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Using the Business Model Canvas for Law Firms

By: Aron Solomon

While underused in the legal industry, the business model canvas is a uniquely potent tool for solo and small law firms to chart where they are today and where they would like to land tomorrow.

Using a business model canvas allows a firm to analyze and reflect upon their current business model by breaking it down into each segment. It can be surprisingly valuable for your law firm because it allows for a massive unloading of so much you have learned over the years about your business into one very usable tool. For your firm, the canvas can be not only an actionable part of your business planning but an important archive of how the firm sees itself today.

While there are seemingly limitless online resources that show you how to complete a business model canvas, few highlight the critical mistakes that can invalidate the canvas and make the process a collective waste of your firm’s time.

In my experience, the most powerful mistakes solo and small law firms make while using the business model canvas are:

Having one person at the firm complete the canvas who is primarily in a business role.

I know this sounds counterintuitive since it is a business model canvas, but if completing the business model canvas is going to be a one-person job (more on this in a minute) it’s too often done by someone at the firm who is in a support, operations, or general business role than someone who is practicing law and often leading the charge on new business generation.

Making the canvas an isolated exercise.

The reason it is all too frequently one person completing the business model canvas, later to be shared with a larger group within the firm, is that lawyers tend to see the canvas (in the language of the canvas itself) as a cost rather than a revenue center. In other words, sure, let’s do the exercise of completing a canvas because maybe we should, but let’s put as few hours behind this as we can.

Massive mistake. Invest the time and person hours on the front end and you’ll have immediate buy-in within the firm because the authors of your canvas will feel more of a sense of ownership in the product. Have a canvas completed in isolation and it’s something done by others and met with a lack of interest, enthusiasm, and desire to collaborate on making the canvas better and more usable for the business.

Being entirely qualitative rather than at least a bit quantitative.

A good business canvas begins to get into the weeds while a great canvas begins to get quantitative. Even with an area of the canvas such as revenue streams - which is by its nature quantitative - when professionals complete this section they tend to be only descriptive and prescriptive. They need to actually roll up their sleeves and specify amounts. Please remember that there’s no rule against using numbers on your business model canvas.

Failing to harness the power of the value proposition.

I am biased in that through my training on the canvas, I’ve always been the most intellectually and practically excited about the value proposition section. The power of the value proposition section is when it’s used to detail the benefits of your legal services, not simply to set out their features. So if you’re a personal injury firm, is your value proposition that you work on a contingent fee and win more cases than your local competitors or is your true value proposition that you help reassemble the lives of people injured by the negligence or recklessness of others?

This also goes back to an earlier point of why actual practitioners need to be part of the process of any firm electing to go through a business model canvas process. You need to understand your business from the inside out.

Not creating personas for your customers.

Most law firms (okay - almost all) endeavor to complete the customer segments of the canvas without really understanding who their clients are. By creating personas of your customers (fictional characters you create to represent an amalgam of your clients) you are now in a position to more quickly apply the results of your business model canvas to your practice.

Aside from helping complete your canvas, creating customer personas is remarkably effective in going from the findings of your canvas to power your social media campaigns. The more deeply you understand the people who have, do, and will use your firm’s legal services, the more efficiently and effectively you’ll be able to reach them on social.

Failing to imagine the canvas as a springboard to scale your business.

Used well, the canvas is one tool that helps you analyze the health of your legal business. Too many law firms spent far too much time and money thinking about scaling up before they not only understand where they are today as a business but how they arrived there. So dissecting your business as suggested by the canvas allows lawyers and law firms operations people to do what they almost never do before making a growth plan - be introspective and populate a framework with data.

About Aron Solomon

Aron Solomon is the Senior Digital Strategist for NextLevel.com and an Adjunct Professor at the Desautels Faculty of Management at McGill University.

Aron was the founder of LegalX at MaRS Discovery District in Toronto, one of the world's first legal technology accelerators, and was elected to Fastcase 50 in 2015, which recognizes the world's leading legal innovators. Aron regularly consults for large global corporations, law, and accounting firms.

business model canvas for law firm

LEGAL BUSINESS WORLD

  • By Nerushka Bowan
  • Oct 8, 2018

Law firm business models

Traditional business models versus new business models

The traditional law firm business model, at its core, is built on the concept of selling time or the dreaded “billable hour.” Until recently, the practice of law was largely uncontested and clients quietly acquiesced to paying lawyer invoices billed by the hour. However, recent developments in technology, a tightening market, educated customers and empowered workforce are putting pressure on the traditional law firm and demonstrating the need for a change.

The legal profession to date has been risk averse and conservative when dealing with change (CBA, 2017). Clients are now demanding value for the fees they pay, and are no longer willing to pay based solely on time spent (Georgetown law, 2016). These changes bring significant opportunities for law firms willing to innovate (CBA, 2017). These changes have also brought about questions regarding ethical and regulatory issues in this traditional and regulated profession (Flip, 2017).

The International Business Association report (Esteban & Klotz, 2017) identifies a variety of drivers for change in law firm business models including client demands, challenges to the partnership model, new models of working, increased competition and development of legal technology and innovation. Clients are also looking for integrated, business solutions, rather than siloed legal advice (Deloitte, 2016). According to Deloitte’s survey (2016), 52% of clients can imagine a future where they would be happy to buy their legal services from non-traditional law firm entities.

Although drivers for change are present, partner performance remuneration models are still based on traditional methods, such as billable hours, in addition to fee income, profitability and referral of work (PWC, 2017). Although there have been signs of change in law firms in terms of adoption of technology and innovation, there has not yet been any significant change in the core business model of law firms.

Client demands on law firms are changing as their sophistication and buying power increases, for example, clients are expressing dissatisfaction with the billable hour and demand alternative fee structures and increased use of technology (Esteban et al, 2017). Until recently, in-house legal teams did not want procurement involved in sourcing of legal service providers (Bloomberg, 2017). Due to pressure on in-house legal teams to reduce spend and demonstrate value, legal counsel no longer select law firms solely on long-standing relationships, and have increased the requirements of legal service providers they use (Bloomberg, 2017).

Employee demands for a more flexible lifestyle, including contract and virtual work are also putting pressure on the traditional law firm business model (Esteban et al, 2017). Change in law firm business models can also improve personal wellbeing of its lawyers who are currently pressured to work long hours in order to meet their performance requirements (Flip, 2017). Flexible work arrangements could also enhance diversity, for example, extended retention of senior women lawyers (Flip, 2017).

In addition, law firms are seeing increased competition from new unregulated entrants to the market leveraging technology and alternate business models, as well as the big four auditing firms entering into the legal services market (Esteban et al, 2017). The advancement in legal technology and innovation gives law firms the tools to potentially leverage opportunities to transform existing traditional business models into newer, innovative business models. According to the Time for Change survey by PwC (2017), technology has the potential to have the biggest impact for change in law firms as it will impact all aspects of a law firm.

Performance in traditional law firms is stagnating, and law firms need to take action now to future-proof themselves (PWC, 2017). Challenges facing law firms in the UK market include clients’ demands, threat from US firms, new entrants and new technologies (PWC, 2017).

Digital advancement in law firms

In its Future of Legal Services report (2016), the Law Society of England and Wales cites technological and process innovation as one of five drivers of change in the legal services market. According to the Flip report (2017), changing cultures, consumer pressure and lower prices are driving increased use of legal technology.

Rajah (2017) states that although technology will not replace lawyers, it “will change the way lawyers work” and eventually those who do not adopt technology “will fall behind and lose out”.

Some of the key trends and digital advancements identified for 2017 for law firms are practice management software (Clio, 2017), e-discovery (Kane, 2017), social media (Kane, 2017), legal processing outsourcing (Seeger & Clay, 2017), and alternate business structures (Seeger et al, 2017).

As we approach the next five years, some of the key future legal technology trends that will play a significant role in shaping the future of law include automation (George, 2016), cloud computing (George, 2016), big data analytics (Rajah, 2017), artificial intelligence (Hyde, 2016) and technology focused legal professionals ((Flip, 2017). Although law firms have made some progress with traditional technologies, adoption is low with newer emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, predictive analytics and smart contracting, although 80% of the top 10 law firms are piloting artificial intelligence solutions (PWC, 2017).

Leveraging digital opportunities in law firms According to the Law Firms in Transition: 2017 Trends survey, 84% of respondents remarked that technology replacing human resources is a permanent trend (Seeger et al, 2017). Although this seems like a high response, few in the industry are actively implementing solutions or taking steps to prevent themselves from being “replaced” or disrupted. The current state of the legal industry is a classic example of the “innovator’s dilemma” coined by Clay Christensen, Harvard Business School professor (Ovbiagele, 2017). According to the theory, it is the incumbents’ own success that makes them slow to adopt change, and once they realise drastic innovative change is required, it is already too late and they have lost valuable market share to new entrants seizing the opportunity to disrupt the status quo (Ovbiagele, 2017).

Although it may appear obvious to some that radical innovation and change is required, there are also systemic barriers to change that prevent law firms from adopting true digital advancement and disruption. These include the business model of selling time (the billable hour) (Georgetown Law, 2016). In order to increase profits, law firms have historically increased hourly rates at very high percentages year-on-year (since there are only 24 fixed hours in a day!) and are now facing push back from clients who are no longer willing to pay these exorbitant fees (Georgetown Law, 2016).

In addition, key strategic decisions about the law firm business are made by partners in the law firm who also share in the profits of the business and are likely those who have excelled at billing hours – therefore the incentive or drive to invest in change is low (Georgetown Law, 2016). Other barriers include relatively high cost of adoption (which could be prohibitive for small to medium size law firms which may be more incentivized to implementchange), lack of awareness by decision makers as well as a lack of urgency (given that they are largely still successful operating under the traditional business model) (Rajah, 2017).

Law firms willing to move forward could leverage opportunities brought about by digital advancements in these four broad categories:

To gain competitive advantage

To improve productivity and performance

To enable new ways of managing and organising

To develop new business (Altameen, Aldrees, & Alsaeed, 2014, pg. 1)

For example, if law firms looked at cost per unit versus revenue per unit in a similar manner to software and publishing companies, the potential cost savings would be more evident:

According to the table below, it is clear that law firm revenue is tied directly the cost of production. This means that law firm revenue is limited by the number of hours that humans are capable of producing. Comparatively, software and publishing companies reduce their cost over time, and increase profits as volumes increase. It is also arguable that the revenue per unit may also increase exponentially over time as more products are sold, while costs continue to decrease.

business model canvas for law firm

(Neota Logic, 2014).

It will be interesting to see whether the legal industry, especially long-standing successful incumbents, are able to recognize current and future looking digital advancements and technological trends in their industry, and act on those insights before it’s too late. Larger law firms have powerful strategic advantages given their established brands, international networks, client relationships and talented workforce (PWC, 2017). The winning law firms will be those who use these strategic advantages to adapt and respond to change (PWC, 2017).

Core themes that law firms need to focus on in order to reinvent their business models include focusing on the client, leveraging lawyers, re-engineering processes and innovate to differentiate (Talwar, 2014). Law firms have to decide whether they will become “business innovators” (leaders in technology which have transformed through effective use of IT), “survivors” (little change in business model, loss in market share, and remain in few key areas), “seat warmers” (law firms that understand the potential but do not have an effective strategy or IT team to deliver and leverage digital opportunities presented) or “frustrated superheros” (the law firm has a highly capable resources or IT team but lacks the buy-in of senior management and leadership to evolve) (Talware, 2014).

References:

Altameen, A. A., Aldrees, A. I., Alsaeed, N. A. (2014, October). Strategic information systems planning, Proceedings of the World Congress on Engineering and Computer Science Vol I.

Canadian Bar Association. (2014, August). Futures: transforming the delivery of legal services in Canada, CBA Legal Futures Initiative. ( https://www.cba.org/CBAMediaLibrary/cba_na/PDFs/CBA%20Legal%20Futures%20PDFS/Futures-Final-eng.pdf accessed on 15 October 2017).

Clio, (2017). Legal trends report: executive summary.

Deloitte, (2016, June). Future trends for legal services: global research study. ( https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/global/Documents/Legal/dttl-legal-future-trends-for-legal-services.pdf accessed on 15 October 2017).

Esteban, M. J., Klotz, J. M., (2017, October). International Bar Association President’s task force on the future of legal services: Phase 1 – Drivers for change in legal services, International Bar Association.

Future Committee of The Law Society of The Law Society of New South Wales, (2017). Flip: The future of law and innovation in the profession, Law Society of New South Wales.( https://www.lawsociety.com.au/cs/groups/public/documents/internetcontent/1272952.pdf accessed on 15 October 2017).

George, A., (2016, July). The 3 legal technology trends that are reshaping the industry, Lexicata. ( https://blog.lexicata.com/legal-technology-trends/ accessed on 15 October 2017).

Georgetown Law, (2016). 2016 Report on the state of the legal market , Thomson Reuters Peer Monitor. (accessed on 15 October 2017).

Hyde, J., (2016, April). Susskind: ‘you have five years to reinvent the legal profession’, The Law Society Gazette UK. ( https://www.lawgazette.co.uk/law/susskind-you-have-five-years-to-reinvent-the-legal-profession/5054990.article accessed on 15 October 2017).

Kane, S., (2017, May). 10 trends reshaping the legal industry, The Balance. ( https://www.thebalance.com/trends-reshaping-legal-industry-2164337 accessed on 15 October 2017).

Mozansky, S., Silverstein, S. H., (2017, February). 2017 Legal procurement survey, Bloomberg Law Buying Legal Council. ( http://www.buyinglegal.com/FC2F79/assets/files/Documents/2017-Legal-Procurement-Survey-FINAL.pdf accessed on 20 November 2017).

Neota Logic., (2014, September). Technology and the Future of Law, Neota Logic. ( https://www.neotalogic.com/2014/09/05/technology-the-future-of-law/ accessed on 24 February 2018).

Ovbiagele, J., (2017, January). Disruptive innovation in the legal industry, Law Practice Today. ( http://www.lawpracticetoday.org/article/disruptive-innovation-legal-industry/ accessed on 15 October 2017).

PwC., (2017). 26th Annual Law Firms’ Survey: Time for change PwC Law Firms’ Survey. ( https://www.pwc.co.uk/industries/law-firms/law-firms-survey-report-2017.pdf accessed on 20 November 2017).

Rajah, I., (2017, May). Tech start for lawyers, Minister of Law Singapore. ( https://www.mlaw.gov.sg/content/dam/minlaw/corp/News/Note%20to%20Legal%20Profession%20On%20Technology.pdf accessed on 15 October 2017).

Seeger, E. A., Clay, T. S., (2017). Law firms in transition: An Altman Weil flash survey, Altman Weil Inc. ( http://www.altmanweil.com//dir_docs/resource/90D6291D-AB28-4DFD-AC15-DBDEA6C31BE9_document.pdf accessed on 15 October 2017).

Talwar, R., (2014). Legal Technology Future Horizons: strategic imperatives for the law firm of the future, International Legal Technology Association.

The Law Society of England and Wales. (2016, January). The Future of Legal Services.

business model canvas for law firm

About the Author Nerushka Bowan is an emerging technology law specialist, legal technology innovator and speaker. She has a background as a technology & privacy lawyer for an international law firm. She is involved in the awareness and upskilling of lawyers about the future of law. She is also a consultant trainer at the Blockchain Academy and a co-chair of the Johannesburg chapter of the International Association of Privacy Professionals. She regularly speaks to corporates and at events, publishes blogs and articles, and is regularly interviewed and quoted in media on various technology-related topics. She was recently listed on CryptoCoin. News as one of 20 African women to watch in Blockchain and Crypto . Nerushka uses her unique experience and forward looking mindset to identify future risks and ask the legal and ethical questions brought about by emerging technology and packages these topics into stimulating and thought-provoking workshops and presentations.

#NerushkaBowan #NeedtoRead #AllUpdates

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business model canvas for law firm

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The Legal Practice Model Canvas

Written By John E. Grant   |   Agile Tools & Methods , Improve Your Strategy , Legal Business Models   |   0 Comments

A bit of a mea culpa here: This is a post I started working on months ago and then never published because I didn’t think I’d gotten things quite right. As longtime readers will recognize, this is fundamentally inconsistent with the Lean Startup principles I espouse–better to put the darn thing out there and see what people think about it than to let it languish while I noodle on potentially unimportant details.

And with that explanation, here I post my version of the Business Model Canvas for lawyers and law firms that I’m calling the Practice Model Canvas.

It is useful for a few different scenarios: it is a great alternative to long-form business planning when you’re thinking about hanging a shingle for a new law firm, it is useful for scoping out ideas for launching a new practice area or legal service offering, and it is a fantastic way to think through productized legal services like flat-fee, subscription, or portfolio offerings.

legalpracticemodelcanvaspng-1024x682

Click the image above for a larger PNG, or you can download one of the PDF versions below.  Any of these files will scale to smaller paper sizes, but if you have access to larger print formats, like at an office store, I recommend them. I’ve used the “ Engineering Prints in B&W ” option at documents.Staples.com to good (and inexpensive) effect, and I’ve also used the large format printer at my local OfficeDepot for same-day prints.

  • Law Practice Canvas 11 x 17
  • Law Practice Canvas 24 x 36
  • Law Practice Canvas 36 x 48
  • Law Practice Canvas 48 x 60

A few simple instructions/recommendations:

  • Print one of these out and hang it on your wall. Maybe more than one if you want to explore different offerings, but limit yourself to one thing at a time .
  • Use sticky notes to fill in 1-3 items in each box. It is meant to be dynamic and malleable, so don’t worry if you make changes. If you have different people working on it, you can use color to indicate differences.
  • Use a fat pen, nothing smaller than a regular sharpie, to write on the stickys. The point is to generate ideas & draw insights, not delve into details.
  • Try to go in rough order of the numbers in the boxes, but don’t let them stop you if you’re inspired to work on something out of sequence. Notice that there are two number ones. Do those both first: they’ll be your customer/problem pairs.
  • Use time-boxes to limit how long you spend on each section: set a timer and move on when it rings. Try to fill out an entire canvas in a single sitting, say 30-40 minutes. Then you can go back and revise.

If you want to know more about the Business Model Canvas and its progeny, there’s much on the internet about it. Ash Maurya’s 2010 post is my favorite starting point, but the true original is A lex Osterwalder’s version . Also, both of them offer software/apps, but I highly recommend you do your first few on a physical sheet on your wall. Then you can move to software once you get the hang of it.

Finally, please let me know how it’s going. You can email me at [email protected] or tweet at me at @jegrant3 .

Oh, and if you want to remix this into your own version of the Canvas, ping me and I’ll share the Google Draw file with you.

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Apr 23, 2020

#273: your business model canvas, with alan smith.

Alan Smith discusses business models optimized for today and tomorrow, how to transcend industry boundaries, and stay adaptable. 

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Episode notes.

Author and business strategist Alan Smith discusses business models optimized for today and tomorrow, how to transcend industry boundaries, and stay adaptable. 

If today’s podcast resonates with you and you haven’t read The Small Firm Roadmap yet, get the first chapter right now for free !

For more information about defining your business model, check out our resource page on law firm strategy. 

Thanks to Captorra , Back Office Betties , LawPay, and TextExpander for sponsoring this episode!

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Business Models for Digital Disruption in the Legal Industry

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Legal Technology, a competitive advantage for Law Firms

Digital transformation for law firms, business models to enhance technology adoption for law firms, what are the benefits of adopting a new business model.

Legal technologies have come to the forefront as an essential element of competition among market stakeholders. Current research has found that automation technologies can make legal services more affordable and easily accessible to their clients. Additionally, law firms can leverage these technologies to develop and add alternative services, while reducing overhead and workload.

In the current and upcoming market, clients are putting law firms under intense pressure to deliver a higher level of service by making use of the latest technological advancements, all at a reduced cost. This generational shift in consumer expectation is an opportunity for legal service providers to implement innovative digital products that meet next-generation clients’ demands while increasing productivity within their own staff. In a nutshell, the proper legal technologies allow clients and staff online, secured access to pertinent case data 24/7, greatly reducing administrative overhead.

Legal Technology is defined as the application of technology and software to assist Law Firms in practice management, billing, big data, e-discoveries, predictive analytics, knowledge management and document storage.

Law firms such as Wise Legal Services, Rocket Lawyer, and Legal Zoom have implemented legal technologies that allow them to provide online services that include incorporation, estate plans, legal health diagnostics, legal document automation, practice management, document storage, billing, accounting, and electronic discovery.

Unfortunately, not all law firms have had successful use cases of technology. Therefore, it is imperative that the adoption of legal technology must be carefully analyzed and designed individually for each firm, considering the social, psychological, financial, and time/cost aspects. Failure to do so will yield frustrating results.

Digital transformation is at the forefront across all industries worldwide, leading to the implementation of novel business and delivery models for industries that require collaboration between the company, employees, and customers. In the legal sector, however, the biggest obstacle is the mindset shift required to move away from outdated business models to modern business and delivery methods currently expected from next-generation clients. Law firms will need to adapt in order to offer enough incentive to procure clients well into the future.

Businesses operating in the legal sector are expected to present innovative legal services that meet the following criteria:

A rich user experience that can be measured on its usability, aesthetics, and engagement.

An enhanced value propositions by delivering the promised services in an immediate and innovative way.

A roadmap for continuous improvement and cost efficiency.

Business models to enhance technology adoption for law firms 

Legal technology is an evolving market, thus it is difficult to define a singular business model to span across all legal tech segments. Despite those challenges, recent researchers 1 have developed a uniform business model for the legal industry based on five pillars: Service Value, Resources, Investments, Pricing, Finances.

Service Value: Value creation starts by assessing a client’s unique challenges, and to develop a service as a value proposition that will specifically address those unique challenges. The value proposition is based on value creation, making it crystal clear why they should do business with you rather than your competitors. In this model, Service-value creation is in the middle because it is a client-centric model.

Resources: The diversity of a firm’s resources increases its chances of success. The combination of lawyers and professionals with innovators and technologies reduces cost and expedites service delivery.

Finances: The financial structure of law firms should be based on a “sustainable profit” model. This is the ratio between the actual value and cost of delivered services.

Pricing: A firm’s pricing strategy should be based on output rather than input.

What are the benefits of adopting a new business model? 

  • Technology in the legal field allows the firm to provide more cost-efficient services.
  • Modern legal business models are client-centric, lawyer-friendly and more flexible in terms of opportunities for its employees.
  • Technologies, when implemented following a clear and customized strategy, have a positive impact on the legal industry from the perspective of both clients and lawyers
  • Legal technologies allow lawyers to innovate on their service offering, propose flexible prices to their clients, create partnerships with non-lawyers, facilitate delivery, offer flexible working hours to staff, and usher a model of sustainable profit ready to serve the demands of next-generation clients well into the future.

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Legal Aspects of the Business Model Canvas

By: John A. Leonard

Steve Blank and Alexander Osterwalder have developed analytical tools to assist lean companies develop successful business models.  The system of Customer Discovery and Customer Validation is a way to organize your business.  Outlined below are key legal aspects to consider for each section of the Business Model Canvas. 1. Key Partners. – Checklist of types of relationship agreements. a. Strategic Alliance Agreement – Platform.  (Example: the exclusive relationship for Farmville on Facebook). b. Strategic Alliance Agreement – Financial.  (Example: a business partner purchases 10% of a company to infuse cash and grant access to partner’s customers).  Can you buy out the Strategic Investor if the relationship sours? c. Joint Business Agreements (Examples: Sharing of customer data, referrals, joint advertising; reduced licensing fees for customers).  Do you have customer approval for sharing data? d. Channel partner/traffic partner agreements (Examples: advertising agreements; fulfillment agreements; payment agreements).

e. Suppliers of goods and services for Key Activities (including those on the cloud). f. Are the foregoing agreements in writing?  Are your damages limited?  If information is shared between the company and a partner, is this activity described in your privacy policy – especially early in the customer discovery phase.  See number 5 below regarding FTC issues regarding sharing customer data with third parties and protection of intellectual property.  Are the agreements exclusive?  Non-exclusive?  When do they expire or renew (keeping in mind you will iterate and may pivot). 2. Key Activities.   What are the most important activities of the company to achieve its value propositions? a. Typical listings are software development, platform maintenance, R&D, hardware production, sales, and fulfillment.  Legal issues associated with Key Activities are discussed throughout this document.

3. Key Resources.   Establishing and protecting Key Resources is important to a successful business model. a. Human Resources – Hire people correctly.  Do not misclassify employees as independent contractors.  Do not defer wages pending funding – hire at minimum wage and revise wages once funding has occurred.  Use agreements to avoid litigation. b. Financial Resources – Company formation and equity.  Establish a corporation or LLC to shelter owners from creditors.  Get advice on tax strategies when beginning – especially where one person contributes money and others get stock for services; have a buy-sell agreement.  Issue equity carefully and consider how to get equity back if a person leaves.  Issue equity carefully and consider state and federal securities laws.  Understand how to use convertible notes, common stock and preferred stock for early investors. c. Financial Resources – Lean timing (Survive with only the bare minimum of capital until after validations).  This may be the most important aspect of the Lean Start Up method.  Funding only minimum lean operations until Customer Validation and Business Model Validation results in preserving value for founders and initial owners.  A build to sell company may never seek VC money.  It may simply sell after validations.  A Scalable company; however, may seek VC funding, but only after it has preserved its maximum value by lowering risk through validations. d. Intellectual Property Resources – All IP (trade secrets, copyrights, trademarks and patents) begins as a trade secret.  Ensure that all persons and entities involved in the creation process and who have access to sensitive IP execute non-disclosure agreements and tech transfer agreements.  Ideas and data are the main assets of a technology company and need to be protected by contracts, and where applicable, consider early registration at the copyright office, trademark office, or patent office.  e. Physical Resources – Agreements for space and equipment should be coordinated with capital requirements and reviewed for legal terms.  Blank’s Customer Discovery and Customer Validation methods will generate a substantial amount of data.  Many companies gather data in ways that that permit them to use and sell it.  Your data may be worth more than the goods and services you sell. f. Professional Resources – Lawyers, part-time CFOs and accountants are invaluable.  Know them and ensure they understand your business.  CFOs are invaluable when raising capital and pricing goods and services to reflect costs and profit margins. 4. Value Propositions.   What do you ultimately want to change? a. Market differentiators (such as faster, cheaper, better brand, better design, more convenient, better suited for a particular niche) are all confirmed with an MVP, testing and data.  See number 3, above.  Have you protected the MVP, ideas and data from the idea through your various iterations and pivots? b. Lean companies test and acquire data from prospective customers continuously.  Do you have agreements with prospective customers on the ownership and use of data? 5. Customer Relationships.   How do you manage your tactics to get, retain and grow customers? a. Website terms of conditions and privacy policy – Have your customers agreed to terms and conditions prior to use?  Have you limited the company’s liability on its terms of use?  Do you “say as you do and do as you say” on your privacy policy according to FTC rules? b. What terms are you using for SEM/SEO and do they violate trademark laws? c. Do your retention techniques such as contests avoid gambling and registration requirements under both state and federal law? d. Is company owned content protected by registration under copyright law? (Examples: website, trademarks, copyrights, newsletters, tips, FAQs). e. How have you protected and transferred ownership of customer supplied content in reviews, blog comments? f. How are up-sells and cross-sales managed internally and with your partners? Can you audit results?  Have you protected sharing of data and customers in your partner agreements? g. If using social platforms, does your use of the platform comply with current platform rules and terms of use? h. In connection with the purchase of email list purchases, have you and your business partners limited liability? i. How are referrals compensated, managed and tracked? 6. Channel Relationships.   How do you manage your channels (such as, awareness, evaluation, purchase, deliver and after sales channels)?  How many channels will you start with?  How many channels will you ultimately use? a. Website Channel only b. Use of a Platform App store c. Use of CRM/CRC Ad Networks or Exchanges d. Use of a social media platform e. Use of an aggregator/distributor f. Use of a partner’s flash sale (Groupon) or relationship engagement (Ibota) g. Multi sided markets require one for the source of goods and service and one for sales of goods and services (Amazon) h. Agents i. Distributors j. VARs k. OEMs l. APIs m. Key Partners in Section 1 n. Are the foregoing agreements in writing?  Are your damages limited?  If information is shared between the company and a partner, is this activity described in your privacy policy – especially early in the customer discovery phase.  See number 5 above regarding FTC issues regarding sharing customer data with third parties and protection of IP.  Are the agreements exclusive?  Non-exclusive?  When do they expire or renew ( keeping in mind you will iterate and may pivot )? 7. Customer Segments.   What mass market, niche market, segmented market, diversified market or multi-sided market will you pursue?  See numbers 1 and 6 above regarding legal issues related to reaching these markets. 8. Revenue Streams. a. Company goods or services (sold, subscribed, auctioned, temporary use, pricing terms) b. Company collected data sharing c. Company platform for advertising by others (banner, Ad Networks, Ad Exchanges) d. For each of the foregoing, what agreements are in place to capture this revenue?  Has a CFO confirmed the pricing and margins (after payments to channel partners)? e. Are the foregoing agreements in writing?  Have you disclaimed the correct warranties? Are your damages limited?  If information is shared between the company and a partner, is this activity described in your privacy policy – especially early in the customer discovery phase?  See number 5 above regarding FTC issues regarding sharing customer data with third parties and protection of IP.  Are the Agreements exclusive?  Non-exclusive?  When do they expire or renew ( keeping in mind you will iterate and may pivot ). f. What are the costs of Key Partners, Key Activities and Key Resources? g. Has a CFO confirmed your cost and pricing structure in order to sell goods and services at appropriate margins? h. Have all the streams of revenue been identified and matched against their cost? i. What management data is your CFO giving you in order for management to better operate the company?

9. Cost Structure   For each revenue stream, do you understand the costs? a. What are the costs of Key Partners, Key Activities and Key Resources? b. Has a CFO confirmed your cost and pricing structure in order to sell goods and services at appropriate margins? c. Have all the streams of revenue been identified and matched against their cost? d. What management data is your CFO giving you in order for management to better operate the company?

This Article is published for general information, not to provide specific legal advice. The application of any matter discussed in this article to anyone's particular situation requires knowledge and analysis of the specific facts involved.

Copyright © 2014 Fairfield and Woods, P.C.,ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Comments or inquiries may be directed to:

  • John A. Leonard
  • Software and Technology
  • Start-Ups and Entrepreneurial Law

Business Model Canvas: Explained with Examples

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Got a new business idea, but don’t know how to put it to work? Want to improve your existing business model? Overwhelmed by writing your business plan? There is a one-page technique that can provide you the solution you are looking for, and that’s the business model canvas.

In this guide, you’ll have the Business Model Canvas explained, along with steps on how to create one. All business model canvas examples in the post can be edited online.

What is a Business Model Canvas

A business model is simply a plan describing how a business intends to make money. It explains who your customer base is and how you deliver value to them and the related details of financing. And the business model canvas lets you define these different components on a single page.   

The Business Model Canvas is a strategic management tool that lets you visualize and assess your business idea or concept. It’s a one-page document containing nine boxes that represent different fundamental elements of a business.  

The business model canvas beats the traditional business plan that spans across several pages, by offering a much easier way to understand the different core elements of a business.

The right side of the canvas focuses on the customer or the market (external factors that are not under your control) while the left side of the canvas focuses on the business (internal factors that are mostly under your control). In the middle, you get the value propositions that represent the exchange of value between your business and your customers.

The business model canvas was originally developed by Alex Osterwalder and Yves Pigneur and introduced in their book ‘ Business Model Generation ’ as a visual framework for planning, developing and testing the business model(s) of an organization.

Business Model Canvas Explained

What Are the Benefits of Using a Business Model Canvas

Why do you need a business model canvas? The answer is simple. The business model canvas offers several benefits for businesses and entrepreneurs. It is a valuable tool and provides a visual and structured approach to designing, analyzing, optimizing, and communicating your business model.

  • The business model canvas provides a comprehensive overview of a business model’s essential aspects. The BMC provides a quick outline of the business model and is devoid of unnecessary details compared to the traditional business plan.
  • The comprehensive overview also ensures that the team considers all required components of their business model and can identify gaps or areas for improvement.
  • The BMC allows the team to have a holistic and shared understanding of the business model while enabling them to align and collaborate effectively.
  • The visual nature of the business model canvas makes it easier to refer to and understand by anyone. The business model canvas combines all vital business model elements in a single, easy-to-understand canvas.
  • The BMC can be considered a strategic analysis tool as it enables you to examine a business model’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and challenges.
  • It’s easier to edit and can be easily shared with employees and stakeholders.
  • The BMC is a flexible and adaptable tool that can be updated and revised as the business evolves. Keep your business agile and responsive to market changes and customer needs.
  • The business model canvas can be used by large corporations and startups with just a few employees.
  • The business model canvas effectively facilitates discussions among team members, investors, partners, customers, and other stakeholders. It clarifies how different aspects of the business are related and ensures a shared understanding of the business model.
  • You can use a BMC template to facilitate discussions and guide brainstorming brainstorming sessions to generate insights and ideas to refine the business model and make strategic decisions.
  • The BMC is action-oriented, encouraging businesses to identify activities and initiatives to improve their business model to drive business growth.
  • A business model canvas provides a structured approach for businesses to explore possibilities and experiment with new ideas. This encourages creativity and innovation, which in turn encourages team members to think outside the box.

How to Make a Business Model Canvas

Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to create a business canvas model.

Step 1: Gather your team and the required material Bring a team or a group of people from your company together to collaborate. It is better to bring in a diverse group to cover all aspects.

While you can create a business model canvas with whiteboards, sticky notes, and markers, using an online platform like Creately will ensure that your work can be accessed from anywhere, anytime. Create a workspace in Creately and provide editing/reviewing permission to start.

Step 2: Set the context Clearly define the purpose and the scope of what you want to map out and visualize in the business model canvas. Narrow down the business or idea you want to analyze with the team and its context.

Step 3: Draw the canvas Divide the workspace into nine equal sections to represent the nine building blocks of the business model canvas.

Step 4: Identify the key building blocks Label each section as customer segment, value proposition, channels, customer relationships, revenue streams, key resources, key activities, and cost structure.

Step 5: Fill in the canvas Work with your team to fill in each section of the canvas with relevant information. You can use data, keywords, diagrams, and more to represent ideas and concepts.

Step 6: Analyze and iterate Once your team has filled in the business model canvas, analyze the relationships to identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and challenges. Discuss improvements and make adjustments as necessary.

Step 7: Finalize Finalize and use the model as a visual reference to communicate and align your business model with stakeholders. You can also use the model to make informed and strategic decisions and guide your business.

What are the Key Building Blocks of the Business Model Canvas?

There are nine building blocks in the business model canvas and they are:

Customer Segments

Customer relationships, revenue streams, key activities, key resources, key partners, cost structure.

  • Value Proposition

When filling out a Business Model Canvas, you will brainstorm and conduct research on each of these elements. The data you collect can be placed in each relevant section of the canvas. So have a business model canvas ready when you start the exercise.  

Business Model Canvas Template

Let’s look into what the 9 components of the BMC are in more detail.

These are the groups of people or companies that you are trying to target and sell your product or service to.

Segmenting your customers based on similarities such as geographical area, gender, age, behaviors, interests, etc. gives you the opportunity to better serve their needs, specifically by customizing the solution you are providing them.

After a thorough analysis of your customer segments, you can determine who you should serve and ignore. Then create customer personas for each of the selected customer segments.

Customer Persona Template for Business Model Canvas Explained

There are different customer segments a business model can target and they are;

  • Mass market: A business model that focuses on mass markets doesn’t group its customers into segments. Instead, it focuses on the general population or a large group of people with similar needs. For example, a product like a phone.  
  • Niche market: Here the focus is centered on a specific group of people with unique needs and traits. Here the value propositions, distribution channels, and customer relationships should be customized to meet their specific requirements. An example would be buyers of sports shoes.
  • Segmented: Based on slightly different needs, there could be different groups within the main customer segment. Accordingly, you can create different value propositions, distribution channels, etc. to meet the different needs of these segments.
  • Diversified: A diversified market segment includes customers with very different needs.
  • Multi-sided markets: this includes interdependent customer segments. For example, a credit card company caters to both their credit card holders as well as merchants who accept those cards.

Use STP Model templates for segmenting your market and developing ideal marketing campaigns

Visualize, assess, and update your business model. Collaborate on brainstorming with your team on your next business model innovation.

In this section, you need to establish the type of relationship you will have with each of your customer segments or how you will interact with them throughout their journey with your company.

There are several types of customer relationships

  • Personal assistance: you interact with the customer in person or by email, through phone call or other means.
  • Dedicated personal assistance: you assign a dedicated customer representative to an individual customer.  
  • Self-service: here you maintain no relationship with the customer, but provides what the customer needs to help themselves.
  • Automated services: this includes automated processes or machinery that helps customers perform services themselves.
  • Communities: these include online communities where customers can help each other solve their own problems with regard to the product or service.
  • Co-creation: here the company allows the customer to get involved in the designing or development of the product. For example, YouTube has given its users the opportunity to create content for its audience.

You can understand the kind of relationship your customer has with your company through a customer journey map . It will help you identify the different stages your customers go through when interacting with your company. And it will help you make sense of how to acquire, retain and grow your customers.

Customer Journey Map

This block is to describe how your company will communicate with and reach out to your customers. Channels are the touchpoints that let your customers connect with your company.

Channels play a role in raising awareness of your product or service among customers and delivering your value propositions to them. Channels can also be used to allow customers the avenue to buy products or services and offer post-purchase support.

There are two types of channels

  • Owned channels: company website, social media sites, in-house sales, etc.
  • Partner channels: partner-owned websites, wholesale distribution, retail, etc.

Revenues streams are the sources from which a company generates money by selling their product or service to the customers. And in this block, you should describe how you will earn revenue from your value propositions.  

A revenue stream can belong to one of the following revenue models,

  • Transaction-based revenue: made from customers who make a one-time payment
  • Recurring revenue: made from ongoing payments for continuing services or post-sale services

There are several ways you can generate revenue from

  • Asset sales: by selling the rights of ownership for a product to a buyer
  • Usage fee: by charging the customer for the use of its product or service
  • Subscription fee: by charging the customer for using its product regularly and consistently
  • Lending/ leasing/ renting: the customer pays to get exclusive rights to use an asset for a fixed period of time
  • Licensing: customer pays to get permission to use the company’s intellectual property
  • Brokerage fees: revenue generated by acting as an intermediary between two or more parties
  • Advertising: by charging the customer to advertise a product, service or brand using company platforms

What are the activities/ tasks that need to be completed to fulfill your business purpose? In this section, you should list down all the key activities you need to do to make your business model work.

These key activities should focus on fulfilling its value proposition, reaching customer segments and maintaining customer relationships, and generating revenue.

There are 3 categories of key activities;

  • Production: designing, manufacturing and delivering a product in significant quantities and/ or of superior quality.
  • Problem-solving: finding new solutions to individual problems faced by customers.
  • Platform/ network: Creating and maintaining platforms. For example, Microsoft provides a reliable operating system to support third-party software products.

This is where you list down which key resources or the main inputs you need to carry out your key activities in order to create your value proposition.

There are several types of key resources and they are

  • Human (employees)
  • Financial (cash, lines of credit, etc.)
  • Intellectual (brand, patents, IP, copyright)
  • Physical (equipment, inventory, buildings)

Key partners are the external companies or suppliers that will help you carry out your key activities. These partnerships are forged in oder to reduce risks and acquire resources.

Types of partnerships are

  • Strategic alliance: partnership between non-competitors
  • Coopetition: strategic partnership between partners
  • Joint ventures: partners developing a new business
  • Buyer-supplier relationships: ensure reliable supplies

In this block, you identify all the costs associated with operating your business model.

You’ll need to focus on evaluating the cost of creating and delivering your value propositions, creating revenue streams, and maintaining customer relationships. And this will be easier to do so once you have defined your key resources, activities, and partners.  

Businesses can either be cost-driven (focuses on minimizing costs whenever possible) and value-driven (focuses on providing maximum value to the customer).

Value Propositions

This is the building block that is at the heart of the business model canvas. And it represents your unique solution (product or service) for a problem faced by a customer segment, or that creates value for the customer segment.

A value proposition should be unique or should be different from that of your competitors. If you are offering a new product, it should be innovative and disruptive. And if you are offering a product that already exists in the market, it should stand out with new features and attributes.

Value propositions can be either quantitative (price and speed of service) or qualitative (customer experience or design).

Value Proposition Canvas

What to Avoid When Creating a Business Model Canvas

One thing to remember when creating a business model canvas is that it is a concise and focused document. It is designed to capture key elements of a business model and, as such, should not include detailed information. Some of the items to avoid include,

  • Detailed financial projections such as revenue forecasts, cost breakdowns, and financial ratios. Revenue streams and cost structure should be represented at a high level, providing an overview rather than detailed projections.
  • Detailed operational processes such as standard operating procedures of a business. The BMC focuses on the strategic and conceptual aspects.
  • Comprehensive marketing or sales strategies. The business model canvas does not provide space for comprehensive marketing or sales strategies. These should be included in marketing or sales plans, which allow you to expand into more details.
  • Legal or regulatory details such as intellectual property, licensing agreements, or compliance requirements. As these require more detailed and specialized attention, they are better suited to be addressed in separate legal or regulatory documents.
  • Long-term strategic goals or vision statements. While the canvas helps to align the business model with the overall strategy, it should focus on the immediate and tangible aspects.
  • Irrelevant or unnecessary information that does not directly relate to the business model. Including extra or unnecessary information can clutter the BMC and make it less effective in communicating the core elements.

What Are Your Thoughts on the Business Model Canvas?

Once you have completed your business model canvas, you can share it with your organization and stakeholders and get their feedback as well. The business model canvas is a living document, therefore after completing it you need to revisit and ensure that it is relevant, updated and accurate.

What best practices do you follow when creating a business model canvas? Do share your tips with us in the comments section below.

Join over thousands of organizations that use Creately to brainstorm, plan, analyze, and execute their projects successfully.

FAQs About the Business Model Canvas

  • Use clear and concise language
  • Use visual-aids
  • Customize for your audience
  • Highlight key insights
  • Be open to feedback and discussion

More Related Articles

What is an Action Plan? Learn with Templates and Examples

Amanda Athuraliya is the communication specialist/content writer at Creately, online diagramming and collaboration tool. She is an avid reader, a budding writer and a passionate researcher who loves to write about all kinds of topics.

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19 Business Model Canvas

  • Published: July 2020
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The purpose of a business model canvas is to assess how the firm’s economic activity is configured to create and deliver on a firm’s value proposition. The business model canvas provides a holistic perspective of how the major elements of a business need to be aligned to allow the firm to create and capture value. Managers can use a business model canvas when initiating a new business, or when seeking to revise the strategy of an existing business by assessing how the current configuration of activities may need to change to deliver on the new strategy. This chapter discusses the underlying theory, core idea, depiction, process, insight or value created, and risks and limitations of the business model canvas. The chapter also continues the illustration of Spotify and applies the steps of business model canvas to this case.

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The 9-Step Business Model Canvas Explained (2023 Update)

business model canvas for law firm

Written by Raquel Alberdi

Business | entrepreneurship, 16 comments(s).

Business Model Canvas

Blog » The 9-Step Business Model Canvas Explained (2023 Update)

business model canvas for law firm

“A major mistake made by many start-ups around the world is focusing on the technology, the software, the product, and the design, but neglecting to ever figure out the business . And by “business” we simply mean how the company makes money by acquiring and serving its customers”.

-Reid Hoffman

After meeting with hundreds of entrepreneurs and business owners over the years I believe the LinkedIn co-founder and Blitzscaling author Reid Hoffman’s got it spot on.

People tend to focus on specific parts of their business, such as which software packages are being used, which is the cheapest supplier, how to optimize internal processes…?

They get so bogged down in the details of the day-to-day running that they lose the overall vision of their business.

Without this vision they are unable to scale, they make marginal profits, miss opportunities, struggle to innovate, and end up running “just another” business.

Another handy metaphor in understanding this common mistake is the soldier in the trenches .

Every meter of ground gained comes at a heavy cost, mistakes are made, and progress is hard-fought and slow…a day-to-day experience for 99% of entrepreneurs and businessmen.

But when you do have that 360 vision you see the entire battlefield. Decisions are much clearer, fewer mistakes are made, and progress is fast and methodical.

Fortunately, a business model framework exists that gives you both vision and clarity .

The Business Model Canvas provides entrepreneurs, business owners, and strategists with a tool to analyze, structure, and evolve a business while always keeping the bigger picture front of mind.

So let’s take a closer look at how it works.

Table of Content

What is the Business Model Canvas?

Created by Swiss entrepreneur and Strategyzer co-founder, Alexander Osterwalder, the Business Model Canvas is a visual representation of the 9 key building blocks that form the foundations of every successful business. It’s a blueprint to help entrepreneurs invent, design, and build models with a more systematic approach.

Why is it so popular within the business community?

Its simplicity. The business model canvas allows us to carry out a high-level analysis without drilling down and getting lost in the details. You just draw out the 9 building blocks on a blank canvas, fill them in as each concept relates to your business, and hang it somewhere everybody can see.

It’s a visual overview of your entire business on a single canvas.

While the Business Model Canvas is an extremely fluid concept and hyper-specific to individual companies, each canvas is still broken down into these 9 key building blocks:

Customer Segments

Value propositions, customer relationships, revenue streams, key resources, key activities, key partners.

When laid out on the canvas the model will look something like this:

 Scheme of business model in which 9 important fields are developed for its execution.

While you’ve probably come across each of the 9 building blocks before, the attractiveness of the Business Model Canvas is that it confines them to a single page , not a traditional 42-page document.

This makes it a lot easier to digest, as well as assess existing business models or map out new ideas.

How do I fill out the Business Model Canvas?

To start your Business Model Canvas you will need to breakdown and analyze each of the 9 building blocks.

A good way to approach this is to gather the heads from marketing, sales, operations, finance, and manufacturing (if product-based) and pencil-in a morning where you can all meet together.

Then, after drawing a mock canvas onto a whiteboard, proceed to dissect and discuss each of the 9 building blocks as they relate to your business. You can use sticky notes to better organize your thoughts around the canvas.

If you are an entrepreneur or new business owner working alone and don’t have a team to bounce your ideas off, not to worry. You can still carry out your analysis before sharing it with a like-minded entrepreneurial community or forum, like those found on ThePowerMBA , to get useful, insightful feedback.

Whichever way you decide to approach it, I recommend you complete each block in the following order:

  • Cost structure

For continuity, I’m going to use the fashion retail giant Zara when analyzing each of the 9 key building blocks.

If you’d like to skip to another case study similar to your own business, navigate to the table of contents at the top of the page and select one of the other business model canvas examples.

Customer segment business model canvas for Zara company

The first block of the Business Canvas Model is about understanding who is the most important customer(s) you’re delivering value to. Or, in other words, who are they? What do they do? And why would they buy your product or service?

Not a single company exists without its clients, making customer segments the best block to start with while drawing out your business model canvas.

A great exercise to define your customer segments is to brainstorm and create your company’s buyer persona (s) .

Buyer personas are fictional depictions of an ideal or hypothetical client. Typically when brainstorming a buyer persona you’d want to define certain characteristics (age, demographic, gender, income, industry, pain points, goals, etc.)

However, remember at this stage we want a snapshot of our customer segment. There’s no need to jump into great detail just yet.

In the case of Zara, there are three distinct customer segments to whom they offer different products.

The products created for each of these customer segments (clothing, shoes, and accessories) are not trans-consumable. That is to say, a woman’s dress is highly unlikely to be worn by a 7-year-old child.

Once we know exactly who it is we are targeting, it’s time to look at what we as a company have to offer.

Zara Customer Segments business model canvas template showing the development of the 9 fields

The second phase is about figuring out your company’s value propositions , and importantly, your UVP (unique value proposition). The “what” that makes customers turn to you, over your competitors? Which of their problems are you best at solving?

Each value proposition consists of a bundle of products or services that fulfill the needs of a buyer persona from your customer segment. It’s the intersection between what your company offers, and the reason or impulse customers have for purchasing.

Some popular questions to ask while determining your UVP are:

  • Which specific customer pain point are you trying to solve?
  • What job are you helping customers get done?
  • How does your UVP eliminate customer pain points?
  • What products or services do you provide that answer this specific pain point?

So let’s try and apply this to Zara. Why do people choose to purchase from them, over their competitors?

Zara’s principal value propositions are fairly clear. They offer various ranges of stylish men’s, women’s, and children’s clothing and accessories at an affordable price.

But there’s more to it than that.

If we dive a little deeper we see Zara’s value propositions are more complex, which are behind the success of the brand:

Fast fashion

Zara adds new clothes and designs to its collections every 2-3 weeks, both in its stores and online. It keeps the brand updated, fresh, and modern while maintaining its all-important medium price point

Great eCommerce experience

Once you enter Zara’s online store you’re presented with a clean, easy-to-navigate, and high-end feel. The customer segments are visible on the left navigation bar with a search tab to further aid customers with their online experience.

Zara's Canvas business model where you can see the innovative presentation of its image

Localized stores

You can find a store in nearly all major retail locations (shopping malls, retail outlets, airports, etc.) meaning accessibility is not an issue for the majority of consumers.

Flagship stores

Zara demonstrates its aesthetic evolution to customers through its flagship stores. The recent opening of their Hudson Yards , New York City flagship is a great example of this. Customers shop around its vivid, minimalist layout offering them an experience aligned with the brand’s deeper, eco-friendly values.

Zara's Canvas business model where you can see the innovative presentation of the image of its stores

Zara Hudson Yards, New York

Business Model Canvas Template Zara - Value Propositions

The next step is to ask yourself how you are reaching your customers, and through which channels ?

This includes both the channels that customers want to communicate with you as well as how they’ll receive your products or services.

Is it going to be a physical channel? (store, field sales representatives, etc.) Or is it a digital channel? (mobile, web, cloud, etc.).

Zara has 3 primary channels in which they communicate and deliver products to its customers:

  • Direct sales through their stores
  • Online (both app and website)
  • Social media

Customers can go to a traditional “bricks and mortar” store to browse, model, and purchase different items of clothing at one of their retail stores.

Alternatively, they can shop online or through their mobile application and have the product delivered straight to their door or nearest store. The choice is completely up to them!

So that covers Zara’s commercial channels, but what about how they communicate with customers?

While they do communicate through their mobile app, their predominant channel is social media.

What’s more, they’re really, really good at it.

For example, did you know that Zara invests less than 0.3% of its sales revenue into advertising?

This is only possible due to an A-rated social media presence . Customer queries are not only dealt with quickly, but recommended re-works are sent back to HQ, forwarded onto in-house designers who then apply the feedback to future collections.

This customer-first approach through fluid communication channels has saved them thousands of dollars in marketing, strengthened their brand, and created a loyal customer base.

You should only step away from this building block once you’ve decided how each of your customer segments want to be reached.

Zara Channels business model canvas template where its components are developed

Once you have acquired customers, you will need to think about how you can build , nurture, and grow those relationships.

Now, this can be automated and transactional like large eCommerce brands Amazon or Alibaba. Or, it could be at the complete opposite end of the scale and require a more personal relationship you’d typically have with a bank or your local bike shop.

Zara’s relationship with its customers is threefold, and lies somewhere in the middle of transactional and personal:

  • Salesperson at store
  • Brand through social media
  • Sentimental attachment to a product

Yes, you have the initial transactional touchpoint at the store or online, something relatively impersonal and for many the only interaction they’ll have with the brand.

However, customers (especially in the fashion industry) are encouraged to continue to interact with a brand through social media platforms.

As we mentioned before when discussing channels, Zara has a very effective communication system in place. Not only can people instantly get in touch with the brand, but also engage with new posts, images, and collections uploaded to social media.

This personal approach to customer relationship building can, in some cases, lead to the natural growth of brand ambassadors and communities .

An attachment can also develop between customers and particular garments or accessories from one of their collections. The sentimental attachment to these products also creates another potential form of brand loyalty.

The relations with Zara's clients to give a Business Model Canvas where the 9 points to be developed are seen

Now that you’ve described how you are going to create real value for your customers, it’s time to look at how you plan to capture that value.

What are your revenue streams? Is it going to be a transactional, direct sales strategy ? Are you going to consider a freemium mode l, where you give a portion of your product or service away for free with the idea of converting later on down the line?

If you’re a SaaS company such as SalesForce or Strava , then it’s likely that a licensing or subscription revenue model will be more appropriate.

At Zara, it’s extremely simple. They make their money by selling clothes and accessories either at a store or online.

Zara business model canvas template for the development of Revenue streams within the 9 points to work

As you can see, we’ve filled in the entire right-hand side of our business model canvas. We touched upon:

Customer segments

  • Value propositions
  • Revenue streams
  • Distribution channels

Now it’s time to move over to the left side of the business canvas model and look at what we need, internally , to deliver our value propositions.

Key resources of the Zara Business Model Canvas

To start with, let’s take a look at key resources.

The key resources are all things you need to have, or the assets required to create that value for customers.

This could be anything from intellectual property (patents, trademarks, copyrights, etc.) to physical holdings (factories, offices, delivery vans, etc.) right down to finances (the initial cash flow perhaps needed to start your brand).

Another key resource every company needs to consider is its human capital . Are you going to need highly specialized software engineers? Or field-based sales teams?

They are relatively capital-heavy resources that need to be factored into your business model.

In the case of Zara, they are going to need a number of key resources if they hope to deliver their propositions:

  • Stock management
  • A large, interconnected network of physical stores
  • A strong brand
  • Logistics and supply chain infrastructure

Stock is vital for both online and offline customers.

If they are unable to supply their range of products and meet customer demands, satisfaction levels fall and they have a serious problem on their hands.

A large distribution network of brick and mortar stores combined with a strong brand name help mitigate these factors, as well as reinforce any ongoing marketing activities and communication efforts.

Finally, an efficient logistics process within Zara is critical, especially when you consider the complexities involved with such a large-scale operation.

They will require the necessary technology to analyze data on inventory, storage, materials, production, and packaging, with the staff to execute each of these stages and manage the delivery of the final products.

Zara business model canvas template where the Key Resources are developed

The next step is to define the key activities – the areas you need to be good at to create value for your customers.

To mix it up a little let’s take a look at a slightly different business in Uber .

Their key activities can be broken down into:

  • Web and mobile app development
  • Driver recruitment
  • Marketing: customer acquisition
  • Customer service activities : drivers’ ratings, incidents, etc.

They need a fast, clean UX for their customers using the app, drivers to carry out their service, and the ability to both market the product and deal with any customer queries.

Zara’s key activities will differ to those of Uber. Some of the things they need to consider would be:

  • Manufacturing
  • Retail process (point of sale and 3rd party management)
  • Distribution channel / logistics

Design is a key activity as Zara’s value proposition is to provide stylish garments at an affordable price. Their collections need to be constantly updated to follow the latest fashion trends at the time.

To produce their collections Zara will also require manufacturing capabilities. Now Zara doesn’t own their own factories (we will get to that in the Key Partners section) but they still need to be involved in the garment manufacturing process.

Everything from fabric selection to pattern making, to detailing and dyeing affects the outcome of the final product which of course they have to then go on and sell.

The effective management of the retail and distribution channels (online, offline, shipping, and communication with providers) is also key. A breakdown in either of these activities, such as a poor relationship with an important provider will have serious consequences for the business.

Zara business model canvas template showing the key activities for its development

Most modern business models now require brands to build out and work with various key partners to fully leverage their business model.

This includes partnerships such as joint ventures and non-equity strategic alliances as well as typical relationships with buyers, suppliers, and producers.

A great example of a strategic partnership would be between ThePowerMBA and Forbes . In exchange for exposure of our brand to the magazine’s global audience, we provide expertise and content on high-level business education programs.

As we touched upon when discussing key activities , Zara requires strategic partnerships with many different providers if they are to design and produce their collections.

Another key partner is their major holding company, Inditex .

Inditex has several subsidiaries including Massimo Dutti , Pull & Bear , and Oysho . Being a subsidiary of Inditex means they share a consolidated balance sheet, stakeholders, management and control, and various legal responsibilities.

While as a subsidiary Zara is afforded certain freedoms when it comes to design, delivery, and the general running of the company, the overall strategy will need to be aligned with Inditex and its other subsidiaries.

Zara Key Partners business model canvas template where the eighth point is developed

The final step of the Business Model Canvas is to ask yourself, how much is it going to cost to run this model?

This includes some of the more obvious needs such as manufacturing costs, physical space, rent, payroll, but also areas such as marketing activities.

If you are unsure of exactly what to include in your cost structure take a look at a Profit and Loss statement ( P&L ) from a competitor or company in a similar industry to yours. You’ll find many items overlap such as research and development ( R&D ), cost of goods sold, admin expenses, operating costs, etc.

Once that’s done you should prioritize your key activities and resources and find out if they are fixed or variable costs .

As Zara is such a large, corporate business they are going to have both fixed costs (rent, payroll, point of sales personnel) and variables, such as costs associated with the fluctuating sale of goods, purchase of materials and, manufacturing costs.

Once you’ve completed these 9 steps, your Business Canvas Model should look something like this:

Business Model Canvas Examples

Hopefully, you were able to get a good feel for the effectiveness of the business model canvas with our run-through of Zara.

However, if you found it difficult to follow due to the stark difference between your industries, I’m going to quickly go through 3 more companies to demonstrate the tool’s flexibility:

  • Netflix (Media service/production)
  • Vintae (Vineyard)

Even if these business model canvas examples don’t align exactly with your industry, I honestly believe that studying different models gives you a competitive advantage in your professional career regardless.

If you’re currently employed by a company, you’ll better understand how your specific role helps the company achieve some of its “long-term” goals.

Alternatively, if you are a business owner yourself (or perhaps thinking of starting your own business) you’ll have a better understanding of your business and where potential opportunities lay.

I’m sure you’re familiar with our next business model canvas example candidate, Netflix .

The global media company offers an online streaming service of various movies, documentaries, and TV programs produced in-house or licensed 3rd-party content. Their success sparked a revolution in the online media world with the likes of Amazon, Apple, Disney, HBO, and Hulu all rushing to launch their own online video streaming platforms.

Netflix started life as an online DVD rental company, basically a web version of the more popular (at least at that time) “bricks and mortar” Blockbuster.

Co-founder Reed Hastings predicted as far back as 1999 that the future of media was in online streaming, saying “postage rates were going to keep going up and the internet was going to get twice as fast at half the price every 18 months.”

It wouldn’t be until 2007 that Hasting’s prediction would become true when Netflix, as we now know it, was born.

So let’s take a current look at their business model canvas:

Netflix business model in which the 9 topics are taken into consideration

As you probably know, there are very few people out there who haven’t subscribed, watched, or at least heard of Netflix. There is content for everybody: wildlife documentaries, sci-fi movies, rom coms, action-thrillers, you name it – it’s there.

That’s why their customer segment can be classified as a “ mass market ” as the base is just so diverse.

All people require is a computer, TV, internet, and/or smartphone and they’re good to go. For most developed markets, that covers just about everybody.

Value Proposition

Whether on the train to work, sitting in the car (if you’re not driving!), or relaxing at home in front of the TV, you can consume their online, on-demand video streaming service.

They also have a huge library of content for consumers to choose from, ensuring that people keep coming back, as well as increasing their mass-market appeal.

They also produce high-quality, original content to differentiate themselves from their competitors.

Most people access Netflix either through their website or mobile/TV App . Another popular channel that you may have picked up on is their affiliate partners .

You’ve perhaps signed up for a mobile, TV, and internet package where the provider offers Netflix as an extra to sweeten the deal, so to speak.

That would be an example of an affiliate partnership between Netflix and mobile service providers.

I doubt many consumers have had direct contact with Netflix unless it’s to resolve a subscription issue or general query. It’s very much a self-automated service – you download the app, select the program you wish to watch, and hit play.

Very simple, very effective.

Again, this doesn’t need much embellishment. Netflix generates money from the different tiers and packages put together in their subscription services.

This varies depending on the region to account for local markets, but on the whole, it’s sold at a low price point.

Originally, Netflix’s Key Resources would have been their unrivaled DVD collection combined with a cost-effective mail-order system.

Nowadays it’s undoubtedly the rights to stream online video content. Netflix has brokered deals with some of the biggest production studios worldwide.

Combined with their huge library of in-house productions , it’s more than enough to encourage customers to renew their subscriptions.

To help sustain interest in their product, Netflix understands they need to serve-up relevant content for each sub-sector of their mass audience. Therefore their machine learning algorithm selects content for consumers based on streaming habits (what they watched, at what time, etc,.) to personalize the customer experience.

This explains why over 80% of all content streamed on Netflix was cherry-picked by this algorithm, making it a Key Resource for their business model.

Also, Netflix accounts for a whopping 12.6% of global bandwidth usage . The literal capacity to stream their services must be met meaning bandwidth must also be included here.

Content procurement is arguably their biggest Key Activity. They need to find people to produce and deliver their original content, including actors, studios, writers, etc. as well as secure the licensing and streaming rights from 3rd party producers such as Sony, Warner Bros, and Disney.

Finally, they need a fast, easy-to-use application to host their online streaming service. This needs to be available for both TV and mobile devices if they are to deliver their “on-demand” value proposition.

K ey Partners

Seeing as Netflix’s entire business model is largely based around streaming 3rd party content, key partnerships need to be built with production studios . No content, no Netflix!

Also, as we touched upon earlier Netflix is one of the largest consumers of bandwidth worldwide. If the speed and delivery of their streaming service are to be continued then deals will also need to be made with internet service providers (ISPs).

Netflix’s biggest expenditures come from both their in-house content procurement and 3rd party licensing agreements . The high-quality standard of video streamed on Netflix is only possible due to the speed and performance of its online platform and application , which has additional costs of staff, software, etc.

To show you just how flexible the business model canvas can be, I wanted to throw in a slightly leftfield example. Vintae is a Spanish wine producer who, after a detailed analysis of the business model canvas, was able to innovate and disrupt one of the world’s most competitive industries.

As some of you may know, the wine industry is extremely competitive. It’s also steeped in history and tradition , making it very challenging for newcomers to grab market share, let alone think about year-on-year growth and revenue.

However, CEO “Richi” Arambarri looked at the traditional “ bodega ” business model and saw a chink in its armor.

A “small” innovation in the business canvas model helped them to become one of the region’s most important winery groups, with over 10 installations and a presence across all regional denominations (Rioja, Priorat, Rias Baixas, etc.) with year on year growth of 30% – practically unheard of in such a competitive industry.

So how did Vintae analyze the business model canvas to find a niche in their market?

To answer that question, we must first look at the traditional winery business model .

Traditional Winery Business Model with its 9 developed points

As you can see, the wine industry has historically been patrimonial. Vineyards and estates are passed down through generations with the winery responsible for all phases of production, clarification, and distribution.

The traditional winery business canvas model suggests you must be the owner of the winery/vineyard where the wine is “manufactured”, meaning physical assets are a key resource of the business model.

So, if you wanted to start producing a Rioja, for example, you’d have to set up your vineyard in the region.

This is monumentally expensive as you need to:

  • Purchase the land
  • Plant a vineyard
  • Absorb set-up and installation costs
  • Deal with maintenance costs

It’s here where Vintae saw their opportunity.

What if we move vineyard ownership across the business model canvas from key resources to key partners ?

By leasing the equipment and space of large wineries (of which there was plenty), they could still produce their wine but reduce the cost and exposure associated with land purchase, crushing equipment, huge storage tanks, vineyard maintenance, and their bottling line.

This enabled them to focus on their sales, marketing, and distribution channels to create a better brand experience for their customers.

Also, it afforded them more flexibility when creating new wines as they were no longer confined to the limitations of grapes grown on their vineyard.

The lightness of this new business model eliminates maintenance overheads, channels energy into personalizing the customer experience, and allows for unprecedented levels of growth in one of the world’s most competitive industries.

Vinate business model

Business Model Canvas Software

Although I did mention starting with a large whiteboard, sticky notes, and a pack of colorful sharpies there are several options in which you can digitize the business canvas model production process.

While I still believe the aforementioned process is extremely valuable (it gets your entire team’s input in a single hour-long session) you may decide it more viable for each member of management to pool their ideas digitally before sharing with the rest of the group.

If that’s the case, then take a look at some of the following software tools for creating your business model canvas.

Strategyzer

Created by the founders of the business model canvas Alex Osterwalder and Yves Pigneur , Strategyzer offers a range of business model canvas templates for you to get started with.

If you opt for the paid model (there is a 30-day free trial period) they offer a series of various classes that teach you how to build and test different value propositions and business models.

A real-time built-in cost estimator analyzes the financial viability of some of your business ideas, identifying alternative areas you may wish to explore with your model.

All-in-all, it’s a great resource to play around with and test some of your business ideas, with the option to dive into further detail if you see fit.

Canvanizer is a free, easy-to-use web tool that allows you to share links between team members who are brainstorming ideas for a business model canvas, but working remotely.

Like Strategyzer, there are several business model canvas templates provided to help you get started with your analysis. The strength of this platform is its accessibility. Much like a Google Doc., several people can brainstorm on the same canvas simultaneously with changes being synchronized automatically.

Business Model Canvas Tool

A ThePowerMBA alumni, impressed by the simplicity and effectiveness of the tool, went ahead and created the free application Business Model Canvas Tool .

It’s an incredibly intuitive, and easy-to-use tool that allows you to create templates simply by clicking the + button in each building block.

Each business model canvas created can be downloaded and shared as a pdf. with the rest of the team.

Would You Like to Learn More about Business Models?

If, after going through our 9-step guide on how to use the Business Model Canvas you’d like to learn more about different business model analysis tools , take a look at our alternative MBA business program .

As you’ll see, the course gives students a 360-degree view of business and management practices – such as engines of growth, segmentation and targeting, and value propositions.

I highly recommend you go check it out.

Regardless, I’d love to hear what you thought about this guide. Was it helpful? Would you like to see additional business cases analyzed from your industry?

Let us know in the comments below.

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16 Comments

Ayeah Goodlove

Perfect thought

kourosh abdollahzadeh

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KJ Hwang

Well defined steps, Thanks for good contents.

Reza Ebadi

Dear Sir many thanks for you guideline. it was very effective for me. Thanks a Million

Debashis Rout

Well explained with practical business case

Allen

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  • The Business Model Canvas: A Comprehensive Guide for SMEs and Start-ups – AdvantEdge - […] Further insights and practical applications of the BMC can be found here: The Power MBA’s Guide. […]
  • Top 5 Tips For Business Success by Freeduhm Team | Milyin - […] that market and have a chance to make money and become profitable. Additionally, you can use a business model…

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Financial Model, Business Plan and Dashboard Templates - FinModelsLab

Law Firm Value Proposition Canvas

$15.00 $9.00 1 review

Instant Download, Editable on MAC & PC

Resources On Law Firm

  • Financial Model
  • Business Plan
  • One-Page Business Plan
  • SWOT Analysis
  • Business Model
  • Description

Law Firm Value Proposition Canvas

  • 3. Customer jobs
  • 4. Gain creators
  • 5. Pain relievers
  • 6. Products and services

Today, we are delving into the dynamic and ever-evolving world of law firms. The legal industry is experiencing significant growth, driven by increasing demand for a variety of legal services. As per the American Bar Association, the number of actively practicing attorneys in the United States has reached a staggering figure of over 1.3 million. This surge in legal professionals reflects the rising need for expert guidance in a complex and evolving legal landscape.

Law firms play a critical role in serving the needs of individuals and businesses alike. With a multitude of legal issues arising in our fast-paced society, having a dedicated team of legal experts by your side is essential. In the United States alone, there are hundreds of thousands of law firms, each offering their unique services and expertise to cater to a wide range of client needs.

Our focus today is on one of the most common and successful business models utilized by law firms – the billable hour model. This model, widely adopted by law firms in the US, ensures fairness and transparency in client billing. By charging clients based on the time spent on their case, law firms can accurately determine the cost of the services provided, empowering clients with a clear understanding of what they are paying for.

The key to a successful law firm lies in its ability to deliver exceptional legal services while maintaining strong client relationships. This requires a dedicated and experienced team of lawyers, legal staff, and support resources. Law firms leverage advanced legal research and technology to stay ahead in a fast-paced legal environment, ensuring the best outcomes for their clients.

Moreover, law firms understand the importance of building long-term relationships with their clients. By providing personalized attention and professional communication, they establish trust and ensure client satisfaction. This not only leads to higher client retention rates but also serves as a testament to the quality and reliability of their services.

In summary, the law firm industry is thriving, driven by the escalating demand for legal services. With their commitment to fair pricing, experienced legal teams, and personalized client relationships, law firms are poised to navigate the complex legal landscape and deliver exceptional value to their clients.

The Law Firm aims to provide numerous gains to its clients, ensuring a fair and transparent pricing structure, a feeling of paying only for work done, access to an experienced and qualified legal team, and the opportunity for contingency fees. These gains contribute to creating a unique and compelling value proposition for our clients.

  • Fair and transparent pricing: Our Law Firm understands the importance of offering fair and transparent pricing to clients. We believe in maintaining openness and honesty in all financial matters, providing clients with a comprehensive breakdown of the costs involved in their legal representation. By having a clear understanding of the expenses, clients can make informed decisions and avoid any financial surprises.
  • Feeling of paying only for work done: We recognize that clients deserve to pay for the actual work performed on their behalf, not for unnecessary or excessive billable hours. Our Law Firm focuses on efficiency and effectiveness, ensuring that clients receive value for their investment. By eliminating inflated costs, we offer our clients the peace of mind that they are paying for tangible results.
  • Access to experienced and qualified legal team: Our Law Firm prides itself on the expertise and qualifications of our legal team. We understand the importance of having seasoned professionals handle our clients' cases. With a strong track record of success and deep knowledge across various legal domains, our attorneys provide clients with the confidence that their legal matters are in capable hands.
  • Opportunity for contingency fees: In certain cases, our Law Firm offers contingency fee arrangements, providing clients with the opportunity to pay legal fees only if a favorable outcome is achieved. This option allows clients to mitigate financial risks and align their interests with ours. By sharing in the potential outcome of the case, our Law Firm ensures that we work diligently to secure the best possible results for our clients.

The combination of fair and transparent pricing, the feeling of paying only for work done, access to an experienced and qualified legal team, and the opportunity for contingency fees creates a compelling value proposition for our clients. Our Law Firm aims to establish long-lasting relationships based on trust, excellent legal representation, and the ability to deliver the desired outcomes clients seek.

  • Uncertainty about pricing and costs:

Many individuals and businesses seeking legal services often encounter uncertainties regarding legal fees and costs. This lack of clarity can lead to anxiety and hesitation when reaching out for legal assistance.

  • Feeling of overpaying for legal services:

Clients may have concerns about being charged excessively for legal services, especially if they feel that the value provided is not commensurate with the price paid. This perception of overpaying can cause frustration and a lack of trust in legal service providers.

  • Lack of experienced and qualified legal team:

Engaging with a law firm that lacks a highly skilled and experienced legal team can be a significant pain point for clients. They may feel uncertain about the quality of legal advice and representation they would receive, leading to concerns about the outcome of their legal matters.

  • Inability to afford legal representation:

Many individuals and small businesses face financial constraints that hinder their ability to access legal services. The high costs associated with legal representation can make it challenging for some individuals to protect their rights and secure the legal support they require.

Customer jobs

The customer jobs of a law firm revolve around providing essential legal services to individuals, businesses, and organizations. Understanding these customer jobs is crucial for a law firm to tailor their value proposition and effectively meet the needs of their clients.

  • Seeking legal advice and representation: Clients seek the expertise of a law firm to obtain professional guidance and representation in legal matters. They are looking for knowledgeable attorneys who can provide accurate advice and help them navigate complex legal processes.
  • Resolving legal disputes or issues: Clients often engage a law firm to address legal disputes or issues they are facing. They may be involved in a contract dispute, a personal injury case, a criminal accusation, or any other legal matter that requires resolution.
  • Protecting personal or business interests: Clients rely on law firms to protect their personal or business interests in legal matters. Whether it's ensuring compliance with laws and regulations, safeguarding intellectual property rights, or securing financial assets, clients seek legal services to safeguard their interests.
  • Obtaining fair settlements or awards: Clients aim to achieve fair settlements or awards in legal proceedings. They expect a law firm to advocate for their rights and interests, negotiate favorable outcomes, and secure the best possible settlements or awards on their behalf.

By understanding and addressing these customer jobs, a law firm can develop a value proposition that resonates with its target clients. The firm should focus on demonstrating its expertise, experience, and the ability to provide effective legal solutions that meet and exceed clients' expectations.

Gain Creators

1. Offering fair and transparent pricing based on time spent

  • Our law firm understands the importance of providing our clients with fair and transparent pricing based on the time spent on their cases.
  • We ensure that our clients are aware of the costs involved right from the beginning, enabling them to make informed decisions about their legal representation.
  • This gain creator builds trust and helps clients feel confident that they are receiving value for their money.
  • By eliminating any hidden costs or surprises, we aim to establish long-term relationships with our clients.

2. Providing access to experienced and qualified legal team

  • One of our key gain creators is the access we provide to an experienced and qualified legal team.
  • Our firm only employs lawyers with proven expertise in their respective fields, ensuring that our clients receive the highest quality legal advice and representation.
  • Our legal team's experience enables them to navigate complex legal matters efficiently, saving our clients time and stress.
  • By having a diverse team of experts, we can cover a wide range of legal areas, catering to the specific needs of each client.

3. Assisting with contingency fee options for certain cases

  • We understand that legal expenses can sometimes be a barrier for individuals seeking justice, especially in personal injury or similar cases.
  • As a gain creator, we offer contingency fee options for certain cases, allowing clients to pursue their claims without upfront payment.
  • This arrangement ensures that our clients can access legal representation even if they may not have the financial resources at the outset.
  • By aligning our interests with our clients', we demonstrate our commitment to fighting for their rights and seeking the best possible outcomes for their cases.

Overall, our law firm's gain creators focus on delivering fair pricing, exceptional legal expertise, and flexible payment options. These qualities aim to provide clients with the peace of mind that their legal matters will be handled with professionalism, transparency, and their best interests in mind.

Pain Relievers

In order to address the specific pain points of our clients and provide them with exceptional legal services, our Law Firm focuses on implementing the following pain relievers:

  • Ensuring clear and understandable pricing structure: We understand that legal costs can often be a major concern for clients. To alleviate this pain, we are committed to providing a transparent pricing structure that clearly outlines the costs associated with our legal services. Clients can have peace of mind knowing that they will not be faced with any hidden fees or surprises.
  • Providing affordable legal services: We recognize that legal services should be accessible to everyone, regardless of their financial situation. As a result, we strive to offer affordable legal solutions that cater to the diverse needs and budgets of our clients.
  • Offering personalized and professional communication: Effective communication is the foundation of a successful attorney-client relationship. We take pride in our ability to effortlessly communicate complex legal concepts in a clear and understandable manner. Our dedicated team of legal professionals ensures that each client receives personalized attention, promptly responding to inquiries and providing regular updates on their legal matters.
  • Building and maintaining long-term relationships with clients: We believe in fostering long-term relationships with our clients rather than pursuing short-term gains. By cultivating deep connections with our clients, we can better understand their unique needs, anticipate their legal requirements, and consistently deliver tailored solutions that address their pain points effectively.

By addressing these pain points head-on, our Law Firm aims to provide the highest level of client satisfaction and become a trusted partner in navigating their legal challenges.

Products and Services

A law firm offers a range of products and services to meet the various needs of its clients. Understanding and effectively communicating the value these offerings bring is essential for building a strong value proposition. The following are the key products and services provided by a law firm:

  • One of the primary services provided by a law firm is offering legal advice and representation to clients. This involves providing expert guidance and support on legal matters, helping clients navigate through complex legal issues, and representing them in legal proceedings.
  • By leveraging their legal expertise, attorneys provide clients with valuable insights and strategic recommendations that enable them to make informed decisions and effectively resolve legal disputes.
  • Law firms understand the importance of maintaining accurate and comprehensive records of their clients' legal matters. They offer record-keeping services to ensure all relevant documents, correspondence, and evidence are appropriately filed and organized.
  • Additionally, law firms utilize time tracking tools to accurately track and document the time spent on each client's case or project. This helps in providing clients with transparent and detailed billing information.
  • Law firms provide billing and invoicing services to ensure streamlined and transparent financial transactions with their clients.
  • They generate accurate invoices based on the time spent, tasks completed, and any additional expenses incurred during the legal process. This allows clients to have a clear understanding of the services provided and the associated costs.
  • A well-established law firm invests in advanced legal research tools and technology to enhance their services and provide clients with up-to-date information and insights.
  • By leveraging their access to comprehensive legal databases, law firms can conduct thorough research on relevant legal precedents, regulations, and case studies. This helps in building stronger legal arguments, increasing the chances of successful outcomes for their clients.

The combination of legal advice and representation, record-keeping and time tracking services, billing and invoicing capabilities, and access to legal research and technology forms the foundation of a law firm's value proposition. These offerings enable clients to efficiently resolve legal matters, stay informed, and receive the highest level of professional support from experienced attorneys.

In conclusion, developing a Business Model Canvas and Value Proposition Canvas for a Law Firm is crucial for understanding and optimizing the operations and overall success of the firm. By analyzing key aspects such as customer segments, channels, revenue streams, and cost structures, the firm can identify opportunities to enhance its value proposition and differentiate itself from competitors.

The Business Model Canvas provides a comprehensive overview of the firm's business model, allowing for a deeper understanding of its key components. This framework enables the firm to assess the viability of its operations, identify potential areas for improvement, and develop strategies to enhance its competitive advantage.

On the other hand, the Value Proposition Canvas enables the firm to clearly define and communicate its unique value proposition to its target customers. It helps in understanding customer needs, desires, and pain points, allowing the firm to tailor its services and offerings accordingly. By aligning its value proposition with customer requirements, the law firm can effectively attract and retain clients, fostering long-term relationships and loyalty.

By combining the insights gained from the Business Model Canvas and Value Proposition Canvas, the law firm can develop a strong foundation for strategic decision-making and business development. This integrated approach enables the firm to optimize its operations, deliver superior value to clients, and achieve sustainable growth and profitability.

  • Enhancing customer satisfaction and loyalty through a tailored value proposition
  • Identifying opportunities to reduce costs and improve efficiency
  • Gaining a competitive edge by differentiating from competitors
  • Driving revenue growth through effective marketing strategies and channels
  • Optimizing resource allocation and utilization
  • Building long-term relationships with clients through exceptional service delivery

Ultimately, the Business Model Canvas and Value Proposition Canvas serve as powerful tools for a law firm to understand its market, refine its offerings, and maximize its overall potential. By continuously reviewing and adapting these canvases, the law firm can ensure its continued success in a dynamic and evolving industry.

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Law Firm Company Profile Business Model Canvas Ppt Professional Microsoft

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  • Business Model Canvas: What Is It and How to Create Your Own?

Business Model Canvas: What Is It and How to Create Your Own?

  • LawDistrict ❯

A Business Model Canvas (BMC) is a lean startup and strategic management tool. It quickly and easily allows businesses to create a simple outline of their enterprise’s structural and organizational model. This can either replace or complement a fully formed business plan .

This type of document, which is sometimes known as the “20-minute business plan” , was created by Alexander Osterwalder in 2005. In his proposal, he aimed to create a visual template that allowed entrepreneurs and management to display the key “building blocks” that make up a company.

To help you create your own Business Model Canvas and demonstrate the value of your startup or current enterprise, this article explains what needs to go into an effective BMC. It covers all the key elements you will need to include in your final document and why you’ll find it a useful tool when developing your business.

  • Why to Create a Business Model Canvas

The biggest advantage of using a Business Model Canvas is that it allows readers to quickly understand what your business idea will do and how it will work. By presenting key information concisely and visually, potential stakeholders can get a clear picture of the viability of your new idea or project.

It is also a more flexible model of a business outline. As it is shorter than most Traditional or Lean Business Plans , it is easier to modify should you need to rethink any elements of your current business proposal .

  • How Is a Business Model Canvas Structured?

Business Model Canvas templates allow managers and business owners to lay out their idea on just a single page . On that page, the structure of the plan places details about the external and internal factors affecting your company in different positions.

For example, the right side of the document is dedicated to external factors such as customers and the market. The left side of the template focuses instead on internal factors such as production, organization, and costs.

Having both sides of the document arranged in this way allows both outside parties and your own team to see immediately how the external and internal factors work with each other . Having a complete picture in this way can quickly create confidence and a firm understanding of how your idea can be turned into a reality.

What Elements Should You Include on a Business Model Canvas?

Nine key components appear on a Business Model Canvas. As you’ll see on completed examples, each of the segments quickly summarizes the core elements of a fully thought out business or project idea.

The intention of the sections is to provide the key building blocks for a new or already running company. As you’ll see, whilst each segment is concise in nature, they help to ease any doubts about the risks your business is taking by providing the essential details about your plans.

  • Key Partners: Explaining Who is Involved

In this first section, you need to explain who is working with your business and why. This should include any external parties that you rely upon to operate your company.

Suppliers, businesses offering their services to yours, or any other third party whose services will be essential to the successful running of your business should be listed here.

  • Key Activities: Detailing What You’ll Do

In this part of the BMC, you must outline what your company will produce and how it will do it. There should be a clear indication as to how your business is creating a value proposition for the eventual customer and how it will work to achieve that goal.

This part of the Business Model Canvas will need to explain the following:

  • Your unique strategy
  • The most important tasks your business will need to perform
  • How long this could take to do
  • The resources you’ll need to do so
  • The distribution channels you’ll use
  • Value Proposition: Answering Why Your Business is a Good Bet

One of the most important goals of creating a Business Model Plan is to create a clear value proposition for your business. People won’t take your idea seriously unless you can show clear examples as to how it creates a benefit.

To do this, you should seek to explain you will solve a problem for the customer or clients. By providing a solution to that issue you will be able to demonstrate the clear value that your company could create.

  • Customer Relationship: How You Will Interact With Clients

In this next section of the Business Model Plan, you need to explain how you will interact with your customers. This should detail what method of communication will be your key line between yourself and the end-user.

This could include one or more of key communication systems such as:

  • In-person sales
  • Third-party contractors

In addition to explaining what forms of communication you’ll use, you should also outline how this will impact the company in terms of costs and its operations. It is also wise to try to look at how it may be developed over time as your business becomes more established.

  • Customer Segment: Understanding Who Your Customers Are

It’s crucial to have a good idea of who you’re going to be selling your product or service to. In doing so you’ll be able to show potential investors that you’re targeting the right market and expect to get the best return on investment.

This can be done effectively by working out how big your potential market will be. A good way to do this is by categorizing your chosen target audience by the following criteria:

From this, you will be able to create clear personas that you can build your strategy around. It will fundamentally help you understand who your most important customers will be and why.

  • Key Resources: What You Need to Operate

Just like with the Key Partners section, the Key Resources segment is externally focussed . In this case, it looks instead at the operational assets you will require to create your service or product.

You should note any important resources that will be essential to the running of your business . These could include:

  • Offices and warehouse space
  • Manufacturing machinery
  • Computers and software
  • Distribution Channel: How You’ll Get the Product to the Customer

We’ve already looked at how the business will interact with customers, we still haven’t established how the organization will make them aware that the product exists and ensure it arrives safely. The Distribution Channel section allows you to map out exactly how that will work.

The channels you detail will focus on each stage of the buyer’s journey from awareness to after-sales. It will also seek to explain how effective any current methods of reaching your customers are and where they might be best targeted.

Examples of the channels you might list could include:

  • Organic search traffic
  • Direct mail
  • Billboard advertising
  • Online advertising
  • Advertorials
  • Events and shows
  • TV and radio advertising
  • Social Media
  • Cost Structure: Working Out How Much the Business Will Spend

One of the most important factors you’ll need to cover is working out how much everything costs . The Cost Structure section will help you do that.

In this area, you’ll figure out what will comprise your biggest expenses and what your most important financial considerations could be. This will ultimately depend on the size, scale, and function of your proposed company. Yet, it could include any of the following:

  • Legal costs
  • Contractual obligations with partners and suppliers
  • Purchasing of resources
  • Staffing costs
  • Revenue Stream: Where Will the Income Come From

Last but not least, you must include a section to explain how the company will make money from its function and value proposition. The Revenue Stream area allows you to make this clear.

You should clearly explain how you have balanced the value created from your product or service against how much customers will be willing to pay for it . It also must detail how you will charge customers for the privilege.

The revenue model you use will be key to demonstrating how effective your strategy will be. Which paradigm you use will depend on the type of business and customers , yet it could include:

  • Subscriptions
  • Fixed-price purchases
  • Freemium plans

Business Model Canvases make it much simpler to create a simple “big picture” view of your proposed company or project . By following this style of design you can quickly and easily show why your new idea could be a great success.

However, whilst a BMC may be a useful tool in creating initial attention you may still need a comprehensive business plan at a later date. To build your own outline from scratch, try LawDistrict’s step-by-step customizable business plan template now.

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Entrance to the United States Supreme Court at sunrise

UC Law fellow Shantya Goddard finds her purpose

headshot of Sherry English

Ever since she was a little girl, Shantya Goddard’s North Star was being intentional about the choices she made. One could say “being intentional” is what defined her.  

“I’ve always been very intentional about having a career that I would love… which classes I would take, what to major in, and which experiences to apply for,” she said. This mindset stemmed from watching what her mother went through while Goddard was growing up. Her mother worked several jobs she hated and that paid little money. “She could never quite figure out what she wanted to do,” Goddard said. “I saw how this impacted her mentally, emotionally, physically, and financially. My siblings and I also lived through the impact of it. So, I knew I wanted to do something different.”

When she was just 10 years old, Goddard knew that the “something different” would mean going to college. At the time, however, none of the men and women in her family had gone to college. (Her father would later attend college and law school, becoming an attorney when Goddard was a teenager.)

Goddard’s mother enrolled her in the Dayton Early College Academy (DECA), a college preparatory school in Dayton, Ohio, focused on helping students gain the necessary skills to be successful in college and beyond. She graduated from DECA and began thinking about her next steps. But like many students, Goddard had no idea about what she wanted to do or what she would enjoy as a career. This search for a career path led her to the University of Cincinnati and its Exploratory Program.

As part of the program, Goddard took the course “Discovering UC" which helped her identify her major—criminal justice. “I really enjoyed learning about the criminal justice system, but I was not interested in most of the job opportunities associated with criminal justice. That’s when I started thinking about law school.”

Shantya Goddard, Dinsmore Procter & Gamble OIP Fellow

Being intentional about her next step, Goddard took Cincinnati Law’s “Introduction to the Law and the Legal Profession” course, an introductory class designed for undergraduate students. The class opened her eyes to the many possibilities that a law career could provide. Indeed, she could see herself doing the work. But she hesitated. “I actually steered away from the thought of law school because I didn't want to feel like I went into law just because my dad did, but it ended up happening for me anyway,” she laughed.

“I didn't always want to be an attorney. I wanted to be a doctor, a veterinarian, and a counselor at some point. But I became a lawyer because I love the work. As an attorney, you get to play the role of a confidante, a negotiator, a counselor, and a problem solver. You are constantly being challenged and overcoming those challenges. These are all the things that I love being in my personal life so being an attorney made the most sense to me. It also opens many doors to helping people with a variety of issues, which is something I hope to do throughout my career.”

I became a lawyer because I love the work. As an attorney, you get to play the role of a confidante, a negotiator, a counselor, and a problem solver.

Shantya Goddard (JD '23)

The Cincinnati Law difference

Once the decision was made to focus on a legal career, Goddard knew Cincinnati Law would be a great next step. “Cincinnati Law and the Cincinnati legal community in general are so supportive,” she said. “I have had people from Cincinnati Law and the legal community help me at every step of my career in some capacity whether it has been making a connection, offering advice, or just being a listening ear. Cincinnati Law seemed to be huge on diversity and that was really important to me. I felt a sense of comfort seeing an African American woman, Verna Williams, as the dean of the law school and Staci Rucker, [another African American professional] as the Assistant Dean for Academic Affairs, Student Affairs, and Diversity [when she started law school].” 

She was also motivated by the many and varied clinical opportunities. Goddard was intentional about participating in many clinics and externship experiences to prepare for a legal career. She was an Ohio Innocence Project (OIP) litigation fellow, legal intern with the Motion Unit at the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, an extern with Magistrate Judge Candace Smith at the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky, and a fellow with Cincinnati Law’s Domestic Violence and Civil Protection Order Clinic.

“Each experience helped me sharpen important skills such as legal research and writing. They also helped strengthen my ability to work alone and with a team. Because of these experiences, along with my life experiences, I am able to view things from different perspectives and easily adapt to situations. I have learned the importance of being intentional and to never stop learning. All of these things have prepared me for my current work with OIP and beyond because research and writing will always be a part of my career.”

“I will always work with a variety of different people from a variety of different backgrounds; and I will never know all there is to know about the law. As a lawyer, reaching a goal for yourself or your client is not always easy or straightforward but if I remain intentional, driven, and open-minded, I do believe the number of challenges I overcome will outweigh the number of challenges that defeat me.”

Because of these experiences, ... I am able to view things from different perspectives and easily adapt to situations. I have learned the importance of being intentional and to never stop learning.

Shantya Goddard (JD'23)

The road to the Dinsmore Procter & Gamble OIP fellowship

Fortunately, Goddard’s connection to Cincinnati Law didn’t end with her 2023 graduation. She has since returned to the college, this time as the second Dinsmore Procter & Gamble OIP Fellow. Taking on this role, again, was very intentional. “My interest in criminal law came from majoring in criminal justice. Criminal law just felt like the natural thing to dive into after seeing people either being arrested or being victims of a crime.”

“Shantya is a quiet but powerful presence both in OIP and outside it.   Although she is only in the beginning of her fellowship, she already has made important contributions to the policy and engagement team, speaking with students in the OIP-u program, of which she is an alum and ambassador.  She also has been instrumental in some of my work that tries to reach high school students and other young people, many of whom are at risk for wrongful convictions,” said Pierce Reed, director of Policy, Legislation and Engagement at the Ohio Innocence Project.

Returning to OIP in this new role also enables her to focus on litigation, which is a professional goal. “I hope to become a better advocate and strengthen my skills as a lawyer. I also hope to learn more about myself and determine the best career path for me by the end of my fellowship,” she said.

“Shantya is a top-tier young attorney with a very bright future,” said Mark Godsey, Daniel P. and Judith L. Carmichael Professor of Law | Director, Ohio Innocence Project. “She's got all the tools—tangible and intangible.  Shantya will be able to accomplish anything in this career she sets her mind on.  She is going to do great things; we are lucky to have her here.”

Shantya Goddard works in her office at the OIP.

The genesis of the Dinsmore and Procter & Gamble OIP Fellowship

The Dinsmore and Procter & Gamble OIP Fellowship is a unique Fortune 500, Am Law 200 partnership for recent law grads to join one of the most successful Innocence Projects in the country. The partnership—the brainchild of Dinsmore & Shohl LLP, Procter & Gamble, and the Ohio Innocence Project—is designed to give recent graduates the opportunity to hone lawyering skills and gain experience in civil rights litigation and policy making.

Unique to this fellowship program is that it takes the corporate/law firm fellowship model and applies it to Innocence Projects. In addition to opening doors for new attorneys, the program helps establish a pipeline to attract and train candidates on how to litigate and advocate in the context of a dynamic civil rights organization.

“We are thrilled to continue our partnership with Dinsmore and the Ohio Innocence Project. OIP’s work is critical to address multiple challenges that exist in our criminal justice system, and training fellows like Shantya in civil rights advocacy and policy making will have a multiplying effect,” said Susan Whaley (JD ’99), Chief Legal Officer at Procter & Gamble. “Like Shantya, we want to be intentional about making an impact in the areas of diversity, equality and access to justice, so it is an honor to support her work on behalf of the wrongfully convicted.”

“This fellowship is important because not only is it bringing diversity to the legal field, but it also helps to address some of the injustices that lie within our criminal justice system,” said Goddard. “So many people are wrongfully convicted of crimes. This stems from a variety of different factors at all stages of the criminal justice system. Having a fellowship of this nature is important for addressing those issues, preventing them, and spreading awareness.”

“Dinsmore is honored to continue to support outstanding lawyers like Shantya in the passionate pursuit of delivering justice to the clients in the Ohio Innocence Project. Her personal resolve and steadfast professional commitment make all of us exceedingly proud. We are heartened to see Shantya uphold a growing tradition that Kanisha began so wonderfully,” said Marty Dunn, Partner and chair of the Diversity Committee, Dinsmore & Shohl.

“This fellowship is important because not only is it bringing diversity to the legal field, but it also helps to address some of the injustices that lie within our criminal justice system.

Looking to the future

After the two-year fellowship is completed in 2025, Goddard is open to her next step. “I'm not totally sure where I want to go from here. Right now, I'm just keeping an open mind and expanding my network. I am being intentional about figuring out what is next for me. Wherever I do go, I hope to get better at what I know, broaden my skillset, and progress in my career. Many of my experiences have prepared me for litigation but I would like to get my feet wet on the transactional side as well and hopefully work at a law firm.”

Shantya Goddard stands in front of the OIP sign at UC Law.

An update on Kanisha Ervin, the first Dinsmore Procter & Gamble OIP fellow

After her fellowship ended, Ervin took a position as an Intelligence Fellow for the Southern Poverty Law Center. She began the new role last summer. In a previous interview, Ervin said of her plans for the future, “Seeing the many life-changing impacts of incarceration I want to help returning citizens regain their rights and assume a respectable quality of life. I want to inform them of the processes they can go through to get an education, driver’s license, or their records expunged.” 

Photos: Lead photo: istockphoto.com;  Goddard photos: Joey Yerace

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— By Crain's staff

METHODOLOGY: The individuals featured did not pay to be included. Their profiles were written by Crain's staff, with assistance from Claude.ai, using the nomination materials submitted. This list is not comprehensive. It includes only individuals for whom nominations were submitted and accepted after a review by editors. To qualify for this list, nominees must live and work in the Chicago area, serve in a senior role at a law firm with at least 10 professional staff and have practiced for a minimum of five years. Their work with clients or pro bono projects must have a measurable impact; they must demonstrate leadership in professional organizations and civic or community initiatives; and they must serve as a role model or mentor to other attorneys and promote inclusive practices in the workplace. 

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    In this free e-book, Designing Your Law Firm's New Normal. The Legal Innovation Canvas is a visual tool that asks hard questions of your new ideas. Based on the Business Model Canvas created by Alex Osterwalder of Strategyzer, the Legal Innovation Canvas forces you to consider who these new potential services are really for, what value they ...

  5. The Legal Practice Model Canvas

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  6. 10 Innovative Business Models for Law Firms

    Business Model Canvases that break down the various components of each model, from value propositions to customer relationships. Pros and Cons Evaluation to weigh the potential benefits and challenges associated with implementing each model.

  7. Axiom Law

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  8. Plan Your Law Firm, Courtesy of Canva

    After combing the Internet for usable, free version of a business model canvas or pitch deck to share, I stumbled across templates on Canva, a DIY graphics site and one of my favorite start-up tools. Below are two quick videos about the features of each template, and how I used them to start planning my new law firm.

  9. #273: Your Business Model Canvas, with Alan Smith

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  10. Business Models for Law Firms

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  11. Denver, Colorado Legal Aspects of the Business Model Canvas Law Firm

    Outlined below are key legal aspects to consider for each section of the Business Model Canvas. 1. Key Partners. - Checklist of types of relationship agreements. a. Strategic Alliance Agreement - Platform. (Example: the exclusive relationship for Farmville on Facebook). b. Strategic Alliance Agreement - Financial.

  12. The Legal Business Model Canvas

    The Business Model Canvas, is a strategic management and entrepreneurial tool. It allows you to describe, design, challenge, invent, and pivot your business model.

  13. PDF Business Model Canvas

    A business model is a visual representation of your law practice. It is like a business plan but is designed to be viewed on a single "canvas" and to be dynamic - changing as your practice changes. There are many formats for business modeling. I use the Business Model Canvas designed by Alexander Osterwalder and Yves Pigneur and explained ...

  14. Business Model Canvas: Explained with Examples

    The Business Model Canvas is a strategic management tool that lets you visualize and assess your business idea or concept. It's a one-page document containing nine boxes that represent different fundamental elements of a business.

  15. 19 Business Model Canvas

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  16. Make a Business Model Canvas (How-tos, Examples, Tips)

    A business model canvas is a strategic management tool that helps companies visualize new and existing business models they develop. This one-page template allows you to examine the external and internal factors that could make or break your business, such as the infrastructure running your business, what value you're offering, the customers you serve, and the finances that keep your business ...

  17. Real Estate Law Practice Business Model Canvas

    This model offers a transparent and reliable approach to legal fees, making it a preferred choice for both clients and law firms. By delving into this business model canvas for a real estate law office, we will explore the intricacies of the billable hours model and understand how it can pave the way for success in this competitive industry.

  18. Business Model Canvas: A 9-Step Guide to Analzye Any Business

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  19. Law Firm Value Proposition Canvas

    By combining the insights gained from the Business Model Canvas and Value Proposition Canvas, the law firm can develop a strong foundation for strategic decision-making and business development. This integrated approach enables the firm to optimize its operations, deliver superior value to clients, and achieve sustainable growth and profitability.

  20. Can Big Law Extract the Maximum Value of AI?

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  21. Law Firm Company Profile Business Model Canvas Ppt Professional

    This slide highlights the law firm company business model canvas which includes target market, revenue stream, cost structure, USP, services, key activities and channels. Present the topic in a bit more detail with this Law Firm Company Profile Business Model Canvas Ppt Professional Microsoft. Use it as a tool for discussion and navigation on ...

  22. Business Model Canvas

    The Business Model Canvas is a strategic management template used for developing new business models and documenting existing ones.

  23. How to Easily Create a Business Model Canvas

    Learn what a Business Model Canvas is and how you can easily create a document to quickly explain a new startup, established company or business idea.

  24. How To Grow Your Law Firm Through Online Marketing

    Many law firms invest 10-25% of the average case value into acquiring clients. So, if your average case value is $5,000, investing, let's say, 15% in marketing would be $750 per case. This would ...

  25. DOL's Final Rule on Employees and Independent Contractors ...

    Law.com Compass delivers you the full scope of information, from the rankings of the Am Law 200 and NLJ 500 to intricate details and comparisons of firms' financials, staffing, clients, news and ...

  26. UC Law fellow Shantya Goddard finds her purpose

    Unique to this fellowship program is that it takes the corporate/law firm fellowship model and applies it to Innocence Projects. In addition to opening doors for new attorneys, the program helps establish a pipeline to attract and train candidates on how to litigate and advocate in the context of a dynamic civil rights organization.

  27. Notable Women in Law 2024

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