The Business Model Canvas: your entire business model on one page
How does your business actually make money — and does that story still hold up? The Business Model Canvas, developed by Alexander Osterwalder (Strategyzer), captures your complete business model on a single sheet. Nine building blocks that together tell one story: who your customers are, what you mean to them, how you deliver it, and what is left at the bottom line.
The classic layout: execution (efficiency) on the left, the customer (value) on the right, the value proposition bridging the two — and the money at the bottom.
The 9 building blocks
1. Customer Segments
Who do you create value for? Who are your most important customers?
Everything starts with the customer. Name your customer groups as concretely as possible — "SMEs with their own premises" says far more than "businesses". Different segments often have different needs, and a different value to your model.
2. Value Proposition
What value do you deliver? Which problem do you solve?
The heart of the canvas: why do customers choose you? It might be convenience, price, quality, certainty, or something nobody else offers. The value proposition can differ per customer segment.
3. Channels
Through which channels do you reach and serve your customers?
How do customers discover you, how do they buy, and how do you deliver? Think of your website, search visibility, a physical shop, partners or personal visits.
4. Customer Relationships
What type of relationship does each customer segment expect?
Personal contact, self-service, a dedicated account manager, a subscription with service? The relationship determines how customers stay — and what that requires of you.
5. Revenue Streams
What do customers pay for? How, and how much?
One-off sales, hourly rates, subscriptions, maintenance contracts — usually a mix. Strong business models build recurring revenue alongside one-off income.
6. Key Resources
Which resources (physical, knowledge, people, capital) do you need?
What must you have in place to deliver on your promise? Skilled people, certifications, stock, software, a workshop, working capital.
7. Key Activities
Which activities are essential to deliver your value proposition?
What needs to happen day in, day out? Producing, installing, advising, maintaining, developing — the activities your model runs on.
8. Key Partners
Who are your most important partners and suppliers?
Nobody does everything alone. Suppliers, specialists you bring in, referrers — partners who provide resources or activities you cannot or would rather not keep in-house.
9. Cost Structure
What are the most important costs in your business model?
Staff, purchasing, premises, transport, software. Not every euro needs listing — focus on the major items that carry (or threaten) your model.
In which order should you fill it in?
Start with the customer and end with the costs — that way the story builds logically:
- Customer Segments — who is it for?
- Value Proposition — what do you mean to them?
- Channels — how do you reach them?
- Customer Relationships — how do you keep them?
- Revenue Streams — what does it earn?
- Key Resources — what do you need for that?
- Key Activities — what must you do for that?
- Key Partners — who helps you?
- Cost Structure — what does it all cost?
Work with short, concrete points (think sticky notes) rather than long paragraphs. A canvas is a conversation tool, not a report.
An easy way to remember it: think of a theatre
The most helpful way to understand the canvas is the theatre metaphor:
🎟️ Front stage (right-hand side) — everything the audience sees: the show itself (value proposition), the audience (customer segments), the box office and the venue (channels), and the bond with regular visitors (customer relationships).
🎭 Backstage (left-hand side) — what makes the show possible: rehearsals and stage technology (key activities), actors and scenery (key resources), sponsors and suppliers (key partners).
And the golden rule of every production: what backstage costs < what the box office brings in — otherwise the curtain falls.
Going deeper: the Value Proposition Canvas
To sharpen one building block in particular, there is the Value Proposition Canvas: a zoom-in on the value proposition and a single customer segment. It maps the customer's jobs, pains and desired gains against your products, pain relievers and gain creators — so you can test whether there is a genuine fit. Rule of thumb: create one Value Proposition Canvas per customer segment, because every segment has different jobs and pains.
Fill in your own Business Model Canvas?
Use our free online form — step by step, with the right question for every building block. Your answers are stored on your own device only, until you choose to send them.
Start filling it in →Please note: the form is currently available in Dutch.
The Business Model Canvas and the Value Proposition Canvas were developed by Alexander Osterwalder and Yves Pigneur (Strategyzer AG). This page is an independent explanation.