How to Design Your Agency Org Chart for Sustainable Growth | EP 9
Release Date: 09/10/2025
Turning Every New Client Opportunity Into an Agency’s Compounding Asset | EP25
The AgencyHabits Podcast
Most agencies treat client work as a series of one-off transactions. But the most successful firms treat every engagement as an investment that compounds over time. In this episode, hosts Peter Kang and Sei Wook Kim introduce the concept of engagement yield: the tangible and intangible value that extends far beyond the invoice. They break down the four components of engagement yield; proof, leverage, relationships, and referrals. And explains how agencies can systematically capture this value. Peter and Sei Wook share practical strategies for turning client work into lasting assets: from...
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Why Peter Wrote a Book on Holding Companies | EP24
The AgencyHabits Podcast
In this special episode, host Sei-Wook Kim interviews Barrel Holdings co-founder Peter Kang about his new book, The HoldCo Guide: How Entrepreneurs Structure and Build a Holding Company That Lasts. Peter shares the organic journey that led him to write the book, from scaling a single agency to building a multi-agency holding company, and why no existing resource fully addressed the topic. He breaks down the core concepts every entrepreneur should understand: the spectrum between capital allocator and operational HoldCos, the critical balance of centralization vs. decentralization, and the...
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Breaking Down Agency Employee Compensation | EP23
The AgencyHabits Podcast
Compensation is more than just a number. It’s a strategic tool for attracting, retaining, and motivating talent. In this episode, hosts Peter Kang and Sei-Wook Kim unpack the full spectrum of employee compensation in an agency setting. They start by acknowledging that while pay is crucial, it’s not the only factor. Culture, management, challenging work, and company trajectory all play vital roles. From there, they dive into the core components: base salary (and how to set competitive, geographically-aware bands), benefits (health insurance, 401k, PTO, and creative perks), and both short-...
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Annual Checkup: 9 Markers to Diagnose Your Agency’s Health | EP22
The AgencyHabits Podcast
Most agencies only seek help when something is broken. But by then, the problems are often systemic. In this episode, hosts Peter Kang and Sei-Wook Kim shift the conversation from reactive fixes to proactive health. They introduce a holistic “annual checkup” framework, mapping nine critical agency functions to body parts and their vital signs: from positioning (vision) and client trust (heart rate) to revenue stability (blood pressure) and risk resilience (immune system). Drawing from their experience building and scaling Barrel, Peter and Sei-Wook explain how to spot early warning signals...
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Evolving from Managing Projects to Growing Accounts | EP21
The AgencyHabits Podcast
Growing from single-project engagements to managing multiple, concurrent work streams is a major turning point for any agency. In this episode, hosts Peter Kang and Sei-Wook Kim unpack the structural shift required to turn this complexity into a sustainable competitive advantage. Drawing from their own hard-earned lessons at Barrel, they dissect the common pitfalls like team silos, client misalignment, and leader burnout, that can derail multi-faceted accounts. Peter and Sei-Wook break down the three critical roles needed for success: Account Leadership for strategy and relationships, Program...
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How Agencies Should Think About and Manage Risk | EP 20
The AgencyHabits Podcast
In this episode, Peter Kang and Sei-Wook Kim break down how agency owners should think about risk, not as isolated problems to react to, but as ongoing exposure that needs to be actively managed. Using a simple risk matrix, they explain how to prioritize risks based on likelihood and impact, and why high-impact risks deserve disproportionate attention. They then walk through nine of the most consequential risks agencies face, from founder burnout and partner misalignment to legal exposure, cash flow insolvency, client concentration, and strategic drift. For each, they share practical ways to...
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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....
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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...
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The Six Levers of Profitable Client Engagements | EP17
The AgencyHabits Podcast
Profitability is the lifeblood of any agency, yet it can feel elusive. In this episode, Peter Kang and Sei-Wook Kim move beyond surface-level tips to reveal the six fundamental levers that directly impact the bottom line of every project, retainer, and service program. They break down how pricing, staffing, engagement design, scope management, reusable IP, and automation all interlock to create or erode healthy gross margins. Drawing from their experience across the Barrel Holdings portfolio, Peter and Sei-Wook share candid examples of where profitability leaks and provide a practical...
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Scaling Your Agency Beyond $2M | EP 16
The AgencyHabits Podcast
In this episode, Peter Kang and Sei-Wook Kim dissect why agencies hit the $2M 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....
info_outlineIn this episode, hosts Peter Kang and Sei-Wook Kim pull back the curtain on one of the most critical yet often overlooked aspects of scaling an agency: organizational design. Starting from their own early days as a flat, "all-hands-on-deck" team, they trace the evolution of their org chart at Barrel as they grew, specialized roles, and built departments.
Peter and Sei-Wook discuss the telltale signs that it's time to add structure, from the need for career paths and mentorship to managing increasing project complexity. They share practical advice on how founders can be more deliberate about org design, including the powerful exercise of visualizing your current and future org chart.
They also get real about the challenges of scaling up and down, the pitfalls of over-specializing too early, and how to define leadership roles that match your agency's current stage of growth. Whether you're a solo founder feeling the strain or a growing team struggling with blurred lines, this episode offers a clear framework for building an intentional and effective organizational structure.
Key Moments
1. The early days: Why flat orgs work (until they don't).
2. The catalyst for change: Needing career paths, mentorship, and clear leadership.
3. How project complexity forces specialization and new roles (PMs, QA, Strategists).
4. The pitfall of over-specializing and bloating project teams without budget support.
5. The danger of "orphaned" roles that report directly to founders.
6. Step 1: Understanding your own strengths and weaknesses as a founder.
7. Step 2: The power of visualizing your org chart to identify gaps and stragglers.
8. Step 3: Using the org chart as a strategic tool for future hiring and growth.
9. The hard reality: Scaling your org down in times of revenue decline.
10. Defining leadership roles: "Player-Coach" vs. "General Manager" at different stages.
Real Talk Takeaways
1. Your org chart is a strategic tool, not an HR formality. Visualizing it is the first step to intentional growth.
2. Not all specialization is good. Adding roles increases overhead; it must be supported by project budgets and volume.
3. Founders must learn to let go. The goal is to move from being a "player" to a "GM" who focuses on org design and hiring.
4. Business isn't always up and to the right. You must be willing to dismantle roles you worked hard to build when revenue contracts.
5. Hire leaders for the stage you're in. A "Director" at a 20-person agency needs to be hands-on, not just managerial.
6. Clarity is kindness. Clear role definitions, career progressions, and reporting lines build trust and accountability.
7. The ultimate leverage for a founder is designing an org where the right people are in the right seats.
Timestamps
00:00 – Welcome to Agency Habits
00:06 – Why org design is a recurring pain point for scaling agencies
00:39 – The early days: Fluid roles, flat structures, and everyone wearing multiple hats
01:33 – The turning point: Needing structure for career growth and mentorship
02:10 – How project complexity (bigger teams, more disciplines) forces org evolution
03:43 – The transition: Creating departments, defining roles, and establishing leadership
05:48 – The double-edged sword of specialization: Efficiency vs. overhead & silos
07:24 – The critical link between project budgets, team size, and agency margins
08:11 – The problem of "orphaned" roles that lack a clear reporting line
09:00 – Advice for founders: How to start being deliberate about org design
10:00 – Step 1: Map your current org chart to visualize reporting lines and gaps
11:00 – Step 2: Create a future org chart to plan hires and growth deliberately
12:22 – Integrating org design with performance management and career progression
13:29 – How org design gave the founders the confidence to exit day-to-day operations
14:17 – The hardest part: Letting go, trusting your team, and allowing them to learn
14:46 – The founder's evolution: From "player" to "General Manager"
16:05 – The reality check: Scaling your org down during stagnant or declining revenue
17:04 – The sunken cost fallacy: Why you can't cling to overhead roles in a downturn
19:22 – Strategies for contracting: Transparency, fractional roles, and re-consolidating hats
20:13 – Defining leadership: "Player-Coach" vs. "General Manager" at different scales
22:47 – How to think about a leader's utilization and their impact on the entire team
23:19 – Wrap-up: The importance of intentional org design
Notable Quotes
"The org chart was very flat... it became unclear who reports to whom, what everyone's responsibility is."
"Effective org design needs to also reflect the type of work that you do and the way that your project or engagement teams are constructed."
"Once we started using the org chart as a tool, it was really helpful... we started having discussions around job descriptions, who reports to who, and how we measure success."
"The first thing for a founder is understanding your own strengths and weaknesses."
"As the founder, the leader, you're really trying to get to a point where your main lever of impact is the org design and then recruiting the right people and holding them accountable to results."
"Business isn't always up and to the right... you may need to make changes in the business that are kinda the opposite of what you put in place."
"You almost have to kind of see the warning signs, make the decisive move to slim it down... you can't cling to the facade of the infrastructure you built."
"It's always a balance, but just understanding... how are they using their time and what's the best use of their energy."
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/