Keep an eye on these small business trends and predictions this year. With 2020 in the books, small businesses are optimistic that 2021 will be a brighter year. While the COVID-19 pandemic is not yet gone for businesses across the U.S., that optimism is buoyed by the distribution of vaccines. Although the pandemic has been front and center since early last year, there are other trends on the horizon for entrepreneurs to watch as well. Business News Daily connected with experts in finance, marketing, tech, and human resources to find out what small businesses should expect in 2021 and how to take advantage of these trends.

SCORE Small Business Mentors Open Hub to Help Rural Entrepreneurs The organization that acts as mentors to America’s small businesses and a resource partner of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has launched a centralized resource hub especially for entrepreneurs in rural areas. :sunrise-over-mountains: SCORE for Rural Entrepreneurs will provide rural small business owners with information, tools, and personalized support to help them start and grow their businesses. The new specialized resource hub is in part a response to a 33% decline in rural businesses over the last decade.

The initial financial challenges of starting a small business are substantial and often unpredictable. In fact, 38% of small-business owners report that they underestimated how much it would cost to start their business. When hidden costs arise, many turn to outside funding—according to findings from our new survey of over 700 business owners, one in three entrepreneurs report that having access to personal loans and business credit cards is what helped them start their business. Unfortunately for some businesses, credit can be a serious barrier to meeting the financial challenges of starting a business. A whopping 43% of business owners say their score isn’t high enough to qualify for traditional small-business lending. Not having access to additional funds when problems arise can be fatal to small business hopes and dreams, especially when you consider that only 32% of business owners have an emergency fund in case their business doesn’t generate revenue.

From new entrepreneurs starting their very first enterprise to well-established businesses with years of experience, access to funds is a common issue they both share. One way to overcome this issue is by applying for grants to access funds in order to solve specific issues. :dollar-banknote: The grants in the week’s roundup want to help everyone from new and student entrepreneurs to businesses owned by women of color, as well as established businesses facing different challenges. Take a look at these grants and see if you qualify to help you with funding issues you might be facing. The first two grants from Incfile are The Fresh Start Business Grant and The Young Entrepreneur Scholarship Grant, both of which are providing $2,500. The funds are for those just getting started, seasoned entrepreneurs starting new ventures and student entrepreneurs. The other grants come from Caress Dreams Fund and communities across the country with grants that are part of the American Rescue Plan Act addressing everything from improvement projects to business operations-related challenges. Find out more about all the available grants.

Brainstorming Techniques for Entrepreneurs Whether you’re trying to come up with a great home business idea, or you’re looking for new ideas to boost your income in your existing business, brainstorming is an excellent way to generate ideas. In business, brainstorming is often done in groups, but even as a solo entrepreneur, you can use brainstorming techniques to generate ideas. Not only can brainstorming help you generate ideas that might not have otherwise been considered, but it can also help you better understand where your business is struggling, and where you need to focus your time. Here are 7 brainstorming techniques that you can do on your own that can help you expand your mind to new ideas and strategies for your home business. You can use one, several, or all of these techniques to generate ideas. Plus, you’ll find rules for maximizing brainstorming success, as well as helpful tools.

With an abundance of information available on the internet today, you may think it’s unnecessary to have a mentor. You can learn from great minds and experienced entrepreneurs on YouTube, from podcasts, and through online courses. Many entrepreneurs do just that. It provides a diversification in the content they consume and perspectives they consider. And yet, a mentoring relationship provides something that these online resources can’t – customization. A one-on-one relationship with someone who can advise you, your company, and your professional career specifically can make a significant difference in your success. The power of mentorship is a known fact in the corporate world. CNBC reported that more than nine in ten workers, or 91% of workers who have mentors are satisfied in their jobs.

Your friends and family, the online gurus, publications, and even casual acquaintances can provide you with a steady flow of information regarding business news, industry developments, and opportunities. Industry analysts, consultants, employees, and good networking contacts can share their expert knowledge with you regarding particular situations and needs you may encounter. However, only a business mentor can truly share wisdom with you on an ongoing basis, and in a manner that can have a direct, positive impact on the growth of your business over time. The generic business advice you'll get from online publications will only go so far, and a good business mentor picks up right where that leaves off. A business mentor is someone with more entrepreneurial business experience than you who serves as a trusted confidante over an extended period of time.

Entrepreneurs Alex Taub and Michael Schonfeld once built software tools for the social media boom. Now they’re hoping to provide the plumbing for a new one in the Wild West of Web3. After launching a new venture, Upstream, upon the sale of their previous startup, SocialRank, in early 2020, Taub and Schonfeld have shifted Upstream’s focus more to groups using cryptocurrencies recently. This past November, they launched Upstream Collective, a product to help manage decentralized autonomous organizations (or DAOs). After finding early traction with users, they’ve now raised $12.5 million in Series A funding led by Boldstart Ventures to expand. The round, which values Upstream at $80 million after investment, included a gaggle of investors including Tiger Global, Ibex Investors, Vayner Fund, Panoramic Ventures, Alpaca VC, Human Ventures and Blumberg Capital. Crypto specialists, including Fenbushi Capital and The Medici Group, also joined in.

Careful planning, budgeting and resource management are vital for startups. Entrepreneurs who clearly understand what resources they have available make the best use of those resources.

What does it mean to be an entrepreneur? It's more than being a business owner; it's a perspective and a lifestyle. The road to entrepreneurship is often a treacherous one filled with unexpected detours, roadblocks and dead ends. There are lots of sleepless nights, plans that don’t work out, funding that doesn’t come through and customers that never materialize. It can be so challenging to launch a business that it may make you wonder why anyone willingly sets out on such a path. Despite all of these hardships, every year, thousands of entrepreneurs embark on this journey determined to bring their vision to fruition and fill a need they see in society.