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Rethink Your Business Model - Before The Market Does

WeWork’s spectacular collapse. The retail apocalypse claiming JCPenney and Century 21. The streaming revolution that buried cable TV companies. These are stark reminders: even the most established businesses can become obsolete overnight when their business model fails to evolve.

And it’s not just big names. Mid-sized and entrepreneurial companies face the same risks. We live in a world where markets shift overnight, customers expect more for less, and technology rewrites the rules faster than many companies can adapt.

If your business is feeling the squeeze—flat growth, tighter margins, or customers going quiet—it might not be your people, product, or even your sales process. The issue could be deeper. It could be your business model.

The good news? You can do something about it.

What Is a Business Model—Really?

A business model is more than a buzzword. It’s the logic of how your company creates, delivers, and captures value. In simple terms: how you make money.

Business Model Generation, by Alexander Osterwalder, offers a concept that allows you to describe and think through the business model of your company, your competitors, or any other enterprise. This concept has been applied and tested around the world and is already used in organizations such as IBM, Ericsson, Deloitte, the Public Works and Government Services of Canada, and many others.

It is a shared language that allows you to easily describe and manipulate business models to create new strategic alternatives. Click here to download the Business Model Canvas tool.

The Nine Building Blocks

Your business model can best be described through nine basic building blocks that show the logic of how you intend to make money. The nine blocks cover the four main areas of your business: customers, offer, infrastructure, and financial viability. The business model is like a blueprint for a strategy to be implemented through your company structures, processes, and systems. Here are the nine blocks:

1. Customer Segments – An organization serves one or several such as users and payers.

2. Value Propositions – Product or services solving customer problems and satisfying customer needs.

3. Channels – Communication, distribution, and sales channels to reach customers and offer them the value proposition.

4. Customer Relationships – Relationships are established and maintained with each customer segment to create demand.

5. Revenue Streams – Generated from value propositions successfully offered to customers.

6. Key Activities – Activities necessary to implement the business model.

7. Key Resources – Assets required to make the key activities possible.

8. Key Partnerships – Third parties needed to make the key activities possible.

9. Cost Structure – Resulting from the business model.

Each block connects to the others. Rethinking just one may ripple across the rest (Yes! It is Leonardo da Vinci’s classic principle: Everything connects to everything else!).

Why Rethink Now?

Customers are more selective. Margins are tighter. Competition is borderless. Tariffs are changing. Tech adoption cycles have compressed. And AI, automation, and data are now essential—not optional.

The businesses that win are those that can adapt their models—not just their messaging or marketing—to keep creating value in today’s market.

Ask yourself:

• Are we serving the right customers?

• Is our value proposition still relevant?

• Are our revenue streams diversified and resilient?

• Could a competitor deliver our offer faster, cheaper, or better?

Rethinking in Action: Four Levels of Business Model Evolution

Rethinking doesn’t have to mean tearing everything down. There’s a spectrum—from small tweaks to full-on transformation. Here are real examples from my client work:

• Transformation. A land development firm reinvented itself into a hotel management group, repurposing assets and capabilities.

• Innovation. An office equipment supplier moved into subscription-based SaaS tools to stay relevant and scalable.

• Simple Change. A medical device distributor restructured its pricing to unlock new revenue without adding complexity.

• Operational Tweak. A trucking firm reshaped its territory model to align with shifting customer demand.

What they all had in common: They stopped assuming yesterday’s model was still the right one.

The 2025 Rethink Playbook

Here’s a simple process to guide your rethink:

1. Map Your Current Model
   Use the Business Model Canvas. Get your team involved. Capture how things work today.

2. Pressure Test Each Block
   Where are the pain points? Which parts are stale, broken, or underperforming? Look at competitors. Talk to customers. Examine your data.

3. Design New Options
   Play with possibilities. Could you package differently? Serve a new segment? Add a revenue stream? Use AI to replace manual processes?

4. Prototype + Test
   Don’t bet the farm. Start small. Test new ideas quickly. Learn and adapt. Iterate your model just like you’d iterate a product.

5. Align Execution
   A model is only as good as its execution. Make sure people, systems, and incentives support your new direction.

In today’s climate, the question isn’t if your business model needs to evolve. It’s how soon you’ll start the process—and how boldly you’ll embrace it.

Here’s My Take

Your strategy might be solid. Your product might be strong. But if your business model is outdated, none of it matters.

The future belongs to those who build models that work in today’s world—and tomorrow’s.

What you gain from rethinking:

• New revenue possibilities

• More loyal customers

• Leaner operations

• Competitive differentiation

• A model that fuels—not stalls—growth

So, here’s your challenge:

📌 Set aside time this quarter to rethink your model—before the market forces you to.

The best time to evolve is before you have to.

^{© 2025 David Paul Carter. Photo Credit: Devonyu | iStock. Thanks to Open AI for helping me streamline and sharpen the ideas in this article.}