# Business model canvas: the nine building blocks Source: https://sarang.pro/business-model-canvas-nine-building-blocks/ Author: Sarang | Published: 25 October 2026 A business plan can run to forty pages and still leave people unsure how the business makes money. The Business Model Canvas fits the essentials onto one page: who you serve, what you offer, how you reach them, what it costs and what it earns. It is quick to draw, easy to argue over and easy to redraw when you learn something new. This guide explains the nine building blocks, how they connect, how to fill in a canvas step by step, and where the tool falls short. ## What the canvas is Alexander Osterwalder developed the canvas from his PhD work, supervised by Yves Pigneur, and first proposed the nine building blocks in 2005. It became widely known through the 2010 book *Business Model Generation*, written with Pigneur and Tim Clark, with contributions from 470 practitioners in 45 countries, as summarised on [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_Model_Canvas). The canvas is published by Strategyzer under a Creative Commons licence, and the template is free to download from the [Strategyzer library](https://www.strategyzer.com/library/the-business-model-canvas). Strategyzer's guidance makes two practical points. Use one canvas to describe one business model, not a whole company. And treat each canvas as a claim to test: date it, version it and redraw it as evidence comes in. ## The nine building blocks The table uses the guiding questions from a [University of Auckland worksheet](https://www.auckland.ac.nz/assets/cie/innovation-resources/Business%20Model%20Canvas.pdf) based on the Strategyzer canvas. BlockQuestion it answers Customer segmentsWho are the customers, users or beneficiaries, and what are their needs and behaviours? Value propositionsWhat value do you create for each segment, and which problems or needs does it address? ChannelsHow do customers find, access and receive what you offer? Customer relationshipsHow do you attract, support and keep customers? Revenue streamsHow do you earn money from each segment: sales, subscriptions, fees or something else? Key resourcesWhich physical, financial, intellectual or human assets do you need? Key activitiesWhat must you do well to create, deliver and capture value? Key partnershipsWho helps you create and deliver value, such as suppliers or strategic partners? Cost structureWhat are the main costs of running this model? ## How the blocks connect The layout carries meaning. Strategyzer describes the right side as the market: customer segments, relationships, channels and revenue. The left side shows what it takes to serve that market: key activities, resources and partners, plus the costs they create. Value propositions sit in the middle, linking the two. Read the canvas as a chain. A value proposition only matters if it meets a need of a named segment. Channels and relationships must suit that segment. Revenue depends on what the segment will pay for that value. Activities, resources and partners exist to deliver the proposition, and they drive the costs. If a block does not connect to the others, either it is missing a link or it does not belong. A quick health check: revenue streams at the bottom right and cost structure at the bottom left should tell you whether the model can make money at all. ## Filling in a canvas step by step - **Pick one business model.** If you serve two very different segments in different ways, draw two canvases. - **Start with customer segments.** Be specific. "Small businesses" is too broad; "independent cafés with one or two sites" is workable. - **Write the value proposition for each segment** in terms of the job it does or the problem it solves for them. - **Add channels, relationships and revenue streams** for each segment. Note how much customers pay and how often. - **Fill the left side:** the activities, resources and partners needed to deliver all of the above. - **List the main costs** and check them against revenue. - **Mark your assumptions.** Highlight the notes you have not yet tested with real customers or numbers. These are your to-do list. - **Date the canvas** and keep earlier versions, so you can see how your thinking changed. Sticky notes work well, because they make it easy to move and replace ideas. Use one idea per note. ## A worked illustration *An example (illustration only).* A mobile bicycle repair service in Bristol fixes bikes at customers' homes and workplaces. - **Customer segments:** commuters who rely on their bike daily; employers who offer cycling benefits to staff. - **Value propositions:** for commuters, a repair without losing the bike for days; for employers, an on-site service day that supports staff wellbeing. - **Channels:** website booking, local cycling groups, direct sales to office managers. - **Customer relationships:** reminders for servicing; a named mechanic for each employer. - **Revenue streams:** per-repair fees from commuters; day rates from employers. - **Key resources:** two equipped vans, trained mechanics, booking software. - **Key activities:** repairs, route planning, parts buying, employer sales. - **Key partnerships:** a parts wholesaler; a local bike shop for jobs that need a workshop. - **Cost structure:** wages, vans and fuel, parts, software. Drawing the two segments together shows that employer days fill the vans on weekdays, while commuter jobs cluster in the evenings. The untested assumption is how many employers will pay a day rate, so the next step is to pitch five office managers before buying a third van. ## Common mistakes - **Vague segments.** If everyone is a customer, the rest of the canvas will be vague too. - **Features instead of value.** "App with booking" is a feature; "no time lost waiting for repairs" is the value. - **Treating it as finished.** A canvas that is never revisited becomes a poster, not a tool. - **Filling blocks in isolation.** Every note should link to something in another block. - **Skipping the numbers.** A canvas with no idea of prices, volumes or costs cannot show whether the model works. ## When to use it, and its limits The canvas is useful for describing a new venture, comparing alternative models for the same idea, explaining an existing business to a new team or investor, and spotting where a model depends on untested assumptions. It works well in workshops because everyone can see the whole picture at once. It has limits. Critics note that it is static, showing a model at one moment rather than how it changes. It says little about how the parts interact in detail, and it looks inward, leaving out industry structure, competitors and the wider environment. Pair it with a five forces or competitor analysis for the outside view and with a simple financial model for the numbers. Some startups prefer the Lean Canvas, Ash Maurya's adaptation of the canvas for early-stage ventures. The same authors also created the Value Proposition Canvas (see our [guide to value propositions](https://sarang.pro/value-propositions-positioning-statements/)) for working on the fit between a segment and an offer in more detail.