By Elaine Stone, Photo by Joe Simon

When other advertising firms are downsizing or even worse, Amy Gray, President of BellTower Advertising is happy to say: “We’re hiring.”

Okay, a little test. Raise your hand if you’ve ever thought: “If I ran my own company this is how I would do it.”

Amy Gray took those thoughts and dreams and turned them into a reality.  “I took a marketing class in college and really liked it,” Gray says.  After graduating from Ashland University, she worked for several advertising firms, some small, some large.  “It’s not unusual in this industry to move around a bit,” she says, wryly.

Her first job was with a well known bagel company chain and her boss held a very unusual orientation her first day.  He sat her down and told her to watch the “The Godfather.” After she watched the movie, her boss explained that the message in the movie is to just remember it’s always business, nothing personal – strictly business.  He told her that if she followed those principles she would do well.

Another boss from an agency in Columbus told her to do what she was good at, really passionate about, and that the job was always about the client.  Make them happy and they will stay with you over the long haul, he said.  Gray feels very fortunate to have developed close friendships with some of her old bosses and knows that she can pick up the phone and get their input whenever she needs it. “Know what you don’t know,” she says.

In August of 2004, working off of a Rubbermaid table with six clients, Amy started BellTower Advertising.  The name of the company came from the bell tower on the old church she bought in the heart of Bellevue, Kentucky. She is enamored with old architecture.  “I find these great treasures and then my husband ends up doing most of the restoration,” Gray says, smiling.  The company has since moved to a large home in Bellevue’s business district at 322 Fairfield Avenue.  The agency now has seven employees and does business in 65 markets.

Gray hopes to keep her employees with the agency for several years so they can better serve their clients. “Our agency has clients that have stayed with us for as long as nine to 10 years, which is unusual in the agency world so that advice really paid off,” Gray says.

She fosters an environment where people will be ready to go to bigger markets or own their own firms someday.  If she overhears an employee say that they could never run their own agency or they’re afraid to go to a big city agency, she is quick to ask:  “Why not?”

She believes in working hard and playing hard and her team is right there with her.  Currently, she is working six days a week, which she believes is required right now by the economy.  “Two thousand and nine was a tough year emotionally for everyone, but we had a great year,” says Gray.

She has a nine-month-old daughter and understands now how tough it can be raising a family and building a successful business.  She feels blessed to have a great husband and a mother and sister-in-law who handle most of the childcare duties.  “I couldn’t do this without them,” she says.

She is very frugal.  “My husband calls me cheap,” she says, smiling.  Amy’s frugality spills over into her business by treating her clients’ money like it’s her own.  Her goal is to provide a very secure work environment and tries to be as generous as she can be.  The employees of BellTower enjoy great benefits: a profit sharing program, a 401K matching plan, and the agency pays their health insurance, impressive contributions for a small agency.  The office attire is extremely casual—jeans and sweatshirts in the winter and T-shirts and flip flops in the summer.   If they are meeting with a client, they dress accordingly, but otherwise it is an extremely relaxed atmosphere.

BellTower’s clients fall into three categories:  Financial, Domestic Automotive and Medical, which keeps them busy year round.  “Being a female owned agency, we got our certification this year that allows us to pitch for government contracts, which we are excited about,” Gray says.

It’s important to Gray that the company be run like a family unit and because of that philosophy, when they have an opening all seven employees meet with the candidate.  No matter what role they are going to fill, or what the reporting structure may be, she feels it is important that everyone fits well.

There is one position in her firm that she hopes is not vacated for many years to come and that would be the VP of BR (Vice President of Belly Rubs).  Amy brings her black lab, Bishop, to work with her every day.  He too is part of the BellTower family.  “Everyone knows not to leave their lunch sitting on their desk unattended because Bishop will eat it,” Gray says, laughing.  On a few occasions, Bishop has gotten out of the gated backyard and a chase has ensued through the streets of Bellevue.

“All in a day’s work,” she says, and once again there is the smile. Always Gray is smiling and especially at work. Of course, she has her reasons – many of them.