Low Tech, High Value -- The Business Model Canvas
“The Business Model Canvas” was the star of the show at the recent RETSO Refocus “unconference” in Duluth, GA. I found it particularly timely for a couple of reasons:
- For one thing, I’m a specialist. I believe in niche-service. And I’ve decided that my current business model needs adjusting, narrowing even more for the shifting market and also for the lifestyle that I want. So, I came to the event ready for a tool to help me drill down, clarify, refine and better deliver “my thing” that I do better than most.
- For another, most industry intelligence agrees that the coming five years will be a very different real estate space than the last five years, and many agents and brokers will again have to adjust the way they do business if they want to stay viable. We see brokerage models already changing to meet the needs of the current real estate world. Agents, too, will find more innovative ways to brand themselves, overcome the negative stigmas that previous practices have earned for our profession, stand out from the pack, and earn market share. The BMC is an easy, free tool for refining every part of one’s business, and could be used regularly to keep your business on track.
- Thirdly, shifting markets always reveal service and product gaps, creating opportunities for true innovators to step up and launch game-changing businesses. Not only is the market cycle swinging upward, but consumers’ approach and access to the real estate market is much advanced since the last upswing. I’ll bet some of those who will create these innovations were standing there with us on Friday morning at the RETSO Refocus final sessions, just as Dan Stewart was, a few years back.
Who’s Dan Stewart, you ask? He is co-owner of Happy Grasshopper customer contact service and one of a few vendors permitted to participate at RETSO this year. Dan's product is changing the way some agents touch their clients. He attributed the development and success of Happy Grasshopper to his introduction to the canvas at RETSO two years previous. Doing the canvas pared away most of his previous business model but resulted in one of the most successful start-ups in recent years. He uncovered the one thing he needed to focus on and has a thriving niche product as a result.
The Business Model Canvas consists of nine actionable blocks in which to visualize and strategize every part of your business. It provides a simple, visual way to rapidly think through and sketch out the logic of your business: what exactly you are providing, who exactly are your customer segments, how you believe your product will create customer value or benefits, how you deliver the value and get value back, who your key partners are or should be, and how you cover costs and make money. Pretty much everything you need to know before you make any more decisions about what additional systems and technology you might need.
Block-by-block the speakers provided tips and core questions to spark the brainstorming process for participants using the canvas. I liked that. They were there to facilitate our work, rather than to tell us all about theirs, as in the usual conference speaker role. We were challenged to 9-block our own businesses, distill what we found, and allow our findings to inform direction as we move into the shifted market.
A lofty goal, and a low-tech but high-value tool that is up to the challenge.
Turned out to be a winning combo for me. I’m excited to bring my small team together to 9-block Best Atlanta Short Sales and see how it helps us improve our products, services and delivery. Of course, I'll share our progress with you right here, so stay tuned.
Meantime, if you want to get started using the Business Model Canvas, you can download it for free from the Business Model Generation website, and I also found several YouTube videos that will help you get started using it.
I believe you will find it time well-spent.
Here are a few of the many other resources my Google search turned up for more information:
http://www.businessmodelgeneration.com/toolbox
If you’re looking to read more about the subject, here is a book
http://www.businessmodelgeneration.com/book
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