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South Burlington, Vermont - June 11, 2010

Healthy Living is one of the Burlington area's favorite places for produce, groceries, wine, meats and more.

"I started in a tiny little space," Katy Lesser said.

But when Lesser took over a South Burlington health food store in the mid-1980s, she admits she knew zilch about business.

"I'd been an English teacher, a psychotherapist, and I had a long history of loving food & cooking," she said.

Now more than two decades later, Lesser has been named Vermont's Small Business Person of the Year by the U.S. Small Business Administration.

"I love giving people jobs in Vermont," Lesser said. "I love working with farms and small food producers."

Lesser has grown Healthy Living from a small space with just one employee and $300 in daily sales to a store larger than half a football field with 130 workers and $50,000 a day in receipts.

"I started to see people wanted me here," Lesser said. "And I was going to be a business player."

Key to her success, Lesser says, was hiring experts to manage departments where she had little knowledge and the explosion in popularity of farm-fresh foods and locally-produced goods.

"I think deep inside I've always wanted to manufacture something," she said.

The store is draped in banners and labels encouraging customers to check out Vermont companies, like Anne Doe's Boston Post Dairy of Enosburgh, making fresh, soft goat's milk cheeses.

"She asked us to come do a demo," Doe said. "We're from a small town, so to come to Burlington to sell our product is a great experience."

"We've got to improve her packing," Lesser said. "We're going to work with her on her demo skills."

This busy showcase has helped dozens of producers like Doe develop their brands and find an audience. Lesser jokes she backed the Made in Vermont label before the label was cool. "I've just naturally been attracted to these brave, talented, flexible people who put out products."

The small business person of the year is bracing for some stiff competition. The natural foods giant Whole Foods is considering opening a new store in South Burlington. But Lesser is confident her loyal customers will keep coming here.

"And it'll just help me do what I do better. When you're in business, there's always going to be hurdles," Lesser said.

Healthy Living believes it will be able to keep jumping those hurdles with Lesser's adult kids in place to run the store in the future.

"I love our state!" Lesser said.

Her business recipe recognizes nourishing the public starts with nurturing a community of small, high-quality brands, so many of which are Made in Vermont.

Here's the complete list of honorees:

Small Business Person of the Year
Katherine Freeman Lesser, Owner
Healthy Living Market

Vermont and New England Regional Home-Based Business Champion
Kym Maynard, Central Vermont Community Action Council
& Vendor Liaison for LACE Arts Gallery

Financial Services Champion
Robert M. Berman, President
Instrumart

Jeffrey Butland Family-Owned Small Business
Mark and Lauri Boyden, Owners
Boyden Farm

Veterans Small Business Champion
Bradley Quinn Page, Veterans Employment Representative
Vermont Department of Labor

Jack Thurston - WCAX News