Business plan visual model

Ten practical lessons from the business (revenue) models of ventures we reviewed today (or others you research) as they relate to your venture.

Focus more on consumer benefits. To gather a good base of consumers focus on how your product is intended to increase the quality of life for the consumer.  Focus on this first because that is the first priority most consumers will have in mind when deciding to buy a product/service.

Help the environment.  When consumers see that the product/service consistently works and increases their quality of life they look to externalities of buying their product.  This includes both positive and negative externalities on the environment.

Keep it simple. When the product/service is simple, convenient and easy to use consumers are more likely to consume it.

Try to keep the economic impact of your product local or give back to the community.  People from different cultural backgrounds may have a different/stronger sense of community than westerners.  Keeping the positive economic impact local might increase people in the communities affected to increase consumption.

Have good business partners that positively impact the community. When the greystone bakery sells its product to Ben and jerry’s which is a company widely known for its positive impact on the community their reputation rubs off onto your company.

Hire locally if able.  Hiring locally creates a positive relationship with the community where your operations are.

This can also lead to less traveling which means less time wasted for the employee and fewer carbon emissions if using a traveling device that requires fossil fuels.

Keep your products/services multifunctional.  This gives your consumers more ways to use your product and maybe a new market for you the firm to enter into.

Teach the community how to use your product/service in the recommended way and how to teach others how to use your product.  If your firm is small it may not have a lot of resources but a free resource is the community of consumers.  This will allow other potential consumers to hear about your product through your current consumers.

When unsure about how to service communities inquire. Ask the community what its needs are and try to meet them. This is shown perfectly in the Barefoot college example.

Plan out your business with a business model to increase efficiency and to keep the business as a whole organized.