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MODEL FOR
MY CREATIVE BUSINESS
Guide to Completing the Business Canvas
for Creators
/ Mònica Rodríguez domestika.org

© 2019 Mónica Rodríguez Limia - All rights reserved

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• This business and/or creating motivates me and makes me happy

because...
• It’s my way of expressing myself and communicating my ideas with more
than just words.
• It allows me to communicate a message that I consider important.
• What is my cause?
• What benefits does it provide for me?
• Does it also provide some sort of benefit to other people? Can I improve

➞ WHAT DO I WANT? their lives? Does that bring me joy?

• I help people, the planet, animals...

WHY AM I DOING THIS? • I help save the planet through environmentally sustainable projects.
• I help a particular group for humanitarian reasons.
WHY DO I NEED TO • I want to improve society and make an impact on politics.

CREATE? • Why do I want to create a business based on my talent?

• I can maintain a certain lifestyle and share it.
• In addition to the basic needs detailed in Maslow’s hierarchy, your business
fulfills other important needs such as:
- Comfort and stability (physical and/or emotional)
- Sense of adventure and new experiences
- Meaning and purpose in life
- Love for and connection with something, someone, or a group
- Feeling of growth or evolution
- Contribution to the world and the society you live in, leaving a legacy

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What makes me special as a person?

• What areyou like? What is your hallmark? What do you contribute to your
business? And to your products and/or services?
• Your attitudes, aptitudes, professional competencies, strengths, qualities,

➞ WHAT MAKES ME
abilities, skills...
• What are your natural talents? In what areas do you stand out? The things

SPECIAL? WHAT
you do well almost unintentionally, with no effort.
• What do people ask you for when they need help?

MAKES ME UNIQUE
• Out of all the jobs you’ve had, which ones were you good at even if you
didn’t like them very much? What were you able to do easily, what did you

AND SETS ME APART

love, and what could you do over and over again without getting bored?
• What are your strengths? What are your weaknesses?

FROM OTHERS? AND • What does your spouse / significant other, family, friends, and
current/former coworkers think your strengths and weaknesses are?

WHAT ABOUT MY
• What do your clients reflect about you as a person (about you, not about
your business or your product/service)? And what would you like for them

PRODUCTS AND/OR
to say about you? Does your business already have these characteristics?
• What is the best compliment someone has given you and the job you've

SERVICES? WHAT
liked most? What other compliments would you like to receive?
• What thing or quality would you like to be recognized for? What would you

EXPERIENCES DO I
like for a reporter to highlight about you after an interview?
• What problems do you solve? Which of these in particular are you
especially decisive about?
PROVIDE? • Which projects are you proudest of? Which ones do you like doing most?
• What do you enjoy more, working alone or working on a team? Do you like
doing everything yourself from start to finish, or are there parts that you
prefer to delegate?
• Do you like commissioned work or creating your own designs? Do you
prefer short-term or long-term projects?

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What makes me, my business, and my product/service

special?
➞ WHAT MAKES ME
SPECIAL? WHAT • What was the best compliment you’ve received regarding yourself and your
work?
MAKES ME UNIQUE • What are your values? What qualities do you value in others and also reflect

AND SETS ME APART yourself? Honesty, sustainability, durability, design, beauty, love, breaking
the status quo... What qualities or values would you liked to be recognized

FROM OTHERS? AND for and become popular for?

• What are your principles? What rules or precepts do you need to follow in
WHAT ABOUT MY order to have a clean conscience?

PRODUCTS AND/OR
• What are the characteristics of your product and/or service? The strengths
and weaknesses of your product and/or service and your business. What do

SERVICES? WHAT the people who buy and use your creations say or what would you like for
them to say?
EXPERIENCES DO I • What do you think you’re truly good at?

PROVIDE?
• What do you as a client value in a product or service? And what do you
value in its creator or company? What are your customer service
expectations?

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• Are your clients men or women? Both?

• What is their age?
• Level of education?
• What is their purchasing power? Financial situation?
• What sort of careers do they have? Write down three careers they might
have.
• Are they single or married? What are their spouses / significant others like?
➞ WHO ARE MY CLIENT- •
Do they have children?
Geographical location? Where do they live? In a big or small city, in a
FRIENDS AND WHAT ARE town...?

THEY LIKE? WHERE IS MY • What is their home like? Do they live in apartments or houses? What type of
furniture do they have in their homes? Furniture, objects... What style do
TRIBE? •
they reflect and what materials are they made of?
What do they use most in their day-to-day? What things or objects do they
use a lot?
• What types of products do they buy? Organic, sustainable, cosmetics,
health, homeware...
• Which ones do they spend the most money on? Which ones do they value
most and don’t mind paying for? Clothes, technology, furniture, books...
Organic, sustainable, innovative, classic, and durable products.

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• How do they have fun? What recreational activities do they participate in

during the week?
• Where do they go on the weekends? And on vacation?
• Why do they buy? Do they always buy for personal use or do they like to
give gifts and share?

➞ WHO ARE MY CLIENT- • When do they buy? Do they tend to do so at special times of the year? Do
they improvise?

FRIENDS AND WHAT ARE • Where do they buy? At shopping malls or at small stores? Online or at
physical stores? Why do they buy at these places? Because it’s convenient,
THEY LIKE? WHERE IS MY because of good customer service, because they can find everything in one

TRIBE? place, because they are specialized stores...

• Is customer service important to them? What about post-sale follow-up?
• Do they value the details? Do details influence their decision to buy? The
packaging, the bag, an extra gift...
• How do they stay informed? What type of information do they consume?
TV, radio, magazines, newspapers... Do they read online content? Magazines,
platforms, blogs, social media... Do they like videos?

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• What do they base their purchasing decisions on? Do they look for
ecommendations? From whom? What do the people who influence them
most say to them?
• What do your clients see in their social environments? Among friends,
family, coworkers... What do these people buy? Do they buy the same
things as your clients? Do they share the same interests, or do they have
hobbies that they only share with certain people?
➞ WHO ARE MY CLIENT- • Do they like to look for information on the product or service before buying
it or do they buy on impulse?
FRIENDS AND WHAT ARE • Do they keep cutouts or images of objects until they are able to buy these

THEY LIKE? WHERE IS MY items?

• What do they feel when they acquire a product or service? What do they
TRIBE? need for it to provide, either consciously or unconsciously? Happiness, a
clean conscious, coherence, good health, security...
• What do they think? What do they feel? What worries or concerns do they
have? What are their aspirations in life or their measures of success? What
would they like to be or have? Their hopes, dreams, and longings.
• What are their fears, frustrations, and obstacles? What products/services
alleviate them?
• What results do they expect on a practical, functional, or emotional level?

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➞ WHAT DO I
PROVIDE FOR MY
CLIENTS?
How do I improve their lives?
What are the benefits they’ll
obtain by buying what I sell?
Do I help solve a problem or
frustration for them?
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• What do I provide for their lives or businesses? What will be better if they buy
my product and/or service?
• When they use my product and/or service, do I make them happier? Will they
feel better when they buy it, use it, and experience its effects?
• Will something change in their lives?
• Do I make their day-to-day more comfortable or enjoyable?
• Do I ease a frustration for them? Do I solve a problem for them, either practical,
physical, or emotional?
• Does their physical or mental health improve? What will help them have a
clean conscience or make them feel that their actions are coherent with their
beliefs?
• Can I help alleviate their worries? Will the product/service provide security?
What type of security?
• Do I help them save time or money?
• Will the product/service have an immediate and/or lasting effect?
• Will clients enjoy sharing the product/service with others? If they use the
product/service with others, will it be better than using it alone? Do I help make
their time with friends and family more special? Will it have some sort of effect
on them?
• Will they feel that they belong to a group that is bigger than themselves and
that they can trigger some sort of change in the world through their actions?
• What will their friends and family tell them about their experience?
• You as a client...
- What do you look for in a product or service? How does it help you? What
problems does it solve for you?
- What do you value when making a purchasing decision?
© 2019 Mónica Rodríguez Limia - All rights reserved
/ Mònica Rodríguez
➞ MY SOURCES OF
INCOME
What are my products and/or
services and what are they like? Do I
also have passive income?
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• Do I want to sell raw materials, kits, or finished products?
• Do I want to offer my services through commissions?
• Do I offer classes or workshops? In-person or online education?
• Passive income: books, e-books...
• Other sources of income: sharing a space, renting out tools...
• Are my projects commissioned or of my own design?
• Are my projects short-term or long-term?
• ...
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• Physical space: studio, store...

➞ MY • Technology: computer, printer, software...

• Materials
INFRASTRUCTURE • Tools
What do I need for everything • Machinery: ovens/kilns, sewing machine, die-cutting machine...
to work? • Others: tables, chairs, whiteboards...
• ...

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• What do you enjoy more, working alone or working on a team?

➞ WHOM DO I BUILD
A TEAM WITH?
Providers, collaborators, in-house
personnel, outsourced personnel...
• Do you like doing everything yourself from start to finish or are there parts
that you prefer not to do and delegate instead?
• Do you have difficulty making tough decisions or do you prefer to share
these responsibilities with one or more colleagues?
• Do you know how you want things and prefer to complete management
tasks on your own while still working with a team or occasional
collaborators?
• ...

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/ Mònica Rodríguez
➞ HOW DO I
COMMUNICATE
WITH MY CLIENTS?
How do I reach my clients and
how do I communicate with
them?
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• Corporate image: graphics, photos, audio, video
• Copywriting and storytelling: my text and my communication style
• Stationery: business cards, letterheads, invoices...
• Cards, pamphlets, postcards...
• Packaging and bags
• Website
• Social media
• Email marketing
• Press releases
• Online and offline communication media
• Event participation
• ...
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• Trade shows
• Marketplaces
• Social media
• Online store

➞ WHAT ARE MY SALES •

•
Online marketplaces
Online sales platforms
CHANNELS? • Studio-store
What or whom do I sell through? • Store
• Intermediaries (retailers/wholesalers)
• Art gallery
• Pop-ups
• ...

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➞ GUIDE TO THE • Colors

VISUAL STYLE OF • Shapes

MY WORLD AND MY • Textures

TRIBE • Places

What is it like? What things do I • People

like and which of those things
are transferred to my • Objects

creations? • ...

© 2019 Mónica Rodríguez Limia - All rights reserved

/ Mònica Rodríguez domestika.org