Anyone can be an entrepreneur – even people who don’t even know what entrepreneur means.

Professor Scot Baillie, Entrepreneurial Instructor at Southeast Community College could relate entirely.  “I never knew what an ‘entrepreneur’ was,” he explained.  “I just went and did it.”

Baillie held many positions as a self-employed individual before he became a professor at SCC.  He never liked the idea of the corporate ladder and its rigid style.

In the Late 1980s and early 1990s, Baillie owned a local tech company focused on upgrading computers during the early part of the economic boom of technology.  It was established as a sole proprietorship and focused its image on being innovative in a time when the world was becoming increasingly smaller.

After the boom, however, IBM began using its buying power to produce technology more cheaply.  Seeing himself at a disadvantage, Baillie moved on to the vending business and purchased multiple machines where he learned the value of preparation and legal issues.

“(My) lack of research led to time and money…in (unforeseen) costs like insurance for vandalism, and even self-harm (liability),” he stated.

He acknowledged that, though it was a pleasure and passion, preparation and research would have saved him a lot of headaches.  “(We) also had some problems with the tax stickers required.”

All problems aside, however, Baillie sold his company for profit after four years and loves new ventures.  “I like to try new things,” he said.  “I never considered it a risk.”

Baillie has also experienced entrepreneurship in more difficult settings.  After the fall of the Soviet Union, Baillie and a group of Peace Corps volunteers boarded a plane to go to Russia as a peaceful mission to help establish capitalist growth in the newly born republic.

He currently teaches at SCC and encourages all students to take the Intro to Entrepreneurship Class offered at all three SCC campuses.

This article is #4 of a series on the Entrepreneurship Center, its instructors and its alumni.  The following article will review the accounts of Entrepreneurial alumni and other businesses, such as Argyle Octopus, that reside in the incubator.