What do you think of when you think of a small business? Maybe words like agility, flexibility and innovation spring to mind. But for many of the businesses profiled on the following pages, size represents a more fundamental freedom: the freedom to be themselves and the chance to take control of their own destinies. They’re “coolpreneurs,” corporate workers who’ve decided to go it alone; “baby boomerpreneurs,” retirees who’ve opted to start a new chapter in their working lives; “mompreneurs,” mothers who’ve found new and fulfilling ways to meld their working and personal lives; and “ethicalpreneurs,” those who’ve aimed to use their business as a platform to influence or effect social change.

Innovative business models such as these are leading the way in the New Economy — one that hinges on technology and competition in an increasingly global marketplace, but also one that’s built on passion, resourcefulness and a determination to throw out the old rule-book — or even write a new one. “There weren’t many precedents for what we’re doing,” says Connie Betts, who gave up the lucrative world of software design to open an alpaca farm. “We didn’t read business journals or have five-year plans; in other words, we kind of made it up as we went along.”

That can-do attitude may be as old as America itself, but today’s entrepreneurs are finding their own ways of following their dreams. “We knew we had a great idea,” says Jeff Brown, co-founder of Harley-Davidson rental company Eagle Rider. “We were so determined to make it work, we’d have slept on the floor if we had to. We thought, ‘If we don’t do it now we’re never going to. And whatever happens, it will certainly be a great learning experience.’”

That mixture of leap-in-the-dark faith and dauntless enthusiasm is key to the success of all the following entrepreneurs. Society may change and economies may boom and bust, but the spirit of adventure that drives the small business pioneer remains one of the eternal verities. No wonder corporate giants can only look on in awe or envy as the latest left-field start-up races through the field to capture the public imagination. It’s incontrovertible proof, if any were needed, that small is not just big. It’s also beautiful.