Week Seven Reflection

In week seven, the subject was New Business Model and Lean Start-Up. I had the opportunity to read about The Lean Start-Up Methodology, Why The Lean Start-Up Changes Everything written by Steve Blank, A Better Way to Think About Your Business Model by Alexander Osterwalder, review A Better Way to Think About Your Business Model, and a TED Talk on Five Keys to Success for Social Entrepreneurs given by Llusi Pareras. One of the key takeaways I have gotten from this week's study is lean is about putting a process, a methodology around the development of a product.  There are five principles to remember such as entrepreneurs are everywhere, entrepreneurship is management, validated learning, innovation accounting, and build-measure-learn. There are five keys to success for social entrepreneur. The keys are they look at both the social impact and money at the same time, they are paranoid, they shout their existence to the world, they hate, and they know the real value of an idea. 

The thing that intrigued me most from this week's studies was the business model canvas. Sure, it confused me at first. In fact, it was a little overwhelming trying to take in all the details at once. But after I have taken a closer look and really deciphered each space, things began to click. There is this rectangle and it is filled with nine smaller rectangles and each one has a topic. These topics are Key Partners, Key Activities, Value Propositions, Customer Relationships, Customer Segments, Key Resources, Channels, Cost Structure, and Revenue Streams. Key Partners has us consider who are our key partners, who are our key suppliers, which key resources are we acquiring from our partners, and which key activities do partners perform? Key activities has us ask what key activities do our value propositions require, what are our distribution channels, customer relationships, and revenue streams? Value Propositions has us consider what value do we deliver to the customer, which one of our customers' problems are we helping to solve, what bundles of products and services are we offering to each segment, which customer needs are we satisfying, and what is minimum viable product? Customer Relationships has us consider how do we get, keep, and grow customers, which customer relationships have we established, how are they integrated with the rest of our business model, and how costly are they? Customer Segments has us ask for whom are we creating value, who are our most important customers, and what are the customer archetypes? Key Resources has us consider what key resources do our value propositions require, our distribution channels, customer relationships, and revenue streams? Channels has us consider through which channels do our customer segments want to be reached, how do other companies reach them now, which ones work best, which ones are most cost-efficient, and how are we integrating them with customer routines? Cost structure has us ask what are the most important costs inherent to our business model, which key resources are most expensive, and which key activities are most expensive? Revenue streams has us consider for what value are our customers really willing to pay, for what do they currently pay, what is the revenue model, and what are the pricing tactics?

Sharpening my business skills can help me help others by allowing me to understand the financial side of things. Nothing is for free in this world, ever. Even if I may not have to pay for it, I still have to consider someone else must have paid for it and I should use the resources wisely and with gratitude. The skills I consider most important would have to be patience, staying organized, fulfill tasks in a timely manner, and a charismatic personality.