- All successful business is based on a key idea, that is the offer of value made to the market, a product or a service that could satisfy a need, that is, something that solves a problem for the customer and is willing to pay.

- The business model expresses the value proposition that a company makes to the market, and it describes the way in which that value is created, distributed and retained.

-  It is important to make a deep reflection on what is our specific value proposition and what kind of customer needs and expectancies are we trying to satisfy

- For Art&Craft microenterprises, the value proposition must turn around the artistic, artisanal or traditional attributes of the product, such as originality, creativity, heritage value, natural or original materials, ancestral knowledge used for its elaboration, etc., that could set their differential against industrial products.

- In a global market, the consumption needs are practically endless, and it is possible to find a niche or a market segment for any type of product. This gives great opportunities for the commercialization of handmade and original products

- Therefore, the most important thing is to know which target audience we aim for and address them through the appropriate channels

- For this purpose, the canvas business model is a great tool, that could help to identify the target market, the means for reach the audience and the key activities for developing the operations successfully.

The first block shows the commercial / market perspective, where 3 elements are located:
- The segments or groups of target customers to whom we will direct our value proposition, whose needs we must have investigated
- The relationships with customers, which are the ways in which we will publicize our value proposition to the market and convince customers to acquire it
- The distribution channels, which are the means by which we will deliver the product or service to customers who purchase it

The second block represents the productive structure that allows the offer to materialize, with 3 elements:
- Key activities such as design, production and all necessary tasks to obtain the product / service. In the case of Art&Crafts firms, design and handcraft manufacturing are key activities.
- Key resources that are those critical inputs that make our product unique and appreciated, such as original and high-quality materials
- Network of cooperation alliances with other agents that contribute or complement our business, such as suppliers, logistics agents or distributors, or any agent that contributes to publicize and appreciate our product

The third block represents the financial perspective and summarizes in monetary terms the activities of the previous blocks:
- Commercial activities generate a revenue stream through sales and also through other complementary activities
- The productive activities generate expenses and the structure of expenses must be designed so that they are compensated by the incomes
- The difference between the flow of income and expenses expresses the benefit of the business.

The highest form of planning is strategic planning, through which it is decided in which businesses and markets the ART&Crafts microenterprise will operate and long-term objectives are set taking into account that we are in a competitive environment where success does not only depend on our decisions but also on those of the other competitors.

Strategic planning involves several phases:

1.    Strategic analysis: internal (ART&Crafts microenterprise strengths and weaknesses, resources and potential) and external (threats and opportunities of the environment, uncertainty of the environment, characteristics of competition and the market)
2.    Set strategic, commercial (in terms of market presence) and financial (return on investment) objectives
3.    Analyze possible strategies or paths to achieve the objectives considering the results of the strategic analysis
4.    Selection of the best possible strategy according to your expected results and feasibility
5.    Development of functional and operational plans to implement the strategy and control its effectiveness

In order to execute the strategic plan, productive, commercial, procurement and investment, financing, human resources management, etc. activities must be developed.

So the planning of these functional and operational activities must be carried out by the ART&Crafts microenterprise, according to the following the cycle:

1.    Commercial and sales plans, based on demand forecasts, we can forecast sales and revenues
2.    Production plans, once sales are planned, is possible to set what, how much, how and when to produce
3.    Procurement and investment plans, since to produce we will need materials, tools and equipment
4.    Personnel plans, which contemplate what personnel we will need and with what qualification to develop our operations
5.    Financing plans, since all the previous plans involve expenses and we must have the necessary financial resources to be able to carry them out.

All these plans must also set the dates on which the activities will be carried out (temporary programming) and the revenue and expenditure streams that they will entail (budgeting).

•    The basic activities are normally carried out by the master craftsman or artist, since they reflect the experience and know-how, the expertise of the trade.
•    Other activities that are more transversal to any business should be delegated or outsourced: financial and accounting management, billing or website management for marketing, including the sale itself through association with commercial networks or distributors.
•    Coordination between these activities is essential and a good initial planning is basic, but then it must be ensured that the key activities do communicate with each other to combine their efforts for the common purpose. For example, purchases should be coordinated with production to ensure that the necessary materials are available when needed, maintenance should be coordinated with production so as not to interfere with programs, etc.
•    In microenterprises, coordination is basically obtained from communication, which must be constant and fluid among the people responsible for the key activities, and from the authority that supervises the whole.

•    The design of the organization consists in establishing the tasks to be performed, the relations between them and the hierarchy that will supervise and ensure the coordination of the whole.
•    The organizational structure is represented in the organizational chart, which reflects the organs (positions, areas, sections or departments) and the relationship between them (authority relations and labor relations)

•    Work and authority relationships must be clear: everyone should know who accountable and what tasks they is should perform, as well as with whom they should interact in their work to receive inputs or deliver their outputs.

In every human organization, management is necessary to ensure coordination and the achievement of the objectives.

The direction in microenterprises usually covers all the managerial activities that correspond to the master craftsman, since there is usually no hierarchy with several levels nor specialized managers in each of the functional areas.

Management consists in planning, organising, directing people’s performance and controlling, so that:
- plans are established (objectives, strategies, activities)
- resources are available (work areas, people, tasks, responsibilities)
- people’s performance is stimulated and enhanced (leading, communicating, motivating) and
- the results are checked to see if they correspond to what was planned (control and correction of deviations from the objectives).

Control is the managerial function that ensures that the business progresses towards its objectives according to plan.

It also involves several activities, such as:
-    verify, as the results are observed,
-    compare, as they face with the planned objectives,
-    evaluate, because it is assessed if there is deviation and if this is important, and finally
-    correct, since decisions are made to correct what is not working properly.

The control is based on indicators (KPI – key performance indicator), which are measures taken from variables that are important for a good business progress: sales figures, treasury ratios, indebtedness, product turnover, average sales time, production costs, staff hourly cost, etc.

Knowing how to establish the most appropriate indicators for our craft business is essential and requires a good knowledge of our work processes and a good understanding of what makes it succeed or fail in it, that is, what are the critical factors for business success.