Connecticut’s Small Business Person of the Year built a thriving bakery and café from scratch, and is an Ooma customer

The U.S. Small Business Administration’s annual Small Business Week event includes selecting a Small Business Person of the Year for each of the 50 states, and the 2025 winner for Connecticut is Michelle Nicholson of The Flour Girl Bakery & Café in the historic town of Hebron.

Nicholson decided a few years ago to learn how to make sourdough bread in her home kitchen. After some trial and error, she began baking loaves that friends lined up to enjoy. She then turned breadmaking into a business, opening a fast-growing bakery and later a café that now have 35 employees.

Along the way, Nicholson has benefitted from the Small Business Administration’s SCORE program, where retired executives serve as mentors for small business owners.

“My SCORE advisor helps me with everything,” says Nicholson. “I couldn’t have got through all the paperwork to open my business and arrange loans without her. She’s been everything from a business analyst to a general therapist.”

Nicholson also appreciates the SBA’s Red Tape Hotline that serves as a watchdog “to restrain regulation that imposes excessive costs on small businesses.”

“Sometimes it seems like government makes it harder rather than easier to start and grow a business,” Nicholson says. “The Red Tape Hotline is a step in the right direction to help small businesses succeed.”

Nicholson is paying it forward by mentoring other small businesses and helping them understand best practices and find the best tools.

One small step in making Flour Girl more efficient was switching last year to Ooma Office business phone service. Nicholson was tired of “nickel and diming” by the local cable company, which insisted the three adjacent buildings that house Flour Girl each required a separate account – making billing a hassle and preventing internal call transfers between the structures.

Nicholson appreciated how easy it was to get started with Ooma Office – she was able to set up all the lines herself as well as a virtual receptionist that lets callers choose to be connected to the bakery, the café or the catering manager. “It was a good move,” she concludes.