business-model-tools

Business Model Tools for Small Businesses and Startups

In this article, we’ll see a few one-page tools to give entrepreneurs clarity of mind on their overall business to take action to build a sustainable venture that unlocks value for many players in the long-term.

Business model canvas

The nine-building blocks of the business model canvas comprise vital partners, key activities, value propositions, customer relationships, customer segments, critical resources, channels, cost structure, and revenue streams.

The business model canvas comprises nine building blocks:

Business-model-canvas

The Business Model Canvas by strategyzer.com

Lean startup canvas

The lean startup canvas is an adaptation of the business model canvas by Alexander Osterwalder, which adds a layer to the traditional business model canvas that focuses on problems, solutions, key metrics and unfair advantage based on a unique value proposition.

You can learn more about the lean startup canvas:

What is the lean startup methodology?

lean-startup-canvas-vs-business-model-canvas

The Lean Startup Canvas is an adaptation of the Business Model Canvas by strategyzer.com

Value proposition canvas

A value proposition is about how you create value for customers. Value Proposition Canvas is a methodology which integrated with the business model canvas can help you design a value proposition for your business model.

For a deep dive into the value proposition canvas:

Blitzscaling business model innovation canvas

In some scenarios, building up a business feels a lot like throwing yourself off the cliff and assembling an airplane on the way down,” as Reid Hoffman, former PayPal, and co-founder of LinkedIn pointed out. 

This is true especially when you’re trying to build a business in an innovative sector, where the speed of adoption becomes critical for its long-term success. In that scenario, the Blitzscaling canvas is better suited:

blitzscaling-business-model-innovation-canvas
The Blitzscaling business model canvas is a model based on the concept of Blitzscaling, which is a particular process of massive growth under uncertainty, and that prioritizes speed over efficiency and focuses on market domination to create a first-scaler advantage in a scenario of uncertainty.

Blitzscaling starts from the assumption that a company’s business model  is built on four growth factors and two growth limiters:

blitzscaling-business-model

To gain a better understanding of this tool, you can see below the six levers to blitzscale:

The business model navigator methodology

Assessing, designing and innovating a business model isn’t a simple feat. Thus, it is critical to have several tools that can help you look at your business from different perspectives.

The Business Model Navigator Methodology uses a simple framework to dissect a business model which looks at who, what, how and why of a business. Those four dimensions allow you to map any company’s business model by having a complete picture of its engine.

business-model-navigator

The BMI Lab created this framework. And FourWeekMBA in partnership with BMI Lab also put together a list of the business model patterns identified by its research.

The FourWeekMBA business model framework

fourweekmba-business-model-framework
An effective business model has to focus on two dimensions: the people dimension and the financial dimension. The people dimension will allow you to build a product or service that is 10X better than existing ones and a solid brand. The financial dimension will help you develop proper distribution channels by identifying the people that are willing to pay for your product or service and make it financially sustainable in the long run.

How to dissect Tech Business Models

business-model-template
A tech business model is made of four main components: value model (value propositions, mission, vision), technological model (R&D management), distribution model (sales and marketing organizational structure), and financial model (revenue modeling, cost structure, profitability and cash generation/management). Those elements coming together can serve as the basis to build a solid tech business model.

Business Model Template - By FourWeekMBA

How to dissect Blockchain Business Models

vbde-framework
A Blockchain Business Model according to the FourWeekMBA framework is made of four main components: Value Model (Core Philosophy, Core Values and Value Propositions for the key stakeholders), Blockchain Model (Protocol Rules, Network Shape and Applications Layer/Ecosystem), Distribution Model (the key channels amplifying the protocol and its communities), and the Economic Model (the dynamics/incentives through which protocol players make money). Those elements coming together can serve as the basis to build and analyze a solid Blockchain Business Model.

VBDE Blockchain Business Model Template

Key takeaway

Building a startup, a small business or a solo business isn’t simple. Yet to make this endeavor more successful you would be better off by simplifying the processes and methodologies used.

Instead of relying on pages and pages of business planning with a few one-page tools you can be way more effective.

Once you have cleared the few critical elements to build a successful business the remaining part will be about ongoing experimentation. You’ll set up feedback loops from customers, to comprise into the product and service and test if the market likes them.

This process can be simplified with simple tools that on a page, can allow the entrepreneur to have a clear idea about the business and start taking action to build a sustainable business model!

One-Page Business Model Tools:

  • Business Model Canvas:
    • Nine building blocks: Key partners, Key activities, Value proposition, Customer relationship, Customer segment, Key resource, Distribution channel, Cost structure, Revenue stream.
    • Provides a holistic view of the business.
    • Helps identify key elements of the business model.
  • Lean Startup Canvas:
    • Adaptation of the Business Model Canvas.
    • Adds layers focused on problems, solutions, key metrics, and unfair advantage.
    • Emphasizes unique value proposition and agile development.
  • Value Proposition Canvas:
    • Focuses on creating value for customers.
    • Integrates with the Business Model Canvas.
    • Helps design value propositions tailored to customer needs.
  • Blitzscaling Business Model Canvas:
    • Based on the concept of blitzscaling for rapid growth.
    • Prioritizes speed over efficiency.
    • Focuses on market domination and scalability.
  • Business Model Navigator Methodology:
    • Analyzes business model from different perspectives.
    • Explores who, what, how, and why of the business.
    • Provides a comprehensive understanding of the business engine.
  • FourWeekMBA Business Model Framework:
    • Emphasizes people and financial dimensions.
    • Focuses on building a superior product or service and identifying paying customers.
    • Guides sustainable business model development.

Other resources for your business:

Handpicked business models:

Connected Strategy Frameworks

ADKAR Model

adkar-model
The ADKAR model is a management tool designed to assist employees and businesses in transitioning through organizational change. To maximize the chances of employees embracing change, the ADKAR model was developed by author and engineer Jeff Hiatt in 2003. The model seeks to guide people through the change process and importantly, ensure that people do not revert to habitual ways of operating after some time has passed.

Ansoff Matrix

ansoff-matrix
You can use the Ansoff Matrix as a strategic framework to understand what growth strategy is more suited based on the market context. Developed by mathematician and business manager Igor Ansoff, it assumes a growth strategy can be derived from whether the market is new or existing, and whether the product is new or existing.

Business Model Canvas

business-model-canvas
The business model canvas is a framework proposed by Alexander Osterwalder and Yves Pigneur in Busines Model Generation enabling the design of business models through nine building blocks comprising: key partners, key activities, value propositions, customer relationships, customer segments, critical resources, channels, cost structure, and revenue streams.

Lean Startup Canvas

lean-startup-canvas
The lean startup canvas is an adaptation by Ash Maurya of the business model canvas by Alexander Osterwalder, which adds a layer that focuses on problems, solutions, key metrics, unfair advantage based, and a unique value proposition. Thus, starting from mastering the problem rather than the solution.

Blitzscaling Canvas

blitzscaling-business-model-innovation-canvas
The Blitzscaling business model canvas is a model based on the concept of Blitzscaling, which is a particular process of massive growth under uncertainty, and that prioritizes speed over efficiency and focuses on market domination to create a first-scaler advantage in a scenario of uncertainty.

Blue Ocean Strategy

blue-ocean-strategy
A blue ocean is a strategy where the boundaries of existing markets are redefined, and new uncontested markets are created. At its core, there is value innovation, for which uncontested markets are created, where competition is made irrelevant. And the cost-value trade-off is broken. Thus, companies following a blue ocean strategy offer much more value at a lower cost for the end customers.

Business Analysis Framework

business-analysis
Business analysis is a research discipline that helps driving change within an organization by identifying the key elements and processes that drive value. Business analysis can also be used in Identifying new business opportunities or how to take advantage of existing business opportunities to grow your business in the marketplace.

BCG Matrix

bcg-matrix
In the 1970s, Bruce D. Henderson, founder of the Boston Consulting Group, came up with The Product Portfolio (aka BCG Matrix, or Growth-share Matrix), which would look at a successful business product portfolio based on potential growth and market shares. It divided products into four main categories: cash cows, pets (dogs), question marks, and stars.

Balanced Scorecard

balanced-scorecard
First proposed by accounting academic Robert Kaplan, the balanced scorecard is a management system that allows an organization to focus on big-picture strategic goals. The four perspectives of the balanced scorecard include financial, customer, business process, and organizational capacity. From there, according to the balanced scorecard, it’s possible to have a holistic view of the business.

Blue Ocean Strategy 

blue-ocean-strategy
A blue ocean is a strategy where the boundaries of existing markets are redefined, and new uncontested markets are created. At its core, there is value innovation, for which uncontested markets are created, where competition is made irrelevant. And the cost-value trade-off is broken. Thus, companies following a blue ocean strategy offer much more value at a lower cost for the end customers.

GAP Analysis

gap-analysis
A gap analysis helps an organization assess its alignment with strategic objectives to determine whether the current execution is in line with the company’s mission and long-term vision. Gap analyses then help reach a target performance by assisting organizations to use their resources better. A good gap analysis is a powerful tool to improve execution.

GE McKinsey Model

ge-mckinsey-matrix
The GE McKinsey Matrix was developed in the 1970s after General Electric asked its consultant McKinsey to develop a portfolio management model. This matrix is a strategy tool that provides guidance on how a corporation should prioritize its investments among its business units, leading to three possible scenarios: invest, protect, harvest, and divest.

McKinsey 7-S Model

mckinsey-7-s-model
The McKinsey 7-S Model was developed in the late 1970s by Robert Waterman and Thomas Peters, who were consultants at McKinsey & Company. Waterman and Peters created seven key internal elements that inform a business of how well positioned it is to achieve its goals, based on three hard elements and four soft elements.

McKinsey’s Seven Degrees

mckinseys-seven-degrees
McKinsey’s Seven Degrees of Freedom for Growth is a strategy tool. Developed by partners at McKinsey and Company, the tool helps businesses understand which opportunities will contribute to expansion, and therefore it helps to prioritize those initiatives.

McKinsey Horizon Model

mckinsey-horizon-model
The McKinsey Horizon Model helps a business focus on innovation and growth. The model is a strategy framework divided into three broad categories, otherwise known as horizons. Thus, the framework is sometimes referred to as McKinsey’s Three Horizons of Growth.

Porter’s Five Forces

porter-five-forces
Porter’s Five Forces is a model that helps organizations to gain a better understanding of their industries and competition. Published for the first time by Professor Michael Porter in his book “Competitive Strategy” in the 1980s. The model breaks down industries and markets by analyzing them through five forces.

Porter’s Generic Strategies

competitive-advantage
According to Michael Porter, a competitive advantage, in a given industry could be pursued in two key ways: low cost (cost leadership), or differentiation. A third generic strategy is focus. According to Porter a failure to do so would end up stuck in the middle scenario, where the company will not retain a long-term competitive advantage.

Porter’s Value Chain Model

porters-value-chain-model
In his 1985 book Competitive Advantage, Porter explains that a value chain is a collection of processes that a company performs to create value for its consumers. As a result, he asserts that value chain analysis is directly linked to competitive advantage. Porter’s Value Chain Model is a strategic management tool developed by Harvard Business School professor Michael Porter. The tool analyses a company’s value chain – defined as the combination of processes that the company uses to make money.

Porter’s Diamond Model

porters-diamond-model
Porter’s Diamond Model is a diamond-shaped framework that explains why specific industries in a nation become internationally competitive while those in other nations do not. The model was first published in Michael Porter’s 1990 book The Competitive Advantage of Nations. This framework looks at the firm strategy, structure/rivalry, factor conditions, demand conditions, related and supporting industries.

SWOT Analysis

swot-analysis
A SWOT Analysis is a framework used for evaluating the business‘s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. It can aid in identifying the problematic areas of your business so that you can maximize your opportunities. It will also alert you to the challenges your organization might face in the future.

PESTEL Analysis

pestel-analysis

Scenario Planning

scenario-planning
Businesses use scenario planning to make assumptions on future events and how their respective business environments may change in response to those future events. Therefore, scenario planning identifies specific uncertainties – or different realities and how they might affect future business operations. Scenario planning attempts at better strategic decision making by avoiding two pitfalls: underprediction, and overprediction.

STEEPLE Analysis

steeple-analysis
The STEEPLE analysis is a variation of the STEEP analysis. Where the step analysis comprises socio-cultural, technological, economic, environmental/ecological, and political factors as the base of the analysis. The STEEPLE analysis adds other two factors such as Legal and Ethical.

SWOT Analysis

swot-analysis
A SWOT Analysis is a framework used for evaluating the business’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. It can aid in identifying the problematic areas of your business so that you can maximize your opportunities. It will also alert you to the challenges your organization might face in the future.

Other strategy frameworks:

Additional resources:

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