Those that do not think about getting costs now will eventually be forced to cut costs to zero all at once when they go broke.

That is why there can be a huge wave of bankruptcies next year – especially when it comes to small businesses. Mix this brutal truth with the likelihood of higher taxes and you have a dangerous recipe.

In the next year the strong will survive. The businesses that can actually grow in the next year will become leaders in their markets afterwards.

That is what I see happening with all of the businesses I’m involved in except this limo business.

Ah now this applies directly to trading and investing.

The downturn is already wiping out people who don’t cut expenses. And when it comes to trading expenses are losses. Those that did not cut losses months ago have lost money and if the bear market continues those that do not cut losses will end up losing lots of money over the next – perhaps enough to knock them out of the stock market game completely.

Those able to be patient and maintain heavy cash reserves will make a fortune in the next bull market by buying right as it begins.

Many small businesses are inefficient. They live by month to month and hang on a thread. When it comes to traders and investors most people just throw money at the stock market with no game plan. When they buy they just think things are going to go up forever and make them money. They have no plan on when they will sell for a profit or cut their losses if things go against them.

Those that develop and stick with a plan make fortunes in the stock market. It is markets like this that will transfer money out of the hands of the masses and eventually hand them to the smart and nimble in the end.

How does this happen?

The masses try to hold on and then eventually sell out and give up on the stock market. It is then that the people who make the real money in the stock market step in.

Are you one of these people? If not then it is time to be serious about making money in the stock market. It is time to read my stock market course if you haven’t already. It is time to read the Stan Weinstein book.

In business the businesses that succeed the most usually do so by doing one simple thing – they do a little bit more work than their competitors. They satisfy their customers more. That’s why this website is growing while most financial websites are about to face tough times. A lot of market analysts are going to disappear. By providing more value than my competitors I will grow and may even become a market leader when this is over.

And when it comes to investing the successful investors are those willing to do the work it takes to learn. They are willing to read a few books and use their brain.

They make up a very tiny fraction of the people in the stock market. Think about the people you know. How many of them have retirement accounts? I’m sure you know hundreds of people invested in the stock market. How many of them have taken just a few days of time to read a few books and learn how the market works?

Hardly anyone.

That’s why just about anyone can succeed in the market, but almost no one does. People simply are too lazy or do not believe in themselves enough to think they can use their brain and think for themselves. Almost all of the money in the market is in the market because someone literally threw it in there with no thought at all. It will be yours for the taking.

Right now that may mean you need to learn about the market, cut some losses, and come up with a plan to make a fortune in the next bull market. Think ahead. If this was 2002 before the start of the last bull market what is a game plan that you could have used then to identify the start of that bull market and be able to sell and take your profits before this bear market began?

If you can come up with an answer to that question you can make a fortune in the next few years. It’s laid out in the first few lessons of the stock market course. We’ll apply the concepts together when the time comes.

I know one day next year or in the first half of 2010 I’m going to see sector after sector line up to start a new bull market. It is going to be an incredible day. And when everyone is down and scared about the market now that is what I think about. I think about this huge opportunity that I know is going to come.

I’ll be able to take advantage of it and help thousands of other people do so too and that is an exciting thing to think about.

Until then I need to get as many people as I can ready for it. And in the meantime to make money that means some short-term trading on the long-side when things line up right, maybe one more rally to short into sometime in the next few months, and a careful eye for some sector or market in the world that goes into a bull market before everything else. Maybe that is commodities, but we will see.