如果没有一套能够以合理的价格为消费者提供价值、并且潜在的成本又让你能够获得一些利润的运营模式的话，你很难在商业界获得成功。实际上，没有什么东西比商业模式更重要：人们并不会因为你的产品使用了最新的技术、渴望“绿色环保”或是你宣称的目标是减少世界范围内的饥饿而更亲睐你。
我本来以为这个道理对于所有的创业者来说应当是显而易见的，不过我所认识的每一个投资者都曾遇到一大把连商业模式都有着明显缺陷却仍希望从他们那儿得到资金支持的创业公司。这些公司的商业模式中最常见的缺陷包括揣着答案找问题、潜在市场定义不清以及产品推广计划不足。
有很多方法能够帮助你构建你的商业模式，比如一个很好的例子就是风险投资家伊丽莎白·爱德华兹最近写的一本就叫做《创业公司》的书。这本书就是一本指导大家如何以更少的成本创立自己的公司的指导手册。书里面有一个观点，认为一个好的商业模式至少包括了以下十个基本元素，我个人认为至少前七个毫无疑问是必需的。
价值主张。你的业务填补了消费者的什么需求？解决了消费者的什么问题？价值主张要求创业者们清晰地定义谁是业务的目标消费者、这些消费者正在被怎样的问题所困扰，你提供了怎样独特的解决方案，以及从消费者的角度而言，你的解决方案能带来什么样的好处。
目标市场。你希望将你的产品卖给谁？目标市场是指创业公司希望通过一系列营销手段充分吸引并最终将自己的产品或业务卖给他们的这一部分消费者群体。在你的商业模式里，这一部分内容包括对于目标消费者人口结构的精确定义，以及对他们如何购买你的产品的细致分析。
营销手段。你怎么样才能捕获你的消费者群体？尽管口口相传、病毒式营销这些方式如今的确非常流行，但它们都不足以使得一个全新的公司在业界立足。采用什么样的销售渠道、举办什么样的营销活动，这些都是在商业模式中需要明确的。
生产方式。你怎么样生产你们的产品，或者是提供你们的服务？常见的方式包括自行生产、外包、使用现货等。这里面的关键在于营销的时机和生产的成本。
配送方式。你怎么配送你的产品或者服务？有的产品和服务的配送仅仅通过网络就能实现，而有的则需要多层次的物流商、合作者或是增值经销商。你需要考虑你的产品是面向本地的还是面向全球的。
收入模型。你打算怎么赚钱？这里的关键是要给你自己以及你的投资者解释清楚你的现金和收入流怎么能负担包括管理和辅助支持费用在内的所有成本，并仍然能保证较高的回报率。
成本结构。你的成本是什么？起步阶段的创业者往往只关注产品生产本身的成本，而忽略了宣传和销售、管理和支持等成本。对照同类公司公开的财务报告再仔细地考量一下你们的预测吧。
竞争对手。你有多少可能的竞争对手？如果你没有对手，很可能你做的事情就没有市场。如果你有超过十个的竞争对手，那么你也许就选择了一个已经饱和的市场。你也许要在思考这个问题时试着打开一些思路，比如说试着认为飞机和火车也可以是竞争关系。消费者总是有其它选择的。
独具一格的销售思路。你怎么让你的产品和服务从众多竞争者中脱颖而出呢？投资者们寻觅的是一个可持续的竞争优势，所以短期的优惠或促销活动大概算不上独具一格的销售思路。
市场规模、增长与份额。以美元计，你所在的市场规模有多大？它是正在蓬勃发展还是逐渐缩水？你又能占到这个市场的多少？风险投资家总是在找到一个增长在两位数、规模超过十亿美元而且占有率能达到两位数的市场。
投资者希望能够尽早地、尽可能充分地了解你的商业模式。他们不想听到你向消费者推销时的说辞，因为这会让你自然而然地回避考虑诸如你打算赚多少钱、你打算吸引多少消费者这样的问题。如果你试图用这样的方式说服投资者，最后的结果恐怕只会让双方都很挫败。
一个可行且可投资的商业模式绝对是你的商业计划中需要特别关注的头一件事儿。其实，离了商业模式，创业也许就仅仅只是一个梦想。
You can’t succeed in business without an operational model that delivers value to customers at a reasonable price, with an underlying cost that allows you to make a profit. There are no “overrides” – for example, businesses don’t thrive just because they offer the latest technology, or because everyone wants to be “green, or because their goal is to reduce world hunger.
I expect that should seem intuitive to all entrepreneurs, but every investor I know has many stories about startup funding requests with major business model elements missing. The most common failures are solutions looking for a problem, lack of a defined market, and giving away the product.
There are dozens of sources to help you construct your business model, and a good example is a recent book by venture capital investor Elizabeth Edwards, simply named “Startup,” which is really designed as a handbook for launching a company for less. I support her assertion that a business model consists of at least the first seven of the following ten basic elements:
Value proposition. What is the need you fill or problem you solve? The value proposition must clearly define the target customer, the customer’s problem and pain, your unique solution, and the net benefit of this solution from the customer's perspective.
Target market. Who are you selling to? A target market is the group of customers that the startup plans to attract through marketing and sales their product or service. This segment should have specific demographics, and the means to buy your product.
Sales/Marketing. How will you reach your customers? Word-of-mouth and viral marketing are popular terms these days, but are rarely adequate to initiate a new business. Be specific on sales channels and marketing initiatives.
Production. How do you produce your product or service? Common choices include manufacturing in-house, outsourcing, off-the-shelf parts. The key issues here are time to market and cost.
Distribution. How do you distribute your product or service? Some products and services can be sold and distributed online, others require multi-level distributors, partners, or value-added resellers. Decide whether the product is local or international.
Revenue model. How do you make money? The key here is to explain to yourself and to investors how your pricing and revenue stream will cover all costs, including overhead and support, and still leave a good return.
Cost structure. What are your costs? New entrepreneurs tend to focus only on product direct costs, and underestimate marketing and sales costs, overhead costs, and support costs. Test your projections against actual published reports from similar companies.
Competition. How many competitors do you have? No competitors probably means there is no market. More than ten competitors indicates a saturated market. Think broadly here, like planes versus trains. Customers always have alternatives.
Unique selling proposition. How will you differentiate your product or service? Investors look for a sustainable competitive advantage. Short-term discounts or promotions are not a unique selling proposition.
Market size, growth, and share. How big is your market in dollars, is it growing or shrinking, and what percent can you capture? Venture capitalists look for a market with double-digit growth, greater than a billion dollars, and a double-digit penetration plan.
Investors will want to understand your business model very well and very early. They don’t want to hear your customer sales pitch, which naturally avoids any discussion of how much money you intend to make, and how many customers you expect to convince. Giving that pitch to investors will only frustrate both you and them.
A viable and investable business model is one of the first things you need to highlight in your business plan. In fact, without a business model, your startup is just a dream.
