The following resources and business tools will be utilized throughout the Business Health Check program. They are professional business development resources to which the Innovation Connector subscribes to assist business clients.  These resources are included in the client program fees.

ProjectionHub helps entrepreneurs create financial projections for potential lenders and internal planning.  For existing businesses, the historical financial information will be entered into one of the projection templates as a baseline.  Once a baseline has been established, different assumptions can be created for different business scenarios.  For example, what would be the financial impact for a business to hire another employee, what would it look like for a business to expand its capacity to serve additional customers, or what would be the impact on cash flow if the business bought in bulk and increased to increase gross profit margins, etc.

The GrowthWheel is designed around the observation that all businesses – in all industries and life stages – have four lasting challenges in common: They must create an attractive Business Concept, build a strong Organization behind it, develop lasting Client Relations, and do so while maintaining profitable Operations. GrowthWheel breaks down the 4 challenges into 20 Focus Areas. This gives a 360° view of business decisions and maps out what areas clients need to focus on.  The GrowthWheel framework is used to start structured conversations about a business and helps the entrepreneur identify the company’s opportunities and challenges. Using the framework, a business owner can avoid blind spots and identify the most important focus areas impacting business. The GrowthWheel wheel model serves as the main checklist for what steps to take next.

Business Model Canvas (BMC) is a strategic management tool used by entrepreneurs and business managers to visualize, analyze, and iterate upon the key components of a business model. It was developed by Alexander Osterwalder and Yves Pigneur and first introduced in their book “Business Model Generation.” The BMC consists of nine building blocks representing a business’s key aspects. To use the Business Model Canvas effectively, a team typically gathers to brainstorm and fill in each building block with relevant information. It encourages collaboration, discussion, and strategic thinking, enabling stakeholders to understand the business model holistically and identify areas for improvement or innovation. Additionally, the BMC can be continuously updated and adapted as the business evolves or responds to market changes. Overall, it serves as a concise and visual tool for designing, analyzing, and communicating business models.