1. Method: Post it put your printed canvas on the wall
Use different colour post-its for each customer segment; explore lots of possibilities
Then focus on one customer segment and fill the rest of the canvas.
Use as few sticky notes as possible; refine & reduce
Focus on quick communication, not perfect representation

2. 1. Sketch a canvas in one sitting
While a business plan can take weeks or months to write, your initial canvas should be sketched quickly.
2. It’s okay to leave sections blank
Rather than trying to research or debate the “right” answers, put something down quickly or leave it blank and come back to it later. Some elements like “Unfair Advantage” take time to figure out. The canvas is meant to be an organic document that evolves over time and it’s okay to say “I don’t know”.
3. Think in the present
Business plans try too hard to predict the future which is impossible. Instead, write your canvas with a “getting things done” attitude. Based on your current stage and what you know right now, what are the next set of hypotheses you need to test to move your product forward?
4. Use a customer-centric approach

3. 1. Distinguish between customers and users
If you have multiple user roles in your product, identify customers.
A customer is a someone that pays for your product.
2. Split broad customer segments into smaller ones
I’ve worked with startups that felt the problems they are solving are so universal, they apply to everyone.
You can’t effectively build, design, and position a product for everyone.
While you might be aiming to build a mainstream product, you need to start with a specific customer in mind. Even Facebook, with it’s now 500 million+ users started with a specific user in mind - Harvard college students.
3. Sketch a Lean Canvas for each customer segment
As you’ll find shortly, the elements of your business model can and will vary greatly by customer segment. I recommend starting with the top 2-3 customer segments you feel you understand the best or find most promising.
Indicate each segment in a different color

4. (nog aanpassen)
Use this checklist to design great business models or assess your own:
Does the level of granularity of your Canvas correspond to your objectives?
Your Canvas should only contain the most important building blocks when your objective is to explain the essence of your business model, also called the blueprint of your strategy. Your Canvas should have much more detail if its objective is to serve as a blueprint for implementation.
Is every Building Block in your Canvas connected to one another?
Great Canvases have a story and ow where every building block relates to another. You should not have any “orphan” building blocks in your Canvas that don’t connect to another building block. For example, a revenue stream always needs to come from a related customer segment for a related value proposition. Or a key partner always provides a key resource or activity that contributes to a value proposition. Or, there is no such thing as a customer segment with no specific value proposition.
Is every Building Block in your Canvas precise enough?
Make sure every building business model block is self explanatory. For example, writing “products” in revenue streams is unclear. More precise would be “product sales” or “margins on product sales”.

5. Do you make smart use of both images and words to convey your message?
(nog aanpassen)
Do you make smart use of both images and words to convey your message?
It takes our brain longer to process words than images, because every letter of a word is processed as an individual image. Hence, the use of images allows our brain to process a Canvas much quicker. To avoid ambiguity, the use of an image and a label for a building block is the most e ective.
Do you make good use of color-coding?
For example, you can use color-coding to highlight two very different segments with very different value propositions. Or you could use it to distinguish between your existing model and one you want to build.
Does your Canvas distinguish between “as-is” and “to-be”?
Make sure you clearly distinguish between what exists in your business model the “as-is” state and what you want to or plan to build the “to-be” state. Color-coding can help achieve this distinction easily.
Does your Canvas distinguish between “knowns/facts” and “unknowns/assumptions”?
When you are designing new business models, make sure you clearly distinguish between what you know (e.g. the demand for a specific value proposition) and what you don’t know (e.g. which channels customers would prefer).