Business Model Canvas: Explained with Examples

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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.

Business Model Canvas Explained

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.  

Business Model Canvas Template

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.

Customer Persona Template for Business Model Canvas Explained

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.

Customer Journey Map

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).

Value Proposition Canvas

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)

how to create business model canvas

Written by Raquel Alberdi

Business | entrepreneurship, 16 comments(s).

Business Model Canvas

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

how to create business model canvas

“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:

 Scheme of business model in which 9 important fields are developed for its execution.

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.

Customer segment business model canvas for Zara company

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.

Zara Customer Segments business model canvas template showing the development of the 9 fields

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.

Zara's Canvas business model where you can see the innovative presentation of its image

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's Canvas business model where you can see the innovative presentation of the image of its stores

Zara Hudson Yards, New York

Business Model Canvas Template Zara - Value Propositions

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.

Zara Channels business model canvas template where its components are developed

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.

The relations with Zara's clients to give a Business Model Canvas where the 9 points to be developed are seen

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.

Zara business model canvas template for the development of Revenue streams within the 9 points to work

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.

Key resources of the Zara Business Model Canvas

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.

Zara business model canvas template where the Key Resources are developed

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.

Zara business model canvas template showing the key activities for its development

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.

Zara Key Partners business model canvas template where the eighth point is developed

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:

Netflix business model in which the 9 topics are taken into consideration

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 .

Traditional Winery Business Model with its 9 developed points

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.

Vinate business model

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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16 Comments

Ayeah Goodlove

Perfect thought

kourosh abdollahzadeh

I am a DBA student. I have used your site a lot. Thank you for the information

KJ Hwang

Well defined steps, Thanks for good contents.

Reza Ebadi

Dear Sir many thanks for you guideline. it was very effective for me. Thanks a Million

Debashis Rout

Well explained with practical business case

Allen

Wow, this article was incredibly helpful! I’ve heard about the Business Model Canvas before, but I wasn’t sure exactly how it worked or how to use it for my own business.

NIMAKO JAMES

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Opoku Samuel

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Claudia Roca

This is a very insightful content with a step-by-step practical approach of how to write a BMC and what exactly it should contain.

My team and I literally used your guide to write a BMC for a project we were working on, and in just about an hour we were done.

Thank you so much for this content, it was really helpful.

Franco

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Jude

Insightful! Gave me the clarity I needed for my upcoming business. Thank you so much.

Praveen

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Efi

This is a great explanation, the best i’ve seen. Thanks

Thank you very much for reading and sharing your comments

Tatyasaheb Phadtare

Really great tool for business and whom want to enter,. Thanks

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How to Create a Business Model Canvas (With Template)

May 19, 2021 - 10 min read

Yuvika Iyer

Do you want to create a simple business plan? Something comprehensive, flexible, and easy to scribble on a napkin? You can do that with a business model canvas.

Every business has ever-changing, diverse interests. Illustrating all of this on a single sheet of paper may sound challenging — but by using a business model canvas template, your team can focus on the key elements of your business to ensure nothing slips through the cracks.

Business model canvas explained

"Lengthy business plans often increase the risk of failure," wrote Alex Osterwalder in his 2008 book “Business Model Generation.”

The business model canvas offers a way to avoid this, providing a simplified version of a business plan. A business model canvas is a simple, visual framework that helps teams outline the most fundamental elements of a business.

As a handy business tool, teams can use a business model canvas to map the nine core areas of a business, such as customer needs, value proposition, and platforms for customer acquisition.

This article will explain the business model canvas, its benefits, and how it can help your team develop a successful high-level business strategy and actionable roadmap .

How can a business model canvas help your business?

Many teams are so overwhelmed with operational issues that they don’t have time to focus on the core business strategy .

Utilizing the business model canvas helps create a unified framework that depicts this strategy alongside an action plan that teams can follow.

But how do you know if you need a business model canvas? If you are starting a business or even toying with an idea, a BMC can create a powerful visual representation of your concept. A business model canvas can also be a handy reference for your team as they move towards successful business outcomes. Here are five more ways in which a business model canvas can help your company.

It’s simple and easy to follow

Whether you have a business idea or are managing a large enterprise, having an easy-to-follow business plan can be immensely helpful. As a precise one-page document, teams can modify specific business model canvas elements as they go along without completely redoing a 50- or 100-page document.

Focused on being actionable 

Every business plan needs to be actionable. Using a business model canvas helps you accurately define your organization’s core value proposition and keep it aligned to your business strategy.

Your focus could be to achieve profitability in the first year or gain a large market share. Stay competitive by defining actionable steps for your team within the business model canvas.

Flexible and scalable as the business evolves 

No business stays the same forever but evolves as it interacts with diverse market dynamics, competitors, product innovations, and changing consumer needs.

To take your idea to market, you need a tool that connects the dots between what your customers want, your business's unique offering, and the desired profitability streams.

By creating a business model canvas template, you instantly get an edge over other market players engrossed in lengthy business plan documents.

How to Create a Business Model Canvas (With Template) 2

Puts the customer first

Ignoring customers sets businesses up for failure . Companies flounder if they direct their energies solely towards making a great product or service. With a business model canvas template, your focus stays on the ultimate end-users of your product. 

Having a business blueprint will force team members to think about what customers want, the primary issues they need help with, and how your product or service can do that. 

Helps get team and executive buy-in

23% of businesses fail without the right team on their side. Every company needs team members with a diverse mix of skills, experiences, and talents.

Companies require a solid business blueprint for hiring team members or bringing in investors. Having a business model canvas can help get everyone on board with your organization’s core vision. Potential employees and investors can visualize how the different organizational parts interact and see how they can become an integral part of the company.

Promotes focus on the unique value proposition of your business

19% of companies fail due to being outperformed by their competitors. If there's no difference between your product and one from another firm, why should customers come to your company? Every business needs a clear value proposition that helps them stand out — that's where a business model canvas template comes in.

When you look at the nine core elements of a business model canvas (explained below), you'll quickly notice some factors are controllable to a certain extent, while others are more fractious.

Your company's core value proposition sits right in the middle. It acts as the central pillar around which all other elements exist, defining the fundamental nature of the business.

What goes into each segment?

To fill out a business model canvas, you should know what goes into each of the nine fundamental segments.

Have a business model canvas template ready before you and your team start brainstorming on each of these elements (you'll find one below) and then add the research and data into the relevant sections. 

Customer segments In this fundamental business area, teams identify the core individuals they will help with their product or service. To do this, they create two to three buyer personas — potential customers that a business seeks to serve.

A buyer persona is a simple but detailed description of a prospective business customer. It assists with capturing the customer’s real-life problems and motivations, helping the business deliver what they want.

Value proposition The value proposition is the ultimate value that a customer will get from your product or service. It seeks to answer the question, “Why will a customer buy?” Here are a few popular value propositions for any organization:

  • Customization ability
  • Unique product design
  • Innovation in product or service
  • Exceptional service or product status
  • Affordable pricing and clear pricing model definition

Channels In a business model canvas, channels are the platforms through which a company sells its product or service to end-users. To identify the best channel for your business, look at how you plan to connect with your customers.

A few possible channels can be:

  • A self-owned retail store
  • Direct sales staff
  • Affiliate marketing platforms
  • Google Adsense

A business can either own its channels or partner with other companies that have their own channels.

Customer relationships Customer relationships in a business model canvas define how the company will obtain, retain, and increase new customers. Let's take a look at how customer relationships are built:

  • Identify how to obtain customers and from which platforms (e.g., Google, Facebook ads)
  • Gain clarity on how to retain existing customers using different techniques (e.g., exceptional customer service)
  • Discover how to increase the customer base of the business (e.g., sending text or email notifications to prompt website visits)

Revenue streams Revenue streams help the business owner decide how to generate revenue and achieve their predefined organizational goals . Key decisions with revenue streams include:

  • Choosing from a one-time payment model or monthly subscriptions
  • Keeping a free plus paid model or a wholly paid product or service with a free trial
  • How payment from customers will be received — website payments, PayPal, or in-store

Key resources Key resources in your business model canvas represent the assets that are vital to your company’s operation. Business assets can include anything from the below categories:

  • Physical assets , including machines, buildings, IT hardware, and vehicles
  • Intellectual assets , including patents, copyrights, partnerships, brands, and employee skills
  • Human assets , including talented employees in knowledge industries such as IT, law, and content marketing
  • Financial assets , like cash balances in the bank or lines of credit

Key activities Want to make your business canvas model work? Make sure to list the key activities that will help expand the business's core value proposition. Key activities can come from any of the below categories:

  • Production: How you will deliver your end product to the customers. You may need to order more stock or upgrade materials
  • Platform: For example, the software used to sell your product, which may require upgrades or maintenance
  • Problem-solving: For example, designing innovative solutions for issues that your customers face

Key partners Every business has some non-core activities that should preferably be outsourced. Key partners are the companies or individuals that complete these non-core activities.

Take a company like Facebook, for example — its key activity is to upgrade and maintain its platform. It doesn't create its own ads, so it also needs to strike deals with companies that wish to advertise on its platform. 

Similarly, it doesn’t create its content — the users do. The primary reasons for choosing key partners can be:

  • Achieving economies of scale
  • Mitigating risk and unpredictability in business
  • Acquiring resources and advertisements for its business (e.g., ads for Facebook)

Cost structure Once the key activities are outlined on the business model canvas, it's time to assign cost structures. Be clear and precise with the estimated business costs of the planned activities to ensure you reach your profitability goal.

Business model canvas example and template

How to Create a Business Model Canvas (With Template) 3

  • Customer segments: Facebook's customers can be divided into two distinct categories — advertisers and platform users
  • Value proposition: The primary reasons platform users come to Facebook. Users feel connected to friends and families, while companies get more leads through advertising on the platform
  • Channels: The website where all data is stored
  • Customer relationships: Facebook incentivizes users to stay on the platform through notifications and new features, leading more companies to advertise on it
  • Revenue streams: Facebook earns money through advertising, while companies gain new customers from Facebook ads
  • Key resources: Facebook's key resources are its platforms — Facebook.com, the Messenger application, and Facebook Ads Manager for advertisers
  • Key activities: Maintaining the website and its infrastructure are two of Facebook’s key strategic activities
  • Key partnerships: Facebook's key partners are its users and advertisers
  • Cost structures: Major costs incurred by Facebook include managing the software, backend engineering operations, product development, regular operations, and staff salaries

How to create a business model canvas (with template)

Ready to create your business model canvas? Before you begin, take some time to brainstorm answers to these questions related to the nine core fundamental areas of the canvas. Here's a simple business model canvas template exercise that can help your team get started.

  • Customer segments: Can you identify your potential customers?
  • Channels: Once the product or service is ready, how will customers discover it?
  • Key partnerships: Can any non-core business activities be outsourced?
  • Customer relationships: How will your business generate leads and retain and increase your customer base?
  • Cost structures: Can the business classify its main costs and expenses into fixed and variable? Is there a way to align costs with the core value proposition and planned revenues?
  • Revenue streams: Has the business decided on a profit margin? How will it make money?
  • Key resources: Which core resources are critical for the business to succeed?
  • Value proposition: Why will customers choose your business? Does the company satisfy any particular need with its product or service?
  • Key activities: Are there any activities that help your business deliver its unique value proposition to customers?

Do I need a lean model canvas? 

If your business is still an idea or in its infancy, choosing a lean model canvas makes more sense.

Inspired by the business model canvas, the lean model canvas was created by Ash Maurya . It is a one-page business plan template that distills the lean startup methodology into the original business model canvas. 

Lean model canvas assimilates multiple essential data points to develop a simpler, start-up optimized version of a business model canvas. It adds four more building blocks to the business model canvas, namely:

  • Problem: Identify the problem faced by the customer and focus on solving it
  • Solution: Start with a minimum viable product that helps solve the customer problem effectively
  • Unfair advantage: List the barriers to entry in a specific sector and your company’s competitive advantages
  • Key metrics: Focus on one goal at one time to ensure you’re doing a good job

Lean model canvas drops four elements from the original business model canvas — key partners, key activities, key resources, and customer relationships. 

While the original illustrates a more comprehensive business approach, the lean model canvas has a sharper customer orientation. Many start-ups prefer the lean model canvas to a traditional business plan for building an actionable roadmap.

The lean model canvas is a great fit for younger companies or those working with a tight time frame or budget to market with a more targeted problem resolution approach.

Why you should use Wrike to build a business model canvas 

The business model canvas’ nine building blocks clearly illustrate the core business areas and their interrelationships. Whether you're trying to figure out the model for a company with three employees or 50,000, a business model canvas can be very useful.

Begin by mapping out the most crucial information about your business, then link the blocks to ensure every value proposition is linked to a revenue stream and a specific customer segment.

Using Wrike to build your business model canvas template, you can iterate faster, communicate with ease, and enable organization-wide success . With a centralized hub, your teams can configure custom dashboards easily and produce better quality work using premade templates . Implement what you've learned about the business model canvas by trying out a free two-week trial of Wrike today.

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Yuvika Iyer

Yuvika is a freelance writer who specializes in recruitment and résumé writing.

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What Is Business Process Outsourcing? A Guide

What Is Business Process Outsourcing? A Guide

As businesses scale and grow, they often have requirements that cannot be addressed internally — whether because of resource or budgetary constraints. Business process outsourcing (BPO) can be a solution that enables organizations to grow and scale effectively. But exactly what is business process outsourcing? What are the risks associated with the practice, and how can corporate leaders use business process as a service (BPaaS) to their advantage?  BPO meaning: What is business process outsourcing? Business process outsourcing describes a practice where specific tasks, functions, or processes within a company are contracted out to third-party organizations and vendors. These outside organizations have expertise in their specified area, which allows them to manage tasks and processes on behalf of other businesses.  For example, a marketing agency, during their resource planning process, may choose to outsource their payroll and accounting functions in order to focus on the core competencies of their organization.  There are three types of business process outsourcing: offshore, nearshore, and onshore outsourcing.  Offshore outsourcing: The function is managed by an operator or vendor in a different country (often far away and in another time zone) Nearshore outsourcing: The function is managed by an operator or vendor in a neighboring/closeby country Onshore outsourcing: The function is managed by an operator or vendor within the same country — but could be in another state or region  Business functions ideal for outsourcing may include admin, customer service, PR, data entry, HR, content moderation, and more.  Business process outsourcing can improve efficiency and present significant cost savings for companies that may not have the resources to hire a team of in-house customer service specialists or payroll professionals, for example.  In fact, Deloitte research indicates that 59% of companies who outsource say they do so with cost savings as a primary motivator. What is business process as service (BPaaS)? Business process as a service enables BPO by managing specific functions through cloud-based delivery systems. The global BPaaS market is extensive and expected to reach a value of $77.8 billion by 2023. Some well-known names in BPaaS include Accenture and IBM.  BPaaS can help manage:  Finance and accounting  IT services  eCommerce Customer service processes BPaaS leverages the capabilities of infrastructure as a service (IaaS), software as a service (SaaS), and platform as a service (PaaS) solutions in order to help companies manage and address their business objectives.  Business process as a service also relies on automation in many cases, reducing the need for manual intervention. Who needs business process as a service (BPaaS)? Business process as a service can be beneficial for organizations across sizes and industries. For example, instead of hiring an outside firm to manage their finance and accounting needs, a company might instead execute this function via a cloud-based platform licensed through a monthly subscription model.  This naturally brings costs down and offers a more flexible and scalable way of managing operations.  Any company looking to manage processes without the costs associated with hiring, training, and managing an internal team or department may find that BPaaS is an effective solution.  What are the benefits of outsourcing business processes? There are many benefits associated with outsourcing business processes. These benefits include cost and time savings, efficiency gains, the ability to focus on core business competencies, and more. Be sure to keep these in mind when contemplating outsourcing professional services key success factors, and which professional services agency is right for you.Cost savingsHigh costs associated with labor, training, management, and infrastructure can be a barrier as an organization scales and grows its operations. Outsourcing non-core processes can enable businesses to meet their objectives and operational needs while minimizing these internal costs and time commitments. Access to expertise and improved efficiencyBPO gives businesses access to vendors that have the necessary expertise, equipment, and personnel needed to execute a project or function on their behalf. This expertise means they are better equipped to provide cutting-edge, compliant, and effective services.  Ability to focus on key business competencies As a company grows and scales, there is often a need for growth or expansion in other areas of the business.  For example, a high-growth eCommerce company may need increased customer support capabilities to provide quality assistance to customer queries and issues. In this instance, outsourcing customer support staff to an agency or outside vendor allows the business to focus on its main competencies while also addressing customer challenges that can impact the bottom line.  As is the case with most things, business process outsourcing can have its set of challenges and risks. Are there risks to business process outsourcing? Risks in business process outsourcing can include lower than expected or inconsistent quality of service, lack of visibility and collaboration with the vendor, and security considerations. Inconsistent delivery We’ve all been there. A service looks good on paper, but the results turn out to be inconsistent or of a lower standard than expected. This is always a risk, especially when outside vendors are involved.  Lack of visibility and collaboration When handing over the keys to a business function, visibility and communication allow those within the organization to accurately track progress, success, and any challenges. Lack of visibility is a huge risk and could mean that a lower standard of service is inadvertently being passed on to customers.  Privacy and security concerns Privacy and security are a top concern in business process outsourcing. In most cases, BPO will involve some degree of handling sensitive or confidential internal data. Engaging a vendor with lax digital security policies may make an organization vulnerable to breaches or attacks.  As Deloitte notes, the tax implications of business process outsourcing should also be a consideration and factored into any business case. How to choose the right BPO vendor Choosing the right vendor can help avoid headaches, losses, and disputes. Here are some tips for choosing the right BPO partner for your business.  Due diligenceDue diligence will involve researching the vendor and their reputation to determine if they have success and experience with your industry, project type, or company size. Understand costsWhile cost-saving is a major factor when establishing a BPO partnership, unexpected fees may make outsourcing pricier than initially thought. Evaluate security infrastructureWhen determining the suitability of a vendor, be sure to assess their ability to manage and protect sensitive information.  Communicate clear objectives and KPIsClearly communicate objectives, expected outcomes, and KPIs and ensure they have the capacity to deliver.  Ensure stabilityOutsourcing a business function can be risky if the third party is in a financially, legally, or otherwise unstable position. Overreliance on unstable vendors can be a unique challenge to overcome.  How to organize your BPO with Wrike Streamline and simplify your business process outsourcing with Wrike. With Wrike, you can:  Create and manage a risk register for your vendor and the outsourced function Invite vendors as external collaborators to share reports and status updates Share and store vendor meeting minutes using our actional meeting notes template Integrate data from 400+ applications like Salesforce, Marketo, and more  Take advantage of the cost savings, time savings, and expertise that BPO and BPaaS can afford your business. Be sure to track and manage progress, communication, and risk using Wrike.  Sign up for a free two-week trial and discover why 2 million+ people trust Wrike to manage and execute their tasks and projects.  

The Ultimate Guide to Business Process Modeling

The Ultimate Guide to Business Process Modeling

Struggling to optimize your business processes? Find out process modeling benefits and techniques for executing business process modeling projects successfully.

What Is Business Forecasting? Why It Matters

What Is Business Forecasting? Why It Matters

What is business forecasting? Forecasting helps organizations strategize and, when done right, can give you a competitive advantage. Read on to learn more.

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how to create business model canvas

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.

how to create business model canvas

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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The Business Model Canvas

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?

The Business Model Canvas: A Quick How-To Guide

how to create business model canvas

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.

Business model canvas

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.

Three Assumptions

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

When IT and the business are on the same page, digital transformation flows more easily. In this e-book, you’ll learn how IT can meet business needs more effectively while maintaining priorities for cost and security.

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

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Strategic Management Insight

Business Model Canvas (BMC)

Business Model Canvas

What is the Business Model Canvas

Business Model Canvas (BMC) is a framework that helps determine how a business creates, delivers, and captures values. It is a visual representation of the important aspects or parts to consider when designing a Business Model.

BMC aids in constructing a shared understanding of a business by condensing it into a simple, relevant, and intuitively understandable one-page visual while not oversimplifying the complexities of how enterprises function.

This concept has been applied and tested around the world and is used in organizations such as GE, P&G, Nestlé, IBM, Ericsson, and Deloitte, including Government Services of Canada and many more [1],[2] .

The Nine Building Blocks

BMC describes a business through nine basic building blocks that show the logic of how a business intends to make money. These nine blocks cover the four main areas of a business: Customers, Offer, Infrastructure, and Financial Viability.

BMC acts as a shared language for describing, visualizing, assessing, and changing business models. It is like a blueprint for a strategy to be implemented through organizational structures, processes, and systems.

Nine building blocks of a business

Each of these blocks is explained in more detail as follows:

1. Customer Segments (CS)

These are the groups of people or organizations that a business aims to reach and serve. Customers are the heart of a business model, and without (profitable) customers, a business cannot survive.

Customers are grouped into distinct segments with common needs, common behaviors, or other attributes. Customer groups represent separate segments if:

  • Their needs require and justify a distinct offer.
  • They are reached through different Distribution Channels.
  • They require different types of relationships.
  • They have substantially different profitability.
  • They are willing to pay for different aspects of the offer.

An organization must make a conscious decision about which segment(s) to serve and which segments to ignore. Once this decision is made, a business model can be carefully designed around a strong understanding of specific customer needs.

The following two questions, if answered with clarity, help a business identify its CS.

  • For whom are we creating value?
  • Who are our most important customers?
  • What are the customer archetypes?

Examples of some of the Customer Segments are shown in the figure:

Examples of Customer Segments

2. Value proposition (VP)

Value Proposition describes the bundle of products and services that create value for a specific Customer Segment chosen by a business.

A VP is the reason why customers turn to one company over another. VP must solve a customer’s problem or satisfy a need. A business can have more than one VP, but each must consist of a selected bundle of products and/or services that caters to the requirements of a specific Customer Segment.

While some VPs may be innovative and represent a new or disruptive offer, others may be similar to existing market offers but with added features and attributes.

An organization’s VP must answer the following questions with clarity:

  • What value do we deliver to the customer?
  • Which one of our customer’s problems are we helping to solve?
  • Which customer needs are we satisfying?
  • What bundles of products and services are we offering to each CS?

Elements from some of the following can contribute to customer value creation:

Examples of Customer Value Propositions.

3. Channels (CH)

Channels describe how a company communicates with and reaches its Customer Segments to deliver a Value Proposition.

Channels are customer touch points that play an important role in the customer experience and serve several functions, including:

  • Raising awareness about a company’s products and services
  • Helping customers evaluate a company’s Value Proposition
  • Allowing customers to purchase specific products and services
  • Delivering a Value Proposition to customers
  • Providing post-purchase customer support

To establish an effective channel, a company must first answer the following:

  • Through which Channels do our Customer Segments want to be reached?
  • How are we reaching them now?
  • How are our Channels integrated?
  • Which ones work best?
  • Which ones are most cost-efficient?
  • How are we integrating them with customer routines?

There are five distinct phases (figure below) through which a channel passes, and it could cover more than one of these phases at a time.

Different phases of channels

Channels can be either direct, indirect or hybrid, as shown:

Different types of channels

Finding the right mix of Channels to satisfy how customers want to be reached is crucial in bringing a Value Proposition to market and can create a great customer experience.

4. Customer Relationships (CR)

Customer Relationships describe the types of relationships a company establishes with specific Customer Segments. Relationships can range from personal to automated. An organization’s CR strategy may be driven by one of the following motivators:

  • Customer acquisition
  • Customer retention
  • Boosting sales (upselling)

A business can arrive at the optimum CR by asking the following questions:

  • What type of relationship does each of our Customer Segments expect us to establish and maintain with them?
  • Which ones have we established?
  • How costly are they?
  • How are they integrated with the rest of our business model?

Several categories of Customer Relationships may co-exist in a company’s relationship with a particular Customer Segment. Some of which are:

Types of Customer Relationships

5. Revenue Streams (RS)

Revenue Streams represent the company’s cash (earnings) from each Customer Segment and are like the arteries of any business.

Revenue streams

There are two distinct categories of Revenue Streams:

  • Transaction Revenues which are one-time customer payments
  • Recurring Revenues that are ongoing payments to either deliver a Value Proposition to customers or provide post-purchase customer support

A business can arrive at its ideal revenue stream by asking the following questions:

  • For what value are our customers willing to pay?
  • For what do they currently pay?
  • How are they currently paying?
  • How would they prefer to pay?
  • How much does each Revenue Stream contribute to overall revenues?

There are several ways a business can generate revenue, such as:

Types of Revenue streams

A business may have one or more Revenue Streams, each with different pricing mechanisms. The choice of pricing mechanism greatly influences the revenues generated.

There are two main types of pricing mechanisms, Fixed and Dynamic, as follows:

Types of Pricing Mechanisms

6. Key Resources (KR)

The Key Resources describe the most important assets required to make a business model work.

These resources allow an enterprise to create and offer a Value Proposition, reach markets, maintain relationships with Customer Segments, and earn revenues. Different Key Resources are needed depending on the type of business model.

For example, a chip fabrication business like TSMC [9] requires capital-intensive facilities worth billions of dollars, while a chip designer like NVIDIA [10] would need skilled manpower as its Key Resource.

Key Resources can be owned or leased by a business or acquired from its key partners. They can be identified by answering the following questions:

  • What Key Resources do our Value Propositions require?
  • What resources are required to sustain our Distribution Channels, Customer Relationships and Revenue Streams?

Key Resources can be categorized as follows:

Key Resources

7. Key Activities (KA)

Key Activities describe the most important things a company must do to make its business model work. They are required to create and offer a Value Proposition, reach markets, maintain Customer Relationships, and earn revenues.

Key Activities differ depending on the business model type. For example, Microsoft’s Key Activity is software development, while for Dell, it is Supply Chain Management. For a consultancy firm like McKinsey, Key Activity is problem-solving.

A business can identify its Key Activities by answering the following questions:

  • What Key Activities do our Value Propositions require?
  • What activities directly contribute to maintaining our Distribution Channels, Customer Relationships and Revenue Streams?

Key Activities can be categorized as follows:

Key Activities

8. Key Partnerships (KP)

The Key Partnerships describe the network of suppliers and partners that make the business model. There are four types of partnerships:

Four types of partnerships

A business must ask the following questions before forming partnerships:

  • Who are our key partners?
  • Who are our key suppliers?
  • Which Key Resources are we acquiring from partners?
  • Which Key Activities do partners perform?

Primarily, there are three motivations for a business when creating partnerships, as shown:

Three motivators to creating partnerships

9. Cost Structure (CS)

Cost Structure describes all costs incurred to operate a business model. A business incurs costs in creating and delivering value, maintaining customer relationships, and generating revenue. Costs are business-specific, where some are more cost-driven than others.

A business must answer the following questions to arrive at an optimum cost structure:

  • What are the most important costs inherent in our business model?
  • Which Key Resources are most expensive?
  • Which Key Activities are most expensive?

While costs should be minimized in every business model, it is useful to distinguish between two broad classes of business model Cost Structures:

  • Cost Driven : This model focuses on minimizing costs wherever possible. This approach aims at creating and maintaining the leanest possible Cost Structure, using low-price Value Propositions, maximum automation, and extensive outsourcing. Examples: No frills airlines like Southwest & easyJet, Fast food joints such as McDonald’s & KFC.
  • Value Driven: Premium Value Propositions and a high degree of personalized service usually characterize value-driven business models. Examples: Luxury hotels, Expensive Cars like Rolls-Royce

Cost Structures can have the following characteristics:

characteristics of cost structures

Putting-it-all together

The nine business model Building Blocks form the basis for a handy tool, which is called the Business Model Canvas (figure below). This tool resembles a painter’s canvas preformatted with nine blocks that allow painting pictures of new or existing business models. It is a hands-on tool that fosters understanding, discussion, creativity, and analysis.

Template for The Business Model Canvas

BMC works best when printed out on a large surface such that groups of people can jointly note, sketch, and discuss business model elements.

Example of Business Model Canvas

Nespresso [17] , a fully owned daughter company of Nestlé, changed the dynamics of the coffee industry by turning a transactional business (selling coffee through retail) into one with recurring revenues (selling proprietary pods through direct channels).

The two-part strategy involved selling their patented coffee machine to retail customers first to lock them into the brand. This generated a recurring demand for coffee refills (pods) that led to constant revenues. These pods were sold directly through mail/website/own stores, thereby eliminating middlemen/dealers, which further increased profits [1] .

Nespresso’s strategy plotted on a Business Model Canvas looks as follows:

Example of business model canvas

Business Model Canvas helped Nespresso establish a solid and enduring foundation by engaging consumers directly and bringing a barista-like experience within the reach of a home or an office.

Advantages & Limitations

  • Encourages Collaboration – collaborative framework, which helps put different business stakeholders in sync. This improves the likelihood of generating new ideas and their quality.
  • Facilitates testing of ideas before launch – allows business owners, strategists, and managers to think through business ideas as well as test concepts that would otherwise get tested with potential customers where the stakes are higher.
  • Customer-centered approach – Key customer segments, relationships, activities, and value propositions are all elements that focus on creating, delivering, and capturing value for customers.
  • Clarity – Analyzing the business through the lens of nine blocks brings better clarity and structure to the business model.

Limitations

  • Lacks a section for defining the start-up’s mission statement, which is crucial to understanding the goals and objectives of any business.
  • Overlooks the importance of a profit mechanism beyond costs and revenues, including decisions on how to use potential profits.
  • The order of the canvas is not intuitive, making it difficult to read and understand the strategic decisions in a logical sequence.
  • Does not depict interconnections between different elements, which can have a significant impact on the overall business model.
  • Fails to acknowledge the company’s role within its ecosystem, including its impact on the environment and local communities.
  • External factors such as competition, history, and other industry-specific factors are absent from the canvas, which can greatly influence the success of a business model.

1. “A Better Way to Think About Your Business Model”. Harvard Business Review, https://hbr.org/2013/05/a-better-way-to-think-about-yo . Accessed 01 Aug 2023

2. “Business Model Generation”. Alexander Osterwalder, https://www.strategyzer.com/books/business-model-generation . Accessed 28 Jul 2023

3. “The Apple M1 is a revolution that is changing the computing world”. Citymagazine, https://citymagazine.si/en/apple-m1-is-a-revolution-that-changes-the-computer-world/ . Accessed 29 Jul 2023

4. “Mass Customization”. Corporate Finance Institute, https://corporatefinanceinstitute.com/resources/management/mass-customization/ . Accessed 29 Jul 2023

5. “Moka Pot”. Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moka_pot . Accessed 29 Jul 2023

6. “NetJets Homepage”. NetJets, https://www.netjets.com/en-us/ . Accessed 01 Aug 2023

7. “Distribution Channels – Definition, Types, & Functions”. Feedough, https://www.feedough.com/distribution-channels-definition-types-functions/ . Accessed 30 Jul 2023

8. “Lease from Hertz”. Hertz, https://www.hertz.com/rentacar/rental-car/car-lease . Accessed 30 Jul 2023

9. “TSMC”. Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TSMC . Accessed 30 Jul 2023

10. “NVIDIA”. Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nvidia . Accessed 30 Jul 2023

11. “BMW, Daimler, Ford and Volkswagen team up on high-power charging network”. Techcrunch, https://techcrunch.com/2017/11/03/bmw-daimler-ford-and-volkswagen-team-up-on-high-power-charging-network/ . Accessed 31 Jul 2023

12. “Honda And Sony Combine Talents To Build Electric Vehicles”. Forbes, https://www.forbes.com/sites/peterlyon/2022/06/26/honda-and-sony-announce-joint-venture-to-build-electric-vehicles/ . Accessed 31 Jul 2023

13. “Uber and Spotify launch car music playlist partnership”. BBC, https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-30080974 . Accessed 31 Jul 2023

14. “Walmart Has the Scale and Infrastructure to Generate Positive Gains”. Yahoo Finance, https://finance.yahoo.com/news/walmart-scale-infrastructure-generate-positive-201822628.html . Accessed 31 Jul 2023

15. “Demand-Side Economies of Scope in Big Tech Business Modelling and Strategy”. MDPI, https://www.mdpi.com/2079-8954/10/6/246 . Accessed 31 Jul 2023

16. “The Business Model Canvas”. Strategyzer, https://www.strategyzer.com/canvas/business-model-canvas . Accessed 31 Jul 2023

17. “HomePage”. Nespresso, https://www.nespresso.com/us/en/ . Accessed 01 Aug 2023

18. “Business Model Canvas of Nespresso”. Alex Osterwalder, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhQh-tryXOg . Accessed 01 Aug 2023

19. “Nespresso Capsule”. Electromall, https://electromall.net/product/nespresso-capsule/ . Accessed 01 Aug 2023

20. “The Best Nespresso Machine (But It’s Not for Everyone)”. Newyork Times, https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-nespresso-machine/ . Accessed 01 Aug 2023

21. “Business Model Canvas”. Think Design, https://think.design/user-design-research/business-model-canvas/ . Accessed 01 Aug 2023

22. “6 Problems with the Business Model Canvas”. The Pourquoi Pas, https://www.thepourquoipas.com/post/problems-with-the-business-model-canvas . Accessed 01 Aug 2023

  • The Johari Window Model
  • McKinsey 7S Model
  • Elaboration Likelihood Model of Persuasion

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  • Create your own canvas

Create a new Business Model Canvas

The Business Model Canvas was proposed by Alexander Osterwalder based on his earlier book: Business Model Ontology . It outlines nine segments which form the building blocks for the business model in a nice one-page canvas. You can find a detailed explanation in his bestselling book "Business Model Generation".

If you want to try it a Business Model Canvas without entering your email address, please use our Canvanizer 2.0 Business Model Canvas Demo for a first impression.

how to create business model canvas

Canvas Title:

Description :

Your Name :

More about the Business Model Canvas

The Business Model Canvas reflects systematically on your business model, so you can focus on your business model segment by segment. This also means you can start with a brain dump, filling out the segments the spring to your mind first and then work on the empty segments to close the gaps. The following list with questions will help you brainstorm and compare several variations and ideas for your next business model innovation.

Key partners

  • Who are your key partners/suppliers?
  • What are the motivations for the partnerships?

Key activities

  • What key activities does your value proposition require?
  • What activities are important the most in distribution channels, customer relationships, revenue stream…?

Value Proposition

  • What core value do you deliver to the customer?
  • Which customer needs are you satisfying?

Customer Relationship

  • What relationship that the target customer expects you to establish?
  • How can you integrate that into your business in terms of cost and format?

Customer Segment

  • Which classes are you creating values for?
  • Who is your most important customer?

Key Resource

  • What key resources does your value proposition require?
  • What resources are important the most in distribution channels, customer relationships, revenue stream…?

Distribution Channel

  • Through which channels that your customers want to be reached?
  • Which channels work best? How much do they cost? How can they be integrated into your and your customers’ routines?

Cost Structure

  • What are the most cost in your business?
  • Which key resources/ activities are most expensive?

Revenue Stream

  • For what value are your customers willing to pay?
  • What and how do they recently pay? How would they prefer to pay?
  • How much does every revenue stream contribute to the overall revenues?

how to create business model canvas

You love working with canvases? How about bringing innovation and collaboration to the next level with great canvases and a great app.

Canvanizer Free

  • Basic Canvas templates
  • Anyone with the link can access
  • Can't change segment titles
  • PDF & PNG export
  • No images / standard font
  • Desktop only
  • Single canvases only
  • No team features
  • English only
  • The "old" look&feel

Canvanizer Premium

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  • Upload images / choose fonts
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how to create business model canvas

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What is a business model canvas? Overview with template

how to create business model canvas

In 2013, I co-founded a startup in the Indian online gifting industry with three friends. It was my first involvement with a startup. Startups are fascinating — they’re small, agile, and quick. However, another key feature of startups is their ability to creatively solve problems.

What Is A Business Model Canvas Overview With Template

At that time, we aimed to target India’s gifting market, which was more than 90 percent offline. We had plans to establish an online shop selling a wide variety of gifts. But before we got started, we decided to document our idea. Amidst many templates, we discovered the business model canvas, a lean tool for outlining business models. It was neat, straightforward, and free. This tool brought remarkable clarity to our idea.

Despite shutting down the startup in 2015, I gained a wealth of knowledge during those two years. One major takeaway was the tools and techniques I learned along the way. The business model canvas was one of them. Even after seven years, I still use the business model canvas in my role as a product manager.

In this blog post, we’ll explore how product managers and entrepreneurs can effectively use a business model canvas.

What is a business model canvas?

The business model canvas is a template introduced by Alexander Osterwalder in 2005 as part of his Ph.D. studies under the supervision of Yves Pigneur. The business model canvas outlines nine crucial elements of a business model in an easy-to-understand visual template: customer segments, value proposition, channels, customer relationships, revenue streams, key activities, key resources, key partnerships, and cost structure.

Various companies, including startups, scale-ups, and large software organizations, have utilized this template since its inception to simplify their business strategy and improve their understanding of the overall business structure. However, before we delve into what a business model canvas entails, it’s important to comprehend why simplifying business strategy and structure is essential.

The last company I was part of employed 10,000 individuals. It ran more than 20 different businesses, each generating millions in revenue. When operating on such a large scale, it’s vital to have a clear strategy that outlines the business models. This strategy should define who the customers are, identify key partners, elaborate on the value proposition, and explain the cost structure, among other things.

The strategic blueprint serves as a go-to source of information whenever confusion arises. While this is true for large corporations, it’s equally applicable to smaller scale-ups and startups. It’s crucial to understand the business strategy and models from the onset. This comprehension aids in crafting a framework that can be applied when tackling complex issues or determining priorities.

This is where the business model canvas proves invaluable. It assists in laying out business models in a straightforward, user-friendly format.

What are the 9 components of the business model canvas?

The business model canvas comprises nine key elements:

Customer segments

Value proposition, customer relationships, revenue streams, key activities, key resources, key partnerships, cost structure.

9 Components Of A Business Model Canvas

These components cover the three main areas of a business: desirability, viability, and feasibility. The nine components also aim to bring transparency and understanding to a broad audience, which can include upper management and internal teams such as engineering, design, product management, marketing, sales, legal, and customer service.

Collectively, these elements capture the essence of a business model. They help map the relationship between these elements and how they intertwine with one another. Let’s take a more in-depth look at each element.

Everything starts with the customers, which is why this is the first element of the business model canvas. This component identifies the different customer segments a company targets. These can vary across business models.

how to create business model canvas

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how to create business model canvas

For example, while working at Zalando (one of Europe’s largest fashion eCommerce companies), there were multiple business models. One focused on end customers, while another focused on partners selling products on Zalando. The business model canvas helps outline these customer segments in a single snapshot.

Try to avoid being too detailed. Mention who the partners are, but there’s no need to note the demographics, age, gender, etc., of the customer segment unless required.

This term refers to the unique advantage or value a business provides. It’s what sets the business apart from competitors. This could be a product or a service that the business uses to solve a customer’s problem.

For instance, Uber’s value proposition is its ability to help customers travel from point A to point B on demand.

Channels are the various ways through which a business intends to interact with customers and/or partners. For Airbnb, their website and apps are the primary channels. But they also leverage social media, offline hoardings, email marketing, and community forums to reach their audience.

This element addresses the various ways a business interacts with customers to improve satisfaction and the overall experience. Monitoring customer feedback and how they interact with a company’s product is critical in a competitive landscape.

Amazon, a company that prioritizes customer focus, includes 24/7 customer support, personalized recommendations, regular newsletters, ratings and reviews, Amazon Prime membership, and community engagement as part of its customer relationships.

This component lists the different ways a company plans to generate revenue. For Google, revenue streams include advertising, the Google Play Store, Google Cloud, and hardware sales.

This section includes all necessary activities needed to keep the business functioning smoothly and to deliver value to all users. Microsoft’s key activities, for example, include software development, hardware development, cloud computing, gaming, research and development, and VR.

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As the name implies, key resources are the essential tangible and intangible resources needed to keep the business operational. These resources incur costs, making their documentation vital. An online gift-selling company would require a website/app, collaborations with manufacturers, and marketing capabilities.

This element focuses on the partnerships or collaborations a business might have with other companies to better serve customers, reduce risks, and increase profits. For Facebook, key partners include regular users who generate content, advertisers, and influencers who create content at scale.

This element outlines the costs and expenses associated with a business. For companies like Google and Facebook, costs can be substantial given their value propositions. While it may be difficult to capture the cost structure of these giants in a small space, it becomes easier and beneficial for smaller companies.

For example, McDonald’s cost structure would include manufacturing costs, service-based costs (such as employee costs), franchise costs, and infrastructure costs.

What are the benefits of using a business model canvas?

Indeed, using a business model canvas offers many advantages for businesses of all sizes. To summarize, some of the key benefits include:

Benefits Of Using A Business Model Canvas

Visual representation

A business model canvas provides a visual overview of all the critical elements of a business. This allows stakeholders to see how these elements relate to each other, facilitating understanding and decision-making.

The visual nature of the canvas makes it accessible to various stakeholders, including top management, engineers, designers, customer service, and operations teams.

Clear collaboration, communication, and alignment

Developing and managing products often require the input and collaboration of multiple stakeholders . A business model canvas provides a clear, concise tool for aligning all these parties, promoting better communication and collaboration. It also helps product managers secure buy-in from stakeholders at an early stage, reducing risks and fostering better alignment, especially in a cross-functional environment.

Strategic long-term thinking and analysis

By design, a business model canvas encourages long-term strategic thinking. It helps identify business strengths and weaknesses, facilitates brainstorming new ideas and improvements, and shapes long-term strategies to better serve customers.

Flexibility

Businesses and ideas evolve, and a business model canvas accommodates these changes. It offers a flexible template that can be easily modified, often featuring version numbers to track document evolution. This flexibility supports an iterative approach, ensuring the canvas captures all necessary information as the business evolves.

Business model canvas template

The internet is replete with various business model templates. A quick Google search will return 34,200,000 results. Here’s a quick template that I created on Google Sheets:

Business Model Canvas Template

Click here to access the business model canvas template. You can click File > Make a copy to download the canvas and customize it for your business.

Example of successful use of the business model canvas in product management

Here’s an example of a business model canvas for Facebook:

Business Model Canvas Facebook

How do I create a business model canvas for my business?

After you fill out the nine components we went over earlier, there are some other key points to keep in mind to successfully create a business canvas model.

Involve all the stakeholders early on

Since a business model canvas has elements ranging from tech to marketing, sales, and customer service, it’s important to involve these stakeholders right at the start. This reduces the risk and helps to bring everyone on the same page.

Keep it simple

Don’t use complex sentences while explaining the pointers under every element. Use simple and short words. Simplicity will make it easier for the audience to consume the information effectively.

Be data-driven

Let every pointer included in the business model canvas be data-driven. This will help lay down a strong foundation for long-term decision-making.

Focus on an iterative approach

It’s difficult to come up with a business model canvas right at the first go. Hence, it’s important to keep an iterative approach and let the document evolve depending on the feedback from the contributors. You can use versioning to keep track of all the changes.

Consider external factors

Currently, the growth of many businesses is slow and it’s projected to be the same for the entire year. It’s important to consider these external factors while coming up with a business model canvas since it helps to consider factors that might not be in control of a business.

Conclusion and key takeaways

A business model canvas can be a very effective tool if used right away. Product managers can use this tool before starting a product or a feature. It can help them have clarity on the idea before the actual development work starts.

Also, since it involves all the major stakeholders right at the start, a business model canvas can help mitigate risks early on. It’s a great tool for validating business ideas, products, or a feature.

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How to create and use a business model canvas

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We’ve all had those flashes of entrepreneurial inspiration. You know, that brief moment when you think, “Hey, that would make a great business.” Most of the time, that’s as far as it goes. But say you want to take it a step further. (After all, every business, from tech giants to the lemonade stand down the street, started with a similar thought!) What’s your next step?

The business model canvas is essentially a framework for trimmed down business plans—and when we say trimmed down, we mean really trimmed down. As you use the business model canvas, you’ll take the crucial elements of your business model and put them into a single-page template. 

Unsure what those crucial elements are? Don’t worry—we’ll break down the whole process for you. 

What is a business model canvas?

The business model canvas is a template—think of it as a framework for organizing information about a business model. Alexander Osterwalder of Strategyzer came up with the method in the mid-2000s and it has been a staple of the Lean startup methodology ever since. 

At the center of the business model canvas is your value proposition: What do customers get from your product? That’s your starting point. From there, you’ll fill in the canvas with additional information about your company and your customers. The information in a business model canvas should be treated like a hypothesis: Under the conditions presented, could your business survive? It’s a quick and easy way to determine the viability of your model. 

business model canvas

Elements of the business model canvas

As mentioned above, the business model canvas is a template. No matter who is using the template, every business model canvas will look more or less the same. And they all consist of the same nine elements: 

  • Value proposition 
  • Key partners 
  • Key activities 
  • Key resources 
  • Customer segments 
  • Customer relationships 
  • Cost structure 
  • Revenue streams

Each of these elements is represented by a box on the page and these boxes are always organized in the same way. Everything related to business infrastructure (partners, activities, and resources) falls on the left side of the page. Customer-related elements (segments, relationships, and channels) go on the right. Finance-related elements go on the bottom. In the center of the page, the value proposition ties everything together. 

Layout is the easy part—it’s already been done for you. So let’s talk a little bit more about content: What do you actually include in each piece of your business model canvas? 

Value proposition

What are you offering customers? What problem or pain point are you solving? How are you going to do it? Answer those questions as succinctly as possible (one sentence is best!) and there’s your value proposition.  

Treat your value proposition like a guiding star: It should inform every other aspect of your business plan. 

Key partners

It’s unlikely that you’ll be able to provide your product or service all your own. Whether it’s suppliers or distributors, a parent company, or other partners, someone else is going to be involved. 

Think about a neighborhood lemonade stand: The kids running the stand aren’t growing their own lemons—they rely on a grocery store. Similarly, they probably get the table and pitchers from a parent. Both would be key partners. 

To determine if a partner is a key partner, ask this simple question: Could the business model function without them? If things would fall apart without them, they’re a key partner. 

Key activities

Activities are the actions required to actualize your value proposition.

Remember the lemonade stand from the last section? (It’s going to come up a lot.) What activities go into producing the product and bringing it to customers? Someone needs to make the lemonade, pour it, and take money from customers. These are all key activities.

To determine if an activity is “key,” ask the same question as before: Could the business model function without that action being performed?

Key resources

As you list your resources, be sure to consider more than just physical resources. You’ll likely also require human resources (employees), intellectual resources (know-how), and financial resources. 

Customer segments

Who is your solution for? A lemonade stand employee doesn’t have any need for a product developed for software engineers. (At least not your average lemonade stand employee.)

Your customer segments are the people and companies who would receive value from your product. As you list your customer segments, it might be helpful to think in terms of buyer personas. 

Customer relationships

Think about how you are first reaching potential buyers: Is it through social media? SEO? Conferences? These methods of contact are your channels. Whereas sales teams are typically responsible for building and maintaining customer relationships, channels are, for the most part, the responsibility of the marketing teams. 

Cost structure

As you operate your business, you’ll have to spend money—probably more than you’d like. To maintain your key activities, resources, and partners, you will need to pay employees, cover material costs, etc. These expenses make up your cost structure. 

Revenue Streams

Hopefully you’re not just spending money, though. For your business to be successful, you have to generate revenue. Your revenue streams refer to the ways in which you bring money in: How are you converting your value proposition into revenue? Perhaps you offer a subscription based service, or maybe customers pay a one time fee. Whatever model you use, be sure to list all of your revenue streams—when it comes to planning out finances, you want to be especially thorough. 

How to create a business model canvas

Now you’re ready to learn how to fill out a business model canvas for yourself. Understanding each element of the business model canvas is the hardest part, and that’s behind you: All that’s left is to fill out the canvas with your specific business plan.

1. Gather stakeholders and materials

Whether you’re creating a digital or physical business model canvas, you’ll need to be able to fill in the boxes on the template. This could mean typing your info into a digital template or drawing the business model canvas on a whiteboard or paper. (You should really just stick to a digital template—it’s 2020 after all. And a digital business model canvas means more collaboration, easier sharing, and cloud-based storage!)

As you fill in the business model canvas, you’ll likely need input from marketing, sales, and other teams. Schedule a meeting with the necessary individuals and fill out the template together. It’s a quick process—this meeting should only take between thirty minutes to an hour!

2. Fill out the canvas

Do you have your blank template and representatives from necessary teams? Good. You’re ready to start filling out the canvas. Remember: Your goal is not to create an exhaustive business plan. You’re trying to clarify the essential aspects of your business model and make any adjustments you feel necessary.

Start with your value proposition and work from there. If you need a refresher on any specific element, review the list above!

3. Test your assumptions

Your filled out business model canvas is a plan, but it’s not set in stone. As your team gathers information and offers insights, you may realize certain aspects of your model need to be changed. Perhaps you’ve listed a supplier as a key partner, only to find a different supplier with more competitive pricing. Or maybe you decided that a subscription model wasn’t the best payment plan after all. The business model canvas is meant to help you identify such adjustments—don’t hesitate to change things around!

4. Adapt and maintain

The business model canvas is often thought of as a planning tool—and it is a great one!—but its uses extend beyond the planning stages. As you adapt your business model based on insights from your business model canvas, update the canvas to reflect those changes. If you make drastic adjustments, you might even want to create a whole new business model canvas.

An up-to-date business model canvas is a valuable asset to have, regardless of where you are in your business plan. Whether it’s to show stakeholders your business model to gain buy-in or to onboard new employees, the simple format of the business model canvas makes it a flexible and versatile resource.

how to create business model canvas

Now it’s your turn to create a business model canvas in Lucidspark.

About Lucidspark

Lucidspark, a cloud-based virtual whiteboard, is a core component of Lucid Software's Visual Collaboration Suite. This cutting-edge digital canvas brings teams together to brainstorm, collaborate, and consolidate collective thinking into actionable next steps—all in real time. Lucid is proud to serve top businesses around the world, including customers such as Google, GE, and NBC Universal, and 99% of the Fortune 500. Lucid partners with industry leaders, including Google, Atlassian, and Microsoft. Since its founding, Lucid has received numerous awards for its products, business, and workplace culture. For more information, visit lucidspark.com.

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Home Blog Business What is a Business Model Canvas? Quick Guide + Examples

What is a Business Model Canvas? Quick Guide + Examples

What is a Business Model Canvas

Based on the work of Alexander Osterwalder, a Business Model Canvas , or BMC for short, is a diagram used to visualize a business model; it allows structured organization and a quick method of evaluation and reflection on the effectiveness of a Business Model. The use and study of Business Model Canvas Examples allows us to understand it in a complete way and apply it to different types of organizations.

The Role of the Business Model Canvas

What are the benefits of using a business model canvas, 1. customer segments, 2. value propositions, 3. customer relationships, 4. channels, 5. revenue streams, 6. key activities, 7. key resources, 8. key partnerships, 9. cost structure, the power of a bmc in entrepreneurship: visualize the business model, mcdonald’s.

  • How to Utilize a Business Model Canvas for your Success

Business Model Canvas PowerPoint Templates

Whether it be in small business entrepreneurship or large corporate product launches, the business model sits at the center. The one thing that stands at the very heart of the daily operations of an organization, is a model that dictates where the opportunity lies and how the company effectively acts on it at each step in the process.

The very best professionals will have all of this knowledge and action driving their decisions. However, the original business model one may follow may not always be applicable to the obstacles that an organization faces, thus it’s incredibly useful to fully display organizational structure and operations.

The Business Model Canvas is a powerful tool for businesses of all sizes and industries. Here are some key benefits of using this visual framework:

Simplifies Complexity: Business models can be intricate, with various elements and interactions. The BMC simplifies this complexity by breaking down the model into nine essential building blocks. This visual representation makes it easier for entrepreneurs, team members, and stakeholders to grasp the core components of the business without getting lost in a lengthy business plan. It’s a powerful tool for distilling complex ideas into a clear, concise format.

Enhances Focus: When creating a BMC, you’re prompted to think critically about each building block, such as customer segments, value propositions, and revenue streams. This process encourages a deep understanding of how these components interact and depend on each other. By explicitly defining these elements, you gain a sharper focus on your business strategy and objectives. It helps you identify gaps, redundancies, or areas where your model can be refined.

Promotes Collaboration: The BMC is designed to be a collaborative tool. It’s not something a single person creates in isolation; instead, it encourages cross-functional teams to work together. Each team member can contribute their expertise to fill in the relevant sections. This collaborative approach ensures that everyone involved in the project shares a common understanding of the business model, which is essential for successful execution.

Iterative and Adaptable: Business environments are dynamic, and your business model should be too. The BMC supports an iterative approach, allowing you to make changes and updates as needed. For instance, if market conditions change, you can easily adjust your value propositions or customer segments. It’s a flexible tool that accommodates experimentation and learning. You can use it to test different assumptions and hypotheses about your business and refine your model accordingly.

Cost-Effective: Creating a traditional business plan can be a time-consuming and expensive process. In contrast, developing a BMC is a cost-effective alternative. It doesn’t require extensive resources or financial investments. This makes it particularly valuable for startups and small businesses with limited budgets. It’s a pragmatic way to initiate strategic planning, especially in the early stages of a venture when resources are scarce.

The Basics of the Business Model Canvas

Whether one is creating an all-new business model, comparing a pre-existing model, or adjusting a model to improve value, the BMC excels in keeping anyone invested in the business on track without wasting time and focus. By displaying only, the most critical pieces in business operations or a product, this tool is both a time saver and a method to sharpen your awareness of expectations vs. reality.

Here is the Business Model Canvas explained: There are nine sections in a BMC, each containing a specified topic of information that composes the core of any business model.

PPT Template Business Model Canvas

This section contains the information related to the core target audience that you are selling to. Simple and traditional segmentation analysis must be done to identify the top segments of the model. Start simple with questions like Which are the demographics of the major customer groups being targeted? Why are they going to be interested in the product or service? In essence, how well does the model comprehend who is being sold to? It is crucial that you identify clearly the segments as when facing reality, you will need to focus only in a few (1 or 2) to really test your model without a full operation in place.

Create a list of the unique business value propositions you will offer. Why is the idea or company valuable? What makes it stand above competitors? If there aren’t any direct competitors, what gaps are being filled in given markets?

This section could be extremely lengthy, depending on the business model, but should only contain the most central concepts at the heart of the model that attract customers or generate revenues. This section will contain the aspects of the business that relieve a customer’s pains. If you’re struggling to identify what is most important, consider using a Value Proposition Canvas, another easy-to-visual tool that helps establish your target audience with your strengths. Focus on solving a real pain for the segments identified.

The information of this section should refer to how to connect segments and the value proposition. During the analysis, you should be asking questions like How are customers convinced that your product or organization has the advertised special qualities? What methods are used to interact with them? How does an audience engage with each strategy in the product lifecycle? Additionally, how is customer engagement tracked?

Once the customer is convinced of the goods or services, how would you deliver them? This should include every step of the process it takes to make the financial transaction and value delivery possible. Is there a separate supplier? Who distributes the product? How is it displayed? Think about what the model requires from start to finish in order to make a sale.

If the customer connects with the product or service, and they want to proceed with doing business, then how does the actual exchange of money happen? How is the cash flow tracked? Are there any middlemen between the sale and the income to the business?

Business Model Canvas Diagram for PowerPoint

Source: Editable Business Model Canvas PowerPoint Template

This section should include specific activities that the organization will do to create value. Unlike the Value Propositions, it’s not just about a new product or business practice, but rather the day-to-day operations that each team will take.

Similar to Key Activities but focusing on assets that are used. Is there a special supplier? Is there access to any materials or a local storefront that puts you in an advantageous position? Do you have a special intellectual property or patent that introduces new knowledge into the niche?

For areas that may be lacking, or areas that are too costly for the business to manage by itself, what can be outsourced to partners to focus on? Which areas would it be more cost-efficient to hire from supporting businesses? Specifically, identify model strengths, maximize time and money on them, and move identified weaknesses to connected partners that can address them better or solve them altogether.

Finally, what are the major expenses in the model? Are they a flat fee, or are they a variable cost? This may factor into previous sections, like key activities, resources, and partnerships.

Additionally, how does this relate to the Revenue Streams? How will the predicted costs vs. the actual be monitored? Most importantly, what will be done if costs outweigh the incoming funds?

Creating a Business Model Canvas involves analyzing each of these sections individually and as a whole, and connecting the dots between them.

Introducing a new business or product to the world is no small undertaking, especially when you consider how much competition and other new ideas are thrown into the world on a regular basis.

This also means keeping the model current and responsive. A business model, after all, is only a well-educated guess on how to generate success from a demand. If reality does not match up to the prediction, then even the very best business models are useless. A BMC is your abstract representation of how a business delivers value to customers to help them solve problems.

Steven Blank’s book to entrepreneurs and business leaders, ‘Four Steps to the Epiphany’ , demonstrates the difference between those who watch and listen to their model in action, and those who convince themselves that their business model is flawless, and the world will adjust to follow it instead. The fact is, you may have the most amazing ideas in the world, but it won’t matter if you aren’t paying attention to unforeseen challenges that arise between conception and actualization of a successful model.

The BMC is an excellent tool to get away from the guesswork, and out into the metaphorical streets. It allows an individual or team to compare expectations with reality, to double-check targets and see if those targets are still manageable, and it gives an opportunity to make adjustments to a business model before it’s too late.

This practice is called, ‘Get out of the building’, an important part of the Lean Startup Methodology . It means to develop a BMC and test it against reality. For this to work, you need to create an MVP ( Minimum Viable Product ) that materializes your Value proposition and tests it against real-life customers. Testing means that they should really purchase the MVP and that they complete the different sections of the BMC for true validation. This process is really iterative, and it helps entrepreneurs and business executives make the adjustments necessary to really market a value proposition, reducing the risk of mounting a full-scale operation.

Get Out Of The Building PowerPoint Template

Business Model Canvas Examples

By using examples of Business Model Canvas, we can evaluate business models and identify just what changes need to be made to the model in order to ensure growth and success. In addition, analyzing Business Model Canvas examples and being able to study success stories is beneficial to be able to apply it in different industries, helping you better understand Business Model Canvas explained with examples.

Let’s take a look at the BMC Example of the MoviePass company, which launched with the idea to sell a monthly service to the general public for daily movie tickets at major theater chains for a flat monthly membership fee. The company reasoned that they could benefit two groups, the average moviegoer would be able to see more movies, and movie theaters themselves would see better attendance. This innovative approach required the development of robust membership software to handle the logistics and subscriptions efficiently, making it one of the notable examples of a business model.

In theory, it sounds like a reasonable concept, but in reality, MoviePass had not developed a functional business model which resulted in a poor performance against new technologies. There was no constant evaluation to keep track of their cash flow, and by failing to keep the company growing fast enough, it couldn’t support the necessary costs. Perhaps if leadership had followed a BMC these issues may have been recognized earlier.

Business Model Canvas Example - MoviePass

By using the BMC, MoviePass could have visualized earlier that the business model was in need of a pivot, a change to a section of the model in order to address an issue. In MoviePass’s case, areas like cash flow and customer acquisition had some gaps that required a solution. Had the company been more aware of its business model, it might have seen a need for a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) where they could test the results of their ideas with a few early adopters.

An MVP is the bare bones of a product or service that can provide invaluable information about how a small group of customers reacts. By having a testing period of limited engagement, a business can limit costs while drastically improving knowledge on how to proceed. Had MoviePass used this, they might’ve been able to observe early on that some customers used their service to the max, purchasing a movie ticket per day, far outweighing the profit of their service from the cost of providing it.

The pivot would adjust to their business model, and a new MVP could be created to test the new approach. This new iteration of the business may have changed the original direction of the company. Through each pivot and each new iteration of the model, MoviePass BMC would adjust accordingly, allowing an easy method in which to keep track of the major changes without getting overwhelmed in all the details that lay underneath each educated decision.

There are, however, examples of well-crafted business models that can be observed on a BMC. Let’s take a company that has spread its business model all over the world and has undoubtedly enacted countless pivots and iterations of the business model in order to evolve, adapt, and thrive over the years: McDonald’s, as one of the prime business model examples.

When thinking about the massive scope of McDonald’s, it’s both interesting and telling of how the BMC can still capture the essence of their business model. McDonald’s is a global corporate cash cow requiring a rock-solid model, but that doesn’t mean it’s the same one since the conception of the company.

With the many decades in operation, you can be sure that a McDonald’s BMC would not look the same at the beginning as it does today. What originally started as a single burger joint on a street corner, now faces the challenges of global food service. Each time a new challenge or opportunity presented itself, the McDonald’s business model was forced to pivot by observing the environment, developing an appropriate plan of action, and monitoring the progress accordingly.

Over the years the world has grown to experience many iterations of the McDonald’s brand, whether it be an icon of American cuisine or an example of adaptation to dietary health. Flexible and ambitious, McDonald’s always made sure the business model matched the desired outcomes.

Business Model Canvas Example McDonalds

Uber is a ride-hailing service that has caused massive disruption for conventional taxi services. By using digital technology and a specific standard for cars and drivers offered to customers, many taxi services and individual taxi drivers have found it hard to compete with Uber. In contrast to developed countries, taxi drivers in developing countries have been unable to meet the minimum vehicle standards to qualify as Uber drivers, competing with them virtually out of the market. On the contrary, it has also attracted a new segment of people looking to use Uber as a part-time job to earn extra money.

By looking at Uber using the BMC Example we can see that its key partners include customers, drivers, payment processors, mapping data providers, and local authorities in the country it operates. Its key activities include developing its digital platform and algorithms, driver onboarding, marketing to balance demand and supply, and supporting customers using the service. The key resources of Uber are its digital platform, pricing, and routing algorithms. Uber relies on a peer-to-peer (P2P) circular economy. Where customers and drivers continue to contribute to the Uber revenue in almost a loop. And since Uber is easier to use compared to conventional taxi services, both customers and drivers tend to often use it as a routine. For example, many drivers have completely switched to Uber from conventional taxi services and new drivers entering the market cannot imagine providing services without the model Uber provides. Similarly, customers can get used to the service in a way that the Uber service itself becomes a part of their daily routine.

The value proposition of Uber is the provision of an on-demand taxi service for customers, whenever and wherever they need it. Uber fills the gap for the availability of an instant taxi service, without the need to necessarily ensure pre-booking or find a taxi manually. This offers user convenience, with various value benefits for both the customer and drivers, including the option to avail a cash-free taxi service by customers, earning opportunities for drivers and the supply of passengers and drivers through its ever-increasing base of users.

Uber reaches its customers and even attracts new drivers through its marketing and makes it easier for people to use its services through its app. Making it easy for the customers and drivers to communicate. Uber provides the utility of not just an on-demand service but also uses its algorithms to match supply and demand, find the shortest routes for customers, and to allocate the closest driver. However, since Uber is primarily connecting customers and drivers, it also shifts much of its costs to the former, since it does not require owning and maintaining a large fleet of cars. It can also adjust its revenue based on the market it’s operating in, and adjust prices to match not only demand and supply but the purchasing power and market rates of the country or area it operates in.

Business Model Canvas Example - Uber

When Amazon started in 1994, terms like e-commerce or online shopping were virtually unheard of. In fact, Amazon can be easily credited with being one of the first e-commerce platforms in the world. However, its customer-led approach, with the convenience Amazon offered soon turned it into a famous retailer, which now has various other services attached to its name including an online video streaming platform called Amazon Prime, a cloud storage service (Amazon Drive), Kindle tablets, Fire TV, etc. However, to keep things simple, let’s look at Amazon’s BMC Example in the context of its retail store.

Amazon provides users with a range of services from its network of sellers. These sellers are rated by customers according to their experience and sellers that fail to adhere to Amazon’s standards are removed from the platform. For example, during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, many people began hoarding hand sanitizers and selling them at inflated prices online. Amazon was quick to act to remove such vendors.

The approach that Amazon has is based on not just connecting buyers and sellers but ‘continually raising the bar of the customer experience’. To ensure this, amazon often takes innovative steps that not only include improving its digital platform but also ensuring a steady supplier base. In 2019, Amazon announced $10,000 and three months worth of their gross salary to employees who quit their jobs and started a delivery service. Anticipating the need to expand its supplier base. Amazon has also been famous for offering competitive employee benefits and creating a corporate culture that encourages innovation and employee loyalty.

Through its colossal warehouses, customer-centric approach, and corporate culture that creates an atmosphere of employees to remain closely connected with the company, Amazon’s revenue stream simply does not rely on its customer experience, workforce, or supplier base but on how it’s able to create an environment where stakeholders, including customers and employees feel a sense of loyalty towards the company.

Business Model Canvas Example Amazon

Over the years, AirBnb has been among companies that have leveraged their platform to transform conventional modes of doing business. Using its rating-based digital platform, AirBnb enables people looking to rent accommodation and hosts to be able to connect and become a part of its revenue stream with a few simple taps or clicks.

The platform has not only helped people who have conventionally been renting out their property but also enabled individuals with extra space to consider becoming hosts to earn extra money by renting out space for a short period of time. Similarly, the customers benefit from avoiding hefty rates of hotels and expensive accommodation options.

Like Uber, AirBnb has also been a disruptive force in the market it has operated. It uses its digital infrastructure to connect travelers and hosts. While offering the value proposition of making money by utilizing underutilized space to hosts and offering low-cost accommodation for people looking to save money. This model has enabled the company to surpass large hotel chains and make a major impact in the industry for rent and accommodation. In 2020 AirBnb was valued at $75 billion, surpassing giants like Hyatt Hotels valued at $2.07 billion and Marriott Hotels International valued at $10.57 billion.

Business Model Canvas Example - AirBnb

From its launch in 1997 to 2006 in the United States, Netflix had a per-rental model per DVD. However, in 2007 it launched a subscription-based model that turned out to be more successful. Today, Netflix is available for streaming in over 190 countries, each with its own catalog of Movies and TV shows.

According to Netflix’s Business Model Canvas Example, its value proposition is the provision of on-demand entertainment regardless of where you are. Its subscription models provide access to one or more screens, with the utility to watch Netflix via mobile, tablet, laptop, gaming consoles, etc. Its packages include an economical package with an SD (480P) resolution limited to a single device to more exclusive packages offering Full HD (1080p) Ultra HD (4K) and HDR (2160p) resolutions.

Needless to say, the market segment of Netflix is quite close to universal. Outmaneuvering cable operators and conventional TV channels with exclusive on-demand content. While Netflix’s partners have included broadcasters and production companies, it has recently been focusing on original content. Through Netflix’s subscription-based model, there is very little need (if any) for customer interaction, unless a user is reporting a bug. The Netflix model focuses on self-service with an ‘all you can eat’ style subscription model, with algorithms constantly suggesting content to users to keep them engaged based on their viewing preferences.

Neflix Business Model Canvas Example

Ikea’s value proposition is to provide affordable furniture that is sturdy, aesthetic, and functional enough to cater to customer needs. In doing so Ikea claims to create a better everyday life for people who use its products. The Business Model Canvas Example of Ikea includes its vendors, suppliers, franchisees, and logistics partners making it possible to reach out to customers globally.

Unlike companies like Amazon, e-commerce is only part of Ikea’s operations, as it has a robust physical presence in more than 50 countries. Over the years Ikea has undergone continuous product development with new furniture designs and a range of products being released on a consistent basis. This has helped the company to cater to the needs of different customer segments including families, businesses, and people who need something that is easy to use, assemble, and disassemble.

Ikea Business Model Canvas Example

How to Utilize a Business Model Canvas for Your Success

Whether it be a brand-new business endeavor or a product launch at a long-standing company, it’s critical that the business model is kept at the core of every decision. A Free Business Model Canvas Template is a tool to easily keep the model insight and offers an easy method to open the dialogue when that model may need to pivot.

The whole purpose of the BMC is to allow for a simple presentation of information, reducing complications in understanding just what is required in each new iteration of a business model. At a glance, anyone invested in the outcome of the model should be able to understand the who, what, when, where, and why of the model, or bring it to everyone’s attention if they don’t.

Most importantly, the BMC is a tool to help drive success. If there are issues in your business model that need to be addressed, a BMC makes it easier to visualize where the gaps are, and how they may be filled. Keep in mind that pivoting is crucial to the success and survival of a business model and that change, growth, and adaptation are not an abandonment of what matters, but a natural progression to find the best outcomes to the ultimate goal. As Eric Ries, author of Startup Lessons Learned, puts it: ‘pivoting may lead [successful startups] far afield from their original vision, but if you look carefully, you’ll be able to detect common threads that link each iteration.’

Frequently Asked Questions

Business Model Canvas is like a blueprint for your business. It’s a visual tool that helps you plan, understand, and describe how your business works. It breaks down your business into key parts, like who your customers are, what you offer them, and how you make money.

A real-life example would be Airbnb. They use the Business Model Canvas to show how they connect hosts with travelers, offer unique accommodations, and earn money through commissions on bookings.

To determine your value proposition , you need to identify what makes your product or service special. Ask yourself: What problem does it solve for customers? What benefits do they get? Your value proposition should clearly communicate these advantages.

Building and maintaining customer relationships involves providing excellent customer service, staying engaged with customers through various channels (email, social media), seeking feedback, and addressing their needs promptly.

When establishing partnerships, consider what resources or expertise your business lacks and seek partners who can provide them. Think about how these partnerships will benefit both parties and align with your overall business goals.

The Business Model Canvas allows you to see all aspects of your business in one place, making it easier to identify weaknesses and opportunities. By analyzing each component, you can make informed decisions to optimize your model for better results.

Yes, the Business Model Canvas is versatile and can be used for various businesses, from startups to established companies, in different industries. It helps structure and clarify the business model for any venture.

The frequency of updates depends on your business and market dynamics. In rapidly changing industries, you might need more frequent updates, while others may do so annually or when major changes occur.

Use your Business Model Canvas as a visual aid during presentations. Walk stakeholders through each section, explaining how your business operates and creates value. Encourage questions and discussions to ensure clarity and alignment.

If you want to create professional-looking Business Model Presentations, take a look at the following Business Model Canvas templates , ready to edit and easy to use.

1. Free Business Model Canvas Template for PowerPoint

how to create business model canvas

Build a top-notch company presentation using Free Business Model Canvas Template for PowerPoint. The cool scheme is relaxing to the eyes. The clear layout can provide the audience with quick understanding of the entire report in just one slide.

Use This Template

2. Animated 3D Business Model Canvas Template for PowerPoint

how to create business model canvas

Created with a 3D Model, this professional PowerPoint Template is ideal for creating videos or animated versions of your Business Model Canvas. Very popular among educators and speakers of the entrepreneurship niche.

3. Business Model Canvas PowerPoint Templates

how to create business model canvas

This Business Model Canvas PowerPoint Template is created 100% with editable PowerPoint Shapes, allowing the user to customize the content and visual appearance of the presentation. Suitable for educational presentations where you need to navigate each section of the BMC, or for investors presentations where you need to deep dive on each section of your Business Model.

4. Business Model Canvas Template for PowerPoint

how to create business model canvas

Our most popular Business Model Canvas Template. Ideal for working in groups and iterating with different BMC’s. Its suitable for cooperation editing, and allows very simple compositions. Well suited for developing your MVP and crossing the assumptions that were negated by reality.

5. 3D Perspective Business Model Canvas PowerPoint Template

how to create business model canvas

This Business Model Canvas Design is inspired in the idea of empty boxes, that entrepreneurs need to fill with their ideas. The design is simple to edit and decorated with a colorful theme. Designed to impress every audience.

6. Lean Canvas PowerPoint Template

how to create business model canvas

This Lean Canvas template for PowerPoint and Google Slides is perfect for anyone who needs to pitch a business idea to investors, present their idea to stakeholders or company leadership. This template is 100% editable, allowing the user to customize the content and visual appearance.

7. Product Management Canvas PowerPoint Template

how to create business model canvas

The Product Management Canvas PowerPoint Template is a strategic planning and modeling presentation. This is a single-slide template showing various aspects of product planning and successful management. The purpose of this canvas is to consider all aspects of the product.

8. Editable Business Model Canvas PowerPoint Template

how to create business model canvas

Editable Business Model Canvas PowerPoint Template is a professional presentation representing the Business Model Canvas in “board” format. All the presentation design is completely editable and the user can move, or add, post-its like text boxes to work with the canvas.

9. Simple Business Model Canvas Template for PowerPoint

how to create business model canvas

If you are looking to create an aesthetic Business Model Canvas Template, the Simple Business Model Canvas Template for PowerPoint will allow you to give your presentation the style you need. You will be able to add sticky notes with information for each of the sections of your Business Model.

10. Business Model Canvas Template with Widget Design

how to create business model canvas

100% editable Business Model Canvas template for Google Slides and PowerPoint presentations, with a widget design and look and feel.

how to create business model canvas

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Acquisition, Business Model Canvas, Channels, Cost Structure, Customer Development, Customer Relationship, Customer Segments, Key Activities, Key Partners, Key Resources, Lean Startup, Management, Minimum Viable Product, MVP, Prototyping, Revenue Streams, Startup, Steve Blank, Strategy, Value Proposition Filed under Business

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2 Responses to “What is a Business Model Canvas? Quick Guide + Examples”

If your business is a non-for-profit , how can you adapt your MVP? You are not selling anything as such, so how do you test if your product (MVP) will be purchased?

Hi Elena If there is a “business model”, there is always a business. So, you are selling something. Even non-for-profit sell. They just sell at “cost” or “subsidized”, but there are customers which pay at the end. Otherwise, rather non-for-profit, it is philanthropy and there is no “business” around. Hope this helps. Regards GV.

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how to create business model canvas

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How to create a business model canvas: the ultimate guide

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This blog will explain what a BMC is and a step-by-step explanation of how to define a business model with this famous canvas. To learn more about business models I recommend the following blog:  Types of business model in less than 800 characters .    

What is BMC and what is it for?  

BMC is an acronym of the words  Business Model Canvas ; in Spanish it is called lienzo de modelo de negocio. The BMC is a tool to show how the organization captures, delivers, organizes, and creates value. It is an essential tool for creating business models. With the help of this tool, the main aspects of the business idea that are necessary for the project to work properly are described.  The main components of a BMC are explained below.

Index  

  • What is BMC and what is it for? 
  • Essential components 
  • Step-by-step explanation of the BMC

Main components  

The business model canvas can be designed with multiple aesthetic variants. But there are certain main components that the tool must have so that the business model can be created in a satisfactory way. In addition, it must be defined in a way that makes it truly clear what the business idea and the value proposition with the customer is.  The main components are these 3 :  

  • Cost Center  
  • Value Proposition  
  • Profit centre

Main components

Step-by-step explanation of the BMC  

In the picture above you can see a gift that represents your company's value proposition to the customer. Everything to the right of this gift corresponds to the profit center and everything to the left corresponds to the cost centers.  Below is a more detailed diagram of how these components are divided and what questions need to be answered:  

  • Value Proposition :  What customer problem is being solved and how?  
  • Cost Center 
  • Key Partners : Who should you partner with to deliver and create a solution?  
  • Key Activities : What actions must be taken to create and deliver a solution?  
  • Key Resources : What is needed to produce and deliver a solution?  
  • Cost Structure : What are the components involved in the business model and the cost associated with each component?  
  • Profit Center  
  • Customer relationships : How do we acquire new customers? What would be the desired customer relationships in the business model?  
  • Customer   segments : To which groups of people do we want to offer our solutions?  
  • Channels : How do you deliver your solution to your customers? Where can customers find your solution?  
  • Revenue   streams : How do you generate revenue?  

Step-by-step explanation of the BMC

What is the best way to use the tool?  

While the use of this canvas does not have a rigid structure that prevents, for example, a preliminary brainstorming that allows for a better design of the business model, the questions where the organization is clearer about its business model can be answered.  You could even answer the questions where the organization is clearer about its business model, and once the confidence to provide ideas grows, you could go into the questions that require a more detailed analysis. Even so, I recommend that when creating your first BMC you follow the steps below:  

1. Choosing customer segments  

A useful strategy for segmenting customers is to group them according to their needs, the channels they can be reached through and the different types of offerings or relationships. In this way you are also creating ideas for the other sections and have a very orderly way of understanding the customer.  

Choosing customer segments

2. Define the value proposition 

What features and benefits are created for the customer of the segment(s) specified in the previous step? It is recommended to use the following criteria to justify the value proposition:  

  • Novelty: How novel are the products and services offered.  
  • Performance: What is the quality and speed that increases the value of the business model.  
  • Customization: How customizable are the services and products offered.  
  • Design: How our design differentiates us from the competition.  
  • Price: How high or low the price will be (depends on the chosen business model).  

Customer Value Proposition

3. Choosing channels  

Channels can be very varied; they can be partners' or own and simultaneously direct or indirect.  Channels exist in the different stages of the  customer journey . In the  Buyer Journey  these three stages are  Awareness ,  Consideration  and  Decision .  

Choosing channels

4. Establishing the customer relationship  

Customer relationships are of utmost importance to deliver, reach and communicate the value proposition to our customer. In this section it is necessary to determine how new customers are acquired and which relationships are in line with the solution that the company needs to deliver.  

Establishing the customer relationship 

5. Determine revenue sources  

How is the company generating revenue for each client, is it recurring revenue or does the client pay only once for the solution? The clearest examples of revenue generation are:  

  • Sales: The company sells a product or service for which the customer will owe a one-time payment.  
  • Subscription: This is a recurring payment for a specific service.  
  • Pay-per-use: This is like subscription; it is a recurring payment. But the cost of this varies according to the customer's usage.  

Determine revenue sources

6. Determine key resources  

Resources are everything that is needed to successfully carry out the business model. They can be divided into: Physical, Intellectual, Human and Financial.

Determine key resources 

These are all the tasks to carry out a business model that provides the target user or customer with a solution to their problems.  

8. Choose key partners  

This includes the stakeholders, the network of suppliers and partners needed to carry out the business model.  Some factors that make the business model need a partner are: Optimization of economies of scale, risk reduction and the acquisition of resources or activities especially by  outsourcing companies.  

Choose key partners

9. Differentiate the costs incurred in the business model  

Finally, to run a successful business model you need to ensure financial viability. For this it is necessary to divide the operating costs as follows: Fixed Costs, Variable Costs. In addition, economies of scale, cost minimization and  premium  value propositions that generate the maximum possible value must be considered.  

In conclusion, the way you do your BMC should not be rigid at all but following a series of steps ensures that the process is sequential and logical. This makes the design process a high value activity.  

For more information I recommend you visit these interesting blogs:  

Business Model Canvas: Osterwalder-Pigneur and alternatives

Construye Paso a Paso un Business Model Canvas  

Checklist-modelo-de-negocio-Recuperado-1

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Business Model Canvas Template

Determine and align your business priorities in a simple and visual way with the Business Model Canvas Template.

Trusted by 65M+ users and leading companies

About the Business Model Canvas Template

The Business Model Canvas template, designed by Alexander Osterwalder and Yves Pigneur, provides a strategic and powerful way to understand your business. The Business Model Canvas (BMC)  displays a business model, and it contains nine blocks: fill in each one using stickies, links, sketches, pictures, and videos. Use this business model template collaboratively with your team to clearly explain and visualize your business.

How to use a Business Model Canvas template: 9 key elements

The canvas provides nine key business elements to illustrate, summarize, and track. The nine building blocks of a BMC template are:

1. Key partners

List the key partnerships your business leverages or relies upon for success. Include the resources or value your business gets from these partnerships.

2. Key activities

Summarize the key activities that allow your business to provide services and deliver on your value proposition.

3. Key resources

List the key resources your business relies upon or uses in order to operate and provide services.

4. Key propositions

Summarize the different value propositions that set your business apart from your competition.

5. Customer relationships

Define and describe the primary relationships you have with your customers, including how you interact with them, how these interactions differ among different types of customers, what different customer needs are, and the level of support the different customers receive.

6. Channels

Detail how your customers are reached, how your services are provided, your different distribution channels, and how your value proposition is delivered.

7. Customer segments

Define the ideal customer personas your value proposition is intended to benefit, then describe the key differences between these segments and potential steps in the customer journey.

8. Cost structure

Identify the primary costs associated with operating your business and providing your services, then detail the relationship between these costs and other business functions.

9. Revenue streams

Describe how your business generates revenue through the delivery of your value proposition.

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When do you use the Business Model Canvas template?

Business Model Canvases are not intended to serve in place of a business plan . Instead, the BMC template is used to summarize and visually illustrate the most important information of a business model and to provide centralized ongoing clarity.

This canvas is appropriate for illustrating existing business models, regardless of whether the business is new. The BMC template is also appropriate for visualizing new business models for startups, as it helps organize and consolidate ideas around your key functions. Keep in mind that the Business Model Canvas should be reviewed periodically, as all the factors listed can change over time.

5 Benefits of creating a Business Model Canvas online

Filling in the BMC template makes it easy to visually and collaboratively outline the core aspects of your business's unique value proposition. Here are a few benefits of using the template:

1. Provides a structure for ideation

The Business Model Canvas is extremely useful for structuring your business model visually. This helps at different stages of defining your business canvas and makes it easy to keep up-to-date as strategies shift.

2. Focuses you on your value proposition

It can be easy to get distracted by the varying factors involved in running a business. The value proposition is at the heart of the entire Business Model Canvas template, so you can continually focus on why your business exists. You should use your value proposition as a guiding star to give you direction as you fill out all other parts of the canvas.

3. Fast to complete

Whether or not your business model is clearly defined or you are testing out different business models, the BMC template can be completed quickly and helps you generate new business ideas. This allows for quicker feedback, quicker ideation, and faster iteration.

4. Provides a holistic view of your business

With the Business Model Canvas, you can see how all of the elements of your business are interrelated and inform or affect each other. This provides you with a better understanding of how your business operates as a system or ecosystem.

5. Gives you a central document to share externally

Once you’ve filled out your Business Model Canvas template, you can share it widely, get feedback, and make any needed updates. Because the visual presentation is easy to grasp and understand, teams, stakeholders, advisors, and partners should find the canvas relatively straightforward and easy to understand.

Can I customize the template to suit my business or add more details?

Yes, you can customize the BMC to match your specific business needs and add additional notes or details as necessary.

How often should I update or review the BMC for my business?

The Business Model Canvas (BMC) is a dynamic tool that should be reviewed and updated regularly to reflect changes in your business model or market.

Can I use the BMC template for both startups and established businesses?

Yes, the BMC is suitable for both startups and established companies. It's a versatile tool that can be used for business model development, refinement, and innovation at any stage.

Is there a way to link external resources or documentation directly in the Business Model Canvas template?

Yes, in Miro, you can embed external links directly onto the canvas. This is particularly useful if you want to provide more detailed information or references for specific model sections or business cases.

Can I export my Business Model Canvas to share with stakeholders not using Miro?

Absolutely! Miro provides multiple export options for your canvas. You can save your Business Model Canvas as an image (PNG, JPEG), a PDF, or even a CSV file for the data.

Are there any integrations available to enhance my use of the Business Model Canvas template in Miro?

Yes, Miro offers a suite of integrations with popular tools and platforms to streamline your workflow. For example, you can integrate with tools like Slack for team communication, Google Drive for document storage, or Jira for project management. Using these integrations, you can seamlessly bring in external data, notify team members of updates, or even automate specific tasks directly within your Business Model Canvas board.

Get started with this template right now.

Customer Problem Statement Thumbnail

Customer Problem Statement Template

Works best for:.

Ideation, Design Thinking, Product Management

Put yourself in the shoes of your consumers with a customer problem statement. Figure out their problems and how your product or service can solve those problems and make their lives easier. As a bonus, you’ll better understand your customers throughout the process.

Project Planning Thumbnail

Project Planning Template

Project Management, Project Planning

A project plan is a single source of truth that helps teams visualize and reach project milestones. Project plans are most useful when you outline the project’s “what” and “why” to anyone who needs to give you project buy-in. Use a project plan to proactively discuss team needs; expectations; and baselines for timeline, budget, and scope. The plan will also help you clarify available resources before you kick off a project, as well as expected deliverables at the end of the project.

BUSINESS PITCH -web-1

Business Pitch Template

Business Pitch

The Business Pitch Template uses visual aids to enhance your pitch, making it more impactful and easier to understand. This gives your pitch an edge, leaving a lasting impression and greatly improving your ability to convey your ideas persuasively.

value-proposition-thumb-web

Value Proposition Template

Strategy & Planning, Product Strategy

The Value Proposition Template is a framework that empowers businesses to articulate their offerings' core advantages. By breaking down an offering into its essential elements, this template ensures that stakeholders grasp the unique value a product or service brings to the market.

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Official 5-Day Design Sprint

Design, Desk Research, Sprint Planning

The goal of a Design Sprint is to build and test a prototype in just five days. You'll take a small team, clear the schedule for a week, and rapidly progress from problem to tested solution using a proven step-by-step checklist. Steph Cruchon of Design Sprint created this template for Miro in collaboration with design sprint gurus at Google. This Design Sprint template is designed specifically for remote sprints so you can run productive and efficient sprints with colleagues around the world.

REAN Thumbnail

REAN Template

Marketing, Strategic Planning, Meetings

First introduced in Cult of Analytics, the REAN model is used to measure and understand the efficacy of marketing efforts. REAN stands for Reach, Engage, Activate, and Nurture, the main stages a marketer’s audiences experience during a typical journey. The REAN model helps marketing teams develop useful KPIs that can help capture how well their marketing or ad campaigns are working. Many teams rely on the REAN model because it is adaptable to a variety of marketing efforts, including planning measurement frameworks, setting goals, deciding on objectives, and mapping digital marketing channels.

Create my business canvas

Create Business Model Canvas Templates Online

If you want to start a new business, use these free editable business model canvas templates from edit.org to state the basic aspects of your project..

Did you have a great idea or you are planning on starting a new company ? If so, this is the time to translate that idea to a Business Model Canvas . With this document, you will be able to learn how to create an effective business model and describe the basic aspects of your new project.

Templates for startups to edit online and for free

Create a Business Model Canvas with Edit.org editable templates

Having the key points of your project specified before starting is fundamental since you will better understand its reason for being, the future performance and the means you are going to count on at the beginning.

All the Business Model Canvas sections are related to each other, and it is crucial to define them and translate them into a document . Here you have some examples of templates you can edit in a few seconds. In our editor, find dozens of templates with different designs ready to customize online and completely free by inserting your your logo or changing the corporate colors. Use the final result to make others understand your business .

Startup canvas model

How to customize a Business Model Canvas template online with Edit.org

  • Click on any image of this article or go to the editor to get started
  • Select the template you want to edit
  • Customize it with images, texts, elements, and logo
  • Save the changes and download the composition in JPG, PNG or PDF format
  • Print it or share it on social media

Parts of a Business Model Canvas explained

  • Key partners.  Who are or will be your key suppliers or partners? Are you going to make a partnership agreement? A win-win deal can benefit your project a lot. 
  • Key activities . Write here the bullet points of your day-to-day routine. ¿What is the main activity your firm is going to carry out?
  • Key resources.  At this point, we will describe which resources your business needs. They can be: financial resources (how much capital do we need, whether we are going to borrow or need investors), human resources (how many staff we will need to develop our project), physical resources (if we need machinery, computers, office premises, etc.) or intellectual resources (brands and trademarks). 
  • Value propositions.  Which benefits and advantages do your product or service have? It is perhaps one of the most fundamental points in which we will define if the product exists or not in the market, if it is of good quality, or if it offers better characteristics compared to competitors. Also, we can enumerate if the product or service differentiates by price, quality, or target segment.
  • Relationship with customers.  How do you relate to your clients? It can be face-to-face, by phone, or online such as by email. You can also use a software program with which the client himself can solve his doubts through automated processes. The more channels the client has, the greater the satisfaction.
  • Channels . It is related to the previous point. Which are the channels with which you are going to convey your messages?
  • Customer segments.  In this section, we will have to define our client through a customer persona. It can be the case your product adapts to multiple market niches. It is crucial to be realistic in this section since one of the usual mistakes is to believe everyone is going to buy your product.
  • Cost structure.  Here we will define which are the costs that we will have in our project: initial costs (such as a vehicle or a computer), variable costs (such as material purchases, which increase when buying more material), fixed costs (staff, supplies, rentals, etc.), or costs in terms of economies of scale (higher sales means lower expenses).
  • Sources of income.  In this section, you must describe how the project obtains revenues: cash charges for selling a product (like in product stores), monthly payments from users (like Netflix), by using telephone lines, etc. Your project can mix several sources of income, that will make your model much healthier.

Canvas business model

At the end, you will have understood your business much better , and it will easier to make decisions. Now try to select one of the Canvas Model templates and start editing it. You can download it the final result for free in JPG, PNG or PDF and print it. Try Business Model Canvas templates from Edit.org now!

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IMAGES

  1. DesignABetterBusiness.tools

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  2. Quick Guide to the Business Model Canvas

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  3. How To Use The Business Model Canvas

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  4. Business Model Canvas: Definition, Benefits, and Examples

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  5. Quick Guide to the Business Model Canvas

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  6. The business model canvas: tool to help you understand a business model

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VIDEO

  1. Building a Business Model Canvas

  2. BUSINESS MODEL CANVAS

  3. FULL WORKSHOP

  4. Business Model Canvas video

  5. Business Planning with the Business Model Canvas

  6. How to make a Business Model Canvas

COMMENTS

  1. Business Model Canvas: Explained with Examples

    Updated on: 12 December 2022 | 15 min read Exploring Business Model Canvas? Create one using a template Learn how to create a business model Key building blocks of the business model canvas 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?

  2. Business Model Canvas: A 9-Step Guide to Analzye Any Business

    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.

  3. Create a Business Model Canvas Online

    Finalize your business model canvas online and easily download it as a high-resolution JPG, PNG, GIF, or PDF. Share it digitally through email or social accounts, or publish it as a poster for your office using Canva Print. You can also embed it to your website, your business presentation, or visual Docs in Canva. Create a business model canvas.

  4. Make a Business Model Canvas (How-tos, Examples, Tips)

    A business model canvas is a strategic management tool that helps companies visualize new and existing business models they develop. This one-page template allows you to examine the external and internal factors that could make or break your business, such as the infrastructure running your business, what value you're offering, the customers you serve, and the finances that keep your business ...

  5. How to Create a Business Model Canvas (With Template)

    Try Wrike for free Your focus could be to achieve profitability in the first year or gain a large market share. Stay competitive by defining actionable steps for your team within the business model canvas. Flexible and scalable as the business evolves

  6. How to make a great Business Model Canvas

    August 2, 2021 Most of us are familiar with business models, which are a company's plan for making a profit. A typical business model identifies the products or services that the company intends to sell, the target market, and any possible expenses. Since a business model is so high-level, it can be hard to visualize how it might work in practice.

  7. Business Model Canvas: The Definitive Guide and Examples

    Cost Structure Applications and Analysis What to Do After? Some Tips for Beginners Software for Business Model Canvas What Are the Benefits of the BMC? What Does the Business Model Canvas Lack? Why Should Already-Established Companies Implement the Business Model Canvas? Real Examples of the Business Model Canvas Airbnb LinkedIn

  8. Business Model Canvas

    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. Webinars.

  9. How To Use The Business Model Canvas

    STEP BY STEP GUIDE The Business Model Canvas (BMC) How To Get Started? Different Ways Of Using The Business Model Canvas? Step 1 (of 10): Customer Segments 1. Customers Segments 2. Segment Composition 3. Problems, Needs, Behaviours & Current Alternatives Outcome Step 2 (of 10): Value Propositions What is Value? Outcome Step 3 (of 10): Channels

  10. The Business Model Canvas: A Quick How-To Guide

    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:

  11. Business Model Canvas (BMC): The Ultimate Guide

    Business Model Canvas (BMC) is a framework that helps determine how a business creates, delivers, and captures values. It is a visual representation of the important aspects or parts to consider when designing a Business Model. BMC aids in constructing a shared understanding of a business by condensing it into a simple, relevant, and ...

  12. Create a new Business Model Canvas

    The Business Model Canvas was proposed by Alexander Osterwalder based on his earlier book: Business Model Ontology. It outlines nine segments which form the building blocks for the business model in a nice one-page canvas. You can find a detailed explanation in his bestselling book "Business Model Generation".

  13. What is a business model canvas? Overview with template

    How do I create a business model canvas for my business? Involve all the stakeholders early on Keep it simple Be data-driven Focus on an iterative approach Consider external factors Conclusion and key takeaways In 2013, I co-founded a startup in the Indian online gifting industry with three friends. It was my first involvement with a startup.

  14. How To Create A Business Model Canvas

    How To Create A Business Model Canvas Every startup founder should be able to clearly outline their business model. Learn how to create a business model canvass in this step-by-step guide. November 15th, 2018 | By: The Startups Team | Tags: Idea Validation

  15. How to Create an Expert Business Model: A Detailed Guide

    Edit and Download. The bundling business model can be a great idea if offering multiple products or services for a lower price point will still be profitable for your business. Here's a template you can use to explain this model to stakeholders. Customize this template and make it your own! Edit and Download. 3.

  16. How to Create and Use a Business Model Canvas

    1. Gather stakeholders and materials. Whether you're creating a digital or physical business model canvas, you'll need to be able to fill in the boxes on the template. This could mean typing your info into a digital template or drawing the business model canvas on a whiteboard or paper.

  17. What is a Business Model Canvas? Quick Guide + Examples

    Quick Guide + Examples. Based on the work of Alexander Osterwalder, a Business Model Canvas, or BMC for short, is a diagram used to visualize a business model; it allows structured organization and a quick method of evaluation and reflection on the effectiveness of a Business Model. The use and study of Business Model Canvas Examples allows us ...

  18. How to create a business model canvas: the ultimate guide

    Some factors that make the business model need a partner are: Optimization of economies of scale, risk reduction and the acquisition of resources or activities especially by outsourcing companies. 9. Differentiate the costs incurred in the business model . Finally, to run a successful business model you need to ensure financial viability.

  19. How To: Business Model Canvas Explained

    An example of a Business Model Canvas. The right side of the BMC focuses on the customer (external), while, the left side of the canvas focuses on the business (internal).

  20. Business Model Canvas Template

    How to use a Business Model Canvas template: 9 key elements The canvas provides nine key business elements to illustrate, summarize, and track. The nine building blocks of a BMC template are: 1. Key partners List the key partnerships your business leverages or relies upon for success.

  21. How To Use Business Model Canvas (With Template and Examples)

    Explore this template. Create Your Business Model Canvas - It's Free! Xtensio is your team space for beautiful living documents. Create, manage and share business collateral, easily. Table of Contents Xtensio's FREE Business Model Canvas Template and Editable Examples Key Partners Key Activities Key Resources Unique Value Proposition

  22. How To Fill In A Business Model Canvas

    The Business Model Canvas is a great way of mapping out an idea, allowing it to be understood, tested and improved. The tool is a single page with nine connected boxes, which show how all parts of your business work together for success. It can be sketched anywhere - on a whiteboard, napkin or notepad.

  23. Create Business Model Canvas Templates Online

    How to customize a Business Model Canvas template online with Edit.org. Click on any image of this article or go to the editor to get started. Select the template you want to edit. Customize it with images, texts, elements, and logo. Save the changes and download the composition in JPG, PNG or PDF format.