Chris Walker is a Lecturer at Bangor University and a world renowned business consultant that has provided consultancy for many huge multinational companies. The series of lectures given by him aimed to provide us with a level good background knowledge of the basics that will help aspiring entrepreneurs to write a business plan and start a company.
Relationships
The first block making up the business model canvas is ‘customer segments’. This is a fairly straightforward portion, as it simply identifies who you want to sell to and helps shape your product and its promotion as a result.
‘Customer relationships’ simply refer to how you interact with those customers. Do you either provide a personal touch and deal with the customer directly, or is the business automated?
On the business’s side of the interaction, ‘key partnerships’ refer to who you have to have dealings with in order to get your product out, and this can refer to anyone who helps streamline or provide for the business.
Avenues and Activities
Again on the business’s side of the interaction are the ‘key activities’- and these encompass all the processes a business performs from production, to problem solving to networking.
‘Channels’ are present on both sides of the business-customer interaction, and these are the communicative as well as the physical distribution networks that deliver the product/service.
‘Revenue streams’ are simply the pricing strategies the business employs.
Cost Cutting
‘Key resources’ is pretty self-explanatory and is made up of the most important assets to the business (including intellectual properties, loans and human assets, as well as the physical raw materials for products).
‘Value propositions’ are probably one of the most important segments of the canvas, as this is what differentiates you from the competition. It’s your business’s USP (unique selling point) that entices people to pick you over others. The USP can range from lower prices to customisation to convenience to newness; virtually anything that makes your business unique.
The costs a business incurs are under the ‘cost structure’ segment in the business model canvas and can easily be tallied from the key resources, activities and partnerships.
Thoughts
These lectures were incredibly helpful to those that want to start a business, be it biological or not.
The 9 segment plan is a superb framework that simplifies and condenses all the significant and relevant information to a point where it only requires a fill in the blanks exercise to make a great business plan.
The Future
Though these lectures provide useful fall back information should I want to start a business, I don’t feel that it changes my future career plans.
I find that I am far more interested in the academic and research aspects of biology, rather than establishing a business of my own.
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