Business plan: Developing a business model for a startup

This is another article about preparing a business plan for your startup. I hasten to please you, no one writes business plans, in the usual sense of the word, in our super-fast time. So you don't have to make a 100 page document with a bunch of unnecessary letters, just 10 pages of very clear and important project information. The main thing is to do it right and include only the essentials. Here we will work out the business model of your startup.

Business Model Canvas- This is a method that allows you to show all aspects of your business based on 9 blocks. This is probably the most typical thing that all startups do. It's very simple and I like it because it's a quick way to test your business idea and see where your problem areas are. Let's call it in Russian business model picture your startup. To immediately indicate the beauty of what is happening :)

The picture template looks like a table with different zones:

Source www.kvk.nl , Alexander Osterwalder, ‘Business Model Generation’ (2010)

We start filling it from the center, the most important thing - value propositions. Write here the answer to the question - why customers will choose you? Usually you either solve a problem or offer something that your customers need / are looking for / appreciate. Reply here: How will you make your customers happy?

Next we go to the block - customer segments. Here we describe who will be your customers? Are they people or organizations? Can they be divided into different groups? Think right away about whether your proposal described above is suitable for these groups or something needs to be adjusted.

Relationships with your clients customer relationship block - as you want communicate with your customers offline or online? What you post here very much depends on who your customers are, as well as what your goals are. Do you want to acquire new customers, keep existing ones, improve your service or get good reviews? How do you build a chain of interaction with customers creates a reputation for your company and this is what can become your competitive advantage. Here's how Zappos did it, for example.

And the most interesting part for investors, the block Revenue streams - where will the money come from? How much are customers willing to pay for your product or service? When do you expect the first receipts of money? If you have multiple customer segments - describe for each of them. Remember that in order to make a profit, you will need to deduct your expenses.

Key resources - what do you need to make your startup successful? These are the resources you need to enter the market, maintain customer relationships and ultimately make a profit. It can be items(e.g. equipment), intellectual property(patents), financial or human resources(skills and abilities of your employees).

What do you do as a company - Key activities. The main question that you should ask yourself here is what exactly we do And what we don't do how does a company make our business model work?

Your main partners key partners. Who will be your partners so that you achieve your goals faster? Think beyond your current operational partners and suppliers, think about your strategic partners for the future.

And the last - cost structure. We define your financial needs. Above, we have identified our key resources and partners, as well as activities, and now it is not difficult to understand what our expenses will be, and comparing them with revenues, understand how profitable we will be.

In total, in the final you will get a real picture for your startup! Remember that the key is to create a business model that will grow as your business grows. Good luck!