Back

Business Model Canvas

The Business Model Canvas (BMC) is a one-page strategic template for documenting how a business creates, delivers, and captures value, developed by Alexander Osterwalder. Rather than a lengthy written business plan, the canvas condenses a business model into nine interconnected building blocks displayed on a single page, making it easy to see the whole model at once and spot where blocks don't actually support each other.

Template - Social Media Canvas Model

The Nine Building Blocks

Customer Segments: The different groups of people or organizations the business serves.
Value Propositions: The products and services that create value for each segment.
Channels: How the business reaches and delivers value to customers.
Customer Relationships: The type of relationship established with each segment (self-service, personal support, community, etc.).
Revenue Streams: How the business generates income from each segment.
Key Resources: The assets required to make the business model work -- physical, intellectual, human, or financial.
Key Activities: The most important things the business must do to deliver its value proposition.
Key Partnerships: The network of suppliers and partners that make the model work.
Cost Structure: The major costs involved in operating the business model.

Why Use a Business Model Canvas

Laying all nine blocks out on one page makes the connections between them visible in a way a linear business plan document doesn't; you can see immediately whether your Cost Structure is realistic given your Key Resources and Activities, or whether your Channels actually reach the Customer Segments you've defined. It's also fast to iterate: updating one block and checking its ripple effects across the canvas takes minutes, not a full plan rewrite.

Business Model Canvas vs. Lean Canvas

The Lean Canvas is a startup-focused adaptation of the same one-page format, swapping blocks like Key Partnerships and Customer Relationships for Problem, Solution, and Unfair Advantage better suited to an unproven, early-stage idea. The original Business Model Canvas assumes a more established or at least clearly defined business model and focuses on how all the operational pieces fit together.

How to Fill Out a Business Model Canvas

Start with Customer Segments and Value Propositions; these anchor every other block.
Fill in Channels and Customer Relationships based on how you actually reach and support each segment, informed by how you've defined your target audience.
Map Key Activities, Resources, and Partnerships needed to deliver on the value proposition.
Add Revenue Streams and Cost Structure last, once the rest of the model is clear.
Check for internal consistency does the Cost Structure makes sense given the Key Resources and Activities listed.

Because the canvas is meant to be revised as a business model evolves, MockFlow's Business Model Canvas and Social Business Model Canvas templates set up all nine blocks on a live collaborative board, letting a founding or leadership team update it together as assumptions get tested, similar to how a follow-up SWOT Analysis is often used to pressure-test the resulting model.

Contents The Nine Building Blocks Why Use a Business Model Canvas Business Model Canvas vs. Lean Canvas How to Fill Out a Business Model Canvas