Growth Dimensions Participates in Entrepreneur Event for Second Year In-A-Row

For the second year in-a-row, Growth Dimensions participated in and supported the Accelerating Creatives & Entrepreneurs (ACE) Conference & Expo.

The 2023 ACE was held at the MPOWR Coworking + Collaboration Center in downtown Rockford, on May 11th. The event attracted more than 50 small business owners, entrepreneurs and business service professionals from across the Northern Illinois region, including Boone County.

EXPERT PANELISTS

Attendees joined panel discussions which included entrepreneurs, service organizations and local governments. 

Topics included:

Panel I: The Roadmap for Starting a Business in Boone & Winnebago Counties
Heather Wick -  Business Enterprise Manager for Growth Dimensions Economic Development and Gina DelRose – Planner for the City of Belvidere were two of the panelists.

Panel II: Business Start-Up Funding Sources

Panel III: Entrepreneur Challenges & Solutions 
Ruth Mendez, owner of a soon-to-open candy and arts shop on Pearl Street in Belvidere, participated as a panelist.

Attendees had a chance to hear a keynote by Dr. Sheila Hill of Think Big!, as well as learn how to prepare for EIGERlab’s FastPitch from Teresa Beach-Shelow.

During the day-long event, there were numerous opportunities to network and connect with other entrepreneurs, businesses and service organizations. They were even able to collaborate on a piece of artwork memorializing the event, which was brought to life by artist Roni Golan.