What Is The Business Canvas Model And How To Create Your Own Canvas Or Business Model Canvas Template?

ArtzStudio
8 min readJun 10, 2020

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https://www.artzstudio.com/2020/05/what-is-the-business-canvas-model/

What Is The Business Canvas Model ? Are you able to synthesize in a single sheet the model of your business or the Business Model Canvas of your project? If you’re still not sure if I’m talking to you or maybe you don’t know how to do it correctly, don’t worry, because today you’ll learn how to make your own canvas or Canvas Model template.

This methodology is one of the best ways you can use to easily explain to a group of people, investors or your team, what your business idea or project consists of.

And, to excel in the business world, whether on the Internet or Offline, requires a very well-detailed structure and a well-structured action plan , with which it is possible to pose efficiently where we intend to go.

In addition, this corporate strategy will allow each of the members of the work team to know, what is the real situation in which we find ourselves and what are the actions that they must carry out.

But, before downloading and completing the Canvas template for your business, such as the one that I offer in this step-by-step guide, it is best that we first have a clearer idea of ​​exactly what this topic is about and what the complete structure of this methodology:

What Is The Business Canvas Model?

The Business Model Canvas or Model Canvas, also known as the business model canvas, is a concept that allows the idea and global vision of a business model to be displayed in a single document according to 9 pre-established fields, showing the interconnections between its different elements involved in it.

It was introduced to the corporate and business world with the launch of the book Generation of Business Models (original title: “Business Model Generation”). The work dates from 2010 and its authors are Alex Osterwalder and Yves Pigneur.

In this publication, this tool is also defined as a very complete and essential method when creating a business model, based on strategic management for the creation of projects and their development.

Exposed in a slightly more literal way, this approach is based on taking the project as a single blank canvas, on which infinite possibilities can be posed in order to project business objectives.

All this, with a defined series of interrelated elements, which are a practical part of its “environment”, such as:

  • Customer Segments
  • Key Partners
  • Revenue Streams
  • Key Activities
  • Customer Relationships
  • Key Resources
  • Channels
  • Value Proposition
  • Cost Structure

According to each author, there are hundreds of thousands of ways to create an efficient corporate Canvas Model , with which they can project the corporate objectives of each company.

In addition, these must be fully defined, in order to achieve a clear position within the sector or commercial niche.

A good first step is to have the right tools for this purpose and, precisely, the Business Model Canvas has been a great help since its creation for many companies in recent years.

Benefits Of The Business Model Canvas For A Company Or Business

Facing the intention of growth, expansion and corporate development, the approach presented by the Canvas Model, as many experts have concluded, allows the possibility of brushing up a whole universe of possibilities.

All of them, as progress is made in the development of the business system, are emerging and incorporated into the business plan.

This methodology has quickly become one of the favorite tools of entrepreneurs , international businesses and companies, who are looking for a system that allows them to develop strategic management for projects that are easy to expose.

Among all the advantages that the Canvas Model presents in the general planning and development environment, the following can be taken into account:

  • The practicality of the method, which more than a characteristic is its fundamental pillar.
  • The simple way in which the real elements are exposed within the environment in which they intervene.
  • It allows the ease of graphically exposing ideas and each of the relevant aspects of the productive unit.
  • It is a highly adaptable tool , allowing you to keep pace with the growth of projects.
  • It allows to expose important elements within the context of a project in a didactic, interactive and intuitive way .
  • It allows the global visualization of each of the important aspects of the business.

What Elements Do We Need To Make A Business Model Canvas?

Next, we will briefly explain each of the elements and the way in which the Canvas Model addresses them within a business plan.

1. Customer Segment

The central pillar of any good business model is that which is made up of consumers of the product or service offered within the market.

The Business Model Canvas gives priority to the part made up of the total client portfolio, since these represent a fundamental part of the ecosystem of our niche and protagonists of our final income.

>> You may be interested to see: How To Create A Customer Journey Map To Design The Best Customer Experience?

2. The Value Proposition

Another fundamental part of this methodology is to organize all the elements that are part of the product, which is previously established to satisfy a need that already exists in the current market.

In the value proposition everything related to the product is reflected (size, design, price, competitiveness, induction strategy ect …)

3. Channels

Identify the means by which you will deliver your valuable products and / or content to your target audience. Sometimes, your Digital Marketing Plan will be key in this section, since this will be the criterion that you will follow with your actions.

Once everything relevant to customers and the product or service itself has been considered, the Canvas Model must take into account the relevance of the communication channels.

These, in short, will be the intermediaries between your value proposition and the purchase or acquisition of your commercial proposal.

4. Customer-Business Relationship

At this point, you must mark a limit segment from where your relationship and interaction with your customers begins and ends.

That is, to give you a very simple example, do you know those bars where it is indicated on posters that you should serve yourself?

They are setting the limits in the interaction between the business staff and you (the client), making it clear from the beginning that they will pick up your table and take care of your order at the bar, but that at no time will they serve on the terrace.

Obviously, this will also be linked to some extent to the volume of final sales that materialize because, in the previous example, it may produce dissatisfaction on the part of customers, but the employer will save a salary (fixed expense).

In this way, the counterpart for this will be the possibility of reducing prices a little, in order to alleviate this supposed consumer dissatisfaction.

5. Source Of Income

Once the previous elements are covered, within the Canvas Business Model, we immediately focus on the source of income.

This element is represented by the amount of capital that is obtained, once the consumer has had access to the product, good or service offered by the company.

Once it is obtained, it is important to design a management plan with which to redistribute it in the production requirements and the general expenses of the project.

6. Business Resources

Corporately speaking, one of the most delicate elements within almost any self-respecting project, and within the Canvas Model is not an exception, it is the administration of the resources that the business possesses for its efficient operation.

According to this system, this aspect must be analyzed and divided into four fundamental elements, consisting of:

  • Physicists.
  • Intellectuals.
  • Humans.
  • Financial.

7. Activities

Basically it’s just what your company will be doing. That is, each and every one of the actions that will be involved in the lucrative activity that you carry out.

In this sense, it is as important to be clear about what activities the corporation will carry out as what actions will not have a place within this business model .

This may seem like a no-brainer, but sometimes, we tend to lose focus with actions that do not contribute anything to the smooth running of our project, causing a huge lack of productivity.

8. Partners (Key Partnerships)

When talking about the creation of a business Canvas Model, it is extremely crucial to be clear about who will be the “captains of the ship” , which will presumably lead to business success.

Likewise, among the key associations there will be a place for strategic suppliers and alliances with potential clients, franchises, etc.

9. Cost Structure

The last of the elements within the template of our Canvas is the elaboration of a cost structure, where each of the previous blocks must be widely reflected.

In this last step is where each of the investments that the business must make is directly reflected, without ignoring any, since afterwards we do not want to have «surprises».

Business Model Canvas For Your Business Or Project

Why Is The Design Of A Canvas Model So Important For Your Business?

The design of a Business Model Canvas is presented within the business world as the opportunity to develop a more profitable and sustainable method that consists of nine elements, which I explained to you previously.

It will also reflect how to keep them in mind when laying the foundations for a project with the intention of being scalable and offering results.

Nowadays, many companies use the bases of the Canvas Model, due to the precision it allows and the possibility of putting together a business strategy with a more global approach.

A crucial factor in this regard is that each of the elements has a direct relationship and influence on the other eight.

And this, despite the fact that it makes it seem much more complex, the truth is that it is a tool that allows us to directly observe each of the real environments in which the entity is involved.

A rather particular element within this approach is the constant emphasis on the human factor , as a fundamental axis within a sustainable business model, where the establishment of communication lines is essential for the efficient management of a business.

This system insists on the constant repetition of the influence of the human factor among the entire ecosystem that makes up the market and as a well-established communications model.

In addition, a much more thorough treatment in the management of the human part that surrounds the business environment.

Thus, it becomes the fundamental link in the corporate growth process .

Conclusion

Once you have internalized each of these 9 fundamental factors or pillars that intervene in the generation of a business model inspired by this methodology, your future will be about to change its course.

And is that, if thousands of companies around the world have worked this way of posing the elements of business in this business canvas, in your case it should not be very different.

Source:https://www.artzstudio.com/2020/05/what-is-the-business-canvas-model/

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