The Boutique: How To Start, Scale, And Sell A Professional Services Firm

by Greg Alexander

What Is A Boutique?
 
 
This book is for owners of professional services firms
 
 
There is about two trillion dollars spent per year on professional services. Those at scale capture most of it. If you want a bigger piece of the pie, you must scale.
 
 
We Are In The Golden Era Of Boutiques  
 
 
The sun is shining. Time to make hay.

Genres: Business, Buisness, Nonfiction, Management

328 pages, Hardcover

Published October 6, 2020

Reviews

[Maxwell Zhou · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this read. The author does a great job breaking down the lifecycle of a professional services firm and is able to clearly articulate the different set of problems each will face.

I liked the differentiation between a lifestyle business and one that is actually acquirable. Insightful commentary.

[Ashley Mitchell · Rating 4 out of 5]

All steps of business-owning

The Boutique: How to Start, Scale, and Sell a Professional Services Firm by Greg Alexander is a thorough guide for those in any stage of business life—beginning, middle, or end. The first section is for those who have an idea but have yet to capitalize it, and are ready to sell their expertise. Others may skip to the second section if they have a business and are looking to expand or increase profits. Anyone who has accomplished both of these will skip ahead to the third and final section, for those selling their business and moving forward.
The language of the book is generic enough that it can apply to those in any sect of business, whether that be architecture, advertising, accounting, or law. I do think the ambiguity of the language and coverage of the entire business lifecycle makes some places seem long or redundant. However, I think that this is a good read with additional exercises, especially for those who don’t know where to start when it comes to selling their services.

[Aparna Preethi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Greg Alexander’s ‘The Boutique’ is a perfect roadmap to all aspiring business developers. The book primarily is based on Boutique firms. A boutique is essentially a small monetary firm that provides specialized services for a particular section of the market. This book vastly deals with boutique services.

It is divided into three parts. Part 1 acts as a guidebook on how to start a boutique; part 2 teaches and guides about scaling a boutique and part 3 talks about the most important aspect- selling of the boutique. These 3 parts are again written in several chapters which are very crisp and informative.

One would certainly learn about various approaches to be a better leader in the professional market. It is an easy to read and very practical book. The usage and illustrations of personal experiences make the book livelier and more engaging. The content will be valuable for years to come.

[Agustina Sureda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Greg Alexander has dedicated his professional life to helping owners of boutiques and founded a membership so boutique leaders could help others. Not being enough, he decided to take all his knowledge and experience and write a book that explains every single step, from what a boutique is to how to sell one once it has reached the top of the necessities. Divided into 3 sections, this reading will help people that are trying to invest in their future.

Working for a consulting agency, I came across this book, and I thought it was a good idea for "extra" knowledge, but I have to say, this was way more learning than I was expecting. This reading was excellent. From giving advice to becoming a better leader to understanding the problems of creating a boutique, this reading was excellent. I highly recommend this to anyone out there in consulting, marketing, or advertising!

[Märtha Custis · Rating 5 out of 5]

The professional services industry is one that is both high growth yet somewhat elusive. With so many options and technical jargon, it can often be overwhelming to even figure out where you stand. Here is where Greg Alexander and his book The Boutique: How to Start, Scale, and Sell a Professional Services Firm, come in to lay everything out in plain, simple, and accessible terms.
The book follows the order given in the title—you can simply choose which aspect applies to you, or as I did, read the entire book with its wealth of information. Each chapter contains helpful guiding questions for you to complete to achieve a better understanding of your needs/position, and makes it easier to reference later.
A quick and easy read, The Boutique takes away the mystery of success in providing or selling a Professional Services business, and puts the reins firmly in the hands of the reader.

[Dani Savante · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book for professionals who want to create their own service business. The author clearly explains that Boutiques are companies created by anyone who is looking forward to offering and selling their experience and knowledge. These people construct a plan for these companies to grow and develop in time. 
The book is organized in simple steps and chapters that approach each topic clearly. There is a glossary at the end which is very useful and helps understand some key concepts. I strongly recommend this book because it is not easy to find such quality information about this issue. I have been following the advice in the book and I have achieved great things so far as I work in my service business

[Susan B · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Boutique is a fresh read, a contemporary narrative built after the pandemic which is specially meant for those selling their expertise out there. Author Alexander highlights the pandemic as a starting point for change.
According to the author, the landmark for offering our expertise is just starting to take steps and dive into building a boutique consulting company as soon as time goes by.
New business entrepreneurs and owners could take great advantage of this book, it provides solid tips and information to get business on the road and travel fast towards success.
This book should be a must for any type of professional business people thirsty to improve their current working situation.

[Chico's Mom · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great resource for selling your skills!

The Boutique: How To Start, Scale, And Sell A Professional Services is a very useful source of great information on offering your services if you are starting your own business or even working on your business already. It is a great resource book for freelancers and people who work from home, as the author was during COVID 19. Greg did a very good job detailing guides on how to start, scale and sell a service. I appreciate the fact that I can read the section in a non-sequential order because readers are in different stages of their business. It is easy to follow and a very quick read. He makes a very valid point about building a valuable asset in this era. The chapters are very well put together. I will definitely recommend it.

[Mia C. · Rating 4 out of 5]

“The Boutique: How To Start, Scale, And Sell A Professional Services Firm” by Greg Alexander is a compelling reading that taught me a lot of things. I bought it out of curiosity to know what this term called The Boutique is and the information presented in these pages was really useful for my current business.
I highlight that the reading is not difficult and that the author has a very good way of explaining things. The book is not short, so it took me some days to finish reading, but after I read the last page I had a new vision in mind and also a new perspective.
I would recommend reading The Boutique to those entrepreneurs out there because it is interesting and has helpful information; the author is certainly a visionary.

[Scott Wozniak · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is like an executive summary of a lot of great information. It's very concise--almost too much. In each section, he shares a list of questions and based on your answers, gives advice on how to improve your company.

He doesn't always define his terms, so if you're just starting out you might have to look up a few things. And he definitely doesn't explain specifics on how to implement his advice. For example, he might tell you to professionalize your sales team--then move on without teaching you how to do that.

But it's enough information to get started. So, if you read this book as a prompt to figure out where to focus then it's a great resource. You'll just have to go find other resources to get the details from there.

[Alfredo R · Rating 3 out of 5]

Educational and profitable reader!

The Boutique was, for me, an educational book because I learned a lot about what business people call, as the title says, “boutiques”.

After reading this complete guide, not only did I learn a lot about Boutiques but also, I learned about professional services and some business dynamics.

Something I would change about the reader is its length. Although the concepts are well explained, even for people that never heard about boutiques before, I believe that some topics were overly developed, and this is the reason why I give this book three stars. Nonetheless, I thank author Greg Alexander for putting all these ideas together in such a valuable book.

[Marina Lujan · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you really want to start expanding a professional services firm, this is the book to read.
Within the pages of this book, the author, Greg Alexander, also invites you to learn about his own experiences.
He'll teach you a set of powerful concepts and tactics that will push you out of your comfort zone and into the exciting world of professional service firms.
The book is well-written and easy to read. That's why I was able to complete it in two days. If you are a fan of this genre, it could easily be devoured in one sitting.
This is a must-have resource with useful information you can apply right away.

[Kourtney Bradley · Rating 4 out of 5]

must read for business intro

The Boutique is the perfect introduction read for anyone who is looking to start a professional services business. Whether you plan to keep your business and run the day-to-day functions or prefer to sell for profit, this guide has all you need to know to learn the basics and make decisions that will be profitable and successful. Not only does this book include the specifics on what you should do, but it also highlights the important things you should not be doing as well. I would recommend this book to all new business owners who are looking to get their foot in the door with information and learn from the mistakes of others.

[Raymundo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Guide for Starting and Growing a Boutique Business

Greg Alexander’s The Boutique is a super helpful, no-nonsense guide for anyone looking to start and grow a professional services firm. He breaks everything down clearly, from launching your business to scaling it, and even selling it when you’re ready.

I loved how practical and easy to follow the advice is. If you’re serious about building a boutique business, this book is a great resource!

[Nguyen TuanAnh · Rating 4 out of 5]

This gave you a thoughtful process before you start a consulting boutique
Very well rounded overall contents that was written in a very easy way to understand

This is not suitable for those who looks for a hands-on guideline on how to start a consulting service from 0, but rather provide a top level mindset before having one

[Cameron Copper · Rating 4 out of 5]

Straight forward book, plenty of good information, helpful checklists at the end of each chapter.

I feel this book should almost certainly be used as a barometer for how a professional services boutique is growing and maturing since the timespan covered in this book is extremely wide (from foundation to exit).

[Mariano Di Maggio · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you want to scale you service company, it’s simple, you should be read this book. A lot of hacks extremely accurate for me.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite helpful. Lots of insights.

[Pete Markos · Rating 5 out of 5]

best book on scaling and selling a professional services business i have ever read. so much great advice.

[Ronald J. · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are approximately 1.47 million professional services firms (industry code NAICS 54) in the United States. Only 4,100 have reached scale, defined as more than 250 employees—market leaders. The other 1,465,900, have 1-249 employees. These are called boutiques and this book is for them. Each year $2 trillion is spent in this sector, with the top 1% capturing most of it. The author sold his own boutique for nine figures within 10 years of launch. It is 48 chapters divided into three sections: Start, Scale, Sell. The chapters are all short, and all include a list of questions at the end to score your firm on the various topics. I have quibbles with some of his advice, especially around pricing (he seems to be ok with hourly billing, though he acknowledges its defects). There are 183,077 bookkeeping firms in the USA in 2019. I liked his classification of types of firms:

1. Intellect: Customers hire to solve difficult, one-of-a-kind problems.
2. Wisdom: Customer hire because they have been there and done that.
3. Method: Customers hire these firms because of their unique methodologies.

I say pick one, otherwise you complicate your talent, processes, and business model in general.

There’s a lot of wisdom packed into this book. It’s worth reading, or at least dipping into the relevant chapter topic that you are currently dealing with. It’s concentrated wisdom that will deliver results if implemented well.