Business model is the term for a company’s plan as to how it will earn revenue. The model includes plans for the way the company will market itself to secure and keep customers; as well as the type of assets it will purchase to run the business and the types of expenses it will incur.Frequently, a company will start out with a business model for one type of business opportunity prior to opening, and then after opening, will secure new types of opportunities that result in substantial changes to the original plan. This was very common during the dotcom boom, which may be an indication that many dotcom business models were not well planned. There are many different types of business models, and most have existed almost as long as people have been engaging in commerce. Direct sales, franchising, and retail brick-and-mortar stores are all traditional business models. Other types of business models have come about because of the Internet. Those include bricks-and-clicks, which is a business that combines both its physical presence with its online presence. Other tech business models are advertising based, where the company provides free services or information, and earns revenue by selling advertisements. This is just a modern variation on the business model of print journalism and magazine ads. No one business model is superior to another. What makes a business model successful is the passion and ability of the people who execute it.
