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_outlineCompensation 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- and long-term incentives.
Peter and Sei-Wook share practical insights on designing bonus structures, from annual performance bonuses to spot rewards, and discuss the nuances of variable compensation and commissions for sales and account teams. Finally, they explore “upside compensation” like profit sharing and equity, highlighting the administrative complexity and strategic alignment needed to make these programs effective.
Whether you’re a startup agency or scaling beyond 20 employees, this episode offers a clear, intentional framework for building a compensation system that supports both your people and your business.
Key Moments
1. Why compensation matters, but isn’t the only factor in talent retention.
2. Base salary: setting bands, accounting for geography, and aligning with business affordability.
3. The role of benefits: health insurance, retirement plans, PTO, and ancillary perks.
4. Bonuses broken down: annual/performance bonuses vs. spot/ad-hoc rewards.
5. Variable compensation & commissions: designing incentives for sales and account teams.
6. Profit sharing: models for broad vs. leadership-only eligibility, and the need for financial transparency.
7. Equity as long-term incentive: RSUs, options, phantom equity, and ESOPs, when it works and when it doesn’t.
8. Administrative overhead: the hidden costs of complex comp programs.
9. Keeping it simple: starting lean and scaling intentionally.
Real Talk Takeaways
1. Comp is important, but culture, management, and growth trajectory are equally critical to retention.
2. Base salary is foundational. Get it right first, using geography and business model as guides.
3. Benefits are a significant cost, especially health insurance. Be conservative early on.
4. Bonuses can create entitlement if not structured carefully. Spot bonuses feel special but can seem arbitrary.
5. Commission structures must incentivize the right behaviors. Not just volume, but quality and retention.
6. Profit sharing requires financial transparency and clear rules. It’s not as simple as just cutting a check.
7. Equity without a clear liquidity path or shared vision often fails as a retention tool.
8. Every new comp component adds administrative overhead. Start simple and scale thoughtfully.
9. For most employees, clear salary bands and regular reviews matter more than fancy long-term incentives.
Timestamps
00:00 – Introduction: Why Compensation Is More Than Just Salary
01:30 – Base Salary Fundamentals: Setting Competitive & Geographically-Aware Pay
02:00 – How to Determine What Your Business Can Afford
03:20 – The Pitfall of Comparing Salaries with Other Agencies
04:20 – Developing Salary Bands & Career Growth Pathways
05:45 – Benefits Breakdown: Health Insurance as a Major Cost & Consideration
07:30 – Retirement Plans, PTO, and Creative Perks (e.g., Anniversary Gifts)
09:00 – Bonuses Explained: Annual/Performance-Based vs. Spot/Ad-Hoc Rewards
11:35 – The Risks of Bonus Structures: Entitlement vs. Recognition
13:45 – Variable Compensation & Commissions: Tailoring for Sales & Biz Dev Roles
16:10 – Designing Commissions to Incentivize Quality, Not Just Volume
18:40 – Variable Comp for Account & Project Management: Upselling & Expansion
19:50 – Profit Sharing Models: Company-Wide vs. Leadership-Only Pools
21:25 – The Need for Financial Transparency & Administrative Overhead
23:10 – Key Rules & Complications: Payout Timing, Eligibility, and Clawbacks
24:40 – Equity & Long-Term Incentives: RSUs, Options, Phantom Equity & ESOPs
26:15 – The Importance of a Clear Liquidity Path or Exit Vision
27:40 – When Equity Works vs. When It’s Just a Retention Gimmick
29:30 – Recap & Final Takeaways: Start Simple, Scale Intentionally
31:15 – Closing Thoughts: Focus on Base Salary & Clear Review Systems
Notable Quotes
“Comp isn’t the end-all-be-all. You’re not going to attract really great people just because of comp.” — Peter Kang on the holistic view of retention.
“Base salary is the most important thing to nail right off the bat.” — Sei-Wook Kim on starting with fundamentals.
“Benefits can be a big factor especially in the U.S., where health insurance weighs heavily.” — Sei-Wook Kim on the role of non-salary compensation.
“Spot bonuses are effective because they don’t create entitlement but they can feel arbitrary.” — Peter Kang on the pros and cons of ad-hoc rewards.
“Equity without a clear path to liquidity is often symbolic. It doesn’t translate to the result you’re looking for.” — Sei-Wook Kim on the pitfalls of equity as a retention tool.
“Profit sharing sounds great, but there’s a real administrative overhead. You have to be prepared for it.” — Peter Kang on the hidden complexity of shared profits.
“Keep things simple at the start. Once you give a benefit, it’s really hard to take it away.” — Sei-Wook Kim on starting lean and scaling intentionally.
Links & Resources
Peter Kang on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peterkang34/
Sei-Wook Kim 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/