Had been very busy lately finishing up on all the marking and a host of other stuff. Why is it that everything has to come together at the same time? Now I have to advise my students on completing their Business Model Assignment. My advise to them: "Do a little bit every day. Don't wait until the week of submission and then try to cramp everything in one week. You will go haywire if you do that." There are four parts to the business model as required in the coursework brief: core strategy, strategic resources, partnership network, and customer interface. Now, we are in Week 4. Try to cover one part in one week, and you will be able to complete your assignment by Week 7. Of course, you would have to compromise on your CNY celebrations. Never mind, you still have many more CNYs to come. :)) In this post, I will touch on the first part - i.e. core strategy.
Let me start with business model. A business model is just a simplified description of how a business makes money. Usually, it is the precursor to the business plan. The objective of having a business plan is to "sell" your project to external financiers or internally to top management. If you have a well-thought out business model, then it forms the basis for writing a good business plan. A business plan may consist of the management team, the business model, the implementation plan, the financial plan, an analysis of the external environments, and maybe also a part on risk analysis. So you see, the business model is actually just a part of the business plan.
Okay, now let's look at core strategy. What exactly do we mean by "core"? It simply refers to our most valuable customers - who we are selling to. It also refers to our most important product - what we are selling. Also refers to our most important channels - how we are selling. Strategy? It's just the art and science of today's business environment i.e. how we differentiate ourselves from others. It refers to us