The Boutique: How To Start, Scale, And Sell A Professional Services Firm Hardcover – October 6, 2020

Texas author Greg Alexander earned his degrees from the University of Massachusetts and Georgia Institute of Technology, is the chief investment officer of Capital 54 – a firm that invests it’s time, talent, and treasure in boutique professional firms, and founder of Collective 54 – a community for founders and leaders of boutique professional services firms. . His books to date: MAKING THE NUMBER, TOGRADING FOR SALES, THE CEOs GUIDE OT GETTING MORE OUT OF THE SALES FORCE, and now THE BOUTIQUE.In his opening statements Greg shares his career success and how COVID-19 actually provided his expansion of his SBI (The Sales Benchmark Index) into book form, and this book is the product of that change – a ‘book for owners’ boutique professional service firms. If you are trying to start, scale, or sell a boutique, this is for you. I want to help you realize your dreams.’ He then defines boutique professional services firms - consulting, accounting, law, marketing and advertising, architecture, engineering – aka anyone who sells their expertise.’ In a very easy to read and understand manner, Greg outlines the steps for starting, scaling, and selling professional services firms that are finding growth in this period of business disruption due to the pandemic and the effects of the war in the Ukraine. Each section is brief, includes questions pertinent to the knowledge shared, and a terse summary that gels the provided information, and the questions are reinforced at book’s end.For all boutiques, no matter the state of history – from startup to ready to sell – this book provides competent and valuable guidance. Grady Harp, March 22

The strength of this book (its diagnostic checklists and its practical hands on approach) are indeed strengths. That said, these strengths are exactly the core weakness of this book. On a critical note, what is not addressed is what I would call “business context” and, in turn, doing a through situation assessment as step one. We have here “thin” checklists and, unfortunately, what I would call a “theory of the case” is missing. We have lots of diagnostic checklists (see appendix A - 48 pages of useful checklists) and they drive useful insights but no real systematic thinking. The insights are piecemeal. Also, the book lacks cases and the case vignettes offered are very cursory. A huge weakness. No “thick descriptions” offered, to use the language of anthropology. Sadly, no discussion of leadership practices and the need for both intellectual courage and resolve in starting, scaling, selling a boutique business. The author has real world experience as both a builder of a firm, an advisor, now a PE investor, and has YPO roots and working relationships with founders of boutique firms. Unfortunately, that know how is not well leveraged here. All in all, a useful set of checklists found here but the book is not a road map or a field guide or a strategy handbook. I think a better book can be written. This book is an important first step. I view it as a call for more research driven writing about professional services boutiques and how to grow and scale them.

Step by step guide to growing, scaling, and exiting your small business. Each chapter is easily digestible with a short checklist to measure if you're tracking in the right direction. I've already read it twice and keep it as a reference.

An ok read.

Excellent book and easy to digest.

Read his book on recommendation by another ProServ Boutique Firm owner and friend. Then joined his Collective54.com membership organization to increase the knowledge and application of it to my firm that helps our clients grow through data-driven management consulting, marketing, and business automation services. The author, Greg Alexander, his concise educational content, and tools, his team, the peers within the membership, guest speakers, and more have help my business partner and I lead our firm into achieving our goals of increasing profit YoY, developing leaders on our team, and helping our clients achieve their revenue goals so much faster! It’s still a lot of hard work, but the clarity on how to achieve these goals has been a game-changer for Analytics, Marketing, and Growth and our sister company, SKORDLE Advertising.

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.