Why help partners?

English: 油麻地 Category:March 2010 in Yau Ma Tei Category:Hilti Group 喜利得集團 Category:Shops in Yau Ma Tei 地鋪 & Category:Hamilton Street, Hong Kong Category:Fleet vehicles in Hong Kong 公司車 Category:Evening in Yau Ma Tei (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Help partners succeed, if you want to succeed.

 

When a company creates a new business model, it must verify that its latest model is compatible with the business models  of its key partners. The question should be whether the existing and prospective users of the company’s business model are willing to improve or implement innovative solutions. If a partner’s business model doesn’t integrate well with the  new business model, it is advisable that the partner create a novel model or alter its present one in order to serve the common goal: Making the combined  business models or innovative products within those  business models successful. To understand this process better, it makes sense to analyze a number of examples.

One such example is certainly Hilti. Hilti  developed a gun for concrete anchors a few years ago. Such anchors firmly attach  cables to concrete surfaces.  This new product allowed  users to omit some activities , which had previously been necessary and, at the same time,  made  the whole procedure shorter and less expensive. Thanks to  this innovative method, it was no longer necessary to drill holes, insert anchors, etc. However, if Hilti wanted to create a wide distribution of this product, it would first need to convince potential users. AFter that, these users would have to develop a fresh, more effecvtive business model for  their corporation. Therefore, Hilti decided that it made sense to train the company employees of potential users. This was a simple, yet very effective, way to present new technology. As a result, those firms that have opted for this technology have gained a competitive advantage over the competition and enjoy Hilti’s constant support. Hilti’s business model combining process inspired  innovation of the users’ business models, and consequently, their products/services have become more successful and efficient. Having successful  partners helps ensure Hilti’s continued success .

Hilti used training as an excellent  distribution channel to spread its new product and services among potential users. Moreover, by doing so, Hilti gets feedback for potential improvements, based on the needs and desires of potential customers at  the same time. Prospective and existing users get the information, skills and opportunities to innovate their business models. Hilti helps partners succeed so that everyone achieves  success.

 

 

 

 

Can a Personal Business Model Be Combined with an Organizational One?

Can a Personal Business Model Be Combined with an Organizational One?
Business Model Generation: A Handbook for Visionaries, Game Changers, and Challengers describes a framework for thinking about what an organization offers, who its customers are, and how an organization creates value.
Business Model You: A One-Page Method For Reinventing Your Career provides guidelines and a framework for thinking about what we want, what we have, what we do, how we help those who help us, and who we help.
We can create a personal canvas which helps us find out when our personal business model can fit into an organization’s business model. The “Business Model You” canvas can help us find an organization for which we can work passionately because we can combine models with the same goals to achieve personal and organizational benefits.

What We Have to Know If We Want to Implement a Business Model Combo:

1.    If we want to combine Business Model Canvases with the Business Model You canvas, we have to understand the process of creating both kinds of business models.

2.    We have to know our pains and gains.

3.    We have to know an organization‘s pain and gains.

4.    If we can relieve an organization’s pains or help to achieve gains, we can work for that organization.

5.    But such an organization has to satisfy our expectations

6.    We have to test our hypotheses by means of canvases.

7.    Go ahead and try!

Imitate/Transform/ Combine

Everything Is a Remix is a documentary about the process of creativity. The filmmaker, Kirby Ferguson, explains progress as activities which involve copying, transforming, and combining.
I prefer to use the word “imitate” rather than “copy” because imitation implies adding to or subtracting from the original whereas copying means duplicating it.

I was at a Hekovnik workshop for startups where I was inspired by the Great Spirit of creativity. We draw and show our ideas through Business Model Canvases. I’ve found out that a lot of ideas were transformed from business models that already existed but became something new by combining.
We can imitate, transform, and combine business models into different innovative ones that offer a far more comprehensive view to a much wider audience.

How Brazil Is Planning Business Model Combining for the 2014 Soccer World Cup

Image via Wikipedia

Brazil will host the 2014 Soccer FIFA World Cup. When any country hosts a world cup, it’s never just about the game; it’s also a great opportunity for businesses to enhance their profits. Sebrae (Service Brazil for Small and Micro Companies) conducted a survey to investigate opportunities for small enterprises in the service industry. Service companies can combine business models with the World Cup when this event takes place in twelve Brazilian host cities: Rio de Janeiro, Brasilia, Cuiaba, Natal, Recife, Belo Horizonte, Curitiba, Fortaleza, Salvador, Porto Alegre, Manaus; and Sao Paulo. The survey showed that the 2014 Soccer World Cup will have considerable influence on the growth of agribusiness (132 opportunities,) construction (128,) retail (122,) production linked to tourism (117,) wood and furniture (106,) information technology (105,) clothing (65,) tourism (98,) and services (56.)
Sebrae will invest eighty million dollars in business model combining in order to maximize the potential for an optimum outcome.  All of Brazil is in love with soccer, and so I believe that the 2014 FIFA World Cup is sure to be a huge success, both in sport and in business.

Related articles

• World Cup Brazil News: Brazil Has Announced Exact Dates of the 2014 World Cup (portugueseblog.org)
• http://www.agenciasebrae.com.br/noticia/12267711/economia/comercio-precisa-de-planejamento-para-lucrar-com-a-copa/

How eBay Has Combined Its Business Model

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

eBay is one of the most important players in the field of internet commerce. It strives to maintain a leading position in the global market and does so by having the vision to grow through using business model combining. eBay acquires innovative companies and integrates those business models with the eBay model.  Managers paint the eBay business model canvas with elements from other business models such as Milo, Redlaser, Gsi Commerce, PayPal, and FigCard.

eBay has two kind of target customers: small businesses and individual customers.

It has value propositions for small businesses such as retail stores. First, eBay offers
Gsi service, which helps companies put their inventory online, thereby opening up to potential customers the entire range of their products. In addition, Milo service lets users check the online inventory of thousands of stores while the Redlaser barcode reader permits Smartphone users to scan any item and then comparison shop among many suppliers. Finally, Where service provides local daily deals and creates buying incentives throughout the system by offering coupons and discounts. Milo, Redlaser and Where are great distribution channels to potential customers, especially small businesses, while FigCard and Paypal are great paying service systems.

eBay gives buyers these great services, all of which make shopping so much more convenient, economical and easy. Consumers can have great shopping search experiences with Milo and Redlaser while Where service enables local daily deals. Once a buying decision has been made, PayPal enables dependable, universal payment by phone whereas FigCard allows secure purchases by phone in a shop.

eBay connects businesses and consumers. Small shops and stores gain a great online service for buyers focused on products and location, thereby acquiring important distribution channels to reach many more customers.

With all these advantages, it’s safe to predict that thousands of small shops will combine their business models with the eBay model combo and start to be eBay partners.

Card.io Is Different from Other Payment Solutions

Most of the payable apps use credit cards to make payments, and typing on mobile phones can be slow. In addition, it’s all too easy to make a mistake when typing in such a long number. A new procedure called card.io provides a software development kit (SDK ) for mobile developers making it easy to accept credit cards in their mobile apps. When card i.o. is combined with mobile apps business models, it ensures a faster paying service for customers.

I went to a gas station at the Mercator supermarket today, but I had to wait a long time there because there were some problems with a cash terminal.  Then, I had to wait again in a drug store because of bad communication connections. Both places have robust hardware for reading credit cards, but it still took a while.

These delays could have almost certainly been prevented if these businesses had had smart phone connections and the card.io app. I think that supermarket chains and other stores can cut cost of paying services by using mobile devices to scan the codes of products and then scan the customers’ cards. That can be done by either the store personnel or by the customers themselves.

This technology is still in the early development stage, but I see a bright future for card.io in retail stores, gas stations, restaurants, etc.

How Does EmpireAvenue Combine into Other Business Models?

I joined the EmpireAvenue site three weeks ago because, after reading an interesting article (Serious Play: The Business of Social Currency about the EmpireAvenuein Harvard Business Review,) I became curious as to how this challenging, innovative service works. What I read in the article and saw at the site caused me to start thinking about the EmpireAvenue business model and the possible advantages of combining that model into a company’s business model.

The EmpireAvenue offer platform gives members the opportunity to trade shares with other participants. Shares are used as social currency and each participant (individual, company, or institution) is a partner who gives information to EmpireAvenue information about his/her/its activities on various social media. The frequency of activities on a participant’s social media are measured and calculated and then expressed as the value of one’s shares. Thus, the basis for one’s social currency depends to a great degree on the quantity of a participant’s activities. That is the “real “ virtual value because measuring quality of content is virtually impossible. Therefore, one’s “value” is largely determined by a participant’s followers, friends, and partners on his/her/its social networks.

EmpireAvenue enables members  to see how active and how influential a participant is in the virtual world of social media, and it was an interesting experiment to see how much impact I supposedly have. In addition, companies may want to combine the EmpireAvenue or similar business models into their own business models because by doing so they can get information about influential individuals and other companies or institutions. That information gives them an opportunity to collaborate with important participants. Thus, EmpireAvenue can be great tool for businesses and for high-value players who could sway a company’s significant customers.

Zipcar combines its business model with Google maps

Modern companies such as Zipcar are focusing on customers who need simple, individualized solutions for their temporary transportation needs. They want cost flexibility and a variety of cars for different occasions. There are many potential advantages to both the customer and the supplier when the transaction is based more on subscriptions than on one-time purchases. Modern companies such as  Zipcar want to have a lot of members since that will guarantee them predictable revenue streams. Zipcar subscribers also want to  be able to easily find the cars they hire. They can do so with Google maps, which displays all the locations of Zipcar pick-ups and drop-offs. This convenience makes Google maps the perfect distribution channel for Zipcar offers.  When a customer uses the car, he /she can employ Google maps for navigation and to discover where  the car can be returned once it is no longer needed.

The Future On-line Books Linked to Support Services

I respect books as personal experiences, encounters with the creative mind of a writer. When I read books, it is a peaceful, even a spiritual, interlude. Books stimulate my imagination and inspire me to creative thinking. I like paper books, which has caused me to have some reservations about how widespread and popular online books might become. But some days ago, I watched a very thought-provoking IDEO video about the future of online books in the context of business model combining. It made me re-evaluate some of my opinions.

It was a five-minute video exploring the possibilities of digital books, and it examined three current concepts: the Nelson service, the Coupland service, and the Alice service. All three target groups of potentially interested users, but they differ in their offerings.

The Nelson service value propositions enable books to become the basis for critical thinking tools. They do so by combining all kinds of information, which can then be connected with a book’s content and author, providing multiple perspectives, references, and current conversations on that text. The layers of information beyond the book itself enable it to be seen in a much wider context, throughout history, the present time, and the future. If want to use the Nelson concept, we have to combine the books’ business models with the partners’ business models, the sources that have all the additional data connected with the books’ contents.

The Coupland service stimulates readers by connecting them into “book clubs” and other social layers where discussions, collaborations, suggestions, lists, and purchases can help each reader share and learn from others. The Coupland business model combines readers’ personal  business models.

The Alice service combines new ways for users to interact and affect the content of the books. Active participation allows each reader to utilize geographic location, communicate through the characters, and contribute to the storyline.

These kinds of services were used in the case of the book Business Model Generation, where readers co-created the content and style of the book. These concepts seem to indicate that the future of books will depend in large measure on support services which enable new value propositions, collaboration, co- creation of new contents, and new ways of learning. Those services will follow from new business models and business model combining.

What Would a Sustainable Techno Cake Business Model Look Like?

Techno cake presently has forty-nine members, and that number could, and most likely will,  increase with each talk. Techno cake can exist in the long run only if we have a sustainable business model that extends beyond just  profit.  This is the  reason that I created the prototype of the Techno cake business model and now, to further develop that prototype,  I need  to brainstorm with the current members of the movement.

Business Model Canvas, Osterwalder, Pigneur & al. 2010, CC BY-SA 3.0.