Business Model

Business model, what is it? According to dictionary.cambridge.org a business model is: "a description of the different parts of a business or organization showing how they will work together successfully to make money". In other words its a blueprint of your business plan designed to show at a glance what your enterprise is, does, and needs to achieve success, growth, and make money.

Alexander Osterwalder created a business model framework designed to help build your business plan. Here is a link to his video explaining about the nine building blocks used in creating a Combination Business Model Canvas and how these components fit together into a business model canvas. Here is another useful link: a beginners guide.

There are many different kinds of business models to consider, each catered to the specific services and/or products its business provides and the customer base its aimed at selling to. Having looked at these examples its clear that my business falls into the Combination Model as I mix and match revenue streams. Such as Clicks and Mortar as I blend online sales and offline sales selling my spiritual merchandise, plus demonstrating and teaching about various aspects of Mediumship. Workshops/Classes where I teach creative skills, mediumship and spiritual arts. Dropshipping as I use print on demand to sell my merchandise direct to the customer through the on line sales channel of E-commerce with links to my online shop are via my website and social media sites and Marketplace Platforms.

Building your business framework can be simplified by filling in a business model canvas: each box representing one of the nine building blocks, from Osterwalder's model canvas, that when completed lays out the fundamental elements of your strategic management business plan.

Value propositions describes what makes your product or service so special, what need does it fulfil and how it benefits your customers. The customer segment is about your target audience, who your customer base is, the individuals and businesses we work with or for. Channels is about how we reach those customers and how do they find us, such as word of mouth, website, social media or by email. Customer relationship is about how we interact with our clientele, is it in the long or short term, or one offs. Its also about how will it be in person, online or at point of sale. Revenue stream is about how you get paid, in cash at point of sale, PayPal, bank transfer, or sum up. It includes how much you charge for your work, by the hour, the product or service. Key resources is about the materials required to make it work, create and provide your products and or services to your customer base. Key activities s about how you use those key resources in managing the day to day running of your business e.g. interacting with customers, designing, creating, selling, bookkeeping. Key partners are the people or businesses we work with regularly, its the networks we've built, the companies we use, the suppliers and customer bases we've created all of which support our business and help us deliver to our customers. Such as for example one of my print on demand section of my enterprise key partner is t-shirt studio, without that partnership I could not reach y customer base with my designs. Cost structure is about what it costs all together to run your business. It all the things that add expenses to the running of your business conveniently brought together in one place. Expenses such as insurance, marketing, fees, art supplies, travel, the list goes on and on.

My business model is designed to bring together all that we have covered within this creative enterprise course into a cohesive plan. Networking, The Creative Idea, Viability, Market Research, Vision and Mission, Brand, Marketing, The Legal Stuff, Funding and Finance.

Ref:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FumwkBMhLo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LbbGRgGKSyg