The Business Model Handbook
Finance · Nº 28
The Business Model Handbook
From the Canvas to Your First Test
Your idea looks good. Your reserve took years to build. Test one before you bet the other.
24 tools, a spreadsheet that does the math, and one laundry owner's idea followed from a one-page canvas to a small paid test, so you find out what holds up before the real money goes in.
You get 24 tools to map your model on one page, interview customers without fishing for compliments, run the numbers for a single customer, and test with a presale before you invest. Plus 12 templates and a 6-tab spreadsheet.
A book explains the method. This handbook puts it to work: the tool, a worked example, and a spreadsheet with your numbers.
One-time payment of $29.00. The order form shows the final amount, with any taxes for your country, before you pay.
Digital delivery: PDF handbook, spreadsheet and access on the Consylion platform.
14-day money-back guarantee: if it isn't what you expected, request a full refund within 14 days of purchase.
Your order is processed by Digistore24, our authorized reseller. By purchasing, you accept the terms of use and purchase · refund policy.
The idea has been in your head for a while: a second location, a subscription, a new line, selling online. Your friends say they'd buy. Your five-year spreadsheet adds up nicely. And the money you'd need is the reserve it took you years to build. So you go back and forth between two bad options: bet it all because it feels right, or keep putting it off because there's no way to know.
THE SPREADSHEET
Business model spreadsheet
Use the completed example as a reference and enter your business data in the marked fields. Check the instructions and the calculations before you make a decision.
SOUND FAMILIAR?
Three situations this handbook solves
Before you sign the lease
The second location looks like the obvious next step. You map the model on one page first, mark which blocks are proven and which are guesses, and see exactly what the new place would be betting on.
Friends say they'd totally buy it
Nice to hear, worth nothing. You pull out the interview script and ask people what they did the last time they had the problem and what they paid. The answers sound very different from "I'd buy that."
The test results come in
Six weeks later, you put the measured numbers next to the cutoffs you wrote down before you started. What passed stays. What failed changes one piece, gets a new test, and gets a date.
INSIDE
What you'll find in each tool
Five parts, from the idea to the plan. Map the model on one page and separate what's proven from what's a guess. Find the customer who actually has the problem. Run the numbers for one customer per month. Test the riskiest assumption with real money, on a small budget. Then turn the results into a staged plan. Every tool has a step by step, a worked example, and a short exercise.
WHAT YOU GET
Everything included in your purchase
- The Business Model Handbook in PDF: 24 tools, each with a step by step, a worked example, and an exercise
- The Business model spreadsheet in Excel and Google Sheets, with 6 tabs: Canvas, Customer, Unit economics, Investment, Tests, and Plan
- The Template kit: 12 ready-made templates, including an interview script, a test card, a presale page and message, and a lean business plan
- 2 worksheets to fill in (business model canvas and test) and a 30-day plan, one week per stage
- Access to your handbook on the Consylion platform
Full table of contents
The 24 tools, in the order you'll use them
Part 1 · Part 1 · The model on one page
- 01The model in one sentenceWho you serve, what you deliver, how you charge, and why there's margin left at the end
- 02Business Model CanvasThe nine blocks of your business on one sheet, from customer to cost
- 03The assumptions on the canvasMark what's already proven and what's still a guess
- 04A Lean Canvas for the new ideaProblem, customer, solution, and the metric that matters, before you invest
Part 2 · Part 2 · The customer and the problem
- 05The first customerFind the people who have the pain, know it, and are already trying to fix it
- 06Fitting the offer to the painLine up what the customer does, what bugs them, and what you actually solve
- 07Interviews that don't lieAsk about what people did, not what they'd do, so nobody's just being polite
- 08Today's alternativeWhat customers use now, and what it would take for them to switch
Part 3 · Part 3 · How money comes in and goes out
- 09How to chargePay per use, bundle, or subscription, and what each one does to your cash
- 10Unit economicsPrice, variable costs, and margin for one customer per month
- 11Acquisition cost and customer valueWhat it costs to win a customer, what they bring back, and how fast
- 12Make or buyWhat to build yourself, what to rent, and what to hand to a partner
- 13Investment and returnHow much to put in, when it breaks even, and whether your reserve can take the hit
Part 4 · Part 4 · Test before you invest
- 14The riskiest assumptionThe one guess that brings everything else down if it's wrong
- 15Cutoff numberThe success number, written down before the test starts
- 16Minimum viable productThe simplest version that still delivers the real value
- 17PresaleGet paying customers before you buy the equipment
- 18Pivot or persevereKeep going, change one piece, or stop, on a date you set in advance
Part 5 · Part 5 · From test to plan
- 19The deciding metricOne number per phase that tells you whether the model is moving
- 20Three scenariosPessimistic, likely, and optimistic for the next 12 months, with a response for each
- 21Staged investmentSplit the money into stages, each with an amount, a trigger, and a deadline
- 22The advantage that lastsWhat makes your model hard for a competitor to copy
- 23Lean business planSix questions answered in a few pages instead of five years of guesses
- 24Model reviewRevisit the canvas every quarter with the new numbers
Who it's for
It's for you if
- You have an idea for a new business, a new line, or a new way to charge, and don't know if it's worth the investment
- You're about to open a location, launch a service, or switch to subscriptions and want to test it first
- You already built a five-year spreadsheet and don't trust the numbers in it
- You want to know whether the business you run today holds up, and where it's fragile
It's not for you if
- You want to package an offer for a product that already exists, with bundles and bonuses. That's The Offer Handbook
- You need the company's annual plan, with targets for every area. For that, see The Strategy and Planning Handbook
- You're raising money from investors, need a valuation, or want a consultant to write a plan for the bank
- You want someone to promise the idea will turn a profit. This gives you a way to test it, not a prediction
Frequently asked questions
My idea is small. Do I need all of this?
No. If the idea fits within a month's cash, write the one-sentence model, run the unit numbers, do five interviews, and try a presale. That's four tools. The whole handbook is for ideas that call for part of your reserve.
What if my idea can't be tested in advance?
Almost any idea can be partly tested. You can't run half a machine, but you can land the first firm order before you buy it. The handbook shows you how to find the riskiest assumption and test only that.
Isn't charging before I deliver bad for my reputation?
Only if the rules aren't in writing. The presale tool walks you through a start date and clear terms for the customer, and flags what to check with your lawyer about the buyer's right to cancel in your country before you open it.
Do I need to be good with numbers?
No. It's written for beginners, and every tool has a worked example. The spreadsheet does the math on unit economics, break-even, and scenarios. You type your numbers into the input cells and the rest updates.
Will this work for my kind of business?
If you have an idea that needs money to get going, yes. The example is a laundry, but every tool shows how it applies to services, retail, manufacturing and distribution, and independent professionals.
How much time does this take?
About 2 hours and 24 minutes of reading, or 6 minutes per tool, plus the exercises. The 30-day plan takes one real idea from paper to its first paid test: map it, listen to the customer, run the numbers, launch the test.
What do I get, and in what formats?
Each handbook is a PDF of about 100 pages with 24 to 27 tools. Every tool has step-by-step instructions and a worked example. You also get the handbook's spreadsheet in Excel (.xlsx), which opens in Google Sheets too, with the example already filled in. The message, policy, and clause templates are in the Template Kit inside the PDF, ready to copy and adapt. Read it in the member area or download the files.
How do I know if it fits my business?
Each handbook's page shows the problem it solves, who it is for and who it is not for, the full table of contents, sample pages, and the company used in the examples. The examples come from small businesses in several industries, with illustrative numbers. If it is not a fit, you can ask for a full refund within 14 days of your purchase, as described in the Refund Policy.
What is the difference between a handbook, an area set, and the Series?
A handbook solves one problem. An area set brings together every handbook and spreadsheet in one of the 6 areas, for less than the price of 5 single handbooks. The Consylion Handbook Series brings together all 100 handbooks and 100 spreadsheets, for less than the price of 8 single handbooks, and includes the next handbooks in the Series. Products outside the Series, from Consylion Life or Consylion Business, have their own price. They are sold separately and are not part of an area set or the Series.
Do I need to read everything before I start?
No. Each tool works on its own. Open the table of contents, pick the tool for today's problem, and start there. You can also read it cover to cover.
Do I need to know Excel?
The basics are enough: open the file and fill in the marked fields. The formulas are already built, and the handbook's example is filled in for reference.
How do I pay, and when do I get access?
By card or bank transfer, as a one-time payment with no subscription. Once your payment is confirmed, you get access to the member area by email. Approved card payments are confirmed right away. Bank transfers are confirmed when the funds clear. If access does not arrive within 24 hours of confirmation, check your spam folder and write to team@consylion.org.
How long do I have access, and how can I use the files?
Access does not expire, and you can download the files for offline use. The license is individual. You may read the handbooks, print them for your own use, and fill in and adapt the spreadsheet and templates with your company's data. If you are a consultant, accountant, or manager, you may apply the tools with your clients and deliver the result of your work, not the files. You may not share, resell, or distribute the files or the access.
How do support and refunds work?
Support is by email at team@consylion.org, on business days, with a reply within 5 business days. It covers questions about access, files, and payment. It does not include consulting or advice on applying the material to your case. You can cancel within 14 days of your purchase, without giving a reason, and get the full amount back through the payment method you used. Send the request to the same email. The details are in the Refund Policy.
CONSYLION HANDBOOK SERIES
The 6 departments of your business, for less than the price of 8 single handbooks.
This handbook solves today's problem. The Series solves the next one, and the one after that, with nothing more to pay.
- 100 handbooks with 2,403 ready-made tools, to read on screen and download as PDFs
- 100 spreadsheets for Excel and Google Sheets
- 6 business areas
- Lifetime access, unlocked once payment is confirmed
One-time payment of $197.00. The order form shows the final amount, with any taxes for your country, before you pay.
Digital delivery: PDF handbook, spreadsheet and access on the Consylion platform.
14-day money-back guarantee: if it isn't what you expected, request a full refund within 14 days of purchase.
Your order is processed by Digistore24, our authorized reseller. By purchasing, you accept the terms of use and purchase · refund policy.
Finance · Nº 28
Find out what holds up before you spend the reserve
Write your idea in one sentence, the way it sits in your head today. Then map it, put it in front of real customers, run the numbers, and test the riskiest part on a small budget. Whatever you decide after that, you'll be deciding with numbers in hand.
See all 100 handbooks · $197.00
One-time payment of $29.00. The order form shows the final amount, with any taxes for your country, before you pay.
Digital delivery: PDF handbook, spreadsheet and access on the Consylion platform.
14-day money-back guarantee: if it isn't what you expected, request a full refund within 14 days of purchase.
Your order is processed by Digistore24, our authorized reseller. By purchasing, you accept the terms of use and purchase · refund policy.