Business Model

Turn Your Business Model Upside Down

I never thought much about my business model until almost twenty years into being an entrepreneur.

I know: crazy, huh? My business model was to get an idea, implement it, and keep doing it… if it was fun. But I didn’t have criteria to gauge what was working and what wasn’t.

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Who cares if I’m constantly reinventing the wheel, as long as I could put food on the table?

Has your Business Model Changed?

Are you doing something similar? Maybe you have a well-thought-out business model, but you’re unhappy and not producing as much profit as you’d like. Your model might feel confining or boring.

How about chucking your current model for something better? And what if you created a model that worked in harmony with your behavioral style, values and lifestyle?

What if you kicked it up another notch and created a business model so cool, that it put your creativity at an all-time high?

If Not! Why Not?

Turn your business model upside down, shake it out and put it together in a way that 100% turns you on. You might be cringing right now at the thought of figuring out a business model. It might sound complicated.

Nah! It can be a simple, easy and creative process. In fact, the end product can fit on an 8.5 x 11-inch piece of paper.

Get your fantasy hat on and ditch the voices of every business expert you’ve ever heard of this exercise. Answer the following, not worrying about how each question relates to the next. You’re connecting with your Inner Business Expert to speak your heartfelt truth.

  1. What do you love doing or offering? (You’re so energized by it that you could do/offer it all day long and be ready for more.) (You’re so energized by it that you could do/offer it all day long and be ready for more.)
  2. How involved do you want to be in the process?
  3. Do you want to sell to a few or to many? (You’re not worrying about monetizing yet, so be honest about your preference)
  4. Who do you freakin’ love serving?
  5. Do you enjoy offering a few things or many?
  6. If your business were a party, what would be the theme? Is it intimate and mellow? Is it high energy with fun food, drinks, and dancing? Are you playing poker and giving awesome prizes? Are people showing up in costumes, tuxes or jeans?

Get all the components on paper. And if you weren’t worried about how all the pieces fit together, what would you be thrilled to offer and in what way? If you weren’t worried about offering products and services in the low, mid and high price points what would you offer?

Change Whatever Is Not Sustainable

Next weed out any ideas that seem fun, but won’t sustain your passion. For instance, I’ve been pondering a year about creating a tele-summit. As I toyed with it, it felt like a lot of work… not fun. My Gremlin interjected with, “Jeanna, this will build your email list, get more people into your membership program and you could have a ton of fun if you choose a unique way of doing it.”

RELATED READ: How Strategic Partnerships Fast-track Success

I’m not doing it. I’m creating a business model next year that has fewer offerings, more systematized ways of driving traffic to my website and webinars, and more room for creativity.

The last step to creating your model is to piece the components together in way that flows for you and your ideal customers. And your pricing needs to feel good in your heart, yet support the profits you claim as your desired outcome (you might need some coaching on that, right?).

Your business model needs to support you. There are many models out there, they shouldn’t work based solely on what business strategists say.

Author

  • Pat Mussieux

    Pat Mussieux is fast becoming regarded as a highly valued Canadian mentor for women entrepreneurs taking her own business from zero to a multiple 6-figure home-based business in less than 4 years. Much of her success can be attributed to her expertise in marketing, mindset and money! Pat Mussieux is a business coach, author, speaker and radio host.

    http://www.patmussieux.com concierge@patmussieux.com Mussieux Pat