The Rock It! Lab (RIL) is a partnership between the Central Arkansas Library System (CALS) and Advancing Black Entrepreneurship (ABE) that offers a variety of programs and services, including the twelve-week incubator, a co-working space for both office workers and a maker’s space that includes easels, a screen printing machine, and a set of sewing machines, as well as the opportunity for one-on-one business coaching and access to capital.  

Eighteen individuals graduated, including Morgan Perry who gave the student commencement speech. Perry is the owner of Me.Marie Style, a clothing company that makes made to measure couture clothing with hopes to hire a seamstress and begin offering a ready to wear clothing line. Perry was the youngest participant of the night, at 16, she’s juggling creating a business while still finishing high school.  “From a young age, I have always known what I wanted to be, I began sewing at age 7. My mom enrolled me in a fashion school at age 9.” Perry already has 450 hours of fashion school under her belt, and now, she and her mother, April Phillips-Perry, have completed Rock It! Lab’s twelve-week intensive business incubator.  

Perry was one of five graduates that participated in the RIL Pitch Competition, where the entrepreneurs were tasked with giving an elevator pitch for their business and “sell” the panel of judges on their respective businesses in a Shark Tank-style competition. Each entrepreneur had 5 minutes to explain their business and convince the panel of judges to pick them. On the line? A $5,000 prize.  

The panel consisted of Monique Carswell, Director of the Walmart.org Center for Racial Equity, who also served as the keynote speaker; Bruce James, who teaches incubator classes at RIL; and Benito Lubazibwa, the Executive Director of ABE and Remix Ideas.  

Graduates that participated in the pitch competition included Jerald Mitchell, a new father who realized a need for safe TV mounting solutions to assist families, started TV Mounting Pro where he not only installs televisions, but is working to expand into his own line of television mounts. Next was Madison Pitts with Nina’s Touch, a business that offers medical-grade skin care products that range from daily use to items that are created for eczema and psoriasis. Prince Hollidy pitched his idea for his custom jewelry line, Coils, Crystals, and Culture, where he hand-makes sophisticated jewelry at an accessible price by working with a variety of materials. 

Whitney Easterling spoke passionately about her business, The Guideline by WhitneyE, that provides cranial prosthesis for women who have suffered hair loss, something that she has struggled with from a young age. She described the high-quality products she creates and announced a blossoming partnership with a local cancer institute. She capped off her pitch by pulling an individual from the crowd and revealing that the woman was wearing one of her pieces. After graduation, when it was announced that Easterly had won the pitch competition and the $5,000 prize, the crowd erupted in cheers and applause. In her parting speech, she told the group, “Don’t give up on yourself; hold on…I love my classmates, you’re beautiful, you’re amazing, keep going.” 

During the event, it was announced that the Rock It! Lab was awarded a $75,000 grant from Walmart to continue assisting aspiring entrepreneurs achieve their dreams of business ownership.  

When Benito Lubazibwa addressed the group, he told them that they needed three things, “Courage – you must have courage to imagine a different future. Curiosity – always be a part of your life. Be a student of the world, continue to learn. When you stop learning, you stop living. Compassion – be sure that it’s not all about the money, you need to make a difference in the community.” He went on to tell them that more than 200 people applied for a space in the cohort. He cited that many former students have moved from five figure businesses to six figure businesses, and one has moved into seven figure business. He spoke about his love of libraries and reiterated that all of the RIL services are free thanks to the Central Arkansas Library System. 

Eighteen new business owners left that evening with a sense of accomplishment and the tools to help them become the entrepreneurs they want to see in the world. Each of the pitch participants spoke not only of future desires for themselves but they all earmarked where they would like to create cultural impacts and give back to their respective causes. For the members of the Rock It! Lab, it’s about not just improving their own place in life, but also lifting up those around them.  

The graduates were gifted with parting advice from Monique, “The great thing about being part of a cohort is that you are not alone. You have people with you on your journey. Don’t let others place limitations on who you can be.”

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“I want to thank the Rock It Lab and Benito for the opportunity, and thank the people coming out to support the grand opening. I’m ready to serve the community with great authentic Chicago style food.” – Corey Nelson

One of these services is an intensive 12-week program where participants learn how to write a business proposal, apply for grants and loans and learn about the ins and outs of their potential businesses. These incubator classes have produced businesses like Keith Tucker Jr. with Truth Sauce, Serreta Boson with Sarge’s Famous Pickles, and Sergio Vildivia with Sergio Vildivia Art.

Corey Nelson graduated from the first Incubator class and opened Chicago Flamin’ Grill Express in his hometown of Beebe. The new location can be found at 1523 Dr. MLK Jr. Drive, in the Arkansas Baptist College Student Union building. His business is right at home among other businesses that have worked with the RIL, including H.O.M.E. Vegan and soon to join the building – Grind Bistro.

“I love the food. It’s so good! I was happy to see they offered a substitute for french fries. The onion rings were delicious.” Sheila Singleton told us while she enjoyed her lunch during the grand opening. The eatery offers a variety of Chicago dogs, chicken tenders, wings, fish, sandwiches, nachos, and assorted desserts.

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Owner and founder of Advancing Black Entrepreneurship, Benito Lubazibwa spoke at length on the challenges that entrepreneurs, specifically minority owners face and the tools that the RIL can provide. He emphasized that the RIL provides four kinds of capital- knowledge, financial, social and possibly, the most important, hope. When discussing the idea of barriers to funding, Lubazibwa went on to remark that often people say teach a man to fish; but then you discover that the lake is polluted and that the playing field is not set up equally for all who want to own a business. This gets to the core of what the RIL aims to do – build a more equitable and just entrepreneurial ecosystem here in Arkansas.
Statistics shared that night included over 350 entrepreneurs being served during the 2021 year, with 80% of those being women. And over 1,000 hours spent consulting entrepreneurs both through the Incubator class as well as one-on-one mentorships.

Lakeisha Sharpley, a graduate, spoke about what her time in the program meant to her. She was appreciative of the opportunities that have been provided, including the ability to sell products directly to customers through the River Shop without the overhead of her own shop, nor the costs typically associated with pop-up events. She values the community that has been created among her class as well as her newfound desire to take risks. She discussed the amount of knowledge she has been able to gain through guest speakers and how she has learned “the unvoiced information that is typically kept away from us.” She ended her speech by saying that she came into the program with a small toolbox and now she has a big toolbox, full of information. Sharpley is a teacher at the Little Rock School District and is the owner of Lux + Soul, where she sells home décor and self-care items including candles and loungewear.

Keynote Speaker and Executive Director of CALS, Nate Coulter spoke about the history of the RIL and how the program came to be. He discussed that initially, this entrepreneurial hub was going to be housed on the 5th floor of the Main Library and that some funds were even spent there to get the space created; but then the opportunity to instead locate the RIL in the Cox building was presented and it was agreed upon that this was where it should have always been. He surmised that much like the graduates in the room, the path to success is never a straight line but takes persistence and patience.

Twenty-three graduates were awarded certificates of completion of the program. Many of these faces will stay with the RIL as mentors for the next group, while some are already diving into their respective projects. For instance, Corey Nelson announced the opening of his restaurant, Chicago Flamin’ Grill in Beebe. Lubazibwa ended with an African proverb, “No person is born great, a great person is created while others are sleeping.”

The highlight of the night was the announcement of the Demo Day winner. Weeks prior, the graduates all pitched their business ideas to a panel of judges. One stood out above the others, despite the lack of a formal PowerPoint presentation, the judges were overcome by Hezekiah Pierce and his company, Hezekiah Lawn Care, LLC and the passion he had for it. A shining example of the positive effect of extending grace and second chances, Pierce has spent time in prison. He served his sentence and upon release, became a resident of Our House. During his time in the Incubator program at the RIL, he lived at Our House and spoke at length about his plans to open a business, never missing a class. He recently secured his first apartment and is now living on his own.

Pierce sat shocked while his fellow graduates and Our House staff cheered and stood for him. Lubazibwa then announced that in order to help Pierce with his lawncare business a zero-turn lawnmower, trimmer, blower and a trailer had been purchased for him. Everyone was invited outside to see him accept his prize.

Guests then returned to the second floor of the Cox Building for drinks, live music and food from AfroBites catering.
Congratulations to the Spring 2022 RIL Incubator graduating class! We can’t wait to see what you accomplish in Little Rock and across the state.

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In 2021, as part of a larger grant awarded to Arkansas from U.S. Small Business Administration, the small business center at UALR received 2.5 million dollars as a community navigator that will be distributed among six local entities – and CALS is one of those entities. Through this program, the RIL’s portion is $250,000, with $125,000 given in 2022 and the remaining $125,000 in 2023. The RIL anticipates using these funds to continue the efforts to help minority and women owned businesses to start or continue their path to entrepreneurship.

In October of 2021, they introduced their first class of entrepreneurs into the mentorship incubator program. These individuals agreed to a six-month commitment which will end this month and a new group of lucky people will be selected and move into their places. The graduates will be allowed to continue to use the RIL spaces, but now as members of the coworking community.

Just last month, the RIL has moved to the next phase of development and is seeking additional individuals who might be interested in partaking in the coworking space and other amenities that the building offers. This is the first time this free membership will be extended to those not participating in the incubator program. Amenities available include general business items you might expect, like meeting spaces, printers and copiers, and wifi, but there are other items that one might not expect, like access to creative tools and resources in the makerspace including sewing machines and art studio space, as well as an invitation to networking events and one-on-one mentorship opportunities.

If you’re not an entrepreneur in need of the RIL services, fear not, you can help support these up-and-coming businesses in a few different ways:

1. You can patronize them. The RIL has had a few public events where guests can come in and shop the wares, since April 16th, they have been open every Saturday from 10 am – 4 pm. Currently there are about fifteen vendors to shop from and you can find everything from shelf-stable food products and soaps to handmade jewelry and luxury apparel.
2. Become a mentor. The RIL is always looking for new mentors to help guide new members. A qualified mentor would be someone who has personal experience owning a business or C-level experience; is comfortable teaching and has the ability to share and relate; and has time to dedicate to an individual, we ask for a six-month commitment from our mentors to help see them through the program.
3. Donate. If you are unable to make a time commitment, the RIL would appreciate any donation you can send. These funds help to buy additional equipment, support future training, hire top-notch speakers and presenters, and more.
4. Follow the Rock It! Lab on Facebook.

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If you’re not familiar with the Rock It! Lab, it is a collaboration between CALS and Advancing Black Entrepreneurship that helps aspiring business owners within under-resourced communities as they walk the path of entrepreneurship. The program is located in the Cox Building, where there are three main spaces that entrepreneurs can use to help grow their business – on the first floor, is the River Shop where entrepreneurs who have finished products can sell their wares, down stairs is the 501 Makers Space which serves to provide an area for artists and clothing designers to work and create, and the second floor is the Village Coworking Space where entrepreneurs can conduct meetings or use it as a general office space.

“I wish you all could have been at the kickoff last night for the group of entrepreneurs selected for RIL’s first Incubator program. I’ve been trying to put into words how the event ‘felt,’ the energy, the passion, the gratitude, the hope, all the aspirations of the amazing people who were there because they want to make a difference and know we can help.”

Nathan James
Deputy Executive Director of
Technology & Collection Innovation

This class represents a variety of industries, including more tangible businesses like food makers, artists and jewelers, as well as service providers like the growing industry of home healthcare, cleaning services and even athlete marketing. Each “class” requires a six-month commitment as they go through the mentorship program. We can’t wait to follow this group on their journey and see how they progress. We wish them the best of luck!

The full 2021 class:

Tonya Smith
Bridging the Gap Adult Care and Daycare

Lisa Buckner
Mama’s Homemade Pie Shop

Lakeisha Sharpley
Lux and Soul LLC.

Hezekiah Pierce
HELPERS LLC

Corey Nelson
Chicago Flamin Grill

Marie Rahmaan
Rashawn’s Cleaning Service, LLC.

Natalie Harris
Sugar Joint Bakery

Nicole Wilson
Natural Joy by Nicole Janae LLC.

Cheryl Humphrey
Perfecting The Gift, LLC. dba Candy Butta

Maria Aguilar
Moontlali

Maria Barrero
SPACES 2 LOVE

Vivian Brittenum
Rock City Staffing Agency

Charmaine Cook
Your Fashion Modest

Jeanette Patterson
Royal Mantles LLC.

Troy Hill
Young Athlete Elite Marketing (Y.A.E.M.)

Lamont McCarther
McCarther n Sons Services

Lorin Calhoun
Creative Attributes

J’Tara Lockhart
Lockedhart Eyewear

Tiffiney Sims
Chef by Reservations

Yarely Lopez
Chapix

Shana Ricks
The Plant Boutique

Shayla Henderson
Än trā

Naomi Lalonde
Balance Body & Sole

Sergio Valdivia
Sergio Valdivia Art

Sara Drew 
Business name TBD

Lela Belleton
Lewks By Elle

Rashanna Buford
Ra’Elles Ice Queen Treats

Chyna Nellon
Cultural Immersion Media LLC.

LaWonda Brooks
Sista Girl’s Seasoned Vinegars

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