How This Agency Owner Scaled To $1M+ A Year

What does it really take to grow an agency past seven figures? Spoiler: it’s not sipping mai tais on the beach while your team handles everything.

In this episode of Coffee with Corey, Corey sits down with Peter, a 12-year agency owner who’s built an 18-person team, scaled past seven figures, and learned some hard but powerful lessons along the way. From the myths of “easy growth” to the reality of burnout and breakthroughs, this is a candid look at what agency life is actually like and how to thrive in it.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode

• ☕ The myths vs. realities of agency ownership – why growth isn’t as glamorous as it looks from the outside.
  
• 🚀 The sales process shift that unlocked growth – how Peter went from coasting on referrals to building a scalable outbound system.
  
• 🎁 Gift-based outbound in action – why sending gifts beats cold calls, and how it reflects the client experience.
  
• 🤖 AI as an agency growth engine – the surprising ways Peter’s team uses AI across every department to go faster and deliver better results.
  
• 💡 The underrated skills of agency founders – from listening to specialization, and why nobody ever really “feels cut out” for the job.
  
• 🔥 Candid founder moments – the dark times when Peter considered giving up, and what kept him going.
  

Rapid Fire Highlights

• Most overrated advice: “If you build it, they will come.”
  
• Most underrated skill: Listening.
  
• Weirdest place for a client call: Almost everywhere across the U.S., but never the restroom.
  
• What Peter would whisper to every new founder: Nobody feels cut out for you to build the plane while flying it.
  

⏱ Episode Chapters

00:22 The Myth of “Easy” Agency Growth

01:46 Dark Times and Not Giving Up

06:15 Breaking the 7-Figure Barrier

08:12 Gift-Based Outbound Strategy

09:55 How AI is Transforming Agencies

13:00 Lessons in Leadership and Listening

16:00 What’s Next for His Agency's Growth

If you’re an agency owner (or thinking about becoming one), this episode is equal parts inspiration and reality check. You’ll leave with practical ideas for growth, a deeper appreciation of what it really takes, and maybe even a laugh over Corey’s coffee obsession and Peter’s “bla