“A business model is the manner in which you provide value to your customer that is paid for (by whom – is considered in the questions below). You cover your costs and make a profit on a sustainable basis.”
If you are a small business, you rarely think of your business as having a business model. But it does. It does because the moment you have a single paying customer, she is paying for the value you create. It is another matter, if your business makes a profit consistently over the long term. Sustainable profit is why it is important to understand the business model concept.Here is a definition based on the highly cited article by David Teece.