The transition from corporate leadership to entrepreneurship can sometimes be rough, but Tommy McNeal is turning his executive experience into a transformative movement for the Twin Cities.
In the latest episode of MSR On the Radar, host Aaliyah Demry sits down with McNeal, president and CEO of McNeal Management Inc., as he outlines plans for an ambitious 30,000-square-foot business and event facility in Brooklyn Center.
McNeal, a former Chicago native who has called Minnesota home for more than two decades, climbed to the top of the corporate ladder, serving as a senior executive overseeing customer experience for a Fortune 50 company. Despite his success, he couldn’t shake the familiar feeling most employees have felt.
“I was fortunate enough to be able to allow my work ethic to be able to speak for itself in order to climb the ranks of corporate,” McNeal said. “But in the back of my mind, like most of us in our Black community, there’s this sense that we’re all replaceable.”
Driven by faith and a desire to build long-term generational wealth, McNeal retired from corporate America to translate his executive knowledge into community equity.
“I had to figure out a better way to be able to take my hustle and turn it into something more sustainable,” McNeal said. “And that’s creating business opportunities and utilizing the talents and skills that the Lord has provided to me.”
In 2019, McNeal founded McNeal Management Inc., the parent company of McNeal Business Enterprise, which operates three core pillars designed to provide solutions for small business owners, corporate professionals, and job seekers: McNeil Consulting, SPARK, and Flame Mobile Kitchen.
McNeal Management Business & Event Center
Just off Highway 100 and John Martin Drive at 1907 57th Ave., the McNeal Management Business & Event Center will feature a business incubator, shared administrative services, a commercial kitchen, and a 1,000-seat event venue designed for galas, banquets, and regional conferences.
Originally planned for two acres, the project quadrupled in size after the City of Brooklyn Center granted pre-development rights to expand it to an eight-acre site. McNeal said it will allow for a potential second phase focused on community housing.
“This is a true gift from God,” McNeal said. “It’s an accumulation of all of my work and my focus around what’s important to me, which is community,” he said.
McNeal Consulting
One of the center’s primary features is a business incubator under McNeal Consulting that provides small businesses with access to high-level corporate services. McNeal serves as an executive coach and fractional leader, partnering with programs to help entrepreneurs build sustainable operations.
“My goal inside the business center will be able to provide legal services… human resource services… [and] financial literacy,” McNeal said.
Turning the Hustle Into a Scalable Business
When asked what advice he would give to the younger generation, many of whom are starting clothing lines, becoming content creators and running small businesses while still in high school, McNeal stressed the importance of building administrative structure over short-term hustle.
“Ensuring that they have all their paperwork in order, that they’re filing their taxes on time, and that they’re not treating it like a hustle initially,” McNeal advised.
McNeal encourages young business owners to treat their brand with the same level of care, prestige, and intentionality as a luxury establishment.
“Treat your company, regardless of the size and scale of it, no different than your favorite place to be wined and dined in or to go and hang out and celebrate,” McNeal said.
“That level of experience and what you feel out of that… in the long run, you will have the opportunity to have a firm infrastructure that you’re building that will allow for you to be able to grow your business at a more sustainable rate.”
Helping Others Find Their SPARK
Housed inside the business incubator will be SPARK (Supporting People Acquire Reentry Knowledge), a workforce development program McNeal founded in 2025. The initiative is a staffing and career management pipeline for individuals seeking non-traditional pathways into the job market.
“Reentry could be a mother at home who has been a housewife and or a single parent and haven’t had the ability to work, and now they want to get back out into the work field,” McNeal said.
Flame Mobile Kitchen
The center’s culinary operations will be anchored by Flame Mobile Kitchen, McNeal’s mobile catering company, which will utilize the facility’s commercial kitchen to support community events.
How to Connect
To celebrate the development and engage the community, McNeal is hosting a “Land Launch” fundraising celebration on August 15 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Brooklyn Center site. The event will feature a Frankie Beverly & Maze tribute concert, the 7th Annual Black Beauty & Hair Expo, and a food vendor showcase led by Flame Mobile Kitchen.
Groundbreaking and construction efforts are expected to be completed between late 2028 and early 2029.
If you know a Black creative in Minnesota who deserves a spotlight, nominate them at https://spokesman-recorder.com/on-the-radar-nominations/.