As the owner of a home photography studio, I believe that ongoing education is vital to the continued growth of my business. There are a variety of forms of education for photographers and other business owners: conferences, classes, local meetups, or books, to name a few. Books are often one of the cheapest forms of education and I find many great ideas in books like Worth Every Penny.

Worth Every Penny is a business book written by Sarah Petty and Erin Verbeck, founder and director of The Joy of Marketing. This book is intended for small business owners running boutique-style businesses. While larger companies focus on volume, boutique companies focus on experience and high-quality products. This book helps boutique business owners understand some of the keys to running their boutique business.

Worth Every Penny provides great advice on building a strong brand to market to your ideal customer base, which is crucial in a boutique business. It’s important to convey luxury and a high-end experience to your current and core customer base. The book also discusses strategies for creating a strong marketing and advertising campaign that reflects this idea and what makes your business unique. It is always important to convey what makes your business different and more desirable than your competition.

A large part of boutique business is building relationships. When you’re not running a high-volume business, you have time to invest in getting to know your customers. Worth Every Penny discusses ways to convey your appreciation to your customers and develop strong relationships with them, which can help grow your business.

And of course, with the extra time, value, and care devoted to clients by a boutique business, a higher price is often a necessity. Worth Every Penny discusses methods for pricing your products and adding additional value to your customers’ orders. After all, to be a viable business, you have to make a profit.

Personally, I found Sarah Petty and Erin Verbeck’s book, Worth Every Penny, incredibly beneficial and insightful for working on my own business. Determining my strengths and unique products, how to market them, and give my customers the best possible care is incredibly important to me, and this book has helped me narrow down and refine these things. I highly recommend this book to any boutique business, not just photography business owners!