Q&A talks with Maria Miranda, owner of Miranda Creative Inc.
Q. Can you describe your business?
A. Miranda Creative is a full-service brand management agency with more than 35 years of unwavering commitment to our clients. We deliver innovative design solutions, strategic brand management, and comprehensive digital services to empower businesses and organizations.
We work with clients in Connecticut and beyond across a number of industries, including state and local agencies, nonprofits, banking and finance, health and human services, public and private utilities, retail, B2B and B2C.
Check out the other 2024 SBA Award winners
Q. How did you get into this business?
A. I grew up the daughter of a potato chip salesman. I learned about marketing and the art of salesmanship over family dinners. As a result, I grew up comfortable asking for business and confident that good marketing could help others.
When I interviewed with a few larger agencies 35 years ago, I realized if I wanted to work for someone I respected, someone wanting a meaningful connection, I needed to work for myself. My unique parents fully supported the idea that their 24-year-old daughter, who had a still-damp diploma, could be an entrepreneur.
Because they believed in me, I believed in myself.
Q. What’s a major challenge your business has overcome in the past year?
A. During the pandemic, while numerous businesses grappled with cuts or closures, Miranda Creative experienced remarkable growth, nearly doubling its workforce from 2020 to 2023.
However, as a collaborative creative agency, we faced the obstacle of limited physical office space. To sustain our connection and creativity, we found innovative solutions by embracing new technologies and organizing meaningful in-person engagements. Notably, our quarterly tour of Connecticut’s premier roadside diners continues as a cherished tradition, encouraging team unity and inspiration.
Q. What major strategic plans do you have in the next few years?
A. Miranda Creative will continue to grow and evolve, as it has since starting as a one-woman operation in a two-bedroom apartment in 1988.
Part of this evolution will be the transition to an employee-owned model — empowering the incredibly talented team to become true partners in the success of Miranda Creative.
As I like to put it, ‘Nothing would make me happier than creating a bunch of independent entrepreneurs.’
Q. What have been your company’s biggest accomplishments?
A. Miranda Creative’s recognition by the SBA is the culmination of 35 years of dynamic growth and innovative strides within an ever-evolving industry.
This recognition extends beyond Miranda Creative’s doors — resonating deeply with its clients, whose experiences are enriched by the company’s unwavering commitment to crafting inventive solutions, regardless of constraints in budget or resources.
Miranda Creative’s commitment to its community has not only uplifted organizations in eastern Connecticut, but is also making a significant impact across the state.