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Claudia Roxburgh, founder and president of The Roxburgh Agency, Inc., began her career in the advertising industry at Hubbert Advertising, an agency whose niche was homebuilders and developers. She left Hubbert in 1978 and moved over to the client side as the marketing director for Orange County’s Village Homes. When the recession hit in the early ‘80s, after interest rates climbed to nearly 20%, Claudia began working as a marketing consultant, leaving Village Homes as marketing director on a Friday and returning Monday as an advertising/marketing consultant. By the time the recession passed, she was working for a variety of small builders and decided to make a go of it as an entrepreneur.

The Roxburgh Agency officially started April 1, 1980. Roxburgh’s first desk was her dining room table, with a borrowed typewriter, an answering machine and a ream of white paper. After a year, the agency moved into its first official one-room office in Costa Mesa, CA. Shortly thereafter, Roxburgh hired her first employee, a part-time coordinator, and within months Roxburgh landed her first big account, Barratt American. With this account under her belt, the agency grew to six employees. This growth allowed Roxburgh to move the company to a real office.

Being a business minded person, Roxburgh began investing in real estate early on. Her first commercial purchase was a small office building at 245 Fischer Avenue in Costa Mesa. Over the next several years, additional space was acquired. The company flourished and grew to 47 employees in the mid ‘80s.

With her background and connections in the building industry, Roxburgh focused her clientele in that arena. Over time, the agency became recognized as a leader in creativity and service within the building industry. Though the company has created its niche in the building industry, it has, over the years, partnered with many different types of companies in a variety of industries.

The agency became ‘award-winning’ in 1985, when it won its first MAME awards. These first awards played a pivotal role in putting the company ‘on the map.’

In 1990, the agency celebrated its 10th anniversary with a black tie event hosting 800 people. The event was voted ‘The Best Party in Orange County’ by OC Metro that year.

Another recession hit in the early ‘90s and, like most in the building industry, the agency was affected. The market was very weak from about 1990 to 1997, and over that time, the agency downsized to about 10 employees. In 1997, when the economy started turning around, the agency began a growth spurt. It was at that time that Roxburgh made a conscious decision to keep the agency small because she wanted to maintain a more personal connection with the creative. Roxburgh didn’t want to manage people, she wanted to do great work.

Over the years, Roxburgh has won many accolades, including Associate of the Year at MAME in 1995 and the Max C. Tipton Award in 1999.

From that time through 2007, the economy was booming and the company was very prosperous. In 2007, the industry began to slide again, the economy suffered (and is suffering still today). The agency is taking it all in stride.

Of note, are several of the company’s employees, who have been with Roxburgh for more than a decade. The company’s Executive Vice President Kelly Borgen, Senior Vice President Barbara Drummond. There are others nearing the 10-year mark, including Director of Creative Resources Alicia Toth and Vice President of Finance and Administration Barbara Paulsen. These individuals have played significant roles in the company’s advancement and stability. The company is an advocate of upward mobility for its employees; so many of these individuals have worked their way up to where they are today.