During the first semester one of the workshops run by the Science and Employability module was based on how to write a business plan.
The business model canvas
This business model is split into nine sections as seen above. When filling in this canvas begin with the right-hand side and finish with the left.
The sections on the model are as follows:
- Key Partners: who you will be working with in order to keep the business running?
- Key Activities: what will the business do in order to gain a profit?
- Key Resources: what do you require in order to start the business?
- Value Propositions: why is the business idea valuable to the customer?
- Customer Relationship: how well do you retain customers?
- Customer Segments: who is your product aimed at?
- Channels: how do you reach your customers?
- Cost Structure: overall cost of the business
- Revenue Streams: how will you make money from your business?
During this workshop it is made clear that the first canvas made rarely works and in order to create a functioning business refining of the model is done multiple times. This can be done via prototyping; this is the act of testing each business model out in real world situations and gathering feedback. Whilst doing this there are a few things that should be taken into account such as; who else is already in the market, who will supply that materials needed to produce the product and what steps will be taken to ensure all products are of the same quality.
My Thoughts and My Career
I did not find this workshop to be interesting or beneficial to me as I have also been taught how to use this business plan in another module, I can see the use of this to others though that have not done the same modules as me.
I do not think that this workshop will be helpful to me in the future as I do not want to follow a career path that will involve creating my own business. Despite this there are still some aspects of the workshop that I can use such as the refining skill that was taught through finding ways to change models that did not work, if I go into research in the future this will be a useful skill to learn.
