Tag: Baylor Lariat

The Perfect Trifecta | Waco, Baylor Entrepreneurship and Local Small Businesses

kathy_carrCommunity Entrepreneurship Program

“Waco is decidedly a cool town,
and for Baylor students to not appreciate that is weird.“

-Harper Mayfield | Baylor Lariat

In a recent Baylor Lariat article, student writer Harper Mayfield stated “Waco is decidedly a cool town, and for Baylor students to not appreciate that is weird.”

If that isn’t a sic’ em kind of mic drop, what is?

After a quick online search for things to do in this heart of Texas hot-spot, a 2020 VacationIdea.com article popped up with the “25 Best Things to Do in Waco, Texas.” Obviously, several of the activities are associated with Baylor University. Even more intriguing is the mention of a couple of local small businesses. Both Dichotomy Coffee & Spirits and Heritage Creamery received a shout out in the article. But that’s not the first time that a small business in Waco has received a nod. Lula Jane’s, a small unassuming bakery nestled quietly on Elm Avenue, was recognized as a 2020 Travelers Choice Winner by TripAdvisor.

As a matter of fact, using data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey, AdvisorSmith.com recently ranked Waco seventh on a national scale for mid-size cities with the most small business owners. That’s a big deal.

Considering that Waco is also home to the Baylor University nationally-ranked Entrepreneurship Department, it kind of seems like there may be this fabulous trifecta brewing with Waco, Baylor Entrepreneurship and local small businesses.

With more than forty years of experience,the Baylor Entrepreneurship Department is a nationally recognized academic leader. For the 2021 national rankings of undergraduate entrepreneurship programs, Princeton Review / Entrepreneur Magazine and U.S. News & World Report have once again both ranked the Baylor Entrepreneurship Department as a top-ten program.

With a top-notch team of dedicated faculty and staff, the Baylor Entrepreneurship Department is committed to the study, teaching and practice of new business creation. Students and local small businesses alike are the beneficiaries of that strong commitment. What makes this commitment exceptionally extraordinary is the color-outside-of-the-lines type of thinking. It’s the kind of innovative thinking that motivates, inspires and challenges.

The Baylor Entrepreneurship Department recently took a stroke outside of the lines with the Oso Launch Program. Oso Launch was designed to provide a niche group of entrepreneurially-minded incoming freshmen with a program that could provide guidance, mentorship and networking for their next four years on campus. Through Oso Launch, students not only build an entrepreneurial foundation with unique challenges in a learning environment, but they also have the opportunity to raise much-needed capital. That’s not the kind of experience you get from a textbook in a classroom setting.

The Entrepreneurship Department continues outside of the lines with the Community Entrepreneurship Program (CEP). This fairly new initiative expands the reach of the department deep into the community. Participants in CEP are local, small business owners who simply want to grow their business. The program provides peer-to-peer networking and valuable mentorship, along with training and coaching. CEP utilizes Baylor Entrepreneurship faculty, staff, students, alumni and donors in delivering this best-in-class Baylor content in a non-threatening, caring environment that welcomes small business owners from all backgrounds. 

The list Baylor Entrepreneurship forward-thinking initiatives and programs could go on and on. From the New Venture Competition and the 1846 Business Incubator to the Texas Family Business Awards and the BEST Program, Baylor Entrepreneurship is making a mark both inside of the classroom and the community as well.

Indeed a trifecta is brewing. And we happen to agree with Harper Mayfield. Waco is a cool town…a seriously, very cool town.

For more information on Baylor Entrepreneurship, please visit our website at baylor.edu/business/entrepreneurship/.

Eric Guel, Eric Guel Photography

kathy_carrBaylor Grad


“I believe most people can (and should) carry their passion into
whatever vocation is available to them.”

-Eric Guel

There’s that old saying that a picture’s worth a thousand words. But is it really that cut and dry? Think about it. Sometimes a picture’s too blurry, too bright, a head’s cut off or there’s a bad angle. Realistically, not all pictures are worth a thousand words. And if you have any doubt of that, a quick “photography fails” search in Pinterest will leave you either giggling or cringing – or maybe even a little of both.

But what if good photography – true photography – is more about a calling? Wouldn’t that kind of explain the cringiness of some of those Pinterest fails?

It makes sense. Let’s take Eric Guel, for example. Eric truly feels that there is legitimacy to the old adage that you don’t choose photography, but it chooses you. Prior to high school Eric had no photography experience. None whatsoever. Just by chance he took a random Photo 1 class, and he liked it. He really liked it. It’s almost like photography grabbed a hold of him and wouldn’t let go. A love for photography was now deep within Eric’s heart and soul.

After three years of photography classes in high school, Eric decided to pursue journalism and photojournalism in college. Despite the fact that both parents were Houston Baptist University alumni, Eric followed his older brother’s footsteps and made the move to Waco to become a Baylor bear.

A photographer in Waco? Seriously, Waco would have to be a photographer’s dream-come-true. There are so many scenic backdrops to explore. There’s Cameron Park, the Waco suspension bridge, the downtown Waco murals and just about any spot on the Baylor campus. You get the idea. Waco is chock-full of fabulous, on-location photography spots. For a heart-and-soul kind of photographer, Baylor is the perfect choice.

While at Baylor, Eric studied photojournalism under photography professor, Clark Baker. One of Eric’s main takeaways from Professor Baker is it’s all right to fail and it’s also all right to just be yourself as a photographer. As a student, Eric worked with the Lariat which ultimately helped him land a job in the newspaper industry after graduation. And like many trailblazing photographers before him, Eric started out doing part-time photography for weddings and family portraits with Eric Guel Photography.

A few years ago, however, Eric decided to take photography on full-time. He was actually motivated to make the giant leap after hearing Fawn Germer speak at a Baylor Pro Sales event. The entire talk was about taking risks to do what you love to do. That was all the nudging he needed.

Eric also decided to shift his business focus to commercial photography by primarily serving businesses with convention and conference photography, headshots, marketing collateral and website images. Since then, he has been able to capture images for organizations such as Bausch + Lomb, Cognizant, Hewlett Packard, Salesforce and even for his beloved alma mater.

Even though Eric loves being a full-time entrepreneur, he admittedly isn’t much of a business person. Eric jokingly confesses that he just may actually have an allergic reaction to all things involving mathematics. But Eric is a firm believer that there’s always something to learn. He considers Dave Ramsey and Tony Robbins friends and mentors — in a podcasty kind of way. When thinking about his business challenges and obstacles, Eric leans on one of his favorite quotes from Robbins, “It’s not a lack of resources that’s the problem, but a lack of resourcefulness.”

Maybe Eric is onto something. Maybe there is some legitimacy to you don’t choose photography, but it chooses you. It certainly looks like photography has chosen this Baylor bear. Sic ’em!

For more information about the John F. Baugh Center for Entrepreneurship & Free Enterprise, please visit our website at baylor.edu/business/entrepreneur/.