A Fresh Look At The Lean Canvas | The Entrepreneur's Doctor

I was literally just watching Dragon's Den. Similar to Shark Tank in the US, it's one of my favourite shows on TV. 

I always struggle when I see entrepreneurs trying to communicate their idea and really having a hard time getting their message across or their idea across to the Sharks or the Dragons. 

This tool that I'm going to cover over the next four videos is called the Lean Business Model Canvas, or Lean Canvas for short. 

It makes your life a heck of a lot easier. Although you may be familiar with it and you may have used it in the past, the next four videos, very short bite-sized videos, are going to cover some perspective shifts that you might want to consider the next time you are either starting or growing your business, especially in the health sector.  

Lean Canvas for Health

When you're applying the lean canvas to your business, whether it's for profit or non-profit, the first thing you might do is go to either extreme, either side of the canvas.

On one side is the customer and knowing who they are, what their needs and desires are.

On the other side is a column for problems. What are the problems you want to solve?

Here's a slight perspective shift and let's take the health sector as an example.

I often see entrepreneurs looking at common problems, which are important, and we need to solve them. That may be issues with diagnostics or screening and preventive measures. It might be related to the health issue itself.

A perspective shift that I'd like you to consider is to start with your current market, with a view to future markets you might grow into and see who pays for those solutions. See who they're accountable to and what are they being measured for.

Solve those problems too.  

Innovation Without Limits

When we want to innovate in any sector, but let's take the health sector as an example, the first thing we do is come up with a problem and a solution for that.

Then we go out pitching our idea to partners and potentially investors and customers too.

Very quickly, whether it's external partners or indeed our own team, indeed ourselves, we can quickly throw stones at the idea and put it down.

I'm guilty of this too. We want to play devil's advocate.

A perspective shift that I'd like you to consider when you're innovating, when you're coming up with solutions, just park all the limitations to the side, just for a moment and have a think about, in the ideal circumstances, what would be the best solution for this problem?

If there were no obstacles in the way, look at what good looks like first, before you have to tweak and refine so that it's viable.

Value Proposition

One of the most important things that can make or break your business venture is lack of product-market fit.

The lean canvas helps you look at something that's really important for that right at the heart of the canvas, which is the unique value proposition.

Whenever I ask entrepreneurs, whether they're tech startups or coaches and consultants, they often respond with reasons that relate to themselves, such as:

• Why they're so different;
• Why they've got the experience to solve this problem;
• Why they have a unique solution.

What I want you to consider differently is shifting your perspective from you or your solution to your client and customers:

1. What's the unique value proposition they're looking for that's different from every other solution that's out there in the marketplace?
2. What are they looking for?

Meet that.

Lean Canvas for Life?

One of the common questions that I'm asked is, how do I move away from my job and transition into entrepreneurship?

Often that's because people are tired of their work, they feel frustrated or burnt out, and they think that entrepreneurship is the dream scenario.

It might be.

Here's how I want you to consider using the lean canvas differently from how we normally apply it. So, this time, rather than using the lean canvas to a specific business or a venture, this time apply it to your life.

This entire page, this entire canvas is now about you.

By applying every single component of that canvas to you, for example, who is it you want to help, what are the problems in the world that you want to solve, how are you different from everyone else, this allows you to ignore whether you're an employee or an entrepreneur and just focus your perspective on growth and service.

Hope this helps 😊

Keep thriving,

Behrooz, The Entrepreneur's Doctor

The Entrepreneur’s Doctor helps entrepreneurs create a healthier, happier world through a unique blend of consulting, coaching, and training.

• New to Health Entrepreneurship? 7 SECRETS.
• Health Expert Business Model? 12 WEEK BUSINESS LAUNCH ROADMAP.
• Looking to scale your business? SOLVE FOR FREEDOM.
• Feeling stuck in your business? STARTUP THERAPY.

Dr Behrooz Behbod is a Harvard & Oxford trained public health physician, with 25+ years of international experience across health, business, and education. 

Host of Tribe Talks, his vision is to see a world where every individual has access to better health and wellbeing. This includes high quality preventive, wellness, healthcare, and public health services. It also includes products and services that address the wider determinants of health, across all sectors.

DISCLAIMER: The content is provided for information only and is not intended as a substitute for medical or any other professional advice. The content is not necessarily representative of any organisations affiliated with Dr Behrooz Behbod. The views or opinions expressed by guests are not necessarily shared or endorsed by Dr Behrooz Behbod. Individual’s experience may not represent the typical participant. Your background, education, experience, and work ethic may differ. This is used as an example and not a guarantee of success. Your results may vary.