Libsyn Directory

Why & How to Prune Your Client Roster for Agency Growth | EP 8

Release Date: 09/02/2025

The Six Levers of Profitable Client Engagements | EP20

The AgencyHabits Podcast

Running an agency is an exercise in risk management. In this episode, hosts Peter Kang and Sei-Wook Kim break down the most significant threats that can jeopardize an agency's survival. They move beyond daily annoyances to focus on the high-impact risks that can truly put a business in danger. Using a simple risk matrix framework, Peter and Sei-Wook categorize and explore nine critical vulnerabilities, from founder burnout and partner conflict to client concentration and strategic misalignment. They provide actionable advice on how to identify, prepare for, and mitigate each risk, sharing...

Learning From Other Agency Owners | EP19

The AgencyHabits Podcast

Great agencies are not built in isolation. In this episode, Peter Kang and Sei-Wook Kim explore the transformative power of community and peer learning for agency founders. The hosts share their personal journey from working in a silo to actively seeking mentorship and joining dedicated communities, revealing how these connections helped them avoid blind spots, gain crucial perspective, and accelerate their growth. Peter and Sei-Wook break down specific communities that have been instrumental to their journey, including Bureau of Digital, Society of Digital Agencies (SoDA), and Collective 54....

Why Agencies Rely on Referrals But Few Treat It as a System | EP18

The AgencyHabits Podcast

Most agencies say they rely on referrals, but few treat them as a system. In this episode, Peter Kang and Sei-Wook Kim dismantle the "hope-based" approach to referrals and lay out a strategic framework for building a consistent pipeline. Drawing from the book The Referral Code, they redefine referrals as a transfer of goodwill and share actionable tactics for intentional referral generation. Peter and Sei-Wook cover how to identify the right people to ask, the critical importance of timing your ask within a "state of appreciation," and how to craft effective, open-ended questions. They also...

How Agencies Should Think About and Manage Risk | EP 17

The AgencyHabits Podcast

In this episode, hosts Peter Kang and Sei-Wook Kim break down the six fundamental levers that drive profitability across all client engagements, whether you run fixed-fee projects, retainers, or long-term service programs. Drawing from real challenges within their own portfolio at Barrel Holdings, Peter and Sei-Wook provide a practical framework for diagnosing and fixing margin compression. They start by defining gross margin and then explore each lever in detail: from pricing and scoping to staffing, engagement design, scope management, reusable IP, and the role of automation and AI. The...

Scaling Your Agency Beyond $2M | EP 16

The AgencyHabits Podcast

In this episode, Peter Kang and Sei-Wook Kim dissect why agencies hit this wall and what you can do to break through. They explain how founder-centric systems that work at a smaller scale become the primary constraint to growth, leading to breakdowns in client delivery, team management, and financial visibility. The hosts share actionable solutions, from improving onboarding and implementing debrief processes to strategically hiring for your weaknesses and deepening financial rigor. They also introduce the Agency Systems Playbook, a framework of five core systems that drive a scalable agency....

How Agencies Can Be Better at Marketing Themselves | EP 15

The AgencyHabits Podcast

In this episode, hosts Peter Kang and Sei-Wook Kim tackle a common agency pitfall: treating marketing as a short-term, reactive effort only when leads dry up. They argue for a fundamental mindset shift, framing marketing as a long-term investment in reputation and awareness, similar to the compounding benefits of consistent exercise. Peter and Sei-Wook first outline the "basics" of agency marketing: from social posts and case studies to newsletters and events, and then dive deep into six specific, unconventional examples. They share their own experiences with a 24-hour website challenge and...

[REPLAY] Why & How to Prune Your Client Roster for Agency Growth | EP 19

The AgencyHabits Podcast

Holding on to the wrong clients can stunt your agency's growth, drain your team's morale, and cripple your profitability. This statement holds value for agency owners who are overwhelmed by client demands, feel trapped by early, problematic clients, or are struggling to focus their service offerings for maximum impact. In this episode, Peter Kang and Sei-Wook Kim tackle the difficult but essential practice of proactively reviewing and pruning your client list. Drawing from Barrel's own journey of specialization, they provide a clear-eyed framework for evaluating which clients are worth...

[REPLAY] How Much Cash Should Your Agency Keep on Hand? | EP 18

The AgencyHabits Podcast

Profit on paper doesn't pay the bills. Learn the best practices for designing payment terms and invoicing cadences to create a smooth, predictable cash flow. In this episode, Peter Kang and Sei-Wook Kim tackle one of the most critical yet misunderstood aspects of running an agency: cash flow management. They break down the dangerous gap between your P&L's accrual-based profitability and the real money in your bank account, explaining why even "profitable" agencies can face insolvency. Peter and Sei-Wook share hard-earned lessons from their own journey, including how much cash reserve is...

[REPLAY] How Specialization Impacts Your Agency’s Growth, Margins, and Valuation | EP 16

The AgencyHabits Podcast

Is your agency a "jack-of-all-trades, master of none"? In this episode, hosts Peter Kang and Sei-Wook Kim dive deep into the transformative power of agency specialization. They break down the critical difference between internal specialization and external positioning, and reveal why narrowing your focus is the ultimate growth accelerator for agencies under $10M in revenue. Peter and Sei-Wook share Barrel Holdings' own journey from a generalist agency serving investment banks and nail salons to a specialized leader in the Shopify CPG space. They provide a clear-eyed view of the trade-offs...

[REPLAY] Are You Calculating Your Agency’s Profits Correctly? | EP 15

The AgencyHabits Podcast

Agency profitability isn’t always what it seems. In this episode, Peter Kang and Sei-Wook Kim break down how to really evaluate your agency’s profit. The hosts also talks about why two agencies reporting the same margins can mean totally different things. They unpack the difference between EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization) and SDE (Seller’s Discretionary Earnings), showing how owner salaries, distributions, and “normalization” adjustments can completely change the story. Whether you’re thinking about selling your agency or just want a clearer...

More Episodes

In this episode, hosts Peter Kang and Sei-Wook Kim dive into one of the most challenging but necessary decisions agency leaders face: when and how to let go of clients. As agencies grow, not every client remains a good fit. Peter and Sei-Wook break down the key factors to consider when evaluating your client roster, from strategic alignment and profitability to relationship quality and payment behavior.

They share real-world examples from their own experiences at Barrel, including how shifting their focus to Shopify-led projects meant parting ways with clients on other platforms. They also tackle tough topics like dealing with unprofitable accounts, managing difficult client relationships, and knowing when to walk away from a high-risk engagement.

Whether you're struggling with client concentration, operational overload, or simply want to build a more intentional client portfolio, this episode offers a practical framework for making proactive, strategic decisions that support long-term agency health.

Key Moments

1. Why “pruning” your client list is essential for sustainable growth.

2. How to assess strategic fit using your Ideal Client Profile (ICP).

3. When to prioritize profitability over revenue.

4. Evaluating account expansion potential vs. dead-end relationships.

5. The role of relationship quality and access to decision-makers.

6. Red flags in client payment behavior and how to respond.

7. Managing operational load and protecting team morale.

8. Weighing the marketing value of a client (case studies, brand credibility).

9. Understanding risk factors like client concentration and legal exposure.

10. Knowing when to bow out of a project, even after it’s started.

Real Talk Takeaways

1. Not all revenue is good revenue. Unprofitable clients can drain resources and morale.

2. Strategic fit matters. Align your client roster with where you’re going, not where you’ve been.

3. Payment behavior is a leading indicator of respect, and risk.

4. Protect your team. Difficult clients can cause burnout and turnover.

5. Sometimes the best business decision is to fire a client.

6. Leaders must own the tough calls. Don’t push them down to the team.

7. Risk isn’t always financial, reputational and legal risks can be just as damaging.

Timestamps

00:00 – Welcome to Agency Habits
00:19 – Why agencies need to regularly assess client fit
01:35 – The tree-pruning analogy for agency growth
01:56 – Factor #1: Strategic fit & Ideal Client Profile (ICP)
03:46 – Barrel’s experience with platform fragmentation
04:45 – Factor #2: Gross margin & profitability
06:15 – The trap of “ossified” unprofitable relationships
07:31 – Factor #3: Account expansion potential
08:55 – How to allocate resources based on growth potential
10:18 – Factor #4: Relationship quality & access to decision-makers
12:19 – When bad behavior justifies ending a relationship
13:21 – Factor #5: Payment behavior & red flags
15:06 – Why agencies aren’t banks—setting payment boundaries
17:55 – Factor #6: Operational load & team impact
21:06 – How to give feedback to high-maintenance clients
22:56 – The leadership decision to protect the team
24:04 – Factor #7: Case study & marketing value
25:51 – When you can’t talk about the work (e.g., Apple)
27:01 – Factor #8: Risk (concentration, reputation, legal)
28:37 – Reputational risks and company values
29:49 – When to walk away from an oversold project
31:04 – Wrap-up: Making proactive decisions for growth

Notable Quotes

“They are the people that are paying you now and are supporting your business, but that doesn’t mean they’re the right fit for the next phase of your growth.”

“Agencies are not banks. We’re not here to lend unlimited credit to our clients.”

“If you don’t make the decision, it could cause burnout turnover. If you do make a quick decision, you can build a lot of trust.”

“Not every client needs to be a case study, but every client should align with your values and operational sanity.”

“Sometimes it’s better to bow out and take the hit immediately versus a much bigger problem down the road.”

Links & Resources

Peter Kang on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peterkang34/

Sei-Wook on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/seiwookkim/

AgencyHabits Website: https://www.agencyhabits.com/

AgencyHabits on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/agencyhabits/

Barrel Holdings Website: https://www.barrel-holdings.com/

Barrel Holdings LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/barrel-holdings/

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