The holidays are a time of hope and joy. They're also a time when my email inbox fills with an avalanche of small-business predictions, best-practice tips, and success-strategy recommendations. Here's a collection of some of the more interesting forecasts for small businesses in 2011:

1. Financial savvy: More companies will use direct deposit to save money and help the environment, according to the PayItGreen Survey 2010. Calculate how much you could save by switching to direct deposit with this calculator.

2. Venture capital and IPO markets: This year saw a big thaw in the public markets -- the volume of IPOs more than doubled, PricewaterhouseCoopers reported. The value of fourth-quarter IPOs this year is more than we saw in the same period of 2007. This should translate into more venture capitalists seeing payouts...which means more venture capitalists with money to reinvest next year.

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