Maria Miranda and her business, Miranda Creative, usually promote others, but on Monday it was her turn to receive praise.
The U.S. Small Business Administration named Miranda Small Businessman of the Year for the state of Connecticut. She will compete for the National Small Business Owner of the Year award as part of the SBA's National Small Business Week.
“This honor may be for me, but it’s really about all of us at Miranda Creative,” she said of herself and her 30 employees.
Located next to Norwichtown Green, Miranda Creative is a brand management agency. Miranda said the company promotes a consistent brand identity for clients across multiple platforms.
The company serves a wide range of 75 customers, from state government programs such as CT Grown and Connecticut Paid Leave, to Parkville Market in Hartford, to local customers such as CorePlus Credit Union, Thames Valley Council for Community Action, and United Community and Family Services. I am holding. Miranda said.
What is the Small and Medium Enterprise Excellence Award?
This award recognizes the hard work of small business owners. SBA District Director Katherine Marx said for businesses to win, they must demonstrate growth, overcoming challenges and contributing to their communities.
“In all of these categories, Maria Miranda not only met the standards, but exceeded them in every way,” she said.
Miranda is especially known for her commitment to the community, Marx said, volunteering with SCORE Eastern CT to help other small businesses grow.
With 354,000 small businesses in Connecticut, this award is a true accomplishment, said Congressman Joe Courtney.
Marx said part of the honor includes traveling to Washington, D.C., to represent the state of Connecticut in a national competition.
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How Miranda started Miranda Creative
The 35-year-old business started in an apartment above Miranda's parents' home, and her customers were medical catalogues, she said.
Miranda learned most of her marketing skills from her father, a Frito-Lay salesman. Miranda said they would often pack boxes of stale potato chips together while he taught her about marketing, service, building relationships and business.
Miranda took a job in graphic design to pay for art school. The head of a government agency was also her instructor at Three Rivers Community College. He was impressed with Miranda's marketing knowledge. He reportedly sold Miranda a contract with a catalog for just $1.
Miranda Creative grows through relationships built with our clients through respect and trust. As people moved on to other companies, they remembered Miranda Creative's quality work and sought out the company as a new company, Miranda said.
“We're not just doing the job in front of us,” she says. “We will be working on this for the next 20 to 30 years.”
Social media, targeted advertising: activities of marketing companies
Technology has changed rapidly since the days when Miranda was sending faxes in her car. At the time, companies needed to spend money on media such as billboards and radio ads that could reach people who were or were not interested in a particular product or service. Now, digital marketing, including search history and social media, is creating more efficient ways to reach targeted users, she said.
“From a small business perspective, this is incredibly powerful,” Miranda said. “What was once only available to large companies is now available to small and medium-sized businesses.”
Advertisers have always adopted strategies to reach customers. For example, place sweet cereals at a child's height and plain cereals at an adult's height, Miranda says.
“We've always known how to reach you, we're just doing it better now,” she said.
What is her advice for entrepreneurs?
Miranda's success is a celebration of entrepreneurship. Whether entrepreneurs are 24 or 42, they should believe in themselves and look to their local chamber of commerce and SBA for guidance, she said.
In line with that sentiment, Miranda Creative plans to transform into an employee-owned company, saying, “We couldn't be happier to create more independent entrepreneurs.” Don't mistake Miranda for retiring once her ownership changes, she said.
“I don't think creators will ever retire,” she said. “We will continue to mentor others and create as much as we can.”
