How do you know when your agency has outgrown its brand and what actually happens when you decide to change it after 17 years?

Today’s episode gives you a rare behind-the-scenes look at a rebrand most agency owners never get to witness.

My guest, Kim Atkinson, co-founder and COO of Foundery, recently led her agency through a full transformation after nearly two decades of being known as “Ontario SEO.”

What started as a small, local SEO shop evolved into an international, full-service digital agency… but the brand didn’t evolve with them. And eventually, the name that once helped them grow became the very thing holding them back.

In this conversation, Kim opens the door to the real journey. The fears, the hesitation, the naming battles, the internal alignment, and the strategic decisions that helped them pull off a rebrand without losing momentum.

Whether your agency has been around for 17 years or you're only a few years in, you’ll walk away with clarity on:

• how to know your brand no longer reflects your business,
• what to prepare for before changing anything,
• how to protect your visibility during the transition, and
• what shifts once your brand finally matches who you are today.

It’s an honest, practical sneak-peek into a rebrand done thoughtfully and a meaningful listen if you’re sensing it might be time for your own evolution.

Let’s dive in.

Show Notes:

-Website: Foundery.ca

-Kim's LinkedIn

Hey thanks for hanging out with me at the Small But Mighty Podcast. If you enjoyed this episode it would mean the world to me if you hit the follow or subscribe button in your podcast app and share it with a friend. And I’ll see you on the next one.

Get the full show notes and more information here: https://audreyjoykwan.com/podcast/ep142

Podcast Edits by Lindsay Curtis

There’s a stage in agency growth that looks successful on the outside but feels limiting on the inside.

You’re delivering great work, clients are happy, and your reputation is solid… yet you’re still underpriced, overextended, and not seen as the strategic partner you know you are.

This silent slowdown has a name: the value gap and most agencies stay in it far longer than they realize.

In this episode of the Small But Mighty Agency Podcast, we unpack why this happens and how it ties directly to the three levels of competitive power that agencies move through as they grow. Most agencies unknowingly get stuck in the middle level, where their work is good enough to grow, but their positioning quietly caps their value.

In this episode, we explore:

• Why “good work” is no longer enough to stand out
• The 3 levels of agency competitive power and where most firms plateau
• The shift from selling deliverables to selling outcomes
• Why premium pricing follows transformation, not effort
• How specialization becomes strategic leverage

When you get clear on the big outcome you deliver, everything starts to line up. You can see what conditions need to be in place, who’s actually a right-fit client, and where your best results come from.

At that point, growth isn’t about doing more work. It’s about solving a bigger, more meaningful problem that earns higher value.

Listen in to explore where your agency sits today and what it takes to move beyond the ceiling.

Show Notes:

The Hands off CEO book: handsoffceo.com/book

Mandi's LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/mandiellefson

Hey thanks for hanging out with me at the Small But Mighty Podcast. If you enjoyed this episode it would mean the world to me if you hit the follow or subscribe button in your podcast app and share it with a friend. And I’ll see you on the next one.

Get the full show notes and more information here: https://audreyjoykwan.com/podcast/ep141

Podcast Edits by Lindsay Curtis

Most agency owners say their business grows through referrals.
But when you ask what their referral system looks like things go quiet.

If that sounds familiar, you’re not alone.
Referrals feel earned, but if they’re happening by chance, you’re leaving your growth to luck.

In this episode of Small But Mighty Agency, we’re talking about how to stop waiting for referrals to “just happen” and start designing them through something I call your Strategic Partnership Squad.

Here’s what we get into:

• The difference between passive referrals and proactive partnerships — and how to build the latter.
  
  
  
• Why trust, not visibility, is driving growth for agencies heading into 2026.
  
  
  
• The four power players that make up your Strategic Partnership Squad:
  
  
  
• How these roles turn word-of-mouth momentum into a repeatable system.

If you’ve ever said, “Our business runs on referrals,” this episode will help you turn that from something you wait for into something you engineer.

These are the same kinds of conversations we had at the recent Agency Together Strategic Partnership Mixer where agency owners came together to share what’s working, swap insights, and see collaboration in action.

If you missed it, you can still explore how Agency Together helps you build referral-ready relationships and grow through collaboration — learn more here: https://agencytogether.com/

Show Notes:

Agency Together Connection/Discovery Call

Map Your Strategic Partnership Squad

Hey thanks for hanging out with me at the Small But Mighty Podcast. If you enjoyed this episode it would mean the world to me if you hit the follow or subscribe button in your podcast app and share it with a friend. And I’ll see you on the next one.

Get the full show notes and more information here: https://audreyjoykwan.com/podcast/ep140

Podcast Edits by Lindsay Curtis