This Week's Agency Insights Every week, we share content to help you run your agency business. What's Top of Mind Want to Step Back Without Breaking the Business? - Most founders wait too long to exit their roles. Here’s the exact process we used to transition out of the CEO seat, without ghosting the business, or imploding it. The faster path to ROI? Trust. - North Street Creative agency added this slide to their proposals. It reframed client expectations, and improved close rates. Bold?...
5 days ago • 1 min read
If we were starting an agency today - no network, no clients, no name - where would we begin? That’s what we dig into in this week’s The AgencyHabits Podcast. Nineteen years after building Barrel from scratch, we look back at what worked, what didn’t, and how we’d do it differently now. Spoiler: it’s less about tactics and more about how you show up. Here’s what we cover: Why your first 10 clients will almost always come from your personal network (and how to grow it intentionally). The...
8 days ago • 1 min read
This Week's Agency Insights Every week, we share content to help you run your agency business. What's Top of Mind Specialization is what you master. Positioning is how you say it. - Most agencies blur the line. This post breaks down why that confusion costs you trust, margins, and growth, and how to fix it. “The way we work today isn’t guaranteed tomorrow.”- Peter Kang said this on a recent panel with Eddie Opara and Julia Zeltser. They also covered the art and business of design, and how to...
12 days ago • 1 min read
Most founders resist narrowing their focus. It feels like saying no to opportunity. But what actually happens when you specialize is the opposite, you create leverage. In this week’s AgencyHabits Podcast, we dig into why specialization is the quiet multiplier behind growth, profitability, and long-term value. Here’s what we cover: The difference between specialization and positioning, and why both matter. Why saying “no” to work outside your niche can actually increase retention and margin....
15 days ago • 1 min read
This Week's Agency Insights Every week, we share content to help you run your agency business. What's Top of Mind Most agencies overcomplicate partnerships. - Here’s the system we use across Barrel Holdings to keep it simple, consistent, and actually valuable. Pitch the team you actually have. - Pretending confuses people. Be real about your size, your people, and your strengths. What We're Organizing Agency life can feel like a silo. Let’s change that. On November 19, we’re hosting our...
19 days ago • 1 min read
We talk a lot about agency profitability. But when you strip the buzzwords and look at the spreadsheets, most founders are miscalculating their numbers, sometimes by 10–20%. This week’s episode of The AgencyHabits Podcast tackles that head-on. Peter and Sei-Wook break down how they actually assess agency health at Barrel Holdings: what 15% EBITDA really means, how they normalize owner salaries, and why SDE and EBITDA are two different conversations entirely. If you’re thinking about selling,...
22 days ago • 1 min read
This Week's Agency Insights Every week, we share content to help you run your agency business. What's Top of Mind Track fewer metrics. Make better decisions. - Stop tracking for the sake of tracking. This is how we cut through the clutter and focus on the numbers that move the business. “Looking forward to chatting” isn’t a sales strategy. - This post by Peter Caputa, CEO of Databox, breaks down how early-stage messaging unintentionally projects weakness, and how to shift your posture from...
26 days ago • 1 min read
Every founder starts somewhere, usually with more passion than process. For Peter Kang and Sei-Wook Kim, it was 2003. A Columbia dorm room. Two friends who loved building websites. $5,000 projects that felt huge at the time. That was the start of what would become Barrel Holdings, a family of specialized agencies built over two decades of trial, error, and slow, deliberate growth. In this episode of The AgencyHabits Podcast, Peter and Sei-Wook unpack: How they went from freelancing for...
29 days ago • 1 min read
Hi, Ivona here. This was supposed to hit your inbox Friday, but my laptop had other plans. Call it a gentle reminder that even in digital ops, human things happen. The upside? You’re getting this from a real human who deeply cares about delivering content that actually helps you run your agency better. Hope it fuels your Monday - enjoy! This Week's Agency Insights Every week, we share content to help you run your agency business. What's Top of Mind The Real Reasons Agencies Lose Clients (and...
about 1 month ago • 1 min read