1. Higher energy prices - Kiplinger says look for higher gasoline prices by Memorial Day, with prices averaging US$2.15 per gallon.

2. Modest (3.5%) economic growth - Economic growth will be slower than in 2004, but hiring will accelerate.

3. A worsening situation in Iraq The attacks will continue and get worse.

4. A bottom for the dollar by spring The weak U.S. dollar will finally hit bottom in the spring and begin to edge upward.

5. Higher prices, but lower inflation - Inflation will be 2½%, lower than 2004. Prices will rise due to the weak dollar increasing the price of imports.

6. Better stock returns than 2004 - Expect 12%-15% stock returns. Likely strong performers include: Energy, defense and biotechnology plus manufacturers of medical and electrical equipment.

7. An even more contentious U.S. political arena - Due to contention, we are not likely to see tax reform or Social Security reform in 2005. But we may get some liability lawsuit limits and bankruptcy law reform.

8. Employer health costs rising about 10% - Health insurance premiums will rise 10%, which sounds like a lot but is not as bad as some recent years. Health Savings Accounts, high-deductible plans, and consumer-driven plans that emphasize judicous use of health care, will be the main techniques used to control costs.

9. Burgeoning foreign investment BY China - Chinese companies will be snapping up foreign companies. Top targets include electronics, IT, telecom, and raw materials for China's builders and manufacturers.

10. Intense competition for telephone and Internet services - Everything in this category will be getting cheaper. We'll see many new services and new technologies rolled out.

Anti-Trending and Other Trends for 2005
Entrepreneur's Top Trends for 2005
Small Business is Itself a Trend
Top Technology Trends for 2005
Top Global Consumer Trends
Inc.'s Trends for Entrepreneurs in 2005
Top Travel Trends for 2005

Anti-Trending and Other Trends for 2005
Entrepreneur's Top Trends for 2005
Small Business is Itself a Trend
Top Technology Trends for 2005
Top Global Consumer Trends
Inc.'s Trends for Entrepreneurs in 2005

• High prices on raw materials - The price of steel is up 46%. Lumber is up 25%. And cement is just plain hard to find.
  
  What's the problem? A construction boom in Asia is driving up the price of raw building materials.
  
  Builders and manufacturers will pass on higher costs to their customers if they can. If they can't -- because of government contracts or other price guarantees -- they'll look to join associations for joint buying power.



• Logistical problems resulting in long lead times - Just-in-time delivery is being sorely tested by the limits of a stretched global distribution network.

  "If you're waiting for anything offshore, the ships in Long Beach are so backed up you can walk to China on them," says Jack Stack of SRC Holdings, a manufacturer in Springfield, Mo.

  Look for more capital and inventory to be tied up in warehouses. Small businesses, check your credit lines! You may need the liquidity.



• Benefits driving up labor costs - Double-digit increases in health insurance premiums are, unfortunately, a given these days. Providing health insurance for employees despite the high premiums will be a challenge.
  
  Another challenge will involve reworking benefits plans for the sandwich generation (those caring for children and aging parents). This will heat up as the baby boom generation reaches its golden years.



• Struggling state economies - Cuts in state budgets have shifted the burden of worker training and other programs on businesses.
  
  Florida, home to a large number of entrepreneurs, is still recovering from the multiple hurricanes of 2004. In California, with its large concentration of entrepreneurs, Governor Schwarzenegger is engaged in reforming laws such as workers compensation.

  "The jury is still out," says Jack Kyser, of the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp., "but the small-business community feels that they have a friend in Sacramento."

• The return of early-stage deals - Venture capital investments are likely to increase in 2005. Businesses in Silicon Valley and Boston will have the edge (no news there!). The money will be doled out in smaller deals and businesses will have to prove themselves before getting more.

Anti-Trending and Other Trends for 2005
Entrepreneur's Top Trends for 2005
Small Business is Itself a Trend
Top Technology Trends for 2005
Top Global Consumer Trends

• Age Complexity
  
  Children are acting and thinking older. Anyone with children knows kids seem more mature, with pre-teens behaving like teenagers. And adults are acting more like kids (you knew that, too, right?). What it means for business is that you will have to appeal to teen attributes for kids, and bring out the youngster in all us adults.



• Gender Complexity
  
  Metrosexuality is in -- men are behaving more like women, and women are behaving more like men. Well, that's true if you follow traditional views of behavioral distinctions between men and women. Here is the observation of the Scotsman article: "Women have moved into many traditionally "male" employment areas and are earning more. There are also more women entering tertiary education, and they are marrying later or staying single. Women's drinking habits have radically changed too. *** At the same time, men are becoming more feminised as they take an active role in parenting, become more fashion-oriented and develop beauty regimes, including opting for plastic surgery."



• Lifestage Complexity
  
  Is the nuclear family (father, mother and children) slowly going the way of the dinosaur? The report cites significant family changes. More people live alone, do not get married, or do not have children at all.



• Income Complexity
  
  High income groups are spending on "anti-luxury" (i.e., shopping for discounts), while lower income groups splurging on luxury items. Look for discount shopping outlets to grow, at the same time premium goods and services also grow.



• Individualism
  
  Individualism has always been somewhat an American trait, but now it is a trend becoming more marked in Europe, Latin America and Asia -- even the Middle East. What that means for marketers, retailers and consumer goods manufacturers is that brands will have to speak clearly to their targets. Products must have any number of flavors, styles, colors and variations to suit individual tastes.



• Homing
  
  Faith Popcorn made this concept famous with coining the term "cocooning." Consumers are spending more time at home. In turn this leads to growth in businesses catering to consumers at home, including home entertainment (think cable TV and DVD sales), as well as restaurant-quality food and beverages for home. Datamonitor also reports that globally a greater number and variety of workers will work from home.



• Connectivity
  
  Technology (instant message, mobile phones and email) are keeping us all connected. People also have an increased desire for belonging to the greater community. Even manufacturers have gotten into the act, with products that encourage breaking the ice, such as Molson Twin Label beer bottle labels that get people talking to one another.



• Sensory Experiences
  
  People are seeking out more intense experiences. Extreme sports, long action-packed weekends, aromatherapy, authentic ethnic foods, even intense flavors of soft drinks -- all play to our needs for sensations and sensory experiences.



• Convenience
  
  People are eating on the go, frequenting convenience stores, and buying products that offer greater convenience. Look for self-heating cans and fast-chilling drinks.



• Health
  
  Health and well-being is much more at the forefront of people's minds, with sales of healthy, de-stressing and self-medicating products booming. Products that cross over trends -- for instance, combining health with convenience -- will also be big. Convenience foods that are perceived as healthy are one example.

Anti-Trending and Other Trends for 2005
Entrepreneur's Top Trends for 2005
Small Business is Itself a Trend
Top Technology Trends for 2005

Editor's note: We are pleased to present the forty-fifth in our regular weekly series of PowerBlog Reviews of business weblogs.

At this time of year we spend considerable time reviewing trends predictions. So it is fitting that we review Next Level Biz Tips.

Next Level Biz Tips is a study in using a blog as the sole Web presence of an independent professional (consultant), Denise Wakeman.

This blog is a good example of where we predict blogs will evolve to for consultants and other independent professionals.

We can expect to see more consultants in the future, especially in the United States. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that consulting services will be the second fastest growing industry over the next decade.

And what is the Web tool of choice for consultants? A few years ago it was a Website with an email newsletter. Today it's a blog and RSS feeds.

Denise is a marketing systems professional who in the past has used database marketing to deliver tips to clients. Now she is moving toward using the blog as her sole Web presence. She says: "I think it's the ideal way for independents to create a simple yet powerful web presence for low cost and a tiny learning curve."

Another reason that consultants like Denise are embracing blogs so quickly is to respond to client needs.

Denise says it was one of her clients, "Patsi Krakoff of http://www.coachezines.com who got me going with blogs. *** When Patsi told me she wanted to start a blog, I knew I better jump in and learn the ins and outs of this medium fast, since I knew she may be coming to me with questions. That is in fact what has happened and now I'm assisting other clients with setting up their own blogs."

This is not a blog about blogging. It's about informing independent professionals about the wide variety of Web resources available to them.

I especially like the way Denise uses an interesting artifice in the form of tips labeled "Next Level Tips." They're single topic tips on a broad assortment of Web marketing topics.

The Power: The Power of Next Level Biz Tips is in the way it signals how important a tool the blog has become for consultants. Not only that, but many professionals will need to become expert at blogs in order to meet the needs of their blogging clients.