[12ZHeWZa]

I have spoken to a few people this year already about what their plans are for 2010, and everyone is extremely optimistic and has some huge plans - which is great to hear.

I have a few personal goals that I would like to meet, I want to be able to give myself some flexibility in my lifestyle rather than chasing the money all time time, I am looking for opportunities that give me more freedom, so I am chasing time.

Time is much more valuable in my opinion.

What are everyone else's goals for 2010?

[Unoloknovagog]

Thanks The Start Up Sage, a nice holistic overview of the naughties and what may be instore for us as business owners over the coming years.

I tend to agree with some of your comments, twitter is losing steam and I still am not sure whether it has found its place on the internet yet, I do believe it is an excellent and useful technology but not sure if its true purpose has been discovered yet - I currently find it as an excellent news and information source and is an interesting addition to any online marketers tool kit.

I think the next few years will see the title 'social media' die off and just become the normal way of the internet being used, more on mobile devices, more need for real time data and collaborative mobile applications.

I think over the next few years we are also going to see traditional offline businesses use the internet 'properly' as a way to market their business. I know this has been said for many years and businesses who have a website think that is all they need. But the need to drive traffic to websites and convert that traffic into a phone call for an offline business will really gain traction over the next decade, and the small businesses that get in first will be the ones that succeed.

We here at AussieTycoon are looking forward to a very optimistic 2010 and are glad to have an excellent community of dynamic, encouraging and motivated members, and we wish everyone the best for the years to come.

[MaraReenece]

From a financial perspective, I think the share market will see gains of around 22% to finish the 2010 calendar year at around 6,000 points (ASX200). Although 22% growth may seem optimistic, it should be noted that the market would still be 12% below the November 2007 peak, so there is still plenty of clawing back to do.

I think 2010 will see relatively modest house price growth of around 5% nationally, but as always there will be states and regions which perform far better, and others that perform far worse. With interest rates heading nowhere but north, I certainly don't see 2010 being as strong as 2009 was in some states.

From a business perspective, finance is still relatively difficult to access, so I wouldn't expect too much growth. I think it will continue to be a year for companies with little or no debt to continue moving ahead of the pack.

It will be interesting looking back at this topic at the end of the year to see how far off we all were!

[Mugflefusysef]

As we hit the final days of 2009, a year that was tough for many in business, one wonders what is in store for 2010.

On the technology front, by the end of 2009 Twitter has lost its varnish (if it had any in the first place). As one newspaper reported recently, when you see politicians using Twitter to communicate you know it has lost its coolness factor and is well on the way out the back door.

The same can be said about a lot of the social media rubbish on the web today.

Meanwhile, it seems that several billion people are - all at the same time - developing iphone (and other carrier) applications. Which sounds great, in principle. However how are users going to sort the quality from the crap? When you need a GPS based system for telling which way the wind is blowing and you have a choice of 341 apps to help you find out, one result may be decision paralysis. Its easier to just take off a sock and hold it in the air!

It's like going to one of those fancy French restaurants with a 48 page menu. Too many choices to wade through and too difficult to understand what each one really is going to taste like. So you end up taking advice from the waiter (who, as he has a vested interest, flogs you the expensive bony pigeon in some thick sauce that hides the fact that pigeon is light on both substance and taste.)

So perhaps some smart dude needs to develop an iphone app that sorts through the iphone app clutter and helps you make a decision. (Please let me know if I am behind the 8-ball and it already exists!)

What technologists and business people alike forget in all this process is that most people already lead very full lives. They have real friends and family. Work hard (whether for 'the man' or as entrepreneurs). And any free time is focussed on things they are passionate about (for some this is just sleeping).

So perhaps 2010 will be the year that people clear out more junk from their lives ... be it real world junk or technology. And herein lies a continuing entrepreneurial opportunity.

Things that simplify our lives will always do well. The ipods did well as they made it simple to download and listen to our favourite sounds. Same with the iphone. The billion apps in development may just confuse and complicate our lives.

We also like websites that provide simple reviews on specific products and services. Anything to help us sort through the online clutter. (On the other hand, domain parking, while a bonafide business model, significantly adds to the problem of web clutter).

In the real world, Business Switch has done well as people starting a business in Australia just want to get things operational. They haven't got the time or patience to sort through 400 government websites - each with its own angle - pretending they know how to start a business up. Nor do they have the energy to wade through 3,273,800 Google web pages on how to start a business. They just want to get started!

They also want personal advice from real entrepreneurs who are the real thing. They want advice that is relevant to their specific situation. Not something quoted by some 'rah rah rah' American business evangelist or from a theory-based textbook. By the way, for those business coaches who are faking it, just remember that most people can tell a rubbish-spewer from a long way off.

As for start up opportunities, it would be fair to say we have started many online business in 2009. However, by the end of the year the number of people starting retail businesses had picked up pace. We wonder whether this trend will continue in the new year.

We would really like to know your feelings on what's in store for 2010. What's going to be hot? What is not? What new real world or online business is going to scale up? What is on a downward spiral?

In closing, on behalf of the team at Business Switch, we wish all at Aussie Tycoon a great Christmas season and a safe and happy New Year. Catch you online in 2010.