A Business Model is Like a GPS — You Can Drive Without It, But Only Until You Get Lost

Even though I’m a finance professional, I usually start modeling not with numbers, but with strategy. First comes direction — then the calculations.

Planning doesn’t like chaos or improvisation. Many funding institutions, including #Innovasjon_Norge, ask startups to complete a Business Model Canvas. I love this tool too - it allows you to see the entire business landscape at a glance, like a map.

In one of our projects for a metallurgical company, we analyzed the impact of several crises and developed a set of tools to strengthen the resilience of their business model. The Canvas helped us structure preventive measures and build a risk-management map.

📎 Attaching a template and a short guide on how to fill it in.

A business model isn’t just a diagram or an Excel file. It’s a navigation system that shows:

- how the business works,

- where the growth points are,

- how to build relationships with customers and partners,

- and how to stand out from competitors.

When the company’s logic is built into the model, everything else becomes easier:

📊 setting KPIs for teams,

📈 defining metrics for CVP realization,

🤝 aligning the efforts of different departments into one coherent business logic.

At this stage, the business model once again acts as a GPS - helping you stay on course.

Next comes the Customer Journey Map

This is the second navigation tool I love using. It helps you see the buying process through your client’s eyes: where they search for information, whom they trust, and what emotions they experience: frustration, hesitation, or pleasant anticipation.

When you walk through this path step by step, you start to understand:

💡 how to allocate your marketing budget effectively,

💡 which channels actually work, and which just burn money.

For example, many of my friends choose their travel destinations purely based on photos and Instagram reviews — no Google Ads campaign will ever reach them.

Maybe the company simply targets the wrong segment? And that’s exactly the kind of question a business model can answer.

📎 I’m attaching an example of a CJM we created for a travel company.

The #Miro templates are super convenient - visual and intuitive.

Every time I start a new project, I open two files - the Business Model Canvas and the Customer Journey Map.

They remind me that behind every number stands a real person — a founder, a client, a partner. And a good business model is never just about profit.

It’s about making sure everyone on the journey knows where they’re going, who they’re going with, and what it’s all for.