When we started this project, the idea of a small business book which focuses on traditional small business was a bit of an uphill climb. It was not obvious to everyone that such a book would look different enough to be distinctive. In the end, that approach struck a responsive chord in more people than we expected, and as a result Entrepreneurial Small Business's acceptance in the minds of faculty and students is far greater than we ever had hoped.

We want to thank the hundreds of professors and thousands of students who have made Entrepreneurial Small Business the success it has become, and in particular we want to thank the dozens of faculty and students who have offered their suggestions and corrections to help strengthen this edition. We want to start with the Entrepreneurship Teaching Team at Saint Louis University—professors Jintong Tang and Vince Volpe and adjunct instructors, Tim Hayden, Trey Goede, Steve Wideman, Paul Scheiter, Andrea Hibbeler, Jim O'Donnell, Steve Epner, Liz Krus, Ron Roy, Bill Deemer, Terry Donahue, and Ron Rubin—who live with ESB on a daily basis and provide an ongoing stream of insights and suggestions.

This third edition has been perhaps the most fun in terms of its challenges. From our readers, we've learned to trust our approach, but they have also told us which sections are the best, and challenged us to use those as a template for all the sections of the text. So on the one hand, we've worked to streamline many of the chapters for the third edition, where as on the other hand, for everything we cram into the text, we are always being told, "please add this the next time." In some cases we've had to rethink our approach to cover all the bases and do so in a streamlined way. We both worried about book bloat as each edition needs to cover more and more. Hopefully we've kept the bloat at bay for one more edition.

If the second edition showed a focus on the Web and on the many free videos out there to be used in our classes, this edition is more focused on giving your students new ways to learn the key skills that are so much a part of the ESB experience. We have added over two dozen short how-to videos which we hope will help students master the tremendous opportunities for researching businesses and ideas using the Internet. We have tweaked Skill Modules and cases in the text, and keep looking for new opportunities to share with you.

We continue to work on the business plans and feasibility studies, and for this edition bring all of the plans from the first and second editions together. We include on our Online Learning Center Serenity Spa (authored by Brittany Crittenden, Gary Hartmann, and Michael Zimmer), which includes a feasibility study and business plan, and Vivid Sky which includes the business plan and a private placement memo. Of course, we remain in debt to Jordan Koene, Kevin Antes, and Chris Wallace for their work on the original version of MyLibros.com, which you can find in the text. These text-based and online examples will help you see the development of ideas and businesses as they work on the different milestones in the process of launching a firm of their own.

Vivid Sky's story also appears repeatedly throughout this edition of the text. We are deeply indebted to Tim Hayden, founder and CEO of Vivid Sky, for sharing the inner workings of his business. Realize that he did this as part of the ESB community. Tim taught as an adjunct instructor in the Entrepreneurship Program at Saint Louis University, and used ESB since its initial release. He gave us unprecedented access to his story because he believes in ESB's approach, and knows the value of a story told from an insider's perspective.

It is hard to believe, but as we are putting this third edition to bed, we are already trading notes about the fourth. The important notes are those you share with us. What do you think? Let us know.

Welcome to the Entrepreneurial Small Business experience.

Jerome A. Katz, Saint Louis University
katzja@slu.edu

Richard P. Green II, Texas A&M University—San Antonio
rgreenii@satx.rr.com