Worth It: How a Million-Dollar Pay Cut and a $70,000 Minimum Wage Revealed a Better Way of Doing Business

Product Description

Dan Price gained worldwide attention in 2015 when he announced that he was instituting a $70,000 minimum wage at his company, Gravity Payments, and would slash his $1 million salary in order to pay for it. While many praised the decision as a bold step toward combating income inequality in the United States, others vilified Price as a radical socialist whose “experiment” was doomed to fail. But behind the headlines and controversy lay a much more nuanced and personal story–a story of an entrepreneur who realized he could no longer claim to be sticking up for his values if he continued to pay his employees anything less than a living wage. How could a business dedicated to helping small businesses succeed fulfill its mission if the people responsible for helping those businesses were struggling to meet their own most basic needs? In this book, Price shares the experiences and events that shaped his decision–from his conservative, Christian upbringing in rural Idaho to the milestones that made him rethink the true purpose of business–and shows how taking a huge risk ultimately helped his company become more resilient and competitive. Calling on leaders to set and execute on their own purpose-driven visions, Price forces readers to question traditional market-centric business wisdom in favor of a more human–and much more sustainable–approach. It’s not easy, he argues, but, in the end, the rewards will be worth it.

Review

“At a time of massive wealth and income inequality in our country, Mr. Price sets an example that other companies should learn from.”–Senator Bernie Sanders
“A small Seattle company shows that capitalism can have a heart.”–Nicholas Kristof, The New York Times
“The Dan Price Pay Experiment will either be hailed as a stroke of genius showing that entrepreneurs have underpaid their workforces to their companies’ detriment, or as proof positive that Gravity is being run by a well-intentioned fool.”–Inc. Magazine
“Pure, unadulterated socialism….I hope this company is a case study in MBA programs on how socialism does not work, because it’s gonna fail.”–Rush Limbaugh
“A tiny action of personal faith from a Seattle CEO shows us that there is an alternative. The reason it’s dangerous..is it reveals to people that there all alternatives.”–Russell Brand
“On balance, [Gravity Payments has] prospered.”–Michael Wheeler, Harvard Business School
“By implementing an egalitarian salary structure at his company Mr. Price has committed an economic heresy, and like all heretics he is being denounced by the keepers of the true faith.”–Steven Conn, W.E. Smith Professor of History, Miami University

About the Author

Dan Price founded Gravity Payments when he was just 19 years old. His mission was–and is– to help hard-working small-business owners stay competitive against larger corporations by making credit card processing transparent, fair, and easy. Today, nearly 20,000 independent businesses across all 50 states trust Gravity as their processor. Dan captured national attention in 2015 when he decided to slash his salary by more than 90 percent and raise the company’s minimum salary to $70,000 a year. Although he’s been criticized for what some consider his radical policies on pay and equality, Dan believes businesses have enormous power to promote social good, regardless of what industry they’re in, by serving communities instead of shareholders and putting people over profits. His leadership has earned him many awards, most notably Entrepreneur Magazine’s Entrepreneur of 2014 and the 2010 SBA National Young Entrepreneur of the Year, awarded to him by President Obama. He lives in Seattle with his rescue dog, Mikey.