When I walked into the room for the Global People Club Masterclass on the Business Model Canvas (BMC), led by Janice Mueller, I carried a latent idea. As an ESG professional focused on strategy and impact, I’ve long observed a gap in the market—a fascinating intersection between an urgent social need and an untapped business opportunity. But, like many ideas that live only in our heads—or like the anxiety of an unplanned career transition—it felt diffuse, a messy mix of intentions, fears, and possibilities.
The atmosphere in the room was unlike that of a traditional corporate workshop. Under the careful curation of Global People Transitions, whose mission is to bring the “human touch” back to global mobility, the environment wasn’t about competition, but safe construction. Janice didn’t impose a rigid format or case studies distant from our reality. She gave us the freedom—and the responsibility—to use the Canvas for whatever was most visceral in our current moment: structuring a real startup, designing a consulting service, or even mapping our own professional trajectory as if we were the product.
The environment quickly transformed into a laboratory of absolute concentration. Unlike workshops where talking is constant, here the silence was filled with the sound of pens on paper and minds working at full speed. Unfortunately, time flew, and we couldn’t hear everyone’s pitches at the end, but the energy in the room was palpable: everyone was building something new, giving shape to the future.
In my case, I decided to prototype something concrete and personal. I used the following hours to design the structure of a consulting service focused on the Silver Economy and digital inclusion for seniors.
I want to share how this tool transformed a “good idea” into a “strategic plan,” and why I believe every professional—entrepreneur, consultant, or executive in transition should do this exercise.
1 – Adopt the “You Inc.” Mindset
The first barrier to fall was the idea that the BMC is only for selling physical products or apps. The Canvas acts as a reality diagnostic tool. Often, we romanticize our business ideas or take a passive view of our careers, waiting for the market to “discover” us.
The BMC, with its nine blocks, demands that you take control and connect the dots. As I began filling out the board for my consulting project, the first lesson was about interconnection. I couldn’t just think about the “service” (what I want to do). I needed to think about how that service sustains itself, who pays for it, and crucially, who benefits from it.
For anyone in a career transition, this is valuable. It’s not enough to know you want to be a “Project Manager.” You need to fill in the blocks: What pain do I solve? (Value Proposition); Who hires me? (Customer Segments); How much does my hour cost vs. how much does the market pay? (Cost Structure and Revenue Streams). This mindset shift returns control. We stop being passive in the market to become active in managing our greatest asset: ourselves.
Questions for your reflection:
If your career were a company and you were the CEO, would you hire yourself today?
Where are the “holes” in your current model? do you have high costs (stress, time) and low revenue (satisfaction, money)?
2 – Define Your Value Proposition (Sell Solutions, Not Tasks)
The central block, the “Value Proposition,” was where I spent the most energy and where the magic happened. My initial idea was operational and straightforward: help seniors use technology. But looking at the Canvas through a B2B (Business-to-Business) lens, I realized this was insufficient. No company would pay for that alone.
Janice’s question echoed in the room: “What problem are you solving for your customer?”
If my customer is a company (a bank, a retailer, a healthcare company), the value proposition isn’t just “teaching how to use the app.” It is a business strategy and social impact. I refined my proposition right there on paper:
For the company: Reduction of customer service costs (call center), retention of senior clients, and fulfillment of the ESG agenda (specifically the Social and Age Diversity pillar).
For the end-user (the senior): Autonomy, inclusion, and digital dignity.
This clarity changed everything. I stopped designing “training” and began developing “strategic service consulting.” The Canvas forced me to level up my own game.
Questions for your reflection:
Look at your resume. Are you listing tasks (“made reports”) or solutions (“reduced regulatory risks”)?
What is the specific pain your boss or client has that only you can relieve?
3 – Segment Your Customers with Precision
In the enthusiasm of a new idea or a job search, the instinct is to want to embrace the world. We think our service is for “everyone.” The BMC forces us to choose, because whoever speaks to everyone, speaks to no one.
When prototyping my business, I had to be surgical: who suffers most financially from the digital exclusion of the elderly? It’s not young tech startups. It’s the traditional sectors with large customer bases. I identified banks, insurers, and healthcare companies as my priority target segments.
Lesson for your career:
If you are looking for a job in Switzerland or any competitive market, you cannot be “too generalist.” Who is your “Customer Segment”? Are they pharmaceutical multinationals? Are they NGOs? Are they local family businesses? Defining this on the Canvas dictates where you will spend your precious networking energy.
Questions for your reflection:
Who are the five companies or people who most need what you do well?
Are you adapting your language to theirs, or are you waiting for them to understand yours?
4 – Map Your Channels and Relationships
Having a brilliant value proposition for the Silver Economy is useless if I can’t reach the decision-makers in those companies. The “Channels” block was an exercise in humility and strategy.
How am I going to deliver this? Lectures? In-company workshops? Diagnostic reports?
And more importantly, how am I going to sell? Is it through LinkedIn? Is it through strategic partnerships?
Here, the connection with the coaching work I’ve been developing with Angela Weinberger made perfect sense. The Canvas visually showed that my most important “Key Resource” right now is my network. To make this consultancy viable, I don’t need a fancy office; I need to activate connections at strategic levels—Customer Experience Directors (CX), Heads of Sustainability, and Diversity & Inclusion Leaders. The business plan automatically became a focused networking plan.
Questions for your reflection:
How do people find out you exist?
Are you relying only on “sending resumes” (a low-efficiency channel) or are you building “relationship bridges” (a high-trust channel)?
5 – Create an Inventory Your Key Resources and Skills
To deliver this longevity-focused consultancy, what do I really need to have in my backpack? The “Key Resources” block forced me to take an honest inventory of my competencies.
Technical knowledge? Yes, I have experience in strategy, processes, and ESG.
Specific methodology? I need to develop or adapt one.
Partners? I might need UX (User Experience) specialists focused on the elderly, as I am not a designer.
This block is fundamental for anyone planning upskilling. When looking at what your “business” (your career) requires to function, you stop taking random courses just because they are trendy. You start investing in what is critical for your delivery. In my case, this validated my current focus on business management and global strategy through my CAS at the University of St. Gallen, as I need to speak the language of executives to sell inclusion as a business strategy.
Questions for your reflection:
What are the three skills you are missing to take the next step?
Are you investing time and money to acquire them, or are you just waiting for them to appear?
6 – Visualize the Impact (Financial and Social)
As an ESG professional, the bottom blocks of the Canvas—”Cost Structure” and “Revenue Streams”—take on a special meaning. Traditionally, this is just about money. But in the model I designed, financial profit goes hand in hand with social impact.
The Masterclass allowed me to visualize how digital inclusion for the elderly is not corporate philanthropy; it is a survival and profitability strategy for companies in countries with aging populations (like Switzerland and, increasingly, Brazil).
The BMC helped me make the intangible tangible. I could see how to transform a social cause (combating ageism and digital exclusion) into a sustainable revenue stream for my clients and me. This gave me renewed confidence in the project’s viability. It is not just a “side project” or volunteer work; it is a consultancy with real market potential.
Questions for your reflection:
What is the “profit” you seek in your career? Is it just salary, or does it include purpose, flexibility, and impact?
Does your current “cost” (stress, work hours) match the “revenue” you are receiving?
7 – Accept Imperfection and Iteration
Perhaps the most liberating lesson of the day was the permission to be imperfect. The canvas I filled out is not a contract signed in stone. It is a prototype. It is a living hypothesis.
Janice encouraged us to see it as a dynamic document. If tomorrow I discover that banks aren’t interested, but telemedicine companies are, I move the post-it on “Customer Segments.” If I realize that the full consultancy is too complex to sell right now, I can pivot to simpler educational products.
This flexibility takes away the paralyzing weight of having to have “all the answers now.” Whether prototyping a business in the Silver Economy or planning the next 5 years of your international corporate career, you only need the best hypothesis for today. The important thing is to start testing.
Questions for your reflection:
What would you do today if you weren’t afraid of having to change the plan tomorrow?
What is the smallest step (the “Minimum Viable Product”) you can take this week to test your new career idea?
Clarity is Power
I left the Masterclass with my notebook full of notes and a sketch that, hours before, was just a cloud of thoughts. The Business Model Canvas tool, when applied with intentionality, offers something rare and precious these days: strategic clarity.
For me, it validated that the intersection of business strategy, ESG, and the Silver Economy is a promising, necessary, and viable path. For you, it can serve as the basis for your next promotion, your move to a new country, or that project that has been in the drawer for years.
My final recommendation? Take the idea out of your head. Please put it in the nine blocks. Treat your career and your projects with the rigor of a CEO, but with the curiosity of a scientist testing hypotheses. The result might surprise you—and the market.
About the Author
Adriana Gasser | ESG & Governance Strategist
Adriana Gasser is an “Architect of Resilient Growth” with over 15 years of global experience. A specialist in transforming sustainability challenges into commercial value, she combines the strategic vision of consulting with practical experience in complex supply chains (with a background in the agribusiness sector). Currently based in Switzerland, Adriana is pursuing a CAS in Business Management at the University of St. Gallen (HSG). Her passion is building bridges between the technical excellence of European standards (ESRS) and the operational reality of businesses, focusing on governance, transparency, and social impact. Connect with her on LinkedIn.
A Guest Post by Adriana Gasser
When I walked into the room for the Global People Club Masterclass on the Business Model Canvas (BMC), led by Janice Mueller, I carried a latent idea. As an ESG professional focused on strategy and impact, I’ve long observed a gap in the market—a fascinating intersection between an urgent social need and an untapped business opportunity. But, like many ideas that live only in our heads—or like the anxiety of an unplanned career transition—it felt diffuse, a messy mix of intentions, fears, and possibilities.
The atmosphere in the room was unlike that of a traditional corporate workshop. Under the careful curation of Global People Transitions, whose mission is to bring the “human touch” back to global mobility, the environment wasn’t about competition, but safe construction. Janice didn’t impose a rigid format or case studies distant from our reality. She gave us the freedom—and the responsibility—to use the Canvas for whatever was most visceral in our current moment: structuring a real startup, designing a consulting service, or even mapping our own professional trajectory as if we were the product.
The environment quickly transformed into a laboratory of absolute concentration. Unlike workshops where talking is constant, here the silence was filled with the sound of pens on paper and minds working at full speed. Unfortunately, time flew, and we couldn’t hear everyone’s pitches at the end, but the energy in the room was palpable: everyone was building something new, giving shape to the future.
In my case, I decided to prototype something concrete and personal. I used the following hours to design the structure of a consulting service focused on the Silver Economy and digital inclusion for seniors.
I want to share how this tool transformed a “good idea” into a “strategic plan,” and why I believe every professional—entrepreneur, consultant, or executive in transition should do this exercise.
1 – Adopt the “You Inc.” Mindset
The first barrier to fall was the idea that the BMC is only for selling physical products or apps. The Canvas acts as a reality diagnostic tool. Often, we romanticize our business ideas or take a passive view of our careers, waiting for the market to “discover” us.
The BMC, with its nine blocks, demands that you take control and connect the dots. As I began filling out the board for my consulting project, the first lesson was about interconnection. I couldn’t just think about the “service” (what I want to do). I needed to think about how that service sustains itself, who pays for it, and crucially, who benefits from it.
For anyone in a career transition, this is valuable. It’s not enough to know you want to be a “Project Manager.” You need to fill in the blocks: What pain do I solve? (Value Proposition); Who hires me? (Customer Segments); How much does my hour cost vs. how much does the market pay? (Cost Structure and Revenue Streams). This mindset shift returns control. We stop being passive in the market to become active in managing our greatest asset: ourselves.
Questions for your reflection:
2 – Define Your Value Proposition (Sell Solutions, Not Tasks)
The central block, the “Value Proposition,” was where I spent the most energy and where the magic happened. My initial idea was operational and straightforward: help seniors use technology. But looking at the Canvas through a B2B (Business-to-Business) lens, I realized this was insufficient. No company would pay for that alone.
Janice’s question echoed in the room: “What problem are you solving for your customer?”
If my customer is a company (a bank, a retailer, a healthcare company), the value proposition isn’t just “teaching how to use the app.” It is a business strategy and social impact. I refined my proposition right there on paper:
This clarity changed everything. I stopped designing “training” and began developing “strategic service consulting.” The Canvas forced me to level up my own game.
Questions for your reflection:
3 – Segment Your Customers with Precision
In the enthusiasm of a new idea or a job search, the instinct is to want to embrace the world. We think our service is for “everyone.” The BMC forces us to choose, because whoever speaks to everyone, speaks to no one.
When prototyping my business, I had to be surgical: who suffers most financially from the digital exclusion of the elderly? It’s not young tech startups. It’s the traditional sectors with large customer bases. I identified banks, insurers, and healthcare companies as my priority target segments.
Lesson for your career:
If you are looking for a job in Switzerland or any competitive market, you cannot be “too generalist.” Who is your “Customer Segment”? Are they pharmaceutical multinationals? Are they NGOs? Are they local family businesses? Defining this on the Canvas dictates where you will spend your precious networking energy.
Questions for your reflection:
4 – Map Your Channels and Relationships
Having a brilliant value proposition for the Silver Economy is useless if I can’t reach the decision-makers in those companies. The “Channels” block was an exercise in humility and strategy.
How am I going to deliver this? Lectures? In-company workshops? Diagnostic reports?
And more importantly, how am I going to sell? Is it through LinkedIn? Is it through strategic partnerships?
Here, the connection with the coaching work I’ve been developing with Angela Weinberger made perfect sense. The Canvas visually showed that my most important “Key Resource” right now is my network. To make this consultancy viable, I don’t need a fancy office; I need to activate connections at strategic levels—Customer Experience Directors (CX), Heads of Sustainability, and Diversity & Inclusion Leaders. The business plan automatically became a focused networking plan.
Questions for your reflection:
5 – Create an Inventory Your Key Resources and Skills
To deliver this longevity-focused consultancy, what do I really need to have in my backpack? The “Key Resources” block forced me to take an honest inventory of my competencies.
This block is fundamental for anyone planning upskilling. When looking at what your “business” (your career) requires to function, you stop taking random courses just because they are trendy. You start investing in what is critical for your delivery. In my case, this validated my current focus on business management and global strategy through my CAS at the University of St. Gallen, as I need to speak the language of executives to sell inclusion as a business strategy.
Questions for your reflection:
6 – Visualize the Impact (Financial and Social)
As an ESG professional, the bottom blocks of the Canvas—”Cost Structure” and “Revenue Streams”—take on a special meaning. Traditionally, this is just about money. But in the model I designed, financial profit goes hand in hand with social impact.
The Masterclass allowed me to visualize how digital inclusion for the elderly is not corporate philanthropy; it is a survival and profitability strategy for companies in countries with aging populations (like Switzerland and, increasingly, Brazil).
The BMC helped me make the intangible tangible. I could see how to transform a social cause (combating ageism and digital exclusion) into a sustainable revenue stream for my clients and me. This gave me renewed confidence in the project’s viability. It is not just a “side project” or volunteer work; it is a consultancy with real market potential.
Questions for your reflection:
7 – Accept Imperfection and Iteration
Perhaps the most liberating lesson of the day was the permission to be imperfect. The canvas I filled out is not a contract signed in stone. It is a prototype. It is a living hypothesis.
Janice encouraged us to see it as a dynamic document. If tomorrow I discover that banks aren’t interested, but telemedicine companies are, I move the post-it on “Customer Segments.” If I realize that the full consultancy is too complex to sell right now, I can pivot to simpler educational products.
This flexibility takes away the paralyzing weight of having to have “all the answers now.” Whether prototyping a business in the Silver Economy or planning the next 5 years of your international corporate career, you only need the best hypothesis for today. The important thing is to start testing.
Questions for your reflection:
Clarity is Power
I left the Masterclass with my notebook full of notes and a sketch that, hours before, was just a cloud of thoughts. The Business Model Canvas tool, when applied with intentionality, offers something rare and precious these days: strategic clarity.
For me, it validated that the intersection of business strategy, ESG, and the Silver Economy is a promising, necessary, and viable path. For you, it can serve as the basis for your next promotion, your move to a new country, or that project that has been in the drawer for years.
My final recommendation? Take the idea out of your head. Please put it in the nine blocks. Treat your career and your projects with the rigor of a CEO, but with the curiosity of a scientist testing hypotheses. The result might surprise you—and the market.
Adriana Gasser | ESG & Governance Strategist
Adriana Gasser is an “Architect of Resilient Growth” with over 15 years of global experience. A specialist in transforming sustainability challenges into commercial value, she combines the strategic vision of consulting with practical experience in complex supply chains (with a background in the agribusiness sector). Currently based in Switzerland, Adriana is pursuing a CAS in Business Management at the University of St. Gallen (HSG). Her passion is building bridges between the technical excellence of European standards (ESRS) and the operational reality of businesses, focusing on governance, transparency, and social impact. Connect with her on LinkedIn.