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How to build a business process diagram. Schemes, models and construction of the organization of business processes of an enterprise: examples, sales

Today, many experts and specialists talk about business process models and talk about their effectiveness, but many novice businessmen and startups do not even understand what it is. In this article, we decided to figure out what this term is and in what cases it is used.

Introduction

A business model is a unique, nuanced strategy of a company, the main goal of which is to maximize profits. The model necessarily includes various values and directions that the company can offer customers, that is, in fact, it describes the possible potential of the organization, the possibilities for creating a certain product and communicating it to the consumer in order to obtain a permanent income.

Scheme of the classic business model

For example, a restaurant model offers a cozy place for the visitor to relax, where he can have dinner and have a good time on his own or with his relatives/friends. The online store model involves the resale of certain products through the network and the receipt of a certain profit, and the commercial site - the sale of advertising or links.

So what is a business model? This is a kind of link between the offer of the organization, the target audience and sales of the company's goods. Bringing this into a single whole, we get the necessary development and work strategy aimed at maximizing profits. When developing a strategy, it is necessary to understand the nuances of the company's work in order to build a detailed plan for its development. She will answer the following questions:

Who specifically influences the conduct of business processes and what exactly he does.
What commercial idea works/will be implemented in the company.
Who exactly implements the normal course of business processes.
What activities need to be carried out to improve communication and understanding of processes between branches or departments of the organization.
How to establish an effective system that allows you to manage labor resources and train new employees.

What is the difference between strategy and model

Many entrepreneurs and managers often cannot answer the difference between a strategy and a model, confusing these terms or considering them identical. Actually it is not. The model is needed to provide an option for quickly converting the company's offer into profit, while the strategy captures larger time intervals and considers ways not so much to increase profits as to survive the organization.

Attention:the model, unlike the strategy, does not consider where resources and financing will be attracted from, it aims only to increase profits.

It is also more superficial, that is, when compiling, it is not necessary to conduct a detailed analysis of the market, find out how much the product is in demand, whether the staff is qualified to reproduce it, etc.

What is a business model

Popular types

Today there are many different models - it is almost impossible to describe them all. Therefore, we will consider the most popular kinds:

creator or manufacturer. It's simple - you create a certain product or product, and then sell it either to the final buyer or distributors (you can even sell products to one distributor, transferring exclusive rights to him).
Classic retail. The idea is simple - you buy a product from a manufacturer or wholesaler, selling it to the final buyer, receiving a certain percentage or markup for this.
Niche work. If classical retail usually offers customers a wide range of products general purpose, then niche work implies functioning in a narrow direction.
Personal sales. The company operates in the field retail, offering a wide range of products to all visitors, but at the same time it has a certain circle of customers who have the opportunity to get nice discounts on popular items. To do this, clients need to pay fees to get into the “club”.
The only sale. Retail does not sell a huge assortment, but one type of product per day, but at a big discount. Thereby company chooses stale goods at the supplier and conducts hundreds/thousands of sales per day. Customers are notified about the sale of a new product in the chosen way - via e-mail, instant messengers, etc.
Integration. A fairly successful technique that allows you to increase sales through online stores for classic distributors. Buyers purchase goods from them, but at the same time they receive it through warehouses in a convenient place (or at the dealer's representative offices).
Franchise. A well-known way of doing business whereby a company grants rights to use its trademark and the polished work process of the franchisee, who in return pays a certain percentage of the income.
Razor and blade. The classic way, which was developed in the middle of the last century. It means selling certain product cheaper than cost, provided that the second product will be sold with a good markup. As an example, you can consider Gillette razors - the razor itself is inexpensive, but the cartridges are tightened by a serious amount. The second example is printers - a cartridge can cost up to 50% of the cost of a new device.
Broker. A classic example of mediation is when a broker finds a buyer and a seller of a certain product/service, receiving a certain percentage or a fixed fee for their actions. Brokerage is carried out according to various schemes: auction (for example, Ebay), rent (Booking), sale of virtual goods (GooglePlay), work with finances (Forex), provision of services (Kabanchik or oDesk), etc.
Rent. The company rents real estate, vehicles or certain products, then rents it out and receives a certain income. For example, a company rents an entire office building and then leases out the offices. Or rent a plane, organizing charter flights.

There are other examples building business models: subscription to certain resources or software products, partnership programs, paying rewards for the actions taken, multi-level marketing systems, etc.

Standard Pattern

Consider what the traditional model looks like. The template is shown in the picture below.it lets you understand how things work. The key section is services and products. In fact, there are practically no unique products, so the goods are not actually interesting to buyers, since there are hundreds of similar offers around them. Customers are not interested in the product itself, but in what exactly it will be interesting and useful to them. That's why the "Offer" section is so important - you need to describe what you offer and what the product provides. The main thing is to interest potential customers to make a purchase.

Standard Business Model Diagram

Right side of template are ways to sell goods. It consists of several points, the key of which is the establishment of a channel for working with the client. It is the correctness of the channel construction that determines how quickly the consumer will purchase the product after the company releases a certain offer. It is believed that the channel should work in five steps:

Informing the client.
Persuasion of a potential buyer.
Make a deal.
Delivery of goods to the buyer.
After-sales communication.

Attention:the last point implies that the employee of the company, after the transaction, will clarify with the client whether he liked everything, whether he is satisfied with the quality of the goods. If necessary, the manager will help the client to issue a return or warranty case.

On the left in the diagram, the costs that an organization will incur to create a product and sell it are considered. It is necessary to correctly assess them in order to understand what difficulties will be faced and how to overcome them correctly. It should be understood that the left block completely affects the right one, that is, the costs affect the formation of profits.

Creation principles

Consider how to properly build your own model for a particular enterprise. To get started, study the template above and think about what you can learn or add from it. Then take a pen and a piece of paper by answering the following 5 questions:

What exactly do you offer and why customers should be interested in your offer. That is, why the buyer should be interested and what he will receive by making a purchase. In order to answer this question, you need to draw a portrait target audience, describe the proposed product, its functions and advantages.
Who may be interested and benefit from your product. This question involves working with a dedicated target audience. You need to understand who will make regular deals, who will be one-time deals, who your niche can touch, what segment it will cover, etc.
Channels of interaction. Decide how exactly you will communicate with customers: via the Internet, by phone or instant messengers, with the help of personalized meetings (store), etc. Quite a lot depends on the channels of interaction, so this step should not be ignored.
Relationship support. It is necessary not only to convey information to the intended buyer, but also to make it permanent in order to increase the number of sales. To do this, you need to provide support for relationships in various ways.
For what and how they pay. Decide which products will be especially popular, not forgetting the 80/20 Pareto rule, think over payment methods, pricing and other financial issues.

Build multiple business models to determine the most effective

These five questions will help you shape the revenue side of your plan. Next, you need to take on the consumables:

Think about what resources and technology are needed in order to launch the sale of products. Resources can be not only material - intellectual, human, etc.
What processes need to be run in order to make a profit. Processes can be production, that is, launching the creation of a product, platform (creating a site or connecting payments) and organizational, leading to the solution of various issues.
Do you need outside help to implement the project or can you do it on your own?
What will the launch of the scheme result in. Accordingly, you need to calculate how many resources you need to invest, which processes will be the most complex and expensive, which will require maximum resources and labor costs.

Is the game worth the candle

In the previous chapter, we figured out how to make up the expenditure and income parts. After that, you need to evaluate whether the process should be pursued, that is, to find out if the idea will be profitable. To do this, subtract the estimated expenses from the estimated income. But, as you understand, these are approximate calculations, because they do not take into account great amount real nuances that will arise during the implementation of the project. The question arises - then why make a model?

The answer is simple - in order to choose the most simple and profitable direction activities. You need to make not one model, but several in various directions, evaluating the prospects of each individual case. At the same time, you can studyto understand exactly how such schemes are drawn up, what is indicated on them and how the situation is analyzed.

Moreover, it is necessary to calculate the risks for each stage of cooperation. For example, think about what problems people who have purchased your service or product might have, try to do a little work with a focus group consisting of the intended target audience in order to understand if they like your idea, ask the audience to tell, what interested them, and what did not like or did not cause emotions.Based on the collected information and analytics, try to create a trial version of the product and show it to the audience, having studied their moods and wishes. Find out if you see the problem in the same way as your customers.

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An enterprise is an independent economic entity created to produce products, perform work and provide services in order to meet social needs and make a profit. The enterprise independently carries out its activities, disposes of the products produced, the profit received, which remains at its disposal after paying taxes and other obligatory payments. To carry out its activities, the enterprise forms property that may belong to it on the basis of ownership or full economic management. The sources of property of the enterprise are:

- monetary and material contributions of the founders of the enterprise; - income from the sale of products, works and services;
- securities and income from them; - cap. investments and subsidies from the budget;
- gratuitous and charitable contributions, donations of organizations, citizens;
- other sources not prohibited by law.

The socio-economic role of the enterprise in market conditions is changing significantly. This change is coming along a number of fronts.

1) The main requirement put forward by the market is to work in such a way that the result of activity is not only the release of products or services, but also profit.
2) The requirement to produce as many products as possible is replaced by the requirement - not only to produce products, but also to sell them.
3) The existing restrictions on the part of higher authorities are being replaced by the independence of the enterprise on many issues of its activities, but as a payment for this independence - the possibility of insolvency and bankruptcy.

Any enterprise, regardless of the organizational and legal form, form of ownership, industry affiliation, manufactured products, is an open economic system. The market model of the enterprise consists of the following. blocks:

1) an enterprise whose main task is the transformation of resources;
2) input resources - labor, material, financial;
3) output resources, i.e. converted resources - finished products, production waste, profit, cash;
4) the social environment with which the entity interacts - the state, municipal authorities, legislation;
5) natural environment - consumption natural resources, minerals, air, water;
6) relationship with the market, marketing, and this block interacts both at the input of resources and at the output;
7) the ratio of input resources to output resources forms economic work in the enterprise, the economics of the enterprise. This ratio implies the excess of the revenue side over the expenditure side (profitable operation of the enterprise), the excess of the expenditure side over the revenue side (unprofitable operation of the enterprise) and the equality of the revenue and expenditure parts (the operation of the enterprise in conditions of self-sufficiency).

Entrepreneurship is proactive independent activity legal entities and citizens, aimed at making a profit and carried out on their own behalf, at their own risk and under their own property responsibility.

An entrepreneur can engage in any kind of activity, if they are not prohibited by law. Business entities can be citizens of the Russian Federation; citizens of foreign states and stateless persons; associations of citizens.

The status of an entrepreneur is acquired after state registration. Entrepreneurial activity can be carried out with or without education legal entity. Entrepreneurial activity without the formation of a legal entity is carried out by a citizen - individual entrepreneur who do not employ hired labor.

The most important features of entrepreneurship are:

ѕ economic self-sufficiency and independence of economic entities;

* economic interest;

- economic (entrepreneurial) risk;

* personal responsibility for the results of their activities;

* mobility and dynamism entrepreneurial activity.

The main task of entrepreneurship in the sphere of production is to satisfy the demand for goods and services by manufacturing and selling these products in order to obtain profit. An entrepreneur can organize production himself or act as an intermediary, he can be the owner of the enterprise or a hired manager. In any case, the entrepreneur acts as an active agent of the market, which develops production and establishes market relations.

The process of social reproduction includes four stages: production, distribution, exchange and consumption. In accordance with this, any entrepreneurial activity is to some extent connected with the main phases of the reproduction cycle. Therefore, it is customary to distinguish between the following types of entrepreneurship: industrial, commercial and financial. In recent decades, in developed countries market economy Another type of entrepreneurship stands out - advisory.

Industrial entrepreneurship is an activity aimed at the production of products, the performance of work, the provision of services subject to subsequent sale to consumers. The function of production in this type of business is the main one.

The choice of the field of activity of industrial entrepreneurship is determined financial resources and personal inclinations of the entrepreneur. Pre-conducted marketing research, the market is studied, it turns out how much the consumer needs the proposed product, what is the level and dynamics of demand, what are the factors affecting the level of demand, what are the estimated costs and sales volumes.

Industrial entrepreneurship provides, as a rule, 10-12% of the profitability of the enterprise.

Varieties of industrial entrepreneurship are the production of goods, the provision of services, innovative, scientific, technical and information entrepreneurship.

Commercial entrepreneurship is an activity based on commodity-money relations and trade and exchange operations, i.e. resale of goods and services. In contrast to industrial and entrepreneurial activity, there is no high need for production resources; working capital predominates in the structure of capital.

Before carrying out entrepreneurial activity, an analysis of the market situation is carried out in order to subsequently ensure that the sale price of the goods exceeds its purchase price.

A business is considered efficient if net profit from the transaction is 20-30% of the costs.

Varieties commercial enterprise are trade, trade-purchasing, trade-intermediary business and activity of commodity exchanges.

Financial entrepreneurship is a kind of commercial entrepreneurship, since the object of its sale and purchase is a specific product: money, currency, securities (stocks, bonds, bills). Financial activities associated with both production and commercial, but it can also be independent: banking, insurance, etc.

The technology of a financial business transaction is similar to the technology of a commercial transaction. A financial transaction is considered appropriate if the net profit is 5% for short-term transactions and 10-15% for long-term ones.

Varieties of financial entrepreneurship are banking, insurance, auditing, leasing business and the activities of stock exchanges.

Consulting entrepreneurship - the activity of providing paid consultations on management issues. The technology of consulting entrepreneurship includes problem diagnosis, development of solutions (project), implementation of solutions (project).

The form of entrepreneurship is a system of norms that determines the internal relations between partners in the enterprise, as well as relations this enterprise with other businesses and government bodies. The specific form of entrepreneurship is determined by the state of the market and the availability of capital from the entrepreneur.

There are the following forms of entrepreneurship: individual, collective, corporate, which in turn are classified into large, medium and small.

Individual forms of entrepreneurship occupy an insignificant place in the manufacturing sector, having more social significance than economic. They are represented by enterprises without forming a legal entity. The capital of the entrepreneur is not allocated from his personal property, which is subject to the risk of loss. Such enterprises, as a rule, do not use progressive technologies, but are based on low-productive means of labor and manual labor.

Collective entrepreneurship has received special development in the XX century. and currently occupies a dominant position in both small and large-scale businesses. It can exist in the following forms: business partnerships, business companies, associations, unions, cooperatives.

Corporate entrepreneurship is the association of enterprises without loss of independence, reducing production costs and making a profit. The main forms of corporate entrepreneurship are concerns, associations, consortiums, syndicates, cartels and financial and industrial groups.

social economic entrepreneurship cost price

Each business process requires drawing up its scheme before it is formalized and. At first glance, this may seem like a simple matter. However, one should not forget that business process diagrams include not only the sequence of actions, but also all those related documents, employees and resources that are an integral part of the business process.

Consider how flowcharts of business processes are most often compiled and what you need to remember when compiling.

Stage 1. Define and constrain the business process

Before moving on to work with a business process, you need to separate it from all others. And for this you need to create full list all business processes that are present in the enterprise.

It turns out that before a single business process diagram is drawn, it will be necessary to figure out how the enterprise works and what processes basically take place on it. This is not an easy job, but absolutely necessary. In the end, even the digital transformation of a business with help is not an end in itself, it will bring the desired result only if the company’s work itself is streamlined and understandable.

Thus, it is most useful to start immediately to draw up flowcharts of business processes involved in the operation of the enterprise, as a single whole diagram. Subsequently, of course, it will be necessary to separate all business processes and draw up a separate detailed diagram for each.

Stage 2. Setting the start and end points, the main blocks

Any business process diagram has a beginning and an end. For example, the request received from the client is taken as the beginning, and the moment of transfer of the finished product (delivery) to him is taken as the end point.

Registration of an incoming application.
Presentation of a suitable product to the client.
Making a specific request.
Production of the product (or searching for it in the warehouse) and sending it to the customer.

Stage 3. Detailing the business process diagram

The previous stage assumes that the development of the business process follows the ideal path: the client already knows what he needs; suitable product is in stock.

However, this is not always the case. Therefore, it is required to draw additional and alternative ways of moving the business process.

For example, if the client is not sure what he needs, then after registering the application, the business process is transferred to a technical specialist who will contact the client and clarify the details, help him choose the right solution, make a list of the company's goods / services that will solve his problem.

If the client refuses at some stage from the purchase, then it will be necessary to additionally work with objections, for which there should also be our own specialists.

After “forks” (logical values “or” and “if”) are added to the business process diagram, it can be considered closer to reality and ready for practical use (formalization using BPM systems).

Stage 4. Determining the roles of process participants, documents, databases

Finally when business process flowchart basically ready, it's time to identify all the people and all departments of the enterprise that participate in the scheme. Also, since most of the stages of business processes are associated with the formation and, it is useful to indicate at what stage of which process a particular document is created or signed.

Further detailing assumes that all additional nuances are clearly prescribed. For example, ways of communication between different departments: e-mail or using specific software (specify which one).

Stage 5. Checking the business process diagram

Before final approval of such a scheme, it is very useful to check it. If the head of the company or the drafter of the scheme does not see any flaws in it, it is worth showing it to all employees who will be involved in this business process, listening to their questions and taking into account their wishes. After that, the final editing of the scheme takes place, as a result, it is ready for use.

The finished business process diagram can be easily automated using BPM systems.

If you use solutions based on the Low-code platform, you will be able to make most changes to the system without the help of IT specialists, as well as choose the set of functions and capabilities that your company needs at this stage of its development.

Elena Gaidukova, marketing analyst, brand manager of solutions based on , partner relations specialist.

We continue the series of articles on planning.

Who is not with us yet, we remind you that 52 steps to planning (#52_bsteps) is a series of articles that will help organize information, prioritize, develop a strategy, create a work plan and move in the right direction.

So, today we will talk about the development of the business model of the organization.

The very concept of a business model brings us to the fact that its essence becomes clear - business modeling. If we understand it literally, then modeling came to us from the French language from the word “modele” - a sample, a prototype, and business from English “business” means “business”, “occupation”, “enterprise”. Therefore, the business model is the model of the enterprise.

Origins of business modeling

The concept of a business model is quite new, it was first mentioned in the annotations to scientific work on economic topics in the late 1940s. Business modeling has already developed with the development of the Internet.

And only in 2004 by Alexander Osterwalder the business model was presented schematically, in the form of a drawing according to which the company operates. Practical examples and public access to business model canvas he developed in the book Building Business Models.

The Secret of the Nine Blocks

According to Osterwalder, the work of any company can be described using 9 blocks. These blocks describe the scheme of work, the main processes and resources.

So here are the building blocks:

Consumer segments
Value propositions
Sales channels
Relationships with clients
Income streams
Key Resources
Key activities
Key Partners
Cost structure.

As you can see, this structure covers all the details of the enterprise, both within the organization and with the external market.

If you want to think through the business model of your business, now you can take a pencil and start thinking through the answers for each block.

Block #1. Consumer segments - Thinking through this block, the company must make a choice and decide which segments to serve and which ones to refuse. Customers are the heart of any business model. This is where you should start.

Here you need to answer the following questions:

Who are you working for?
Which clients are more important to you?

By answering these questions, you will see what market segment you cover, it can be:

- mass market (a large group of consumers who are united by similar needs and needs);

— niche market (special consumer segments);

- a market with fractional segmentation (several consumer segments with slightly different needs and requirements);

- a diversified enterprise (such an organization serves two completely different consumer segments with different requests and needs);

— multi-sided platforms (these enterprises work with two or more interconnected consumer segments).

Block #2. Value propositions – it is a set of advantages that the company is ready to offer to the consumer. At the same time, each value proposition must meet the needs of a specific consumer segment. In order to qualitatively think over and describe the goods and services that are of value to your customer, you need to consider the following:

What values does your company offer to the client/consumer?
What customer problems do you solve?
What set of products and services can you offer to each customer segment?

To correctly answer these questions, you must clearly understand the "pain" of your client. Based on the results of such a survey, you will receive a list of problems and values. You can see that the requirements of the consumer can be not only in the quality of a product or service, but also in price, speed of service, emotions that a client experiences when buying, using, etc.

The value of a product or service is made up of different elements, it can be novelty, performance or individual approach, exclusivity.

Therefore, this question is much deeper than it seems at first glance. So what are you selling?

Block #3. Sales channels . As you can see, the sequence of blocks is logical. After selecting a market segment and identifying a value proposition, it is necessary to work out a distribution channel. Here we mean not only sales channels, but also channels for maintaining communication with consumers. When analyzing this block, it is important to consider the effectiveness of each channel. In order to "sketch" a list of channels of interaction with customers, you can answer the following questions:

What channels are convenient for your customers?
How are you working with them now?
How are your channels connected?
Which are the most effective?
Which are more beneficial?

It is important to think about the optimal balance between different distribution channels and find the combination that will provide the best consumer feedback and maximum revenue.

Block #4. Relationships with clients - the next block describes the types of relationships that a company has with individual consumer customers. This block may seem to you too “and so understandable” and maybe even you think that it is completely superfluous and you should not think it through. However, let's go deeper and go "from the client":

What relationship does each customer segment expect from your company?
What relationships have already been established?
What are the costs of this relationship?

Here you can think through a lot, because, in fact, today's business is about relationships. And the way a company behaves has a significant impact on consumer behavior.

Decide if your relationship with customers will be automated or personal. And then think over the options for interaction, perhaps it will be personal support or special personal support, online communities or even joint creation.

Block #5. Income streams. This block will help answer all questions related to income, price and type of cash flow. There can be two types of income stream in a business model: recurring income from recurring payments, as well as income from one-time transactions. These types of flows depend on the pricing mechanism: fixed or negotiated prices, auctions, prices dependent on the market or volume of sales, etc.

The best way to help determine how and for what your customers will pay is the answers to such questions:

What are customers really willing to pay for?
What are they currently paying for?
How do they pay?
How would they prefer to pay?
How much of the total profit is generated by each revenue stream?

Block of receipt of income - has hidden potential. Here you can vary with the pricing mechanism and the type of values that the company sells. Thinking through this block, one can find additional sources income that has not yet been used, for example: fees for use, payment for a subscription, renting something, renting intellectual property rights, advertising, brokering.

Block #6. Key Resources – these are the resources that enable a company to create and deliver value propositions, go to market, connect with customer segments, and generate revenue. Different types of business models require different resources. At the same time, the company may be the owner of these resources, or it may rent them, or on partnership terms. To optimize key resources, answer the following questions:

What key resources do you need for your business?
What are the key resources needed for the distribution channel?
What are the key resources needed for customer relationships?
What are the key resources needed to create revenue streams?

The main key resources of the company can be: material resources, intellectual resources, personnel, finance.

Block #7. Key activities are the most important actions of the company, without which its successful work impossible. Depending on the type of business model key species The company's activities can be in the field of:

— development, creation and launch of the product on the market ( production model);

- problem solving (the business model requires knowledge management, constant development of professional skills);

- platforms and networks (the main activity of this type is related to platform management, service provision and promotion of platforms).

To understand the key activities, you can answer the following questions:

What actions are required for your service or product?\
What are your distribution channels?
What is your relationship with clients?
What are your income streams?

Block #8. Key Partners. This block was created to think through the main partners and suppliers. Partnerships are created in order to optimize their business models, reduce risks or obtain resources. At the same time, partners can form different types relations. For the effective operation of your business, it is worth considering this block and answering the following questions:

Who are your key partners?
Who are your main suppliers?
What key resources do your partners have?
What are the main activities of your partners?

At the same time, the motives for creating partnerships can be different:

Optimization and economy in the field of production;

Risk reduction;

Supply of resources and joint activities.

Block #9. Cost structure . The block gives an idea of the cost structure associated with the operation of the business model. Costs are fairly easy to calculate once you have identified key resources, key activities, and key partners. Minimize costs in any business model. When compiling a list of cost structures, you need to pay attention to:

What are the most important expenses in your business model?
What are the most expensive expenses?
What are the main activities that cost the most?

So, after working through these 9 blocks, you will have a business model template. Get ready for this template to change more than once. Now that you have a sketch in front of you, you can continue designing to the most optimal business model for a given time with the available output data.

Innovation in Business Modeling

It should be noted that in order to think through your business model, you need to not only analyze the activities of competitors and build on established traditions in this area, but it is best to ask yourself questions: “what if?”.

The process of innovation in business models is not related to the past, because there you will not find clues to what the future has in store. Copying competitors will also not give results, because the main task is to create new values for the needs of consumers.

We encourage you to be not only a conscious entrepreneur and predict future situations, but we also want to awaken in you an innovative and creative approach to business.

In practice, a business model is such a system in which each element affects all the others; it only makes sense as a whole. Therefore, it is important to create a visual image of your model, visualizing the work of your business will give you a fresh look at the ingrained foundations. You will definitely see it somewhere hidden opportunities, unused connections, reveal logical inconsistencies.

The business model development process is mathematical problem, in which the solution is not only the highest indicator of profit, but also the ability to scalability and flexibility.

Why do you need all this? To make you realize that there is no single correct business model. In fact, there are a lot of opportunities and options that are suitable for this time in this particular place and just for you.

Decide, plan, and you will understand that planning is not about setting limits, but about finding opportunities.

At its core, a business model is a description of how a business makes money. She explains how you create profitable terms customers at the right price.

The term "business model" has become widespread with the advent of personal computer and spreadsheets. These tools allow entrepreneurs to experiment, test and at the same time to plan costs and revenue streams. Spreadsheets help entrepreneurs make quick changes to business models and see at a glance how those changes could affect their business today and in the future.

The business model structure consists of three parts:

All it takes to do something: design, raw materials, production, labor, etc.
Everything you need to sell a product: marketing, service provision, promotion, sales.
How and what the client pays: pricing strategy, payment methods, payment terms, etc.

Obviously, a business model is simply a study of what costs and expenses you have and how much money you can charge for a product or service.

The essence of an efficient business model is to get more money from customers than is required to develop a product.

Different business models can enhance any of these three components. You may be able to minimize costs at the design and production stage. Or you have resources for more effective marketing and sales methods. Maybe you are ready to offer an innovative payment method for customers?

Be that as it may, keep in mind that an effective strategy does not require a new business model, it is enough to spy on the existing one in the market. For example, most restaurants operate under a standard business model, but each establishment focuses its strategy on a specific category of customers.

7 questions for evaluating a business model according to Osterwalder:

1. Switching cost

How difficult is it for consumers to switch to another company's products or services?

2. Regular income

Does each sale require new efforts, or does it provide some guarantee of subsequent sales and revenues?

3. Income and costs

Do you receive income before or after costs arise?

4. Revolutionary cost structure

Is your cost structure different and fundamentally better than your competitors?

5. Shifting work to other parties

Does your business model allow consumers and third parties to create value for your company for free?

6. Scalability

Can you easily grow without facing barriers such as infrastructure, customer support, hiring?

7. Protection from competition

Does the business model protect you well from competitors?

17 Most Common Business Models

The vast majority of companies use already existing and proven business models, only improving them in order to find competitive advantages. Here is a list of business models that you can use to start a business.

1. Advertising

The advertising business model has been around for a long time and is getting more original as the world moves from print to online. The foundations of the model are built around creating content that people want to read or watch, and displaying ads to their readers or viewers.

In an advertising business model, two groups of customers need to be satisfied: readers or viewers, and advertisers. Readers may or may not pay you, but advertisers certainly do. The advertising business model is sometimes combined with the crowdsourcing format, when content creation does not require financial resources, since it is provided by users.

Examples: The New York Times, YouTube

2. Affiliate program

The affiliate business model is related to the advertising model, but has some specific features. Most often, the affiliate model uses links (they are embedded in the content), rather than visual ones. advertisements, which are easily identified.

For example, if you run a book review site, you can embed affiliate links to Ozon or other online bookstores in your reviews. If a visitor clicks on a link and buys a book, the partner will pay you a small commission for the sale.

Examples: Alpina Publisher, Ozon, Aviasales

3. Commission

Intermediary businesses connect buyers and sellers, thereby simplifying the transaction. They charge a fee for every transaction with either a buyer or a seller, or sometimes both.

One of the most common intermediary businesses is a real estate agency, but there are many other types of services. For example, some help construction companies find buyers.

Examples: real estate agencies, PR agencies, recruiting agencies

4. Customization

Some companies use existing products or services with elements that make each sale unique to a particular customer.

Think, for example, of special travel agents who book trips for wealthy clients. Customization applies to products like Nike sneakers as well.

Examples: NIKEiD, "Custom Shirt", " "

5. Crowdsourcing

If you have managed to bring together a large number of people who supply your site with content, then you are using the crowdsourcing model. This business model is most often paired with an advertising format to generate revenue, but there are many other variations of this model. For example, you can give designers the opportunity to design T-shirts and pay them a percentage of sales.

Companies that are trying to solve complex problems often go public with their problems so that someone can offer advice. The authors of successful solutions receive awards, and the company can develop its business through these tips. The key to a successful crowdsourcing business is to provide the “right” incentive to attract the “crowd”.

Examples: LiveJournal, YouTube, P&G Connect and Develop

6. Refusal of intermediaries

If you want to manufacture a product and sell it in stores, then you will have to work through intermediaries to get your product from the assembly line to the store shelf.

Working without intermediaries means that you bypass everyone in the supply chain and sell goods directly to consumers. This allows you to reduce costs and build direct and honest relationships with customers.

Examples: Casper, Dell

7. Crushing

Instead of selling the entire product, you can only sell a portion of that product using a split business model.

One of best examples of this business model is a joint rental property, where a group of people owns only part of the vacation home.

Examples: Disney Vacation Club, NetJets

8. Franchise

Franchising is especially common in the restaurant industry, but you can also often see examples of it in all service industries, from cleaning services to staffing agencies.

This business model involves selling a strategy to launch and maintain successful business to someone else. Often you are also selling brand access and support services that help the new franchise owner succeed in the marketplace. Essentially, you are selling access to successful business model which they themselves have developed.

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