As a part of the bio science and employability module, Chris Walker gave a lecture series on the business side that could apply to biological sciences. Within this he spoke of creating a business plan and entrepreneurship.

Currently there are many major shifts in products to be more environmentally friendly, this is commonly done by reducing plastic use.

When creating a business there are 3 types of innovation available to you:

1. Iterative– Small changes made to an existing product, service or model
2. Radical– Large changes made to an existing product, service or model
3. Disruptive– Huge changes to an existing product, service or model

You should also consider how you are going to make your product, what it will be used for and where it will be used.

A commonly used method is UESTCA:

• User– Who will your target audience be?
• Environment– Where will it be used?
• Scenarios– What will it do or be used in?
• Technology– What technology will be used?
• Competition–Are there any competitors in the field currently?
• Aesthetics– What will your idea look/feel/sound/smell/taste like?

Once the aforementioned principles have been evaluated a business model can be created, there are 9 building blocks to a business plan:

1. Customer segment: The target audience that your product or service is aimed at. These people will have certain needs, behaviours and/or interests that you product will be linked to.
2. Value propositions: Things that need to be overcome that will make consumers choose your product. Can be either qualitative or quantitative.
3. Channels: The way in which you make your product known to the consumer. The method chosen should be the one that works best for the consumers and is most efficient.
4. Customer relationships: How you interact with your customers. Can be either personal or automatic. Could be driven by customer acquisition, retention or/and sale boosting.
5. Revenue streams: The income that your company produces from each customer segment. Either transactional or recurring.
6. Key resources: What allows your company to offer the product or service, reach markets, maintain relationships and earn revenue.
7. Key activities: Production, problem solving and platform/network.
8. Key partnerships: The network of suppliers and partners you associate with.
9. Cost structure: Defining which costs are the most important and expensive is required to determine the money left over for business.

My thoughts

Having always liked the idea of starting my own business, I found these lectures very interesting. I now understand what it takes to start your own business and also all the different aspects that are needed to be considered. There were some things I had never considered and so the lecture series overall was very interesting.