Barrel Holdings

What if growth wasn’t about “more” but “better”?

And what if there was a system for “better”?

That’s what we do at Barrel Holdings.

We help agency founders turn strong businesses into scalable, durable companies by installing agency systems that reduce chaos, protect margins, and unlock real value by:

→ partnering with agency founders & leaders
→ shifting founders out of daily sales & delivery
→ installing financial visibility & margin discipline
→ training teams on scoping, pricing & resourcing
→ building frameworks for recurring revenue streams
→ engineering systems for growth without dependency
→ coaching on workload capacity safeguards & burnout

There’s more.

And it is my job to make “more” - and all - of that agency wisdom binge-worthy.

Curious how we acquire, manage, and launch agency businesses?

🔗 Check us out: https://www.barrel-holdings.com/

Marketing Lead

outonomi

There’s no shortage of advice on how to become successful.

The real challenge?

Staying successful.

(In a way that evolves with you.)

My private coaching work is built for executives, entrepreneurs, founders, and thought leaders who’ve built great careers, businesses, and companies - but feel the quiet strain of titles, KPIs, and growth outpacing their vision for life.

Problems I helped my clients solve:

"I’m clear on what I don’t want.”
“This isn’t the life I truly want to lead.”
"This next chapter needs to be intentional."
"For the first time, I don’t have a 5-year plan."
"I’ve outgrown the version of myself. Now what?”
"I’m no longer sure this is my definition of success."
"I just can’t see myself doing this for the next 10 years."
"Success doesn’t mean the same thing it did five years ago."
"I’ve worked so hard to get here, but I don’t want here anymore."
“Ambition isn’t the problem. Figuring out what to do next with it…is.”

Since I’ve lived what you are walking through, I now bring both the personal experience and 7 coaching certifications to help you move through it all clearly, calmly, and efficiently.

My approach blends:

• Designing beliefs that fit your whole life
• Figuring out who you are & what you want
• Expanding your personal capacity for growth
• Building leadership identity grounded in clarity
• Untangling the subconscious patterns you carry

Because success isn’t one definition.
It’s allowed to evolve as you do.

If you’re an executive or founder ready to grow into what’s next, this is where we do that work.

✨ Private coaching application opening soon.

Founder | Private Coach to Executives

Chief

As I infamously said: "Success is just a starting point."

To us, at Chief, success is a place of service.
It is where grace, grit, and intention meet.
It is a place of connection.

It is how we live our lives.

This is why I am incredibly proud to belong to a private membership network that connects and supports the most powerful women executives, sharing playbooks with those who see themselves as both ambitious and empathic, driving change on all levels of their organizations.

Welcome to a place where there is room for all of you - and where we celebrate those who pave the way to bring others with them.

🌿 Here's to building impactful businesses.
✨ Here's to being impactful humans.

Member

IM Digital

Stories power strategies.

I learned that here.

I learned what it means to translate a story into...
→ an impactful initiative;
→ an ROI-driving project;
→ a needle-moving event.

I've learned what it means to champion transformational narratives and had a front-row seat to their power unfolding over multiple cities, continents, clients, partners, projects, and company sizes.

This is all to say...

Our job is not to get the strategy piece first.
Our job is to get the story right. 

If the story is right, the strategy unfolds.

Purposeful storytelling isn't show business; it is simply good business.

Vice President Strategic Initiatives

Innovation is the movement of intellect and imagination in the direction of growth.

It is NOT a result of logical thinking, even though its result should be logical structure.

Its goal is NOT to identify THE thing to say "Yes" to but to identify all the things we will say "No" to. 

In its essence, innovation is about making a bet on a future only few can see and trusting yourself enough to be willing to go on the journey.

👉 Whether through workshops and sprints (over 150 under my belt);
👉 Whether through events big and small (Shoptalk included);
👉 Whether through working with clients (valued at $1,9B)

I have been on journeys that resulted in creating an innovation portfolio, building diversified innovation strategies, and driving top-line growth through innovation.

I have loved every single moment, especially the ones where I served as a "professional needle mover" operating on the intersection of strategy, creativity, and psychology.

💌 In the words of the people I was able to serve: "It's like you borrow us the energy to see change as an opportunity. And then we get to translate the opportunity into clarity, and from there... well, it's easy to grow."

Vice President of Innovation

The role that became a platform for expression.

Our clients.
Our own.
Mine.

Taking over the creative efforts at an agency that was deeply rooted in complex integrations and known for its technological savviness was... a lot.

But I was curious, I loved a challenge, and I saw a gap between the ask and the value we could deliver. It asked for slight restructuring, rebranding, and navigation of 9 - but we made it happen.

🙌 It resulted in a top-performing revenue channel.
🙌 It resulted in the launching of Design Sprints.
🙌 It resulted in a profit increase.

More importantly, it resulted in us re-positioning ourselves as a full-service agency, a place where creativity and commerce meet, with competence and contribution at its core.

Over this period, we launched mid-COVID-19 materials, which led to 3 deals worth over $600k signed in a week, collaborating and partnering with the likes of PayPal, Adobe, and Salesforce, and personally heading tailor-made workshops with target key accounts.

🎯 As I fondly like to remember, that was the moment when we started pushing our brands in new directions, fueling their growth through visual, visionary storytelling.

Head of Creative

From nothing... to - my oh my - quite something.

I was always a storyteller.
I loved stacks of books.
I enjoyed the words.

(I adored their power. 🤤)

This role was the first place where my words found a home.

They got me from a small-town adventurer and aspiring dreamer into the role of blog writer who got her work published on the Adobe website, driving the Mobile Optimization Initiative and spearheading the Magento Imagine efforts.

The words spoke through me, and they were loud, and they were clear. They got us leads (over 130 per venture), they got us on the Imagine Excellence awards shortlist, and they got us into rooms where the impact was made.

It was there and then that I realized...

→ I want to keep talking.
→ I want to keep sharing.
→ I want to keep evolving.

And I want to take as many people as possible with me.

Marketing Director

Inchoo

Marketing and Communications Coordinator

Sales and Marketing Intern

AIESEC

Vice President for Business to Customers

Talent Development Manager

External Relations Team Member

Organizing Commitee of Local Training Seminar

Task Force for Brand Audit

I was always the “behind-the-scenes” girl:

• Servicing $1.9B clients;
• Leading growth and strategy;
• Pushing Inc. 500 agencies forward;
• Starting & scaling 7-figure departments;
• Collecting big brand platform partnerships;
• Evolving agencies from 12 to +100 employees;
• Running PayPal initiatives & Shoptalk workshops…

Eventually, I noticed a pattern, one I’ve seen in boardrooms, exec teams, and inside myself:

Scaling a business isn’t the hard part.
Scaling your leadership, your identity, and your capacity for success happening 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 you, instead of 𝘵𝘰 you—that’s where it starts to ache.

That realization cracked open a question:

What if the goal isn’t just growth, but 𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁?

So I made space for a new kind of success. One that is sustainable. One that included my full self. 

Since then:

→ Got 7x coaching certifications
→ Became a VP & a Board Member
→ Grew from 1k to ~15k social followers
→ Organized events with the US Embassy
→ Spoke at events, panels, and workshops
→ Personally coached 50+ female executives
→ Became a top 3% LinkedIn Creator (Favikon)
→ Became a member of CHIEF (hi, female execs!)
→ Launched my own newsletter for high-performers
→ Confidently moved from the agency world to holdcos
→ Founded OUTONOMI, the platform for sustainable success

None of this happened by accident.

It happened the moment I redefined success on my terms, and built everything else to match it.

That’s the work I now do every week: helping high-achievers recalibrate what they lead, how they live, and who they get to be inside OUTONOMI.

And I’m so grateful you’re here.

———

👋 Follow for weekly insights on leadership, growth, strategy & sustainable success.

🔥 Try my newsletter OUTONOMI—1,500+ women executives subscribe for private insights on sustainable success every week.

🚀 Want to grow your leadership, inside and out? Apply for my private coaching. Next slot available in July.

Ivona Namjesnik

I help individuals, and families make sense of their insurance and retirement options so they can feel more confident about the future. My focus is on keeping financial conversations simple and approachable, while helping people protect what they have today and prepare for tomorrow.

Horace Mann was founded by Educators, and that mission continues today. We provide solutions designed to support families from retirement strategies to protection options that fit in their lives.

I'm passionate about removing the confusion around money and providing clarity, so you can spend less time worrying and more time focusing on the things that matter most.

Dylan Thorson

This moment yesterday put everything into perspective.

Guys, I saw how awesome the moon looked. 

The sky was blue with a little bit of pink and purple, and the moon was nearly completely full.

I literally pulled over on the side of the road because I had to stop and appreciate it.

Despite everything that’s been going on this week—the good, the bad, and everything in between.

For those 2-3 minutes, it was awesome. 

Got to watch it continue to go down. 

Just a beautiful view.

Here’s your reminder going into the weekend:

No matter how busy you are, don’t forget to be grateful for what you have.

Yes, keep striving. 

Keep pushing for those goals.

But take a moment. 

Write down a few things you’re grateful for. 

Say them out loud. 

Message a few people you’re grateful for.

When you lead with gratitude, it puts you in a positive mood and leads to positive actions and outcomes.

Don’t forget to be grateful.

What’s one thing you’re grateful for as we head into the weekend?

Building wealth while creating memories | Helping achieve financial freedom without sacrificing what matters most.

No alternative text description for this image

Have you ever had one of those moments?

Guys, that’s exactly what happened at date night last night.

Between pushing for year-end goals, getting everything ready for the holidays, Saint Nick coming up—I couldn’t sit still. 

My mind was racing through tomorrow’s calls, next week’s deadlines, everything I still hadn’t done.

And yes, I’ve done all the right stuff. 

Lists made. Everything prioritized. Boxes getting checked.

But I’d been carrying all of it. Every goal. Every deadline. Every worry. Just me.

Best thing I’ve done all month? 

I asked for help instead of trying to figure it all out alone.

As soon as we sat down for wings, I said: 

“Babe, I’m feeling stressed about this stuff. There’s so much going on. There’s still so much to do.”

We had a real conversation. 

She didn’t just listen—she asked questions I hadn’t thought to ask myself. 

Gave me a perspective I couldn’t see when I was drowning in it.

And she reminded me of wins I’d already forgotten about. 

Things I crushed earlier this year that felt impossible then too.

Here’s what I’ve learned, especially this year:

When you’re chasing big goals, you can’t do it alone.

So many times, we think asking for help makes us look weak. 

That we should have it all figured out by ourselves.

But the truth? 

Having the right people in your corner—a spouse, a coach, a mentor—who you can be real with and say “This is what’s going on, I need help”—that’s not weakness.

That’s how you actually win.

You get clarity. You get perspective. 

You get someone backing you up when things get heavy.

Huge shout out to my wife for being an awesome supporter and my rock.

This is your reminder: 

You can’t do everything alone. And you’re not supposed to.

If you’re feeling like a lot’s going on right now, lean on the right people. 

That’s not giving up. That’s being smart.

Who’s in your corner helping you chase your biggest goals?

Your calendar shows what you actually care about. Does yours?

I know we’re pushing toward end-of-year goals harder than ever, especially these next two weeks.

And after taking some time this weekend to spend with my wife and dogs, I was reminded of something crucial:

Fill your calendar with your big rocks first.

This is something my coach told me over a year and a half ago that completely transformed my calendar—and honestly, my life.

Because no matter how crazy busy things are, no matter how much chaos is going on, no matter what you’re pushing for—if your big rocks are filled on your calendar first, everything changes.

Time blocked off to spend with your spouse.

Go on a walk. 

Get that photo with Santa. 

Whatever the random memories are that you want to make—that actually refill your heart and recharge you.

You’re not only going to come back to finish the day stronger. 

You’re going to start the next day stronger too.

So no matter what season you’re in, no matter how much busyness is happening—don’t forget to fill those big rocks first.

Because it’s the ultimate reset. 

And it’s going to make achieving your goals actually worth it—with the people around you believing in you, supporting you, and keeping track of what’s actually important.

Making memories. Spending time with those you love.

What’s one “big rock” you’re scheduling first this week?

Q4 is chaos. Deadlines. Travel. Goals. But last night I did something more important.

Guys, most of us are a few weeks away from ending Q4 and wrapping up the year.

I know a lot of you are in that end-of-year push right now. Goals. Deadlines. Traveling. Holidays. All the chaos.

But here’s what I’ve been finding over the last two weeks:

You have to make time for what really matters.

Last night, I carved out time to go get our annual photo taken with Santa—my wife, me, Nike, and Larry.

Seeing that photo afterwards and seeing how happy we all were? 

That’s been the ultimate reset for me to keep pushing and end the year strong.

Don’t forget to do the small resets and make those memories despite all the chaos.

Those are the moments that actually matter.

What’s one memory you’ve made this season that’s given you a reset?

You want results instantly. But that’s not how the best things work.

There’s a lesson that’s really stuck with me since church yesterday.

The pastor was talking about how, especially in the US, we want everything fast. 

We want everything to happen immediately!!

Guys, we have fast food. 

We have same-day delivery with Amazon—which I still think is absolutely crazy. And if we can’t get it same day and have to wait 2-4 days?…..

We’re complaining about it!!

We want everything instantly because that’s what we’re used to.

But whether it’s God’s grace or making progress toward our goals—99% of the time, it’s going to happen gradually.

And that hit me.

Now, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be showing up every single day and busting your butt doing what needs to be done.

But so often, we expect things to happen instantly. 

As if we just show up for one day, everything will click right away.

The brutal truth? It’s gonna happen gradually.

The best things in life take more time than we want or think.

Change and progress in the right direction happens slowly!

So yes, you have to show up every single day. 

But here’s your reminder:

If you feel like you’re further away from your goals than you thought—or maybe you’re not exactly where you want to be—just know this:

The greatest things in life happen gradually.

That doesn’t mean you’re crazy. It doesn’t mean you’re behind.

It means you’re gradually working and making progress in the right direction.

So as we finish out this year strong, remember: 

Keep gradually moving toward your goals. 

With time—the one thing we don’t like but the one thing it takes—they will happen.

Have a great Monday.

What’s one goal you’re committed to showing up for gradually, even when progress feels slow?

How you treat people will always be remembered.

Guys, I met with one of my favorite people the other day, and during our conversation, they said something that stuck with me.

“Dylan, you went above and beyond to help us.”

Well, someone reached out to them recently asking who they go to for their $ questions.

And they referred an awesome person over to me.

During our conversation, this new person explicitly told me it wasn’t because I had the world’s greatest presentation or because everything was so perfect with no mistakes.

It was because I was direct. I was honest.  

I didn’t waste their time or try to push them into anything they didn’t want to do.

That referral? It came from how I treated someone months ago!

And now I have the opportunity to not only help someone else grow, but also meet another great person.

Here’s your reminder: 

The seeds you’re planting today might not show results tomorrow. 

Or next week. 

Maybe not for 6 months or 12 months.

But you gotta keep watering them. 

You gotta keep planting more.

Treat people right. Build real relationships. 

Grow your network with genuine intention.

Because you never know how treating someone kindly today might come back to you down the road.

I’m a firm believer in good karma. 

Keep doing the right things, and it will come back to you in some way, shape, or form.

What’s one relationship you invested in that paid off months or years later?

So what do you guys do for 4 months of the year when it snows?

Someone on a cruise earlier this year found out we’re from Wisconsin and asked me that exact question.

I had that exact memory pop into my head while I was cross country skiing earlier today.

Here in Wisconsin, we got about 12 inches of snow in the last 24 hours. 

First big one of the year, and it’s already off to a great start!!! 

As I was out there today, I thought back to that comment and had to laugh.

I was able to enlighten them….

Skiing. Snowboarding. Cross country skiing. Snowball fights. Building snowmen.

There’s so much fun to do that I could list them off for hours.

Winter in Wisconsin isn’t something you survive—it’s something you actually enjoy if you lean into it.

Hopefully you guys had a great Thanksgiving and a great weekend.

Thought I’d wrap it up with a nice funny little story. 

And yes, I did have a blast cross country skiing today.

Here’s a video of me out there with some of my family.

What’s one thing you love about winter—or one thing you’re dreading about it?

taplio

The Battle

Ivona Namjesnik

Dylan Thorson

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