalder, is a visual representation of current or new business models, generally used by strategic managers. The Canvas provides a holistic view of the business as a whole and is especially useful in running a comparative analysis on the impact of an increase in investment may have on any of the contributing factors.

The Business Model Canvas gives people a common language through which they can evaluate traditional processes and bring innovation into their business models.

THE TRADITIONAL APPROACH TO A BUSINESS MODEL

Most startups fail because entrepreneurs put all their faith in the idea of the product the organization exists to create. In their loyalty to this product or service, they fail to give in depth consideration to the business model their organization will follow. Usually the business model is either a one-size-fits-all model, common in the industry or it is a random amalgamation of systems and processes, created at the spur of the moment to further the main goal; sell the product or service.

Successful new ventures do not go to market with their first idea; instead, the product/ service has usually gone through several iterations before arriving at the final version. Similarly, organizations are more sustainable if they have considered several business models before deciding on a particular one.

THE 9 BUILDING BLOCKS

The Business Model Canvas categorizes the processes and internal activities of a business into 9 separate categories , each representing a building block in the creation of the product or service. These categories represent the four major aspects of a business; customers, offer, infrastructure, as well as financial viability. All 9 categories are listed and explained below.

1. Customer Segments

The total customer pie is divided into segments based on the manner in which an organization’s products or services address a specific need for the segment. The customer segment is an essential part of an organization’s business model and is key to ensuring that the product features are aligned with the segments characteristics and needs.

To carry out an effective customer segmentation, a company must first know its customers, both through their current and future needs. Then the organization must list its customers in terms of priority, including a list of potential future customers. Finally, the company should do a thorough assessment of its customers by understanding their strengths and weaknesses and exploring other kinds of customers who may benefit the company more if they are to focus on them.

Various customer segments are as below;

• Mass Market : An organization opting for this type of customer segment gives itself a wide pool of potential customers because it feels that its product is a relevant need amongst the general population. A potential product for such an organization could be Flour.
• Niche Market : This customer segment is based on highly specific needs and unique traits of its clients. An example of an organization with a niche customer segment is Louis Vitton
• Segmented : Organizations adopting the segmented approach create further segmentation in their main customer segment based on slight variations in the customer’s demographics and resultantly, their needs.
• Diversify : An organization with a Diversified Market Segment is flexible in the iterations of its product or service tweaking it to suit the needs of segments with dissimilar needs or traits.
• Multi-Sided Platform/ Market : This kind of segment serves customers who have a relationship to each other, i.e. blogging sites need a large group of active bloggers to attract advertisers. And they need advertisers to create cash flow. Hence, only by creating a pull with both segments will the blogging site be able to have a successful business model

2. Value Propositions

An organization’s value proposition is the combination of products and services it provides to its customers. Osterwalder stated that these offerings need to be unique and easily differentiated from competition. Value propositions can be divided into two categories:

• Quantitative : this stresses the price or efficiency of the product or service
• Qualitative : this value proposition highlights the experience and results the product and its use, produce.

The value proposition provides value through a number of attributes such as customization, performance, “getting the job done”, brand/ status, design, newness, price, cost and risk reduction, accessibility, as well as convenience/ usability.

When creating your product’s value proposition, the first question an entrepreneur must ask himself is, what problem he is solving through his offered product or service. Then one needs to look into how the product, service or overall experience can be improved so that it provides greater value than the competition. Finally, it is imperative to identify the core value that your business provides. One way to identify this value is for an owner to specify what he/ she wants customers to remember about their interaction with the company.

3. Channels

The medium through which an organization provides its value proposition to its customer segment is known as a channel. There are various options for channels available to an organization, and the selection is based on the channel that is the quickest, most efficient with the least amount of investment required. There are two basic kinds of channels; Company owned channels such as store fronts or Partner Channels such as Distributors. A company can opt to choose either one or employ a combination of both.

For an entrepreneur, the first step in dealing with channels is to identify the customer channels. Touch points with customers can be limited or diverse depending on company strategy. Then he/ she needs to evaluate the strength of the channel by conducting an SWOT analysis on the channel. Finally, the company can identify and build new customer channels.

4. Customer Relationships

An organization must select the kind of relationship it will have with its customer segment in order to create financial success and sustainability. Customer Relationships can be categorized as follows;

• Personal Assistance : In this kind of relationship the company interacts with the customer directly through an employee who provides the human touch by assisting the customer presale, during the sale and even may provide after sales services.
• Dedicated Personal Assistance : This kind of relationship is characterized by a very close interaction between the customer and the company through a dedicated representative who is assigned a set of clients and is personally responsible for the entire experience the customer has with the company.
• Self-Service : Self-Service places the onus of the customer experience on the tools the company provides for the customer to serve him or herself.
• Automated Services : These are customized self-service relationships where the historical preference of the customer is taken into account to improve the overall experience.
• Communities : In today’s electronic age creating communities of clients allows organizations to communicate with them directly. This allows for an enhanced client experience because the community allows clients to share their experiences and come up with common challenges and solutions.
• Co-creation : The customer has a direct hand in the form the company’s product or service will take.

For an entrepreneur, the priority is to identify the type of relationship he/ she has with the customer. Then the value of the customer must be evaluated in terms of the frequency of his expenditure on the firms product and services. Loyal customers are relationships that the company should aim to invest in as they will yield steady revenue throughout the year.

5. Revenue Streams

A revenue stream is the methodology a company follows to get its customer segments to buy its product or service. A revenue stream can be created through the following ways;

• Asset Sale : the company sells the right of ownership over the good to the customer.
• Usage Fee : the company charges the customer for the use of its product or service.
• Subscription Fee : the company charges the customer for the regular and consistent use of its product or service.
• Lending/ Leasing/ Renting : the customer pays to get exclusive access to the product for a time-bound period.
• Licensing : the company charges for the use of its intellectual property.
• Brokerage Fees : companies or individuals that act as an intermediary between two parties charge a brokerage fee for their services.
• Advertising : a company charges for others to advertise their products using their mediums.

When setting up revenue streams, it is important to recognize that an effective price for the product and/or service will be arrived at through the process of elimination. Different iterations of prices should be listed and evaluated. It is important, in the end to take a break ad reflect on possible avenues open to you as a business.

6. Key Resources

These are the assets of the organization fundamental to how it provides value to its customers. Resources can be categorized as human, financial, physical and intellectual.

For an entrepreneur, it is important to begin with listing your resources. This gives you a clear idea of what final product or service your company needs to create for the customer and which resources are dispensable, resulting in cost savings for your company. Once the final list of resources is available, the company can decide on how much it needs to invest in these key resources to operate a sustainable business.

7. Key Activities

Activities that are key to producing the company’s value proposition. An entrepreneur must start by listing the key activities relevant to his/her business. These activities are the most important processes that need to occur for the business model to be effective. Key activities will coincide with revenue streams. Now it is important to evaluate which activities are key by adding or removing some and evaluating their impact.

8. Key Partnerships

To create efficient, streamlined operations and reduce risks associated with any business model, an organization forms partnerships with its high-quality suppliers . Key partnerships are the network of suppliers and partners who complement each other in helping the company create its value proposition. Partnerships can be categorized as follows;

• Strategic alliance between competitors (also known as coopetition),
• Joint ventures and
• Relationships between buyers and suppliers.

An entrepreneur must begin by identifying its key partners followed by making future partnership plans. This can be done through an evaluation of the partnership relationship to judge which characteristics of the relationship need improvement and what kind of future partnerships will be required.

9. Cost Structure

This defines the cost of running a business according to a particular model. Businesses can either be cost driven i.e. focused on minimizing investment into the business or value driven i.e. focused on providing maximum value to the customer.

Following are some traits of common cost structures;

• Fixed Costs : costs that remain the same over a period of time
• Variable Costs : as the name suggests, these costs vary according to a variance in production
• Economies of Scale : costs decrease as production increases
• Economies of Scope : costs are decreased by investing in businesses related to the core product.

The first step for an entrepreneur is to obviously identify all costs associated with the business. A realistic understanding of the costs of the business is one of the hallmarks of a good business model. After identification, it is important to list all the costs on the canvas, so they are visually present and then create plans for each cost. Some costs may be decreased through certain measures while others may go up if you decide that an investment in a particular section will result in future gains.

WHY TO USE THE BUSINESS MODEL CANVAS

• Visual Thinking: The tool allows for easy, visual representation for decision makers to ponder upon. The tool provides a neat breakdown of the major considerations impacting the business and also makes clear the direction the organization is taking through its business model.
• Iterate Quickly: If a poster sized of the canvas printout is taken, it can be used in combination with sticky notes for executives to evaluate current and potential tweaks in the business model and their impact.
• Grasp the relationship between the 9 blocks: The Business Model Canvas allows the executive team to understand how the 9 building blocks relate to each other and the different ways these relationships can be changed to increase efficiency or effectiveness. An opportunity or innovation can be spotted through the use of this tool.
• Short and Succinct: The tool encourages teams to keep their suggestions short and simple enough to fit on post-it notes.
• Easy to circulate: The tool allows easy access and sharability. Pictures of the completed canvas or simply physically passing it around so people can grasp its gist as well as add to it, if need be, make the Canvas a very portable and convenient tool.

APPLYING THE BUSINESS MODEL CANVAS

The biggest Business Model success story is Apple . Apple was a game changer when it introduced the iPod to the world. Through iTunes, Apple integrated device, software and an online store into an experience that set the music industry on its ear.

Even though Apple was in no way the first entrant into the mp3 player market, its unique and well-executed business model ensured lasting success. This business model was in essence the seamless coming together of the key components of the business model canvas to leverage its distinctive value proposition. Apple has lasting partnerships through the deals it negotiated with music producers so it could sell their music through its store.

Apple revenue stream comes from the sale of its iPods. However, the added benefit of the online store creates a package that competitors have been hard pressed to match.

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• Product Management

Business Model Canvas Explained – a One-Page Business Plan

Earlier, we blogged about the lean canvas* – a startup-friendly idea validation tool . Now, we want to pay tribute to the solution that underlies it – the business model canvas**. So, let’s talk about a sort of a business plan that you can scale in a one-page table.

Here is a short intro to the business model canvas framework. It is the brainchild of Alexander Osterwalder. He offered it as an alternative to the business plan, which he considered a time-waster. The idea was to single out the crucial components of a company that are required to make money. Thus, you get nine sections on the canvas to fill in with relevant data.

Hard to believe, but this document can replace pages of analytics and formulas. And that’s just one of the advantages if we compare business model canvas vs. business plan . What else does this tool have to offer?

Why entrepreneurs love business model canvas

Time-efficient and flexible.

Time is one of the most precious assets in the business world. And Osterwalder’s tool helps you use it efficiently. All the elements of business model canvas are easy-to-understand of what to be filled in. We do not promise you will have a handle on it within 20 minutes or less. But within a few hours, you’ll get an aggregated break up of what you need to generate revenue. Moreover, once it is done, you can and most likely will update the canvas over time. Business plans won’t grant you such flexibility.

Risk-identifying

The canvas provides you with input data to identify risks at an early stage. You can measure most of the bottlenecks to build a high-performance growth strategy. This is not a guarantee to avoid failure. But you’ll know your weak points and be able to pivot if needed.

Value-centered

Of all the business model canvas elements, Value Propositions are pivotal. It tells you why your business exists and what value it delivers. We can say that the entire business model canvas is built around this section. As a result, you get a wide scope of jobs to be done and versatile supporting inputs. You won’t find any irrelevant data on the canvas. The graphical design beacons essential information required to grow your business.

Self-intuitive

The tool is very intuitive. Some users don’t even need the business model canvas explained to start working with it. Indeed, you don’t have to be a genius to get the hang of it. Moreover, the canvas is built using a common language. This makes it easy-to-understand by both internal and external stakeholders.

By the way, we are hiring. Check out our job openings.

How to get started with the business model canvas?

Now, it’s time to shift from product-centric thinking towards business model ideation. We’ll explain how to fill in the components of business model canvas step by step. So, try out the flow yourself using this editable template by Mural . Also, you can download the canvas from Strategyzer .

In our video, we used Uber to explain the lean canvas . Let’s pick this company here as well to display real-life examples.

Customer Segments

Alexander recommends you to start with this section. Try to figure out who is the most important customer you’re delivering value to. The Persona method can help you create an imaginary representation of user categories. As an outcome, you’ll get a list of segments or Personas.

Feel free to spend much time on Customer Segments. Similarly to a lean methodology perspective, this section, together with Value Propositions, calls the shots of the entire canvas. For Uber, we have two categories of users – drivers and passengers. In this case, you may build two separate canvases per each one.

Answer to : Who do you deliver the value to?

Domain knowledge required :

• Market dimensions

Value Propositions

Each Persona has a set of problems or needs that your product/service can solve. And that’s what you need to specify in the Value Propositions section. For this, we advise you to make use of the Jobs To Be Done framework.

Answer to : What problems and needs can you solve with your product?

• Jobs To Be Done

A channel means a communication unit that entrepreneurs use to reach customer segments. If you’re selling your products via a website – that’s one of your channels business model canvas. Other solutions that draw customers’ attention to your products are also channels. These may include search engines and tools, social media, and even word of mouth marketing.

Answer to : Which are the optimum channels to reach your customer segments?

• Market behavior

Customer Relationships

This section defines how you interact with customers. It goes beyond the sale-and-purchase interplay via the Channels. Business model canvas Customer Relationships involve post-sales liaison and feedback. If you use a call center or a chatbot to interact with users, mention them here.

Answer to : Which type of interaction suits best to each customer segment and how much do they cost?

Revenue Streams

Revenue Streams list the ways you use to get money for your product. They mostly derive from mapping Customer Segments to Value Propositions. For example, Uber passengers pay for their ride with a bank card. Uber gets revenue in the form of a ride commission. Other ways that generate money within your product are also revenue streams. These may include different billable add-ons, subscriptions, premium accounts, etc.

Answer to : What exactly do your customers pay for?

• Jobs to be done

Key Activities

Now, the tough part begins. Key Activities cover all the things you need to accomplish to make your business work. For digital products, this involves ongoing product evolution and marketing. These activities, in turn, include recruiting, advertising, etc. If you deliver specific services, this may cover things that refine your propositions. When doing Key Activities business model canvas, take into account other sections you’ve already filled in.

Answer to : What do you need to implement for your business to deliver value to your customers?

Key Resources

Key Resources are the assets you need to run your business at full force. In other words, this is what you can’t do without. Uber rests on a sophisticated technological platform. Also, it requires drivers to complement its value proposition. Services-oriented businesses mostly rely on their staff and expertise.

Answer to : What resources can’t your business propositions do without?

Key Activities:

Key Partners

Now, let’s take a look towards external things that can contribute to your business. Key Partners is the section for this. Here, you need to define all the external stakeholders. We advise you to map them to Key Activities and Key Resources if any. For Uber example, investors can contribute to developing tech platform. Recruiting partners can help with hiring drivers. And so on.

Answer to : Which external stakeholders can contribute to your business?

Key Activities & Resources

Cost Structure

It’s time to strike a balance:) Actually, Cost Structure should tell you what you spend money for. Also, you need to specify prospective costs if your business is growing. This section covers costs for hardware purchases, software development, rental services, and so on.

Answer to : What are you paying for and which costs are most important in your business model?

That’s it. Once you have it done, the next step ahead is business model canvas analysis. You have a broad picture of things in your business and can discover bottlenecks. Also, make sure to share it with stakeholders to refine the content. The canvas is a flexible document, so you should not feel obligated to stick to the first version.

Why entrepreneurs hate business model canvas

A coin always has two opposite sides, unless you’re using Harvey Dent’s lucky coin:) It means that the business model canvas is not a one-size-fits-all tool. And here are some reasons why you may want to abandon it.

• Learning needed You’ve read this business model canvas review and learned the basics on how to fill it in. Some enthusiasts prefer to skip this step and get at working with the canvas right away. If you use it in the wrong context, it may be misleading for your analysis.
• Iterative planning The canvas requires an iterative approach to working with it. It means you have to update it regularly according to the business flow. Using the canvas for linear planning won’t let you experience business model canvas benefits to the full.
• Not full picture The canvas lacks important business facets like existing alternatives, regulatory environment, and others. Planning without them can be a dead-end road. In this regard, the lean canvas offers you broader horizons. So, it’s essential to understand the purpose of the business model canvas. It can be a great augmentation to other business analytical tools you use.
• Too simple Simplicity is not always a benefit. As a rather easy-to-use tool, the business model canvas cannot dive deep in analytics. Generally, it is an actionable communicative tool to get a general overview of the business flow. But, you should not rely on it as a full-fledged analytical tool.

A solid alternative to the Business Model Canvas

It’s clear that the Business Model Canvas has its limitations, even when it’s combined with the Value Proposition Canvas tool. Since neither allows you to delve deep into the context of your product idea, it’s likely that you will need to make use of another tool in order to achieve this.

We recommend using BRIDGeS, an all-in-one tool for flexible idea generation , validation, and selection. When compared directly to the Business Model Canvas, BRIDGeS bears several key advantages, including the fact that it’s versatile, easy to use, and allows for deep context understanding. The framework also gives you the opportunity to analyze a Subject from all angles in order to discover new insights or approaches. By the end of the process, you won’t just have a general overview of the problem you are trying to solve — you’ll have a firm idea of how to move forward with your business/product idea.

To get a better understanding of how BRIDGeS compares to the Business Model Canvas, check out the Uber Case Study.

Not sure if you should try the Business Model Canvas?

We would not pressure you to go with Osterwalder’s canvas. It is a specific tool and not every business can benefit from it. If, however, you’d like to give it a shot, we do advise you to start with the value proposition canvas*** . It’s derived from the business model canvas components – Value Propositions and Customer Segments. At the same time, it lets you understand the value of your product/service from the customer’s standpoint.

If you are a startup founder, BRIDGeS or the Lean Canvas is what you need from the outset. Check out how Amazon, Google, and other big names could have taken advantage of the lean canvas tool earlier. As an all-in-one tool, BRIDGeS can also be beneficial for nailing down your product idea during the early stages of your startup journey. Apart from that, it probably won’t be until your business is up and running that you’ll understand if other discovery tools are a better fit or whether the Business Model Canvas is the way to go.

* Lean Canvas was designed by Ash Maurya, based on the Business Model Canvas designed by Alex Osterwalder, Strategyzer.com , licensed under CC BY SA 3.0.

** Business Model Canvas is designed by Alex Osterwalder, Strategyzer.com , licensed under CC BY SA 3.0.

*** Value Proposition Canvas is designed by Alex Osterwalder,  Strategyzer.com .

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How to use : The Business Model Canvas explained in Few steps

• Vinay Kevadia

It is said that anything worth doing is worth doing well, right? But they also say you need to work smarter, not harder.

When it comes to describing your business model , the two expressions are accurate.

You want to be sure you’re putting in a solid attempt, taking the time to find the right tools, strategies and setting yourself up for success.

But that doesn’t mean that you need to spend countless hours of your day doing this.

Well, let us come to the point, there’s an incredible tool found by Alexander Osterwalder , he has first proposed in his earlier book Business Model Ontology.

It is possible to use the canvas to describe, design, challenge and pivot your business model.

By utilizing the right tools and information gathered from your business, you can make that happen in less time than you think.

Here’s what to do to easily define your business model together with your team using a canvas template:

What is the business model canvas?

It’s a visual representation of new or current business models, typically used by strategy designers and product managers.

The Canvas provides a holistic perspective of the business as a complete and Is particularly helpful in running a comparative analysis on the effect of an increase in investment may have on any of the contributing factors.

The Business Model Canvas gives people a common language through which they can evaluate traditional processes and bring innovation in their business models.

The Canvas includes nine elements and together these elements provide a pretty coherent view of a Business, see them structured on the canvas as follows:

Why do you need a Business Model?

Many startups fail since entrepreneurs put all their faith in the concept of this merchandise the organization exists to make. In their devotion to this item or service, they don’t give in-depth consideration to the business model their company will follow.

Usually, the business model is either a one-size-fits-all model, common in the market or it is a random amalgamation of processes and systems, created at the spur of the moment to further the most important goal; market the products or services .

Successful new ventures don’t go to market with their original idea;

Rather, the product/ service has usually gone through many iterations before arriving at the final version.

Similarly, organizations are more sustainable if they’ve considered several business models before settling on a specific one.

The Business Model Canvas helps firms visualize and position their business models for growth and organizational innovation.

It moves innovation from the theory  stage and into the planning phase.

Advantages of using the Business Model Canvas

It guides your brainstorming session

Some entrepreneurs take Business Model Canvas sheets to meetings and utilize the building blocks to direct brainstorming.

It’s fast

Forget about 40 to 50 pages of the  business plan document .

Value Propositions are constantly at the heart

Value Propositions are the heart of BMC and it’s placed in the center of the canvas.

You all are on the same board

Finally, the BMC makes your crew members understand each other better.

Shifting and progressing

How to use the business model canvas.

Title the purpose of your business , Without a clear purpose, how do we know if a model is great or not?

Start attaching notes on the canvas , Before you start to allow me to tell you, you should stick to some arrangement putting notes beneath the blocks according to your business stage.

Your journey is going to be driven by a listing of questions that will help you brainstorm and compare a number of variations and tips for your next small business model innovation.

CUSTOMER SEGMENTS

For whom are we creating value?

VALUE PROPOSITION

What value do we send to the customer?

Which of our client’s problems are we helping to solve?

What bundle of goods and services are we offering to every Customer Segment?

Through which Channels do our Customer Segments are interested in being reached?

How are we reaching them today?

How are our Stations integrated?

Which ones work best?

Which ones are co-efficient?

CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIPS

Which kind of relationship does each of our Client Segments anticipate us to establish and keep them?

Which have we established?

How are they integrated with the remainder of our business model?

REVENUE STREAMS

For what worth are our clients really willing to pay?

For what exactly do they pay?

How are they currently paying?

How would they prefer to cover?

KEY ACTIVITIES

What Key Activities do our Worth require?

Our Distribution Channels?

Customer Relationships?

KEY RESOURCES

What Key Resources does our Value Proposition require?

Client Relationships?

KEY PARTNERS

Who are our primary partners?

Who will be our key suppliers?

Which crucial Resources are we getting from partners?

COST STRUCTURE

What are the most important costs inherent in our business model?

Which Key Resources are most expensive?

Avoid these common mistakes while using it

You fill it all at once.

There are no prizes being declared to complete it as early as you can.

You fill it once and you’re done

The purpose of using BMC is to understand the difference between phases what exactly does exist and what it could be.

You’re not certain that what you write down

You’re making it cluttered, now it is your turn.

I’ve clarified what’s BMC. And how to use BMC? I believe now you feel confident about getting started with the Business Model Canvas.

To begin with BMC there are two ways you can either go with a pencil and large paper with sticky notes for that you can download a sterile BMC template PDF out of here and print it.

Another way is to use the web-based tool, Try Upmetrics ‘s Canvas Modeling tool , Invite your team and begin putting your thoughts on it.

Please Don’t make those mistakes I have mentioned in the previous section of this article, All the best!

Couple of some common applications where people are using BMC:

Strategic Planning and Development

It acts as a strong communication tool aligning all stakeholders with a shared language,

Performance Monitoring

Competitor analysis.

Competition is not part of your own business version, but what should you draw a business model of the competition?

Customer Analysis

Continuous innovations.

Use it like an idea amassing board to collect and innovate new ideas for your business .

Mergers and acquisitions

The nine-building blocks and the interrelationships between them provide a way to show the key elements of any business model on a single sheet of paper.

It doesn’t matter what is the scale of your organization from a startup with two employees or a Fortune 500 company with over 50,000 employees, It can be used with any size of business organization.

Build your Business Plan Faster

with step-by-step Guidance & AI Assistance.

About the Author

Vinay Kevadiya

Vinay Kevadiya is the founder and CEO of Upmetrics, the #1 business planning software. His ultimate goal with Upmetrics is to revolutionize how entrepreneurs create, manage, and execute their business plans. He enjoys sharing his insights on business planning and other relevant topics through his articles and blog posts. Read more

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Event Planning Business Model Canvas

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Resources On Event Planning

• Financial Model
• Business Plan
• Value Proposition
• One-Page Business Plan
• SWOT Analysis
• Description
• 1. Key Partnerships
• 2. Key Activities
• 3. Key Resources
• 4. Value Propositions
• 5. Customer Relationships
• 6. Channels
• 7. Customer Segments
• 8. Cost Structure
• 9. Revenue Streams

Introduction

Event planning is a lucrative and growing industry, with a rise in demand for professional event management services in recent years. According to the latest market research reports, the global event planning industry is expected to grow at an impressive CAGR of over 10% during the forecast period of 2021-2026. This growth can be attributed to the increasing demand for corporate events, conferences, weddings, and parties, among others, which require professional event planning and management services.

In the US, event planning has become an essential part of the hospitality industry, with many businesses and individuals seeking the services of professional event planners to create memorable events that meet their specific needs and preferences. The most common and popular business model for event planning in the US is the traditional fee-for-service model, which offers clients flexibility in pricing and services offered, as well as the ability to tailor each event to their specific requirements.

• Flexible pricing: Event planners work with clients to determine their specific needs and preferences, and then charge a fee based on the scope and complexity of the event.
• Add-on services: In addition to the fee-for-service model, event planners may also charge for add-on services, such as decor, entertainment, or catering, which can increase their revenue and provide additional value to clients.

As the event planning industry continues to grow and evolve, it is crucial for event planners and businesses to adopt new technologies and develop innovative strategies to stay ahead of the competition. In the following sections, we will explore the different aspects of the event planning business model canvas, including key partnerships, customer segments, revenue streams, and more.

Key Partnerships

In the event planning industry, key partnerships play an integral role in ensuring the successful execution of events. These partnerships are established to provide reliable and high-quality services to clients, increase accessibility to event venues, and offer additional services to enhance event experiences.

• Collaboration with event venues: In order to offer clients the best experience possible, event planning companies often collaborate with event venues to offer package deals. These packages may include venue rental, catering, and entertainment options. Collaboration with event venues ensures that event planners have access to a variety of spaces to fit their clients' preferences and requirements.
• Partnerships with catering companies and entertainers: Event planners often partner with catering companies and entertainers to offer clients add-on services that can enhance their event experience. These partnerships allow event planners to offer a wide array of options to clients, which can help differentiate their business from competitors. Offering additional services such as specialty catering or unique entertainment options can help set event planners apart and provide unique value to clients.
• Relationships with vendors: Establishing relationships with vendors is crucial in the event planning industry. Reliable and high-quality services are often necessary to ensure the success of an event. Therefore, event planners must establish partnerships with vendors that offer reliable and high-quality services. Partnerships with vendors can help streamline the event planning process by providing consistent communication and ensuring that services are delivered on time and as expected.

Overall, key partnerships are essential in the event planning industry. These partnerships allow event planners to offer a variety of services to clients, provide access to event venues, and ensure reliable and high-quality services to enhance the overall event experience.

Key Activities

Event planning involves a range of activities that are crucial for the success of an event. These activities can be grouped into four key areas:

• Meeting with clients: This involves meeting with clients to understand their specific needs, preferences, and goals for the event. This includes coordinating with the client to determine the event’s purpose, scope, budget, and timeline. Understanding the client’s vision is critical for developing a comprehensive plan.
• Designing and planning events: This involves creating a blueprint for the event that includes a detailed schedule, logistics, activities, materials, and themes. The plan should be tailored to the client’s needs and preferences, and should be flexible enough to accommodate changes as needed. A detailed plan ensures that everything runs smoothly and efficiently during the event.
• Coordinating with vendors: Events often require a range of vendors such as caterers, florists, limousine services, photographers, and audio/visual technicians. Coordinating with vendors ensures that everything is delivered on time, to the right location, and in accordance with the client’s expectations. This also involves negotiating prices and contracts when necessary to ensure that the event stays within budget.
• Providing on-site management and support: Ensuring that everything runs smoothly during the event is critical to success. Having staff on-site means that any issues or glitches can be resolved quickly. This includes managing timelines, communicating with vendors and attendees, managing any unexpected problems, and ensuring that the event stays on track.

Overall, these key activities provide a comprehensive framework for an event planner to create a successful event. Ensuring that each activity is managed in a professional, efficient, and effective manner is critical to delivering a high-quality event to clients.

Key Resources

An event planning business requires a wide range of resources to ensure the success of each event. These resources may vary from skills and expertise to tools for communication and information. The following are the key resources necessary for effective event planning:

• Experienced event planners with a wide range of skills and expertise: To provide high-quality event planning services, a business needs to have experienced and skilled event planners. These individuals must have a thorough understanding of event planning, including the different types of events, industry trends, and best practices. These planners should have a broad range of experience in planning events of different scales, such as corporate events, weddings, and parties.
• Strong relationships with vendors and event venues: Successful event planners build strong relationships with a variety of vendors, such as caterers, florists, production companies, and event venues. These relationships make it possible for them to have access to a wide range of resources and ensure that they can provide their clients with unique and memorable event experiences.
• Effective communication and project management tools: Event planning is a complex process that requires effective communication and project management. A business needs to have access to tools such as project management software, customer relationship management systems, and video conferencing software to help them coordinate with clients, vendors, and event attendees effectively.
• Access to industry knowledge and trends: The event planning industry is constantly evolving, and it is essential to stay informed about the latest trends and best practices. A business needs to have access to industry knowledge resources such as conferences, industry publications, and online forums. This information helps them stay ahead of the competition and deliver innovative and exciting event experiences.

Value Propositions

Our event planning business prides itself on providing exceptional value propositions, specifically tailored to meet the needs of our clients. With years of experience in the industry, we have honed our expertise to offer unbeatable features and benefits that create a seamless and enjoyable experience for all involved.

• Flexible pricing and services: We understand that each client has specific needs and budgetary constraints. That's why we offer personalized pricing and service options to fit each unique situation. Whether it's a large corporate event or a small private party, we work with our clients to find the right package for their needs.
• Expertise in designing and planning events: Our team of expert event planners has a wealth of experience in designing, planning, and executing successful events. From logistics and scheduling to custom decor and theming, we take care of all aspects of event planning to ensure a flawless experience for our clients.
• Access to a wide range of add-on services: We partner with a range of trusted service providers to offer add-on services such as decor, entertainment, and catering. Our clients have access to a variety of options to enhance their events and create a truly unique and personalized experience.
• On-site management and support: Our team provides on-site management and support during all events to ensure everything runs smoothly. From ensuring vendors arrive on time to managing the flow of the event, we take care of all the details so our clients can enjoy the event stress-free.

Overall, we believe that our value propositions set us apart from other event planning services. We are committed to working closely with our clients to understand their needs and deliver an exceptional event that exceeds their expectations.

Customer Relationships

Customer relationships are a crucial aspect of an event planning business. Providing exceptional customer service and building long-term relationships with clients is essential for gaining repeat business and referrals. Here are some ways our business will focus on developing positive relationships with clients:

• Building long-term relationships: Our event planning business will focus on building long-lasting relationships with clients to ensure repeat business. We will aim to become a partner in our client's event planning process and help them with all their event needs.
• Personalized attention and support: We will provide personalized attention and support throughout the event planning process to ensure our clients feel valued. We will take the time to understand their needs, preferences, and goals to ensure their event is customized to their liking.
• Professional image: Our business will create a positive and professional image to attract new clients. We will ensure our communication is clear and concise to build trust with our clients. Additionally, our team of experienced event planners will uphold high standards of professionalism throughout the planning process.

By focusing on these aspects, our business will establish strong and lasting relationships with clients, becoming a trusted partner in their event planning journey. This will lead to repeat business and referrals that will ultimately help the business grow and succeed in the highly competitive event planning industry.

Channels refer to the means by which a company communicates with its customers and delivers its products or services. In the case of event planning, there are several channels that can be used to reach potential clients and promote the business. Below are some of the channels that this business model canvas will use:

• Online marketing and advertising: This channel involves using social media, search engine optimization, email marketing, and other online platforms to promote the business and attract potential customers. The company will have a website that showcases its services, testimonials, and contact information.
• Networking and referrals: The event planning business relies heavily on word-of-mouth advertising. The company will attend industry events, trade shows, and conferences to network with potential clients and other industry professionals. Satisfied clients will be encouraged to refer their family and friends to the company’s services.
• Partnerships: The company will form partnerships with event venues and vendors to offer package deals and cross-promotion. By partnering with other players in the industry, the company can create more value for its clients and gain access to new customer segments.

In conclusion, the channels that an event planning business uses to communicate with its customers and deliver its services are critical to its success. By leveraging a mix of online marketing, networking, and partnerships, the business can expand its customer base, increase its revenue, and establish a strong brand reputation.

Customer Segments

When creating a Business Model Canvas for an event planning business, identifying the target customers is crucial. Here are the potential customer segments that an event planning business can target:

• Individuals and Organizations: The primary customer segment for event planning business are individuals or businesses looking to plan events. This can range from weddings, corporate events, fundraisers, or any kind of celebration. Event planners can cater to customers who need help with the complete planning process or those who need assistance only in a particular area.
• Personalized Attention Seekers: The second customer segment is those who value personalized attention and flexibility in event planning services. These customers are looking for an exclusive event that reflects their personality and style. They want an event planner who understands their vision and can create a unique event that meets their requirements.
• Add-on Service Buyers: The third customer segment is clients who are willing to pay for add-on services to enhance their event. If an event planning business can provide services such as DJ, catering, lighting, and photography then it can attract customers who don't have the time or energy to deal with multiple vendors. By offering these add-on services, an event planning business can create an additional revenue stream and differentiate itself from other competitors.

Overall, the customer segments for an event planning business can be divided into three categories: customers who are looking for a complete planning service, customers who want a personal touch, and those who need help with additional services. The key point for success in this area is to identify the target customers clearly and develop services that meet their specific needs.

Cost Structure

When creating a business model canvas for an event planning company, it is important to consider the cost structure. This includes all expenses associated with running the business and providing services to customers.

• Salaries and benefits for event planning staff: This is a major expense for an event planning company as staff members are essential for delivering high-quality events. It is important to factor in salaries, commissions, bonuses, and benefits when creating a budget for the company.
• Office rent and utilities: Event planning companies need a physical office space to meet with clients, store equipment, and plan events. This includes rent, utilities, internet, and other necessary office expenses.
• Marketing and advertising expenses: In order to attract clients, event planning companies must market and advertise their services. This can include social media advertising, website development, and print advertising.
• Technology and software costs for effective communication and project management: Effective communication and project management are crucial for successful event planning. Event planning companies must invest in technology and software tools that help them track timelines, manage tasks, and communicate with clients and vendors.

By carefully considering the cost structure of an event planning company, it is possible to develop a budget that covers all essential expenses while still offering competitive pricing. It is important to regularly review and adjust the cost structure as the business grows and changes over time.

Revenue Streams

When it comes to generating revenue in event planning, there are a few key strategies that can be leveraged. These include:

• Fee-for-service model: This revenue stream is based on the scope and complexity of each event. Clients pay for the services provided by the event planning company, such as venue scouting, vendor management, event design, logistics planning, and on-site management. The fees charged will vary depending on the type of event, the level of customization required, and the amount of work involved. Some event planning companies charge a flat fee for their services, while others charge a percentage of the total event budget.
• Add-on services: In addition to the core event planning services, event planners can offer add-on services that increase revenue and add value for clients. These might include decor, entertainment, catering, transportation, and photography/videography services. By bundling these services together with the core planning services, event planners can create comprehensive packages that appeal to clients and generate more revenue per event.
• Package deals and cross-promotion: Event planning companies can also generate revenue by partnering with event venues and vendors to create package deals and cross-promotion opportunities. This might involve offering discounted rates to clients who book both the event planning services and the event venue through the same company, or partnering with vendors to offer bundled services at a lower cost. By leveraging these types of partnerships, event planning companies can generate more revenue per event and build long-term relationships with key partners in the industry.

Overall, event planning companies can generate revenue through a combination of fees for service, add-on services, and strategic partnerships with event venues and vendors. By offering high-quality planning services and value-add services, event planning companies can attract new clients and build a loyal customer base in the competitive event planning industry.

After analyzing all aspects of an event planning business, it is evident that it can be a highly rewarding and lucrative venture. With proper planning, execution, and management, an event planning business can bring in profits while providing valuable services to clients.

• With a strong value proposition, an event planning business can differentiate itself from competitors, attract clients and generate revenue.
• Effective marketing through social media, word-of-mouth, and partnerships with related businesses can help reach the target audience.
• Streamlined processes and strategic planning can ensure that events are well-organized and executed without any hiccups, leading to satisfied clients.
• A focus on excellent customer service, high quality vendors, and seamless communication can help establish a positive reputation and secure repeat business from clients.
• Continued innovation, adaptation, and expansion of services can help the event planning business maintain relevance in an ever-evolving industry and cater to changing client needs.

Overall, the Business Model Canvas provides a comprehensive framework for understanding the various aspects of an event planning business and creating a successful venture.

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Here's Why You Should Use a Business Model Canvas for Your Startup

Posted: December 1, 2023 | Last updated: December 1, 2023

Is the thought of writing a business plan holding you back from starting a business? If you’re eager to get your business idea off the ground—without the drudgery of creating a massive document first—a business model canvas for startups might be right for you.

What is a business model canvas for startups?

A business model canvas is a quick-start alternative to a business plan. It helps you think through the most important aspects of startup—such as your product or service, your target market, and the resources you'll need to launch—in a brief, chart format.

When to use a business model canvas

Why might you want to use a business model canvas instead of a traditional business plan? Here are some situations where a business model canvas might be appropriate:

• You suddenly have an opportunity you want to act on. Maybe a restaurant space is for lease in the exact area you dream of launching your restaurant. Perhaps you have the chance to form a partnership with someone who has lots of the resources you need to start a business. Using a business model canvas can enable you to act quickly before opportunity slips away.
• You want to beat the competition . If you have an innovative business idea, such as a software application or invention, using the business model canvas can help you be first to market. In a highly competitive space, other startups are likely planning launches similar to yours; the business model canvas can help you get the jump on them.
• You don’t need outside financing . If you are trying to get a bank loan, angel capital, or venture capital, you’ll need to have a traditional business plan ready to show the financing source. But if you have sufficient startup capital on your own, there’s no law saying that you have to follow the traditional business plan format.
• You want to rapidly assess the viability of your idea . Writing a traditional business plan will reveal any flaws in your idea; however, a business model canvas can help you pinpoint problems faster. Using a business model canvas, you can decide immediately if your idea will fly or if you need to revise it or scrap it and move on to another concept.

Of course, some people just prefer the speed of a business model canvas and don’t want to spend weeks or months crafting a lengthy traditional business plan. If this is you, go ahead and try the business model canvas. Just keep in mind this format isn’t an excuse for neglecting the details of planning your startup.

Other Articles From AllBusiness.com:

• The Complete 35-Step Guide for Entrepreneurs Starting a Business
• 25 Frequently Asked Questions on Starting a Business
• 50 Questions Angel Investors Will Ask Entrepreneurs
• 17 Key Lessons for Entrepreneurs Starting A Business

What’s included in a business model canvas for startups

The business model canvas for startups takes a high-level view of your business idea and focuses on the key elements you’ll need to make it viable. Developed by Alexander Osterwalder , it’s a one-page document in chart form that covers the nine “building blocks” that help your business startup make money.

• Key partners : Who are the buyers, suppliers, partners and other alliances that can help you accomplish core business activities?
• Key activities : What are the most important actions you need to take in order to fulfill your value propositions, strengthen customer relationships, secure distribution channels, and maximize revenue streams?
• Key resources : What essential resources are needed to launch and run your business and create value for your customers?
• Unique value proposition : What products and services do you plan to offer? What customer needs do they meet? How do they differentiate your business from your competition
• Customer segments : What customer groups will your business serve? Identify the customer personas that your business provides value for.
• Customer relationships : What relationships will you build with your customer segments? What kind of relationship does each customer segment expect?
• Channels : What distribution methods will you use to deliver your products or services to your target market?
• Cost structure : What will it cost to start and sustain your business? Which resources and activities will be the most expensive?
• Revenue streams : How will your business make money? How will you price your products and services? Are there other potential revenue streams?

You can create a business model canvas on paper or a whiteboard. There are also several apps you can use to create your business model canvas; they allow you to incorporate additional information, easily save and share the business model canvas, and more.

Where to get help with the business model canvas

There are several places to get help creating your business model canvas. You can start by taking this SCORE webinar on using the Business Model Canvas. Then visit Strategyzer , Canvanizer and Xtensio to find a business model canvas tool you can use. You’ll also find sample business model canvas examples, resources, and training to help.

Both the traditional business plan and the business model canvas can help startup entrepreneurs evaluate their ideas and make important decisions about startup.

Of course, you can use both methods if you want: Many entrepreneurs start with a business model canvas to give them a “jump start” and then flesh out a traditional business plan further down the road.

(Disclosure: SCORE is a client of my company.)

RELATED: Don’t Waste Time on a Startup Business Plan—Do These 5 Things Instead

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