A Norwich entrepreneur has been named the U. S. Small Business Administration’s 2024 Small Business Person of the Year for Connecticut and will compete for a national award in Washington, D.C. next month.
Maria Miranda founded the brand management firm Miranda Creative 35 years ago and now serves as chief creative officer.
She was a pioneer in QR-code advertising and is active in the community.
“An SBA Small Business Person of the Year demonstrates resilience, employee growth, innovation, ability to overcome challenges and dedication to community,” said Catherine Marx, SBA’s Connecticut district director. “These qualities have been rooted in Miranda Creative since its inception.”
Marx said Miranda’s creativity has “propelled the American Dream for herself, her team and her small business clients.”
According to SBA, Miranda Creative invests in the community by supporting conferences and donating pallets of pet food to local food banks. The firm also provides pro-bono work to non-profits.
In addition to Miranda, the SBA Connecticut District Office announced the following Small Business Week 2024 awardees:
- Small Business Exporter of the Year: Anthony DeFeo, DeFeo Manufacturing Inc. dba Xcalliber (Brookfield)
- Jeffrey Butland Family-Owned Small Business of the Year: Tyson Francis Belanger, Shady Oaks Assisted Living LLC (Bristol)
- Minority Owned Small Business of the Year: Ting Luo, The Green TeaHouse (Farmington)
- Manufacturer of the Year: Neviana Zhgaba and Ardian Llomi, Aquila’s Nest Vineyard (Newtown)
- Microenterprise Business of the Year: Christopher DeMartine, Programmatic B2B, LLC (Ridgefield)
- Young Entrepreneur of the Year: Scott Allen and Brigid Sullivan, Water-Flo, Inc. (Clinton)
- Veteran-Owned Small Business of the Year: Eric Lopez, Arrowhead Leadership Consulting, LLC (Hamden)
- Woman-Owned Small Business of the Year: Dr. Dori Gatter, West Hartford Holistic Counseling (West Hartford)
- Women’s Business Center of the Year: Women’s Business Development Council/Southwestern Women’s Business Center (Stamford)
Miranda will join other Connecticut National Small Business Week winners at the Small Business Resource Expo and award ceremony on May 2 at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell. To attend, register at https://www.cbia.com/events/sba-2024.
