Valley veteran named Arizona Small Business Person of Year
May 12, 2014, 2:32 PM | Updated: 2:32 pm
PHOENIX — Cynthia Reed’s road to business success began after she finished her service with the U.S. Army and had her first child.
She wanted a better work-life balance so she quit her corporate job, turned a bedroom into an office and started a one-woman consulting firm.
“Most people did roll their eyes at me and they thought I was a big dreamer and I was,” she laughed, “And it’s worked out quite well.”
Today, the president and CEO of Mesa-based Miracorp oversees more than 120 people who provide administrative and management services to the federal government. In naming Reed as Arizona’s Small Business Person of the Year, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) said Reed represents well the man small business owners who are risk takers and innovators.
“There’s nobody out there in the small business world that doesn’t give it ridiculous hours and effort and think of it in their sleep,” said Reed.
Community commitment is also important to Reed. Among other things, she provides diapers and car seats to new mothers as they leave the Veterans Administration Hospital in Phoenix and supports a basketball program for teenagers living in group homes.
Reed’s recognition comes during National Small Business Week. The SBA said small businesses create nearly two out of three jobs in our economy.
