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Specialty company Sharper Image announced that they took quite a loss in the month of December with sales way down. They dropped roughly 10% in the month of December and overall for the year were down about 13%. They make a good product and all but they are a little high in cost for their cool little toys and gadgets. I just think that with the economy the way it is right now and so many people trying to save money most people are not going to go down to their local Sharper Image store and buy a $200 walking electronic dog. Maybe it is just me but if I were to cut back on expenses that is probably the first place I would cut back.

There are tons of ways to turn a profit on any business. They key is just finding something that works for you. Personally I have found that I typically save a lot of money by outsourcing some of my carious work to IT companies that can get the job done faster than any of my employees can and usually for less money. Most outsourcing agencies can provide assistance on a regular or a per-project basis. The company that I work with actually tailored an internet outsourcing solution package specifically to my budget and requirements. The made the whole thing simple from start to finish. They also hooked me up with a reliable dedicated hosting for my business website. So now I get a lot more done for a lot less money and in a lot less time as well.

Next week the mega investing company Merrill Lynch is said to be writing down the value of it’s mortgage holdings by an insanely large number. They will be reportedly taking a $15 billion charge on its mortgage investments when it reports its quarterly earnings. These numbers of course are much higher than anyone had anticipated and they are undoubtedly going to be taking a fourth quarter loss due to this. Estimates are already coming in that they their stock will drop almost $5 per share. Luckily I think the worst is behind them and as they are a strong company that are sure to bounce back better than ever.

When it comes to starting your own business it is very important that you make the right business connections. The right connections can put a company on the map just as the wrong connections can break a company before it ever even gets off of the ground. Let me give you an example. If you decide that there are not many good high end jewelry stores in your town and you feel that a brand new high end jewelry store can really turn a profit in your neighborhood then it would make sense for you to hook up with a couple of really good jewelry wholesalers. I say a couple as it is always good to have a secondary source in case your primary company closes or runs into some sort of problem. The last thing you would want is for your wholeasaler to run into problems and end up costing you your business. So if you plan on starting your own product based business get out there and find someone who can supply you with the product at a really good rate. After all, the whole point of being in business is to make a profit.

I had mentioned in a previous post that Countrywide was facing a little bit of financial trouble and that there were rumors of a possible bankruptcy in the near future. Well, it just hit the internet today that the mortgage mega company Countrywide Financial is in the process of being bought out by Bank of America. That’s right Bank of America is officially buying out Countrywide for approx 4 billion dollars. Now that is a lot of money. This purchase however is supposed to be a real good thing for both companies and is expected to finalize sometime in the third quarter of this year.