If 2012 was a year of "wait and see," for small business technology, 2013 will be a year to "go for it."

One key reason is that small business optimism is already rising. According to the Fall 2012 Bank of America Small Business Owner Report, more than half of small business owners project sales will grow in the next year, and almost one-third plan to hire. Just 7% expect sales to drop and only 3% plan to lay off employees. And entrepreneurs typically believe they're local economies are doing better than the nation as a whole. (That can't be true for everyone, of course, but it still speaks to increasing optimism.)

That's not all. Some 45% of business owners in a recent Kauffman survey believe consumer demand will grow in 2013. Record sales over Black Friday weekend sales suggest consumers have "frugality fatigue" and are ready to spend again. Consumer debt is falling, the housing market is improving, and even the job market is showing signs of recovery-all of which could increase consumer spending by 3.5% by late 2013, according to Moody's Analytics. With pent-up demand for everything from housing to personal services to travel, there will be plenty of opportunity for small businesses who aren't afraid to seize it.

Each of us has the ability to choose how we show up to life every day: sleeves rolled up or hands out. Here's how to have a happier and more productive New Year--at home as well as at work.

As one year comes to an end and a new one begins, it really is a special time. The madness stops for a few days: The phones are quiet, emails abate, and there is time to relax and reflect. In the always-on, always-connected world we live in, we rarely make the time to step back and celebrate what we've accomplished, reflect on what we've learned, or make plans to change how we go about life. Daily habits and the rhythm of life take most of us captive, and we often end up doing what we've always done, and each year starts to look very much like the last. And while the arrival of a new year prompts many of us to make simple resolutions, like giving up alcohol, joining a gym, or cutting carbs, most of us don't use the start of each new year to reset how we live to ensure we get the absolute best out of the entire year ahead.

These 12 books have shaped not only the way we work this year, but how we think and the conversations we're having. Authored by luminaries like Nate Silver, Clay Christensen, and Susan Cain, these delightful-to-read tomes offer insight into the power of vulnerability, habit, social media, and more.

1. Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking, by Susan Cain In Quiet, author Susan Cain argues that introverts are a reservoir of untapped talent--and that progressive managers can create environments in which they thrive.

“Any time people come together in a meeting, we’re not necessarily getting the best ideas," she tells Fast Company, "we’re just getting the ideas of the best talkers.”

Amazon: $16.61

THE QUEST TO VISUALIZE THE DATA AROUND US CERTAINLY DIDN’T SLOW DOWN IN 2012, BUT THE YEAR DID SEE A REFRESHING NUMBER OF NEW APPROACHES AND APPLICATIONS. HERE ARE OUR 29 FAVORITE PROJECTS OF 2012.

It stands to reason that we saw more infographics this year than any before in history. There’s definitely more data out there and, as evidenced by the diversity of projects seen here, designers are clearly up to the challenge.

Data viz has to be considered one of the fastest growing segments of design today, and thankfully, it’s growing in some exciting new ways. Where the Internet infographic was defined, for a period, by the dense, super-long column of facts and figures, we’ve recently started to see more projects that engage directly with data in novel ways--like the student-made rig that paints earthquakes in real time, or the lattice of metal, created by artist David Maly, that mimics the action of the ocean waves over a thousand miles away.

Skolkovo, the state-sponsored giant tech hub nearing completion on the outskirts of Moscow, has come under sharp criticism over the last several months, suggesting that government policies in support of innovation in the country could be reviewed.

Among the first signs of resistance to Skolkovo’s recent development were remarks made this past October by Deputy Prime Minister Vladislav Surkov, who cast doubt on the need for two expensive, monument-scale buildings planned by the Skolkovo Foundation.

Surkov’s remarks perhaps echoed the cynical views of Russian businessmen and officials who believe that Skolkovo’s actual raison d’être – behind the stated goal of stimulating innovation – is to create juicy real estate development opportunities.

Reston-based New Atlantic Ventures, which invests in technology start-ups, has launched its fourth venture capital fund. The New Atlantic Venture Fund IV expects to raise $125 million, with its first investors contributing $42.5 million in the fund's initial sale last week. New Atlantic Ventures currently holds stakes in more than two dozen start-ups, including six in the Washington area. It currently has $230 million in capital under management. The VC firm would not comment on investment plans for the new fund, citing Securities and Exchange Commission restrictions on new fundraising activities.

Google recently acquired mobile device maker Motorola Mobility and will soon manufacture smartphones and television set-top boxes. Amazon's Kindle Fire tablet represents its bridge between hardware and e-commerce. Oracle bought Sun Microsystems and now champions engineered systems (integrated hardware and software devices). And even long-standing software giant Microsoft now makes hardware for its Xbox gaming system. Technology titans are increasingly looking like vertically integrated conglomerates largely in an attempt to emulate the success of Apple.

Vertical integration dictates that one company controls the end product as well as its component parts. In technology, Apple for 35 years has championed a vertical model, which features an integrated hardware and software approach. For instance, the iPhone and iPad have hardware and software designed by Apple, which also designed its own processors for the devices. This integration has allowed Apple to set the pace for mobile computing. "Despite the benefits of specialization, it can make sense to have everything under one roof," says Wharton management professor David Hsu.

Most entrepreneurs will tell you they’re going big and will accept nothing less than an IPO. But when the reality of running a business sets in, getting acquired is no small feat, itself.

“With the exception of about half a dozen companies, every tech startup is for sale,” said Jim Moore, founder and CEO of J Moore Partners, a firm that specializes in tech M&A.

In Silicon Valley, where startup activity is at an unparalleled high, mergers and acquisitions are the fastest-growing exit for venture-backed companies. According to a recent study by Ernst and Young, the volume of M&A in the technology space surged 41 percent in 2011, reaching levels not seen since the dot-com boom.

As small business owners, we cannot become so bogged down in the minutiae of business that we don’t see the forest for the trees.

For handmade entrepreneurs, this is especially challenging because we love what we do so much, it’s tempting to spend most of our time creating things, and not enough time marketing and selling them and planning for the future.  This often results in lots of nice products, but few sales.

If you find yourself in this situation, or want to avoid it altogether, don’t panic. I created a list of 10 specific essentials that will help you focus on revenue-generating activities, without sacrificing your passion for the making the products you love.

Sherwood Neiss is passionate about entrepreneurship. And he has helped lead the charge to change nearly 80-year-old federal securities laws about investing, so that entrepreneurs can gain access to capital.

Called crowdfunding, the changes will allow small investors to fund start-up businesses, hopefully creating jobs and boosting the economy in the process.

Earlier this month, while Neiss was in Dubai speaking at the Global Entrepreneurship Summit, we emailed him questions. Here are his edited responses.Q. Please tell me about your entrepreneurial background.

Maryland policymakers have taken encouraging steps the past two years to strengthen the state’s technology and life sciences economy.

Two years ago, they expanded access to capital for early-, mid- and late-stage growth companies through the InvestMaryland program.

Last year, they accelerated the transfer of novel technologies from universities into the hands of private companies through the Maryland Innovation Initiative.

Predicting what next year's (or next week's) ipad is going to be like is hard enough. Knowing what computers in general will be like 150 years from now—an eternity in technology development—is nearly impossible. On the other hand, technology prophets, computer pioneers and researchers have never been known for their reticence on the subject of the future. So we thought it wouldn't hurt to ask them. For starters, will there even be computers in the far future?

1. Everything I need is within me.

2. There is only NOW. The past is over. The future is a dream.

3. Love is the only game in town.

4. It's easy to forget. But it's also easy to remember.

5. Eventually we all have to let go (so why not let go now?)

Whether you're courting potential investors or presenting at a staff meeting, you need to project confidence. Your self-assurance shows others that you believe in your business ideas and helps you sell them effectively.

In some ways, how you present an idea matters more than the idea itself. "Emotional energy and nonverbals are more important than content," says Blake Eastman, a serial entrepreneur and founder of The Nonverbal Group, a Manhattan-based consulting firm that offers body language classes for business leaders. "Investors talk about investing in people, not investing in ideas."

Pitching investors is one of the most important tasks you'll ever face in building your business. While you may feel ready to field any question investors throw at you, you should carefully think through and practice your responses. "More often than not, it's the obvious questions people fall down on because they think them through superficially," says Martin Soorjoo, founder of San Francisco-based Investor Pitch Clinic and author of Here's the Pitch: How to Pitch Your Business to Anyone, Get Funded, and Win Clients (Wiley, 2012). 

Here are 10 key questions to ask yourself before pitching investors.

Do you drink a cup of coffee at the same time every morning or sit in the same chair at meetings? While habits like these may be harmless, TW Walker, author of Superhero Success (Breakthrough Media Network, 2012) says other habits may be negatively affecting your business productivity and success.

"Habits form from repetition and frequency. The problem is that most people repetitively implement the wrong (habits) that are actually blocking their success," says Walker. Here are five bad business habits to drop now. 

While 2012 saw some spectacularly large IPOs like Facebook and Workday, it also had its share of major mergers and acquisitions.

In the tech sector, the acquisitions of Instagram, Yammer, and Nicira Networks were especially big news. Companies also made buys in the health and science sectors worth many millions of dollars.

We’ve compiled a list of the top 10 VC-backed mergers and acquisitions from National Venture Capital Association. The data ranks each of the acquisitions by value and the amount of debt each company takes on in the deal. Here’s the list, with many deals you’ll likely remember well from the year:

The OECD economies may be sluggish; America may or may not hurtle over fiscal cliffs; and BRICs may not be growing quite as fast as their champions hoped. But adversity (almost) always creates economic opportunity. Digital media continue to be springboards for global innovation and enterprise. North America's fracking fever has proviked experts (who once feared the world had passed Hubbert's Peak) to predict the US will soon be a net energy exporter. Human ingenuity — increasingly augmented by technical amplifiers — remains the most remarkable renewable resource.

So here are four innovation ideas — themes, really — sure to gain significantly greater mind- and market-share over the coming year. What do they all have in common? Individual empowerment.

I WAS born in 1956. I should have been reading in grade school, but I’m dyslexic — I have trouble reading, writing and spelling — and few people knew much about the condition in those days. My mother realized that something was wrong, but she didn’t know what. She advocated for me at school and told my teachers not to give up on me. I attended five grammar schools because my mother was constantly looking for something to help me. It was a lonely childhood, and I hate to think how I might have ended up if she hadn’t been so supportive.

I compensated for my reading difficulty by developing superb listening skills. If a teacher explained something, I understood it. I also had excellent spatial skills and was good at designing and fixing things. Somehow I got through school, and luckily the family business, Sur-Seal, in Cincinnati, was there for me when I graduated from high school.

The year 2013 will be one of climbing out from a long era of darkness for venture capital. After all, you have to go all the way back to 1999 to find a time when VC earned market-beating returns.

Here's how dark things have been. The National Venture Capital Association has made available an analysis by Cambridge Associates of the internal rates of return for the average venture-capital fund that normally has a 10-year life.