If you aren’t familiar with the Business Model Canvas, it’s simply a strategizing method that helps you think on paper. There are several components to constructing a business plan, but in this post, I will focus on business model canvas key activities.

Key activities are what you do and how you serve. They typically take money out of your business because they require supplies and human labor, so it’s important to think critically about what is absolutely necessary for your business to succeed. Business model canvas key activities include, but are not limited to, production, problem-solving, platforms, financial duties, and networking and marketing.

Key activities unlock your value proposition. They are the avenue through which you serve your customers. So, the best place to find your key activities is with your value proposition. You need to think about what you need to do in order to actualize your value proposition. Remember, your value proposition is the advantage that makes you unique from your competitors!

Questions to Ask:

1. What are the most important actions to build your product or service?
2. In order to achieve your value proposition, what activities must be done?
3. What do you and your staff do every day?
4. How are you going to distribute your product or service?
5. What kinds of business model canvas key activities are important to maintain customer relationships?
6. What kinds of activities are necessary for your revenue streams?

It is important to note that not everything your business does is a key activity. Sometimes, there’s just rudimentary work that has to get done. Business model canvas key activities are directly related to your value proposition. They are the funnels through which you make good on your promises to the consumer (and make good in your bank account!)

Back in the day, I owned a few hair salons. Some of the key activities that were necessary in order for us to fulfill our value proposition were:

• Hiring and training staff
• Cutting, dying, and styling hair
• Secretarial work such as booking appointments, responding to emails, and answering phones
• Marketing effectively

Next Steps

Each item of the Business Model Canvas is related to every other item in some way, much like how each organ in the body is related to every part of the body in some way. Once you detail your key activities, you’ll need to make note of your key resources. They are simply every resource, whether they’re products or people, that you’ll need to accomplish your key activities. So, just as the value proposition leads you to your key activities, your key activities lead you to your key resources.

If you would like to know more about the Business Model Canvas, click HERE to read a blog I wrote a few months ago titled ‘From Chaos to Order: How to Start Your Own Business.’ If you’d like to fill out the Business Model Canvas yourself, click HERE to get a free download.