Muralist Brett Whitacre is one of the featured speakers at the ACE expo this week. In this photo, he talks technique on Oct. 22, 2021, with Ava Larson, 11, of Pecatonica. (Photo by Kevin Haas/Rock River Current)
By Matt Hall
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — If you’re looking to start or grow your business, you may want to check out the Accelerating Creatives & Entrepreneurs Conference & Expo this week.

The two-day conference brings together local entrepreneurs and business experts from restaurateurs to artists and tech businesses to cosmetologists.

“We want Rockford to be a place where new and young businesses succeed and existing business can thrive and grow,” said Spitty Tata, program manager at Transform Rockford, in a news release. “This conference will be a great opportunity for people to learn how to open their own business, grow their existing business, and connect with valuable people and resources in our region to help them on their journey.”

Related: ‘You’ve got to start somewhere’: Transform Rockford program works at neighborhood level

The first day of the conference on Wednesday is being held digitally. Day 2 on Thursday is in-person at the Discovery Center Museum in Rockford.

You’ll have a chance to network and make connections with other local business influencers and creators.

The event is being put together in partnership with Transform Rockford, Discovery Center Museum, SupplyCore, River Front Museum Park, Woodward, the city of Rockford, Growth Dimensions, Eigerlab, SBDC and Greater Freeport Partnership.

Sign up/learn more

To learn more about how you can grow your business for the future, check out theaceevent.com for all the info and registration details.