2008 is over.  For many, that is a good thing.  It’s time to turn your attention to 2009.  Here are five ways to dominate the coming year.

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It’s been one heck of a ride since we launched back in April 2008.  We’ve had some successes and some failures and have learned so much about blogging, business, investing and more.  This post is my summary of the 2008 with regards to this blog and with regards to my business activity overall.  I’m being open about my traffic, my income and more in an attempt that the information will help you with your ventures.

Also, I’m going to give a status update on some of my other business and investment activity.

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This has been one crazy year. Here are my random year-end awards:

Biggest Loser of 2008: America

2008 saw the collapse of the U.S. economy driven by the financial and real estate markets. While the poor blame the rich, the responsible blame the stupid and the politicians all blame the opposing party, our economy continues to deteriorate.

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2008 will be remember for many things.  The election of the first black president in the United States history, for example, will be long remember.  There is a chance that 2008 might be remember even more for the amount of wealth it destroyed and the disastrous economic times that it ushered in.  This past year, we saw the real estate bubble, the complex, over-leveraged financial system bubble, the American consumer bubble and even the entire American economic bubble pop.  The result: more wealth was destroyed this year than any other year ever in our history.

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My favorite financial expert of 2008 is definitely Peter Schiff.  If you haven’t seen the Peter Schiff was right video, then you are missing an amazing compilation of incredible predictions.  Watch the video, then buy this book because the video gives amazing credibility to Peter Schiff’s vision and predictions.

His latest book entitled The Little Book Of Bull Moves In Bear Markets talks about the current economic environment, how we got here, and most importantly, how to profit from the current situation and the coming situation.

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Today, the Fed cut rates to record lows, between zero and 25 basis points.  This is no surprise, but is simply another action in their course to encourage economic growth at all costs, even the cost of the dollar.  My position has been clear, that government officials want short-term economic results and have absolute zero consideration for long-term economic health.  This is strictly because short-term results mean re-election.

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So many companies and industries are in the news these days, and it seems that if they are in the news, it’s a bad thing.

Corporations / Businesses of the Past

The Big Three: GM, Ford, Chrysler

These three companies represent the old business model of manufacturing that simply cannot work anymore.  With increased global competition and more and more entitlement/legacy costs weighing down the companies, it is simply a flawed business model.

Add to the equation a lack of long term strategic vision and poor management and you have a disaster of an auto industry.  Are we surprised that they continually need government assistance?  What a joke.  People regard the Chrysler bailout years ago as a success because it “turned the company around”.  Really?  What if the government let them go down.  Would the result be a better auto company in its place or even a better, efficient Chrysler?  Maybe.  Either way, these companies are doomed unless the entire model and structure is significantly altered.  Don’t count on it happening, however.

The Cable Industry

Does any other young person find it interesting that we still need a giant, ugly box next to our TV in order to watch TV?  It seems the cable industry is either destined for a serious innovative leap or perhaps a disintegration as other services like internet-based television or satelite television move forward?

My local provider, Brighthouse, in Florida actually required me and my roommate to both appear in person at a local office in order to switch the account into his name.  Talk about customer service!  We had to fight traffic, leave work and appear before a completely incompetent customer service representative in order to switch a name on a stupid account!  Talk about archaic.  At least with DirecTV, which I use now, the customer service is fantastic and the technicians are brilliant.

Newspapers

Talk about a dead industry.  The New York Times is broke, so they are mortgaging their real estate.  The Tribune is about to go bankrupt and countless other major newspapers across the country are either broke or bankrupt.  Again, in the internet age, this is a flawed business model.  People want their information faster and they want it free.  As for classifieds, newspapers are dead with the rise of Craigslist, eBay, etc.

The 21st Century Corporation

Google and Apple

Google: What an amazing company.  They basically resurrected the internet after the dot-com bust through their innovative, transformative advertising platform.  Also, Google allows their employees to spend 20% of their work week working on whatever project they want in Google.  This fuels company moral and innovation.

Tied with Google in the innovation department is definitely Apple.  Let’s see, Apple continues to take market share in the PC arena, completely transformed the music industry to the dismay of record companies, became the #1 retailer in terms of volume of music (ahead of Walmart), became the #1 retailer in terms of sales per square footage (ahead of Tiffany’s) and now is the #1 seller of smartphones by revenue.  Uh, hello?  Do you still not own Apple’s stock?  Even at these levels?

Wal-Mart

When it comes to global supply chain, Wal-Mart stands alone (sorry Dell).  If you haven’t read or watched a show about the Wal-Mart distribution methodology, you need to do it.  It will blow your mind.  Their incredible distribution network allows them to offer lower pricing on products than any of their competitors.

While, they have received some bad press over not paying their employees enough, I think this is ridiculous.  The American public should be happy that Wal-Mart provides as many jobs as they do.  Did you know their executives share hotel rooms with eachother at the cheapest motels when they travel for business?  Picture the CEO and COO splitting a $49 a night room on business.  A little different than AIG, yes?

Accenture

This is a company that I have first hand experience with: I used to work for them.  This company is leading the way in making companies more efficient and better run.  Through innovative information technology, Accenture is helping companies become transformed into 21st century corporations.

Since companies pay Accenture to help them with their businesses, you would expect Accenture to be pretty lean and efficient themselves when it comes to Accenture internally.  Well, that would be correct.  Accenture has fantastic internal systems such as a Knowledge Exchange in order to share ideas across the thousands of consultants around the world.  Encounter a problem on a project over in China, check the Knowledge Exchange and you might find the solution from a colleague in San Francisco.

Also, Accenture has a system that allows its employees to reserve office space at the local Accenture office no matter what city they are in.  No matter where I go, I can get a great work space in the Accenture office.  Similarly, many of the non-consulting workforce of Accenture, such as HR, work from home which allows increased flexibility for employees and less Corporate office space needed.

Why Analyze These Companies?

It is worthwhile to recognize the successes and failures of these big American companies for a number of reasons.  For one, perhaps you are looking for a job and you want to apply at some of the cutting edge, globally competitive companies. There is a reason that MBAs are flocking to companies like Google instead of the traditional MBA path of the past such as investment banking and management consulting.

Or, perhaps you are an entrepreneur and you want to borrow some of the ideas that these companies are implementing.  Lastly, you might be an investor looking to own great companies for the long haul.  If so, definitely stay away from the archaic business models of the old American corporations and look to the 21st Century Corporations like Google, Apple, Wal-Mart and Accenture.

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I frequently talk about blogging because I think it is a very real and easy way for anybody to earn a little extra income on the side. As I learn more and more about blogging as this blog continues, I aim to forward on my experiences to those who might be trying to do what I’m doing: make more money on the side through a blog.

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I have talked frequently about my short term side income goal of generating $500 in additional income each month. I felt that this was not only an attainable goal but also a chunk of extra monthly income that could make an impact in my financial life.

In this article, I want to tell you a few ways on how to invest $500 in extra income. Remember, this money is considered extra money that is on top of your already established budget, savings plan and investing plan. Keep reading to understand what I’m talking about.

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I frequently read on other blogs about why you should put money into CDs and how to create CD ladders and so forth. Well, I’m here to tell you that a CD is a terrible investment and why.

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