You’re So Fly: Miller Coffey

At Flywheel, we love celebrating the stories of the innovators and entrepreneurs who make our community thrive. This month, we’re shining the spotlight on Miller Coffey, the creative force behind Bellflower Creative. Miller has built a business dedicated to helping organizations amplify their impact through thoughtful design, powerful storytelling, and smart digital strategy. His journey is rooted in purpose, and his work continues to inspire both his clients and peers here at Flywheel.

Share a bit about yourself- who you are, where you’re from, what you do.

Hi, I’m Miller, and I’m the founder of Bellflower Creative. I grew up deep in Appalachia in a small town in East Tennessee. My favorite inspirational quote is from fellow East Tennessean and musical legend, Dolly Parton: “Find out who you are and do it on purpose.” That’s exactly what I do in my business. I help my clients find out who they are and do it on purpose through impactful messaging, dynamic website and brand design, scroll-stopping social media content, and more. Prior to starting Bellflower Creative, I worked on political campaigns and at non-profit organizations working to make our community —and the world —a better place. Bellflower Creative’s Theory of Change is simple: By amplifying the work of non-profit organizations, social enterprises, political organizations, and etherically led businesses, we maximize the impact of organizations that we believe in.

What sparked your interest in helping businesses with branding and digital marketing, and how did that lead to starting your own marketing business?

Early in my career, I had a few roles on really small and scrappy teams, and while marketing wasn’t technically part of my job description, it became part of my roles simply because I sort of understood how social media worked. During this time, I really fell in love with crafting messaging and the creative process of creating marketing campaigns, and found a dedicated marketing role at a local non-profit. I really enjoyed my work there, but I wanted to do more for more clients! I freelanced on nights and weekends, managing a few business social media accounts to make some extra money. My business grew quickly. Within 6 months, I quit my full-time job to focus entirely on Bellflower Creative. Five years later, we’ve grown from a social media agency to a full-scale agency offering website design, brand design and development, email marketing, marketing strategy, and more.

What is your favorite part of the job?

I really think of myself as an “ideas” guy. My favorite part is really getting to know my clients and coming up with marketing concepts that not only make them feel really listened to but also feel very fresh and new. I’m the person you want to bring to the brainstorm because I’m not afraid to throw out anything in pursuit of getting to the best idea possible. I love being creative and thinking about innovative ways to share about what my clients do.

How has being part of the Flywheel community (or your professional community more broadly) shaped your business journey?

Being a part of this community has resulted in a huge increase in my productivity and so many opportunities to expand my network. For me, the best part is learning about all the amazing things that others in this community are doing. I love feeling connected to other entrepreneurs and leaders and learning from their experiences.

For entrepreneurs just starting to build their brand presence, what’s one practical piece of advice you’d share?

There are so many things that are helpful to cut costs on when you’re first starting out, but your website and branding are the two things you should try to invest in if you can. These materials are really the foundation of your marketing, and all future marketing success depends on them. Early on in my business, I noticed that my clients that had not invested in branding and web design would not be able to achieve the same results with social media or email marketing as my clients who had made that investment. That’s actually what led me to expand my service offerings years ago. Today, we have systems in place to ensure that clients who fall into that category address that need before investing in other services so that we can achieve the best ROI possible for them.

We’re grateful to have Miller as part of our community and can’t wait to see what’s next for Bellflower Creative. If you spot him around Flywheel, be sure to say hello—he’s always up for a good conversation and fresh ideas.