New Rockford business incubator Think Big! aims to support minority entrepreneurs

ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO) — Think Big!, the new business incubator opened to foster minority-owned businesses, held a workshop Thursday to help entrepreneurs overcome barriers to success.

Think Big!, at 1311 N Main Street, intends to help minority entrepreneurs get their businesses off the ground.

“When you’re talking about, you know, individuals as entrepreneurs versus a business, I can really respect the people that came out today to learn about themselves as an entrepreneur and how they can take the information and transferred over into their business,” said Dr. Shiela Hill, Think Big!’s co-founder and executive director.

“I thought, you know, maybe I’d check it out because I was looking over and I get into becoming an entrepreneur and you’re starting something. And I did have some barriers that I was dealing with, just, you know, I’m breaking that. So I thought the seminar would be something, you know, I could partake in and participate to kind of help me, you know, also overcome those barriers,” said Rockford Universtiy student Saidi Ishmail.

“In the beginning, like especially for me in finance, just being young and just stepping out and telling people that, Hey, I’m a business owner, I own my own business, it was overcoming that barrier of, well, do you really know what you know? And you know, you’re so young. How were you able to do this?” said businessman Tino Gordon, who runs Gordon Legacy Consulting.

“What resonated with me is just that kind of the self accountability on your self, you know, realizing that like to be an entrepreneur like it, it requires you to be self accountable,” said Ishmail.