Starting and Operating A Small Business, Third Edition, demystifies the process of starting a business by presenting difficult economic, financial and business concepts in a manner easily understood by beginning business students. This edition is based on a proven curriculum from the Network For Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) and includes new case studies, a new Honest Tea Business Plan, and more on topics such as cash flow and e-marketing. Drawing on the experience of Steve Mariotti and Caroline Glackin, students will begin building their business plan as soon as they open the text! In a step by step process students will learn how to start a small business, operate a small business and turn their ideas into viable business opportunities.
Steven John Mariotti was an American educator, activist, and businessman. He was the founder and president (1988–2005) of the nonprofit Network For Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE), and the author of books and textbooks related to entrepreneurship education. Mariotti was inspired to found NFTE by his early career as a special ed teacher in New York City, as chronicled in his 2019 memoir, Goodbye Homeboy: How My Students Drove Me Crazy and Inspired a Movement, BenBella Books, co-authored with Debra Devi, with a foreword by Wes Moore. After retiring as NFTE president in 2015, Mariotti served as Senior Fellow for Entrepreneurial Education at the PhilaU Center for Entrepreneurship at Philadelphia University (2016–2018), and Senior Research Fellow for Entrepreneurship at Rising Tide Capital in Jersey City, New Jersey (2018–2020). In 2020, Mariotti executive-produced the PBS docu-series Trauma to Triumph: The Rise of the Entrepreneur. In 2021, he founded the nonprofit Center for Financial Independence to provide social entrepreneurs with mentorship and fundraising training.