Business
Intermediate
60 mins
Teacher/Student led
Learning Goals
Learning Outcomes
+60 XP
What you need:
Chromebook/Laptop/PC or iPad/Tablet
IWB/Projector/Large Screen

Business Models and What Makes Your Offer Stand Out

Learn the nine-part Business Model Canvas, apply real survey findings to shape your value proposition, and identify what makes your mini-business the better choice against today's alternative.

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    1 - Getting Started

    Illustration for Getting StartedWelcome back. Before we dive into today's lesson, scroll back in your portfolio to your Market Research page from the last lesson and have a quick look at the answers you collected from real people for homework.

    Take 2 minutes to think about:

    • What in the answers surprised you?
    • What in the answers confirmed what you already thought?
    • Is there anything you now want to change about your mini-business idea before today's lesson?
    No homework?

    Didn't get to ask anyone for homework? No problem for today — flip back to your Customer Persona page and use that as a stand-in. You'll just need to fill the gap in your real survey before next lesson's budgeting work.

    Today you're going to take everything you've learned about your customer and pour it onto one page: the Business Model Canvas. It's nine boxes that together tell the whole story of your business — who your customer is, what you offer them, how they find you, how you make money, what it costs you, and what makes you better than the alternative they're already using. By the end of the lesson, you'll have one in your portfolio.

    👇 Mark your steps as done as you complete them.

    +5 XP

    2 - What You'll Learn

    Five ideas sit underneath the Business Model Canvas. Get these straight and the worksheet later will feel like filling in the obvious answers; skip them and you'll stare at nine empty boxes.

    ConceptWhy it mattersExample
    Business Model Canvas — a one-page grid that captures the nine moving parts of how a business creates value, delivers it, and makes moneyAt one glance you (and any teacher, parent or investor reading it) can see whether the parts of your business fit together. A long written plan hides contradictions; a canvas surfaces them.Stripe's early canvas would have shown developers building online shops as the segment, seven lines of code as the value proposition, and a percentage of every transaction as the revenue stream — the whole company on one page
    Value Proposition — the specific reason a customer picks you instead of the alternative they already useIf you can't write a sharp value proposition, your customer can't either. They'll just keep doing what they already do, which usually means not buying from you.Supermac's value proposition for an Irish family at a motorway Plaza is "an Irish-owned stop with curry chips you can't get at McDonald's", not just "fast food"
    Customer Segments — the specific group(s) of people you're building your offer for"Everyone" is not a segment, and a value proposition aimed at everyone usually lands with nobody. A real segment shares both a problem AND a way you can reach them.For a TY hot chocolate stall at GAA matches, "cold parents at under-14 hurling on a January Saturday" is a real segment — they share the problem (cold) and the channel (the same pitch every Saturday)
    Revenue Streams vs Cost Structure — the two financial sides of the canvas: money in vs money outA canvas that's strong on value but vague on these two boxes is a hobby, not a business. You'll work out the real numbers in your Budget Sheet next lesson — but the canvas is where you first name them.A school-yard smoothie stall has revenue from €3-a-cup sales and a loyalty card, and costs in fruit, cups, blender hire and a slot in the yard
    The Alternative — what your customer does TODAY instead of buying from you (a competitor, a substitute, or simply "doing nothing")Naming the alternative honestly forces you to answer the hardest question: am I genuinely better than what they already do? If you can't beat "doing nothing", you don't have a business yet.For the GAA hot chocolate stall, the alternative isn't another stall — it's parents buying a cold can from the club shop, or just going thirsty for the match. "Warm in 30 seconds beats cold-or-nothing" is a real differentiator

    Nine Boxes at a Glance

    The five concepts above are the deeper ideas. The canvas itself has nine boxes, and you'll be asked to fill in all of them later. Here's a one-line preview of what each box captures, so you know what kind of thinking belongs in each one before you see the Supermac's example:

    BoxWhat it captures
    Customer SegmentsWHO exactly is this for? Which specific group of people with which specific problem?
    Value PropositionWHAT do you offer them that makes them choose you over the alternative?
    ChannelsHOW does your value reach the customer? Where do they first hear about you, and where do they actually buy?
    Customer RelationshipsHow do customers expect to interact with you? Friendly chat at a stall? Self-service? Online DMs? A loyalty card?
    Revenue StreamsHow does money flow IN? Price per unit, bundles, sponsorship, subscriptions?
    Key ResourcesWhat do you need to OWN or have access to? Equipment, recipes, a brand name, starter cash.
    Key ActivitiesWhat do you need to DO repeatedly for the business to work? Producing, marketing, serving.
    Key PartnersWHO outside the business do you need? Suppliers, sponsors, the local club, a parent with a van.
    Cost StructureWhat does it COST to run this? Fixed costs (paid once) and variable costs (paid every sale).
    Key point

    Up next: you'll see all nine of these boxes worked through on a real canvas for a business you already know, in the canonical grid shape they're always drawn in. Then you'll fill in your own.

    👇 Mark your steps as done as you complete them.

    +10 XP

    3 - A Worked Canvas: Supermac's

    Illustration for A Worked Canvas: Supermac'sBefore you fill in a canvas for your own mini-business, let's look at one for a business you already know — Supermac's. Read the background, study the nine-box grid showing how the canvas actually looks on a page, then answer the two analysis questions at the bottom. This is the only worked example you'll see, so take it slowly.

    +15 XP

    4 - Build Your Business Model Canvas

    Now it's your turn. Take everything you know about your mini-business — the Customer Persona you built earlier, the survey answers you collected from real people on your Market Research page, and the idea you locked in — and pour it into a single one-page canvas. By the end of this step, the centrepiece of your Mini Business Portfolio is in place.

    How to stage the 22 minutes:

    • Minutes 1–10 — Anchor boxes first. Start with Customer Segments (who exactly is this for?), then Value Proposition + The Alternative (what specifically do you offer them, what are they doing today instead, and why are you the better choice?). These two boxes anchor everything else, so get them sharp before you move on.
    • Minutes 11–22 — The remaining seven boxes. Work through Channels, Customer Relationships, Revenue Streams, Key Resources, Key Activities, Key Partners and Cost Structure. A few short lines per box is plenty — this is a snapshot, not an essay. If you're stuck on a box, glance back at the Nine Boxes at a Glance table in step 2 or the Supermac's grid in step 3 for the kind of thinking that fits there.
    Key point

    Pay extra attention to the Value Proposition + The Alternative box — that's where you'll do the new piece of thinking for this lesson. Name the main alternative your customer uses today (a specific competitor, a substitute product or service, or simply "doing nothing about it"), and write one line on why your mini-business is the better choice. If you can't answer that honestly, don't fudge it — that's a signal to come back to your idea before next lesson.

    The form auto-saves as you go.

    Finished early? Try this stretch

    Stretch example

    Pick a different customer segment your mini-business could also serve, and write ONE new value proposition for them. For example, if your hot chocolate stall serves cold parents, what could you also offer to cold referees waiting between matches? What changes about your offer? Write your second value proposition in the Customer Relationships or Channels box notes, or jot it underneath your canvas — this is what real businesses do when they grow: one canvas per segment.

    My Business Model Canvas
    Fill in each of the nine boxes for your mini-business. Pull from your Customer Persona and your Market Research page wherever you can — this canvas should be grounded in the real answers you collected, not in guesses. Start with Customer Segments and Value Proposition; those two anchor everything else. In the Value Proposition box, you must also name the main alternative your customer uses today and write one line on why you're a better choice.
    Key Partners
    Who do you NEED outside the business to make this work? Suppliers, sponsors, the local club, a teacher, a parent with a van, a venue you'll use.
    e.g. A local shop supplying ingredients at a small discount, The GAA club giving permission for a pitch-side stall on match days
    Key Activities
    What do YOU need to do, repeatedly, for the business to work? Producing, marketing, taking orders, delivering.
    e.g. Prepping ingredients on Friday night, Running the stall every Saturday morning, Posting on Instagram twice a week before match day
    Key Resources
    What things or skills do you NEED in your hands to deliver your value? Equipment, money to start, a skill, a recipe, a brand.
    e.g. A 5-litre flask and a folding table, A €50 starter float to buy the first batch of ingredients, A reliable hot chocolate recipe everyone in the team agrees on
    Value Proposition + The Alternative
    FIRST: in 2 to 4 lines, write the unique value you give your customer. What do they get from you that they can't easily get elsewhere? THEN: name the main ALTERNATIVE customers use today — a specific competitor, a substitute product or service, or simply 'doing nothing about it'. Write ONE more line on what makes your mini-business the better choice for them.
    e.g. Value: a warm hot chocolate at €2 a cup, made fresh at the pitch in winter, sold beside the action so cold parents don't have to walk to the shop., The alternative: parents buy a cold can from the club shop, or go without. We're better because we sell a warm drink in 30 seconds when their hands are freezing.
    Customer Relationships
    How do customers expect to deal with you? Friendly chat at a stall? Self-service? A returning loyalty? Online DMs?
    e.g. Friendly chat at the stall — we know our regulars by name, A simple punch-card: six cups get you the seventh free
    Channels
    HOW does your value reach the customer? Where do they first hear about you, and where do they actually buy?
    e.g. Find out about us: Instagram + word of mouth at the club, Buy from us: a pitch-side stall every Saturday from 11am to 1pm
    Customer Segments
    Who EXACTLY is this for? Use what you learned from your Market Research page. Don't write 'everyone' — be specific about the group with the problem you're solving, and where you can reach them.
    e.g. Cold parents and grandparents at under-14 GAA matches on winter Saturdays, Players' younger siblings waiting around the sideline
    Cost Structure
    What does it COST you to run this? Note both one-off costs (fixed, paid once) and per-unit costs (variable, paid every time you sell one). You'll put real numbers on this in the Budget Sheet next.
    e.g. Fixed: ~€40 on a flask and a sign at the start of the season, Variable: ~€0.80 in cocoa, milk and a cup per drink sold
    Revenue Streams
    How do you actually MAKE money? What's the price, and how does it flow in? Single sales, bundles, sponsorship, subscriptions?
    e.g. €2 per cup of hot chocolate, cash at the stall, €10 for a 6-cup loyalty card sold up-front to a parent
    +10 XP

    5 - Think About It

    Think about

    • Which box of your canvas was the hardest to fill in? What does that tell you about where your idea still needs work?
    • Now that you've named the alternative your customer uses today, are you GENUINELY a better choice for them, or is your value proposition still too soft to win against "doing nothing"?
    +10 XP

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