How We Exited Our Agency Without Selling It | EP 13
Release Date: 10/08/2025
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 their most significant career transitions: stepping away from the day-to-day leadership of their first agency, Barrel, without selling the business. They define this strategic move as a "role exit" which is a path less discussed but highly relevant for founder-led businesses.
Peter and Sei-Wook share the multi-year journey of identifying and grooming their successor, Lucas Ballasy, from designer to CEO. They detail the practical steps of mapping out their own responsibilities, filling skill gaps, and navigating the emotional challenges of letting go, even amid a major client crisis. The conversation also explores the profound shift in their daily lives post-transition and how this move unlocked their ability to fully focus on building Barrel Holdings.
For any agency founder wondering how to eventually step back without a full sale, this episode offers a candid, real-world blueprint built on trust, deliberate planning, and deep relationships.
Key Moments
1. Defining a "role exit" and how it differs from a traditional ownership sale.
2. Identifying the right successor: The qualities that made an internal candidate the perfect fit.
3. The multi-year grooming process: From a team member to CEO.
4. The essential first step: Mapping out all founder responsibilities to define the new role.
5. Navigating a major business crisis just before the leadership handoff.
6. The toughest part of letting go: Trust, patience, and resisting the urge to micromanage.
7. Life after the exit: The shift to a strategic focus and building Barrel Holdings.
Real Talk Takeaways
1. A "role exit" is a powerful alternative to selling your business, allowing you to retain ownership while freeing up your time.
2. The ideal successor is often already in your building. Look for proactive, low-ego team members hungry for more responsibility.
3. You can't hand off a messy role. You must first map out and systematize all your responsibilities to set the new leader up for success.
4. Transition timing is never perfect. You must trust your chosen leader to navigate challenges, even difficult ones you're handing over.
5. The emotional tie to your first business is immense. Letting go requires immense trust, which is built on a foundation of shared history and values.
6. Post-exit, your focus shifts from daily firefighting to quarterly and yearly strategic planning.
7. The magic formula for a successful transition combines strong personal relationships with deliberate, intentional planning for the future.
Timestamps
00:00 – Intro: What is a "Role Exit"?
01:08 – Why we decided to step back after 18 years
02:17 – Identifying and grooming our successor: The Lucas Story
03:58 – The practical steps: Mapping out our roles and responsibilities
06:24 – Navigating a crisis: Losing major clients right before the handoff
08:25 – Making the final call to transition amid uncertainty
09:31 – The toughest part: Letting go of control and trusting the new leader
10:33 – Life after the exit: The immediate shift in our daily reality
12:17 – How the transition unlocked our focus on Barrel Holdings
13:39 – The #1 lesson: Why deep relationships make a succession possible
15:25 – The final takeaway: Combine strong relationships with deliberate planning
Notable Quotes
“When people hear the term exit, they usually think about selling a business. Our definition of exit was slightly different from that.” — Sei Wook Kim on the definition of a founder’s exit.
"The ideal successor is often already in your building. Look for proactive, low-ego team members hungry for more responsibility." — Peter Kang on identifying internal talent.
"Transition timing is never perfect. You must trust your chosen leader to navigate challenges, even difficult ones you're handing over." — Sei Wook Kim on navigating the handoff during a crisis.
“As founders in a business for more than a decade and a half, there's a lot of little things that we take for granted. Little activities that we were just doing on autopilot. We spent a lot of time kind of mapping out all these things.” — Peter Kang on delegation of marketing, HR, and finance.
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/