Whether you're in startup mode or gaining traction, you need real clarity on your business model so you can design your business for success. The Business Model Canvas was originally developed by Alexander Osterwalder and Yves Pigneur, and presented in their seminal 2010 book ‘Business Model Generation’ as a visual framework for devising, developing and testing an organization’s business model(s). Traditionally, the first thing that an entrepreneur was ‘expected’ to do was to create a business plan outlining the key opportunities, activities and strategies, as well as initial financial projections for the business. Invariably, by the time many had competed their plans things had moved so rapidly that the market reality had changed; a problem that has exacerbated over time as the pace of business has accelerated. To many, the mere prospect of having to create a business plan in the first place was such an overwhelming and intimidating task that it became an excuse to procrastinate from actually starting the business.
The concept of the Business Model Canvas was to provide a simple, intuitive and flexible tool that can be developed rapidly and applied ongoing to iterate and refresh the business strategy. In a single page view, the BMC provides an overview of the business: it’s offering, infrastructure, market and finances. The following Slideshare provides an outline of the elements and structure of the BMC, as well as some pointers as to how to think about and use it.