13 Your business model: The beating heart of your business

The business model is the heart of your business and of your business plan. It’s tempting to think, “I have a product, and I just go sell it, right?” Well, how are you going to sell it, and how do you get paid? That’s the critical question a business model answers. To determine the right business model for your company, you will carefully consider all the possible business models that might make sense and choose the right one for your product and how you want to get it to customers. You must also be able to clearly articulate why it is the right one to achieve the goals you have set out for your company.

13.1 Business-to-consumer

13.2 Business-to-business and its variants

13.3 Software-as-a-service (SaaS)

13.3.1 GeoTrust

13.4 B2B services

13.4.1 Open Environment and Borland

13.5 Internet advertising

13.6 How your business model affects hiring

13.7 The moral of this anecdote