Visualize your business model!

At the JAM office in Amsterdam we recently performed a pilot training on Business Modeling and Visualization. As we claim that you need to visualize your business model, we would like to try this out through a pilot at the Vizthink NL gathering in The Netherlands.

But how to do that? Are people able to draw? Do they think it is fun? 

The training was set-up as follows:

• 45 min. of business modeling 
• 45 min. of Dare2Draw 
• 45 min. case on business modeling and drawing. 

Fun was that Jan and Mike (JAM) taught the audience to draw. They started with ‘just’ drawing, then to the basics of drawing (people, figures, lines, symbols) and also movement, emotions and composition. I was very surprised that I could learn so much from these guys. In my

consulting career I never had this kind of training. Then we gave the pencils to the audience and asked them to come up with a new inspiring business model. Amazing to see the energy flow and the results of their business models. The evaluation was very positive.

People claimed that they were inspired in a different way by starting to draw right away. More to come next year in our Business Model and Drawing training!

(new) Media business models?

Last night the first meeting of the Dutch Media Professionals (DMP) was held in the “Rode Hoed” In Amsterdam, The Netherlands. The DMP is a successful linkedin community that grew to 4.000 members in only a couple of weeks time. The event was around “the New News”. What happens if the user gets all the content for free? 

Almar Latour manager editor Wall Street Journal online elaborated on their choice for their business model. Initially some wanted to give the content for free, some wanted to be paid for. At the moment WSJ has 1 mln online subscribers each paying approx. $100 to $150 per year. Almar explained that the choice for their business model was found by means of experimenting and understanding the behavior of their subscribers. Free users enter sideways, have general interests (politics, lifestyle) and are NOT familiar with the Journal. Subscribers who pay for content WANT to pay for content as they have special interest. As a result of this WSJ started to develop both a free website and a paid subscription website specially designed for the audience. Free subscribers site is different, it has tools, widgets and newsreel.  

Another discussion was around business models of free and paid for newspapers. Bart Brouwers (chief editor free newspaper Sp!ts) and Barbara van Beukering (chief editor Parool). Basically the newspaper is either paid by the reader/ subscriber or the advertiser. But advertising is decreasing. A huge problem. What are the newspapers doing to resolve this? Het Parool started to expand their business model into a new area:selling wines, dvd’s and books to their audience. By this means they are less dependent on advertising. The free newspaper Sp!ts had a very interesting new revenue stream. Besides advertorials and advertising they use guaranteed content. By this mean the advertiser will get – besides their add – a positive news item content-managed by the Sp!its. In the debate it was questioned whether this is right in terms of free press and the role of the journalists. A poll in the audience showed that only 20% was worried about this development.  Bart explained that they are exploring new business models every day and this is not the last model they will come up with…

The start…

I always wanted to run my own model agency. And now I do. On business models. It is called Business Models Inc. This agency draws, describes and improves business models through offering support, organizing speeches, training courses and workshops worldwide. I work closely together with the experts on business modeling Alexander Osterwalder and Yves Pigneur. 

Our focus is to create an online and offline platform for business modelers. The Business Model Hub. Here we want to connect business modelers all over the world. Here people can learn all about business modeling, share experiences and develop new connections. We will provide training courses online, tools for business modeling and you can watch videos of leading business people.  

Curious about our business model? We are too! We do know what we are aiming for but we don’t know what we will find on our way. And that’s very exciting! We will assess models, check out nice models, models that pay off, models that do not pay off.

Want to be part of our journey? Follow my blog. Here I will keep you up to date. I will inform you on the business people we talk to, how explore our own business model, and whom we work with to make it work. So are you ready? I am. Continuing the journey…