While most of the country is spending time this week reflecting on 2017, isn’t it time to look ahead to 2018? The new administration has been in place almost a year. The economy is strong. Unemployment is at 17-year low. So what does this mean for your small business in the coming year?

Yesterday, Promotional Consultant Today shared five key trends for small businesses in 2018, as identified by Andrew Marder, business writer for Capterra. In this issue, we’ll share five more trends.

1. Employee scheduling laws will change. Marder says that New York City will soon be implementing new scheduling laws for shift-based employees, creating many implications for traditional employee work patterns. The law states that if you don’t give employees 14 days’ notice about a shift change, you’re going to have to pay them a fee. It gives some certainty to employees, but also makes scheduling an even more complex minefield. Similar laws are being adopted in San Francisco, Seattle and other locations across the country. This law will require more planning on the employer’s part and more organization. For a small business, Marder suggests investing in employee scheduling software.

2. Hyper local advertising will continue to rise. Your phone now knows where you are at all times, thanks to apps with location access. This sets the stage for highly targeted or “hyper” local advertising where you can serve up ads to very specific audiences at specific locations. Imagine opening your phone and getting an ad from the store you’re currently in offering an alternative to something you searched for on your laptop. Pushing this personal interest and information right back to the consumer creates a level of “stickiness” and a better spend and ROI for your local advertising dollars.

3. Remote workforce will continue to increase. Marder says that according to a Gallup poll, more than 40 percent of Americans now do some part of their job from home. While the future won’t be office-free, that’s a number that’s only going to rise in 2018. While it’s a nice benefit for employees, productivity and accountability can be a challenge, so find ways to keep your employees connected. Give people the space to succeed, but make it clear that their remote work option is dependent on results. Freeing yourself from the office can help you keep everyone happy and open your business up to new talent pools, allowing you to find the best candidates for your business no matter their geographic location.

4. Customers will fight to control their personal data. In addition to worrying about the data breaches for your business, your customers, too, will be protective of their privacy. You have a responsibility to provide as much of a protected environment as possible and let your customers know the measures you are taking to protect their information. One way to do that is to move data collection to mobile and app-based environments, and away from large data servers. This is new technology. For example, app designers can reverse the data structure, allowing you to keep all of your identifiable info on your phone and only manipulating it on your device. Continue to read and learn about these options if you plan to invest in future technologies.

5. Continue to be flexible. We live in an era of constant change and political challenges, and one thing is for certain, you can expect this moving environment to impact your business as well. So the final advice Marder has for 2018 is simple: be flexible. Accept that change is the norm. Continue to read and be alert for what’s coming, and learn to embrace change.

Source: Andrew Marder, a writer for Capterra, has a background in retail management, banking and financial writing.