BY KADIE TAYLOR
THE OBSERVER
OPELIKA — Here Molly Girl, an Opelika-based full-service marketing firm, celebrated 10 years of business in May, serving companies and businesses in Lee County and beyond.
Owner Katy Doss said after graduating from college, she worked at marketing firms in Birmingham and in Auburn, and always loved the idea of being a business owner.
“I just took the leap and started it,” she said. “I never had any intention of this being a full business with employees; I just wanted to do what I was good at.”
When she first began Here Molly Girl, Doss said she was able to grow and reach clients through the trust and support of local businesses.
“When I was just starting out, I didn’t have any work that was mine to show people,” she said.
“People were kind of taking me on blind faith, especially in those early days, and it was just me. There were things that I was having to figure out on the go. But we have grown, and people trust us. We’ve worked with hundreds of clients in this area, and I think because we have such a great community here in Lee County, Auburn and Opelika, it’s been great for them, it’s been great for us and I love this area.”
Through her work marketing for businesses, Doss said Here Molly Girl offers marketing strategy and implementation; website and logo design; and more while offering a boutique experience.
“When people talk about marketing firms, they are either an artisanal bakery or a wonder bread factory. We very much fall into the artisanal bakery,” she said. “Everything is bespoke for our clients; we offer a boutique agency feel, and this community is everything to this business… Here Molly Girl works with all kinds of businesses. I’m trying to think of an industry we haven’t worked in; we’ve done everything from healthcare to the oil and gas industry out of Houston.”
When she first began, Doss said she started Here Molly Girl in her basement while her child was a toddler. As she grew the business, she hired an intern, who eventually became an employee, and then she moved into a conference room in Davis Direct. While adding more employees, Doss said she eventually grew and decided to move into a brick-and-mortar location, where the agency is now located at 807 Geneva St. Suite 1, in Opelika.
“There was something about [the building] that was just warm and fuzzy,” she said. “We hired Gamble Winter Construction to do a complete overhaul. So now we’re here, there are five full-time employees, we have a ton of freelancers we work with and it’s just grown like crazy.”
With a career in branding and marketing for businesses, Doss explained the story of how she decided to name her marketing agency after her dog, a rescue from the Greater Birmingham Humane Society.
“I was like, ‘Wouldn’t it be hysterical if we named it something completely ridiculous, like Here Molly Girl,’” she said. “Because that’s what [my husband and I] would say for this sweet dog, whenever we would let her up on the bed, take her for a walk or give her a treat, we would say, ‘Here Molly Girl.’ There was just something about it, and it just stuck.”
Along with teamwork, Doss said Here Molly Girl’s employees have expertise in design, writing, search engine advertising and websites to help customers with their marketing needs.
“I love a clever ad campaign, I love ideation and brainstorming,” she said. “Our team is diverse enough that we have a lot of strengths with everybody on the team. It’s so fun to see everybody’s strengths come together for the benefit of our clients. And a lot of people have helped me over the years.”
Along with Here Molly Girl, Doss said she also created Script, a sister agency that focuses on marketing for landscaping businesses.
“Script serves landscaping businesses throughout the U.S., and we have positioned ourselves as authorities in that,” she said. “We do a weekly podcast talking all about marketing for landscaping businesses. We’ve worked with R & R Landscaping locally for a long time and have seen really great results for them, and it’s just a fun industry to work in. We decided in April 2024 to start a sister company, and in two years, we stood that business up. Now, we have clients in Virginia, Tennessee, Massachusetts and all over.”
With a decade of building Here Molly Girl and working to market businesses, Doss said she is thankful for 10 years of following her passion and working with her talented team.
“We’ve had amazing people working for us over the years,” she said. “We have clients who are kind and who respect our expertise. You hit a decade, and it’s crazy. A decade feels like forever, and it has been a great 10 years. Every day has not been perfect, but there has been good in every single day, and I get to wake up every day and do what I love. I love this community, and I appreciate everybody who has worked with us over the years and worked for us over the years. We have amazing vendors, and we have amazing partnerships.”
For more information or to enquire about Here Molly Girl’s services, visit www.heremollygirl.com.
