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Worth Every Penny: Build a Business That Thrills Your Customers and Still Charge What You're Worth
FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES AND WALL STREET JOURNAL BESTSELLER A revelation for creating a profitable business is possible without getting into a slash-and-burn price war with your competitors.
Many photographers and small business owners feel pressure to discount their products and services, especially when times are tough. After all, how else will they keep up with the low prices offered by their discounting competitors? What they don't realize is that discounting is the last thing they should be doing if they want to win big. Sarah Petty and Erin Verbeck are here to show you that there's a radically different way to run your business-- one in which the owners focus on creating specialized offerings and an over-the-top customer experience, not on matching the prices of their competition. Worth Every Penny encourages you to explore and use the boutique model, which is designed to maximize your advantages over discounting competitors.
You'll learn how
--Build a brand that lays the foundation for you to charge what your offerings are worth.
--Create products, services and high-touch customer experiences to achieve healthy margins and an outspokenly happy and loyal client base.
--Understand how to use a pricing strategy that allows you to create demand and attract the right customers instead of discounting.
--Throw traditional advertising to the wind and implement a boutique way of marketing that's more affordable in this competitive business environment.
--Learn the relationship-based sales skills needed to sell without being pushy and have your clients clamoring for more.
The authors' strategies are enhanced by real-life business experiences and vivid anecdotes from all types of business owners--restaurateurs to contractors to professional service providers and photographers. With the advice in Worth Every Penny , you will be inspired to live your passion and pass your enthusiasm on to your customers. The a profitable business that avoids succumbing to the pressure to discount.
Many photographers and small business owners feel pressure to discount their products and services, especially when times are tough. After all, how else will they keep up with the low prices offered by their discounting competitors? What they don't realize is that discounting is the last thing they should be doing if they want to win big. Sarah Petty and Erin Verbeck are here to show you that there's a radically different way to run your business-- one in which the owners focus on creating specialized offerings and an over-the-top customer experience, not on matching the prices of their competition. Worth Every Penny encourages you to explore and use the boutique model, which is designed to maximize your advantages over discounting competitors.
You'll learn how
--Build a brand that lays the foundation for you to charge what your offerings are worth.
--Create products, services and high-touch customer experiences to achieve healthy margins and an outspokenly happy and loyal client base.
--Understand how to use a pricing strategy that allows you to create demand and attract the right customers instead of discounting.
--Throw traditional advertising to the wind and implement a boutique way of marketing that's more affordable in this competitive business environment.
--Learn the relationship-based sales skills needed to sell without being pushy and have your clients clamoring for more.
The authors' strategies are enhanced by real-life business experiences and vivid anecdotes from all types of business owners--restaurateurs to contractors to professional service providers and photographers. With the advice in Worth Every Penny , you will be inspired to live your passion and pass your enthusiasm on to your customers. The a profitable business that avoids succumbing to the pressure to discount.
180 pages, Hardcover
First published April 1, 2012
39 people are currently reading
542 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews
June 5, 2012
The first thing I learned from this book is that being a "boutique" business is not about what you sell. Instead, "being boutique" is about how you operate...its' a model of doing business, a filter for your business decisions, and a mind-set that makes your customers say you were worth every penny.
The authors of this book believe you can beat your competition by catering to the niches, not to the masses. Businesses that compete on price can't invade your territory. When you're a boutique business, you're the expert, you're the personal consultant and you're the teacher.
I think the boutique business model is a perfect fit for many small business owners. The authors of this book provide details and share case studies that demonstrate the effectiveness of their way of doing business.
I found this book to be informative and entertaining. There are "Action Steps" at the end of each chapter that will help you apply the techniques in the book to your own business.
You really are worth every penny. Read this book and you will never discount your products or services again.
Highly Recommended.
The authors of this book believe you can beat your competition by catering to the niches, not to the masses. Businesses that compete on price can't invade your territory. When you're a boutique business, you're the expert, you're the personal consultant and you're the teacher.
I think the boutique business model is a perfect fit for many small business owners. The authors of this book provide details and share case studies that demonstrate the effectiveness of their way of doing business.
I found this book to be informative and entertaining. There are "Action Steps" at the end of each chapter that will help you apply the techniques in the book to your own business.
You really are worth every penny. Read this book and you will never discount your products or services again.
Highly Recommended.
May 7, 2012
Sarah Petty has been well known in the photography industry for several years now for her educational offerings that cater to the business side of the photography. In recent years, she's widened the circle and has tried to make her educational offerings more accessible to small business owners in non-photography industries.
In a time when it seems like every photographer is selling an action set, or some silly new e-book, the refreshing thing about Sarah is that she actually knows her stuff. Photography is a second career, after working for many years in the marketing. Both her and her co-author have MBAs.
I have a lot of mistrust in general for industry "rockstars", but I have purchased a few of Sarah's webinars and I think she has a lot of good information that makes sense. This book is a great resource, especially if you are newer in the business or feel the only way you can compete is by lowering your price. There's a lot of ideas that aren't new, especially if you are familiar, with the boutique business model, or have purchased other Sarah Petty material, but it's nice to have everything in one, brief, concise book. It's the type of book I can see reviewing every year before setting business goals.
I wish it had been a little more in-depth in parts, but that's just me. I think overall, the authors did a good job of presenting a good overview of how the boutique model works without weighing readers down.
The plug for The Joy of Marketing - Sarah and Erin's business that provides marketing education and materials to photographers and small business owners - was rather minimal. In fact I don't think they really even explained what exactly it was, so it may be confusing to people who aren't familiar with them.
Overall, a good quick read, and worth the $11 price tag.
One last thing - this is a beautiful book in print. Lovers of design and typography will appreciate the typefaces, the nice formatting and the overall quality of this book. I love the way this book was printed, and noticed how lovely it was from the first page. Towards the end of the book, the authors note that they choose to use a smaller publisher because they wanted greater control over the look of the book. This is one of the first books in a long time I didn't purchase in Kindle format, and I'm glad.
In a time when it seems like every photographer is selling an action set, or some silly new e-book, the refreshing thing about Sarah is that she actually knows her stuff. Photography is a second career, after working for many years in the marketing. Both her and her co-author have MBAs.
I have a lot of mistrust in general for industry "rockstars", but I have purchased a few of Sarah's webinars and I think she has a lot of good information that makes sense. This book is a great resource, especially if you are newer in the business or feel the only way you can compete is by lowering your price. There's a lot of ideas that aren't new, especially if you are familiar, with the boutique business model, or have purchased other Sarah Petty material, but it's nice to have everything in one, brief, concise book. It's the type of book I can see reviewing every year before setting business goals.
I wish it had been a little more in-depth in parts, but that's just me. I think overall, the authors did a good job of presenting a good overview of how the boutique model works without weighing readers down.
The plug for The Joy of Marketing - Sarah and Erin's business that provides marketing education and materials to photographers and small business owners - was rather minimal. In fact I don't think they really even explained what exactly it was, so it may be confusing to people who aren't familiar with them.
Overall, a good quick read, and worth the $11 price tag.
One last thing - this is a beautiful book in print. Lovers of design and typography will appreciate the typefaces, the nice formatting and the overall quality of this book. I love the way this book was printed, and noticed how lovely it was from the first page. Towards the end of the book, the authors note that they choose to use a smaller publisher because they wanted greater control over the look of the book. This is one of the first books in a long time I didn't purchase in Kindle format, and I'm glad.
January 31, 2018
This was an interesting read because it's in my normal range of books. This year I've been trying to focus on my writing career and how to turn that into something that will allow me to work from home and eventually start a family. So I was hoping that this book would help give me some hints on how to do that.
At 180 pages I found this book easy to read not only because it was so short, but because it's formatted in a way to help you read it and not get bogged down by all these new ideas. And I found that the tips on branding were the most helpful for me. After I finished reading the book I went and rewrote some sections on my patreon page.
The downside to this book is that its very obviously written for people with way more money at their disposal than me. At one point, in an argument to help convince the reader to not skimp when it comes to paying people to create logos and business cards etc, the author said something along the lines of "You know how you spend $200 on a pair of jeans to help present the business look you want? Yeah you should do the same with your logo so that it looks good." And I was sitting there going, "Who the fuck spends $200 on a goddamned pair of pants?!" But at least the author was advocating to find good work and pay well for it.
In all I gave this book 3 stars, it will definitely give you some helpful hints, but if you're like me be aware some of the other suggestions will not even be in your realm of possibility.
At 180 pages I found this book easy to read not only because it was so short, but because it's formatted in a way to help you read it and not get bogged down by all these new ideas. And I found that the tips on branding were the most helpful for me. After I finished reading the book I went and rewrote some sections on my patreon page.
The downside to this book is that its very obviously written for people with way more money at their disposal than me. At one point, in an argument to help convince the reader to not skimp when it comes to paying people to create logos and business cards etc, the author said something along the lines of "You know how you spend $200 on a pair of jeans to help present the business look you want? Yeah you should do the same with your logo so that it looks good." And I was sitting there going, "Who the fuck spends $200 on a goddamned pair of pants?!" But at least the author was advocating to find good work and pay well for it.
In all I gave this book 3 stars, it will definitely give you some helpful hints, but if you're like me be aware some of the other suggestions will not even be in your realm of possibility.
August 7, 2020
Excellent and quick read. Sometimes business and leadership books take 10-pages worth of material and spin it into a 200 page book. This isn’t one of those books. The authors not only made a compelling case for the boutique model, they offered concrete, actionable steps folks can take. I do t own a business, but I’m a service provider in the aviation industry that has learned a few of the same lessons. Consistently exceeding customer expectations is equally hard and rewarding...and so key to the referrals and future customer stream. I’d recommend this to anyone looking to improve the quality of their service and customer interactions!
September 10, 2012
The good: The authors have a strong point of view, and they emphasize it just to the point of sounding like a broken record, but no more. Small businesses are boutique businesses, and we don't compete well on price. We play better than anyone on the field of value and customer service (which blossoms in customer loyalty when we cultivate), with high-touch engagement, expertise, and an experience that emphasizes relationship above all. Our best marketing is a sample of what we do, not words describing what we do. The section regarding 7 scenarios where offering a price discount / sale could work well for boutique businesses is fantastic.
Some challenges: There are two intros, which echo each other too closely to justify the pages spent on both. Everything not mentioned above feels "lightweight". For instance, the authors try to suggest that boutique businesses price their products on services based on demand. This explanation is about a page long, and includes a real life example of a lemonade stand. This example succeeds in its simplicity, and I'm not sure how anyone who plans to start an actual business (whose revenues and profits will pay bills) can read this page and feel confident applying demand-based pricing. There's also quite a bit of time spent on the importance of brand, with a disclaimer that brand is hard to define, and then a couple of stabs at defining it for us. For someone whose business has been built entirely on referral, for whom brand has played no role, it's difficult to understand what branding is, how to get it, and how it makes a measurable contribution.
Given all this, the book seems best suited for someone about to strike out on their own for the first time. Being self-employed for 10 years, I still found some reassuring validation of they I'd been running my business, and some new ideas.
Some challenges: There are two intros, which echo each other too closely to justify the pages spent on both. Everything not mentioned above feels "lightweight". For instance, the authors try to suggest that boutique businesses price their products on services based on demand. This explanation is about a page long, and includes a real life example of a lemonade stand. This example succeeds in its simplicity, and I'm not sure how anyone who plans to start an actual business (whose revenues and profits will pay bills) can read this page and feel confident applying demand-based pricing. There's also quite a bit of time spent on the importance of brand, with a disclaimer that brand is hard to define, and then a couple of stabs at defining it for us. For someone whose business has been built entirely on referral, for whom brand has played no role, it's difficult to understand what branding is, how to get it, and how it makes a measurable contribution.
Given all this, the book seems best suited for someone about to strike out on their own for the first time. Being self-employed for 10 years, I still found some reassuring validation of they I'd been running my business, and some new ideas.
November 14, 2013
I used this book as the basis for a business book group and it was a great choice for a lively discussion on creating a boutique business. The author's Sarah Petty and Erin Verbeck describe a different way to run a small business, with a focus on excellent customer service and charging what your specialized services are worth. They are adamantly against discounting, Groupon style coupon sales and lowering your prices to compete with your competition. Excellent examples from the authors and other small businesses. Recommended for small business owners and entrepreneurs.
April 11, 2015
Being a boutique business isn't about what you sell. Instead, "being boutique" is any small business in which the owners focus on creating specialized offerings and an over-the-top customer service that makes their customers say they were worth every penny.
The four core areas of this book are:
1. Branding
2. Products, Services, and Customer Experience
3. Price
4. Marketing and Sales
Good tips and helpful insights.
The four core areas of this book are:
1. Branding
2. Products, Services, and Customer Experience
3. Price
4. Marketing and Sales
Good tips and helpful insights.
October 2, 2018
As a small business owner this book resonated with me. When it comes to pricing your work- don’t sell yourself short! Price according to your effort and your skills-especially if you’re offering a product that is unique. I’ve passed this book on to many friends including my daughter who has a photography business herself. Love this little gem of a book!
July 16, 2012
This book contains some good information about differentiating yourself and becoming a boutique business. However, after reading it I felt like I always do when it comes to Sarah Petty... like she always holds back.
December 9, 2014
As I prepare to open a boutique business, this helped me clarify some ideas about marketing and the customers that I am looking for. I would love to see a book like this with a few more ideas for someone who isn't selling a product, but a service. Still, very helpful, overall.
October 23, 2013
Helpful information for small "boutique" businesses.
March 12, 2018
I want to be boutique.
Being boutique is about loving and serving people, which is EXACTLY me. In fact, I want to do it so bad, that I have a hard time imagining charging several hundred dollars for my photography. But I'm not worried about it yet. I'm just going to work on the action steps and things will go as they go.
Sarah puts practical, actionable steps at the end of each chapter. The biggest thing that everyone I'm learning from keeps saying is, "find your ideal client".
I DON'T KNOW WHO THAT IS!!!!
I've barely had any clients or sessions, paid or not. So that's still a work in progress, which can make the rest more difficult, but I'll do what I can.
Great book for any entrepreneur who wants to do business differently. It's written by a photographer, but photography is rarely mentioned. I'm seriously considering buying this book to have as a reference.
Being boutique is about loving and serving people, which is EXACTLY me. In fact, I want to do it so bad, that I have a hard time imagining charging several hundred dollars for my photography. But I'm not worried about it yet. I'm just going to work on the action steps and things will go as they go.
Sarah puts practical, actionable steps at the end of each chapter. The biggest thing that everyone I'm learning from keeps saying is, "find your ideal client".
I DON'T KNOW WHO THAT IS!!!!
I've barely had any clients or sessions, paid or not. So that's still a work in progress, which can make the rest more difficult, but I'll do what I can.
Great book for any entrepreneur who wants to do business differently. It's written by a photographer, but photography is rarely mentioned. I'm seriously considering buying this book to have as a reference.
June 12, 2023
It's a good book. It is worth the read if you're considering starting a small business. However, go into it knowing that it's highly repetitive. Additionally, they make absolute statements that they later contract themselves on. "Definitely don't steal ideas from your competition" then later: "are there good ideas from the competition that you can adopt?" (Maybe not the exact phrasing, but you get the idea). Both thoughts are good, were they to phrase it like, "it's ok to adopt ideas in such and such case, but here's why it may not be a good idea..". But just because they offer all their advice as gospel, doesn't make it useless.
January 7, 2023
Really this book will help all of those people when your family, and
other people not hard covering you and giving you freedom do anything.
One More things that we should do .
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other people not hard covering you and giving you freedom do anything.
One More things that we should do .
Let's talk about if you love online shopping then make sure you are using promo codes before do add to a cart, It's a good way to save a ton of money. For this, you can explore REFERMATE.COM (It will help to earn cashback as well as save your money)
January 28, 2019
I don't own a business (yet) but out of the many books on small business I've read thus far, this has been the most approachable! I appreciated the lack of filler, it was straightforward and full of relevant case studies and first hand experience. I learned a lot from this book and will probably refer to it again once I get closer to owning a "boutique business"!
November 27, 2017
If you are just starting out with your enterprise/business, this is really a good read on the marketing, branding & positioning front. And even if you’ve been around for a while, the book still has a lot of re-assurance and works as a good refresher for you business strategies.
November 3, 2021
Some overall challenging thoughts on high to think more highly of my small business and seek ways to provide more value. I wish there was an update though with more discussion on social media. There was very little on that topic or websites so it felt quite dated for modern business owners.
November 30, 2017
Loved it! It has helped my business tremendously. I highly recommend this book. Thank you, Sarah for taking the time to write this book. :)
May 24, 2020
This was a quick, easy, and useful read. I'm looking forward to using the information I learned in the future.
March 29, 2021
Very insightful for my business. Glad I picked it up! Easy read and gave me a lot of business points to think through and ideas to work through for implementation.
April 6, 2022
This book is NOT worth every penny. A simple Google search can give you all the information you need.
December 20, 2023
Had a lot of great ideas on how to go above and beyond for your clients, prospects, and businesses to grow your business.
April 3, 2024
This book shows us how to become Supercommunicators.
Supercommunicators are individuals who consistently excel at conveying their ideas and connecting with others.
Supercommunicators are individuals who consistently excel at conveying their ideas and connecting with others.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 21, 2024
As a small business owner, I definitelg recommend this book for everyone to read.
August 3, 2025
honestly fine and not bad but could be updated for the contemporary age.
September 6, 2025
I like that this book is simple, and explains business concepts in a way that's not overwhelming.
July 7, 2012
This book is geared towards business owners who want to have a unique, boutique business. It's focused on how to become that boutique business and how you can run a successful boutique without discounting all the time.
Petty says being boutique is "about how you operate-it's a model of doing business, a filter for your business decisions, and a mind-set that makes your customers say you were worth every penny." She points out that businesses that compete on price can't invade your territory when you are so specialized to your customers. The book first covers how important branding is to set your company apart from others. I love that she touches on this first and how you have to be unique to your business and not try to copy what others are doing. She says to "avoid the trying-to-please-everyone trap" which so many businesses get themselves caught in.
After the topic of branding Petty goes into the need to have unique products and services. She says, "In order to truly stand apart in your industry, your products must make people go gaga over you. They need to be extra special, unmatched, interesting, or even shocking." The idea behind this being that the more customized your products are, the harder it is to for anyone to copy you.
I liked the way Petty talks about making an experience for your customers. "Customers feel as if they're your favorite client. Each and every time they enter, they are greeted like a long lost friend." Her input on putting boundaries on when you are available to your clients and how you still need to have a life is something every business owner struggles with and Petty has great ideas on how to overcome this area.
The book goes into detail about pricing, how to price and what traps to avoid in a boutique business. I love her honesty in this area and the examples she gives to show how pricing can work in your favor to help you have that work/life balance.
This is a wonderful book for a business owner to see how they can go to the next step of being truly unique, priced right and get ideas for overcoming some of the difficult patches of being a boutique business owner. Petty includes questions at the end of each chapter to get you thinking and moving into next steps with each topic.
Petty says being boutique is "about how you operate-it's a model of doing business, a filter for your business decisions, and a mind-set that makes your customers say you were worth every penny." She points out that businesses that compete on price can't invade your territory when you are so specialized to your customers. The book first covers how important branding is to set your company apart from others. I love that she touches on this first and how you have to be unique to your business and not try to copy what others are doing. She says to "avoid the trying-to-please-everyone trap" which so many businesses get themselves caught in.
After the topic of branding Petty goes into the need to have unique products and services. She says, "In order to truly stand apart in your industry, your products must make people go gaga over you. They need to be extra special, unmatched, interesting, or even shocking." The idea behind this being that the more customized your products are, the harder it is to for anyone to copy you.
I liked the way Petty talks about making an experience for your customers. "Customers feel as if they're your favorite client. Each and every time they enter, they are greeted like a long lost friend." Her input on putting boundaries on when you are available to your clients and how you still need to have a life is something every business owner struggles with and Petty has great ideas on how to overcome this area.
The book goes into detail about pricing, how to price and what traps to avoid in a boutique business. I love her honesty in this area and the examples she gives to show how pricing can work in your favor to help you have that work/life balance.
This is a wonderful book for a business owner to see how they can go to the next step of being truly unique, priced right and get ideas for overcoming some of the difficult patches of being a boutique business owner. Petty includes questions at the end of each chapter to get you thinking and moving into next steps with each topic.
November 4, 2012
Definitely worth a read for anyone with or who wants to start a small business.
The subtitle of my copy actually read, "Build a business that thrills your customers and still charge what you're worth."
"Boutique is a business model, not a gift shop" is their main tenet. By providing quality, service, and expertise, you don't have to compete on price.
The book includes stories of actual boutique businesses of all sorts: a pilates instructor, plumber, and baker who sells cookies to name a few. It also includes stories of where some people went wrong with their businesses. The main thing is that it illustrates that the boutique business model can be applied to most any small business.
The book covers branding, products/services/customer experience, price, marketing and selling. Each chapter has action steps to help you navigate.
The tone is conversational and easy to read. Even if, and possibly especially if, it sounds crazy to you, give it a read to see what's possible. Then see what you can apply to your business. They've got lots of suggestions.
The subtitle of my copy actually read, "Build a business that thrills your customers and still charge what you're worth."
"Boutique is a business model, not a gift shop" is their main tenet. By providing quality, service, and expertise, you don't have to compete on price.
The book includes stories of actual boutique businesses of all sorts: a pilates instructor, plumber, and baker who sells cookies to name a few. It also includes stories of where some people went wrong with their businesses. The main thing is that it illustrates that the boutique business model can be applied to most any small business.
The book covers branding, products/services/customer experience, price, marketing and selling. Each chapter has action steps to help you navigate.
The tone is conversational and easy to read. Even if, and possibly especially if, it sounds crazy to you, give it a read to see what's possible. Then see what you can apply to your business. They've got lots of suggestions.
Want to read
September 14, 2012When businesses compete in today's marketplace, mammoth companies like Walmart and Amazon set low prices for their respective sectors and force everyone else to drop their prices, too, often at their economic peril. However, one class of business - boutique firms - chooses not to get into that boxing ring. These organizations set their own business terms by selling customized products and services at premium prices. Boutique business experts Sarah Petty and Erin Verbeck explain (and sometimes repeat) the basics of the boutique business model. getAbstract recommends their insights to would-be entrepreneurs and small-business owners who would like to determine if turning their companies into boutique firms is an appropriate tactic they can use to avoid being competitively forced to discount their prices.
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December 21, 2014
I've read a handful of business and marketing books and FINALLY this one is written for the SMALL ("boutique") business owner. It was so refreshing to hear some sound advice and beliefs about marketing that I could actually attempt, as opposed to reading about options that were so far out of my league that I might as well read with my eyes closed. Thank you for an energetic and motivating small business marketing book!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews