What does 2015 hold in store for small business owners? To find out, I researched the trends prognosticators are talking about online that may affect you and your business this year. Here’s what I found:

This first recommendation is actually something I saw on TV the other night. In a news segment called “2015 may be the year you actually start that business,” the folks at “Nightly Business Report” said that optimism among small business owners is higher than it has been since February 2007. Now that’s good news! They then reported on trends that are favorable for all small business owners and perhaps especially for people who want to launch their own businesses this year. These include lower energy prices and lower interest rates, both of which may make your new business idea more affordable to get off the ground.

In “Will You Be Taking Part in These Future Small Business Trends?” smallbiztrends.com highlights two trends that are definitely worth watching: the growth of peer-to-peer lending and the increased use of freelancers by small businesses, as opposed to hiring employees. I’ve been a lender via a peer-to-peer lending site, LendingClub.com, for about two years now and have been very pleased with the interest rates I’ve been able to earn. There is no way via this site to know if I’m helping other small business owners, but I hope I am!

A blog post entitled “6 Trends That Will Affect Your Small Business in 2015” hits on some marketing trends that we all need to be aware of, including the growing importance of image sharing and promotion as a marketing tool and the growth of alternative social media networks that stress privacy protections. I saw theses same topics discussed in several other plaes; this article does the best job of explaining them.

In “10 trends that will impact small businesses in 2015,” the Miami Herald reports on the growing importance of being able to appeal to millennial consumers, as this demographic group approaches being 30% of the U.S. population.  The article also reports on the growth of the purchasing power of minorities, another demographic trend to stay on top of as you plan for 2015.

Finally, in “6 Small Business Trends To Watch Out For In 2015,” Forbes mentions a few other trends that are well worth watching, including the growth of 3D printing to enable small batch manufacturing and the increased use of big data analysis by even the smallest businesses.

Which is these trends do you think will affect your business in 2015? Share your ideas, please.