Ideas to spark your future business model

Canvas: a flexible tool to inspire new business models for the arts

A couple of years ago I started using Strategyzer.com's Business Model Canvas at the Arts Marketing Association (AMA). It helped shape and inform our future ambitions as a small but rapidly growing organisation.

One thing I love about the canvas is the way it enables us to be more creative and collaborative in reviewing our future direction.

I spent several days playing with ideas and sketching out potential business model
adaptations on scraps of paper. I threw some away and used others to inspire new ideas. I
then used simple sketches of potential models to spark further discussion at Senior Management Team meetings before testing a couple of ideas with board, staff and members.

You would never do that with a business plan that you’d spent hours, days or even months
writing. Nobody writes a whole business plan and then throws it away and starts again because it doesn’t quite work.

With the canvas you can explore many options and new ideas. It gives you the chance to create viable alternatives. Business plans are usually outdated by the time they are signed off but business models remain a relevant guide and a model for action.

Reviewing your current model

If you’re already familiar with the canvas and have a rough idea of your current model then the next stage is to review its strengths and weaknesses. Consider how you might start to transform it or create a new model to more effectively drive your vision and purpose.

Does your model provide the right conditions for you to produce great work?

Does your Value Proposition inspire and engage many people? Are you relevant and essential to them?

Do you have the skills, assets and resources needed to bring your model to life and ensure that it is feasible to deliver your vision and purpose?

Is your model financially viable, creating a resilient future for your organisation?

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