How Agencies Can Be Better at Marketing Themselves | EP 15
Release Date: 11/25/2025
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...
info_outline
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...
info_outline
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-...
info_outline
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...
info_outline
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...
info_outline
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...
info_outline
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....
info_outline
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...
info_outline
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...
info_outline
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 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 open-source software, and highlight other standout campaigns like annual recap microsites, community-building meetups, physical publications, and even an agency-built coffee shop.
For any agency owner tired of generic marketing tactics, this episode is a treasure trove of creative, memorable ideas to stand out and build lasting connections with your ideal audience.
Key Moments
1. The agency marketing mistake: Why a reactive, short-term lens leads to frustration.
2. Reframing marketing as a long-term investment in reputation and awareness.
3. The basic marketing toolkit: Social media, case studies, newsletters, and events.
4. The 24-hour website challenge showcases speed, skill, and heart.
5. Open-source software, building goodwill and technical credibility.
6. Annual recap microsites, packaging a year’s work into a narrative asset.
7. The final word: Why consistency and experimentation are the keys to marketing success.
Real Talk Takeaways
1. Marketing is not a slot machine; it's a long-term activity where results compound over time, much like exercise.
2. The goal of marketing is to be remembered, so when an opportunity arises, your agency is top of mind.
3. Even basic marketing activities can be highly effective if done with consistency and a specific audience in mind.
4. Ambitious, one-off projects like a 24-hour build or a physical publication can generate years of storytelling value and PR.
5. Giving back to the community through open-source code or hosted events builds immense goodwill that can convert to opportunities years later.
6. The right marketing mix requires experimentation; you have to try different things to see what resonates with your target audience.
7. Measure success by asking new prospects how they heard about you, understanding that results often lag 6-12 months behind the effort.
Timestamps
00:00 – Intro: The Wrong Way to Think About Agency Marketing
01:14 – Marketing as a Long-Term Investment, Not a Slot Machine
02:05 – The Basic Level of Agency Marketing Activities
04:13 – The Power of Doing the Basics Exceptionally Well
05:35 – Introducing Six Unconventional Marketing Examples
06:00 – Example 1: The 24-Hour Website Challenge
07:39 – Example 2: Releasing Open Source Software
09:51 – Barrel Holdings: Acquiring Profitable Agencies
10:14 – Example 3: Using Annual Recaps as a Narrative Tool
11:20 – Putting Your Annual Recap in Email Footers
11:35 – Example 4: Building a Community with Events
13:18 – Example 5: The Impact of Physical Publications
15:05 – Example 6: The Ambitious Big Bet (Like a Coffee Shop)
16:37 – Wrapping Up: The Need for Consistency and Experimentation
18:08 – How to Measure the Impact of Your Marketing Efforts
19:01 – Final Advice: Keep Trying Stuff
Notable Quotes
"A lot of agencies... by the time marketing enters their minds, it's because the leads have kind of started to dry up... this might be some reactive, quick, 'Hey, let's post some stuff on LinkedIn.'" — Peter Kang on the common reactive approach to marketing.
"The way to get the true power of marketing is to think about it as like a long-term investment. It's not like a slot machine where you can just put in some coins and leads will come out right away." — Peter Kang on the long-term investment mindset.
"At the core, [marketing is] about building reputation and awareness of who you are, what you do with the specific target that you're after. Ultimately you're trying to connect with that specific audience." — Sei-Wook Kim on the fundamental goal of marketing.
"Marketing is a lot about consistency. It's not an on-off type of thing... It's what are the activities that you continue to do that reach the audience that you hope to reach?" — Sei-Wook Kim on the importance of consistent effort.
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/