The purpose of this thesis was to create and develop a business model for a start-up business. The entrepreneur is a newcomer in business world and is going to start an online-shop which sells plus size clothing for ladies. The garment selection is indented to be ordered from Finland and from abroad. The selection is intended to be classical as well as smart and trendy.

This thesis was divided to a two sections: theoretical background section and an actual business model section. The first of the section was consisted of chapters on e-commerce and e-business in general and in Finland. There is also some text about digital marketing and its channels. The thesis will also discuss about how to build and start up an e-commerce business and what issues should be taking into the consideration.

The second part of the thesis will deal whit principals of the business model and business model canvas. The purpose of the business model is to tell how the business works and to describe how an organization creates, delivers, and captures value. The business model and business model canvas were based on the book called Business model generation authored by Alexander Osterwalder and Yves Pigneur.

The business model canvas is a table of a nine blocks. Blocks show how to make business profitable. Nine sections cover the main four area of the business. Four areas are: customers, offer, infrastructure and financial viability. The nine sections are: customer segments, value proposition, distribution channels, customer relationships, revenue streams, key resources, key activities, key partnerships and cost structure.

The outcome of this thesis was a real-life business model for the needs of the entrepreneur. Besides the business model there will be a demand to further study how to create proper e-business strategy. It is also recommended that an entrepreneur would conduct research about customer and marketing research. The proper business plan would also be recommended.