Even in the worst economic situation since the Carter administration, Forbes magazine often likes to reveal whatever positive sides it can, much like I do. In an article written from expertly executed research campaigns and quotes from successful entrepreneurs, they found the most lucrative and financially prosperous places in the United States to set up residence. They based these findings on four factors: cultural amenities, business friendly environments, knowledgeable and productive workforces and generous salaries.

Joshua Onysko, an entrepreneur and owner of Pangaea Organics, opened his skin care business when he moved to Boulder, Colorado, which he did, aside for the personal benefits, due to the business benefits. The business benefits include a strong venture capital environment, similar start-up businesses all throughout the area, and talented workforce candidates from nearby University of Colorado. While other businesses are contracting, Onysko’s endeavors are expanding. He has reported a 225% increase since 2005 which is still increasing.

Factors that can put an area on this list of profitable areas can include pending and active patents, venture capital funding, self employment businesses, start-ups and small businesses with a high rate per capita. This basically covers anything that displays quality business activity, indicating profitability, success and a desire to live in relative prosperity. This places Boulder, Colorado, at number one on the list.

The basic Miami area, especially Doral and Kendall, Florida, suburbs about 15 miles out, one north, one south, offer a great environment for more active businesses like golf courses and beaches. They also have one of the largest amounts of small businesses in the country per capita, clinching the number two spot and number 25 spot in this list. Following a close third is Fairfax, Virginia, exhibiting one of the best public school systems in the country, a median salary that barely misses a six figure total, a large amount of small corporations, and a main highway that leads right to McLean, Virginia, right outside of Washington D.C. McLean is one of the corporate capitals of the nation due to the presence of Capital One, Bearingpoint, Booz Allen Hamilton, Cardinal Bank, Freddie Mac, Gannett, Mars, MicroStrategy, NVR, Sunrise Senior Living, and USA Today.

Mountain View, Calfornia comes in fourth due to its proximity to San Jose and San Francisco combined with the amount of start up businesses and venture capital. Nearby Cupertino, just east of San Francisco, comes in a close fifth due to much of the same criteria. Coral Gables, Florida (9), Evanston, Illinois (18) and Newton, Massachusetts (6) tend to produce patents, start-ups, and venture capital due to their proximity in relation to major research universities. Santa Fe, New Mexico, though only number 24 on the full list of 25, is unique to the list due to the entertainment venues it provides, with related sole-proprietors and skilled workers. Columbia, Maryland, on the other side of Washington D.C. from Fairfax and 20 minutes from corporate Baltimore, came in at number seven. (Nearby Rockville, North Potomac, Germantown, Silver Spring and Potomac placed 8, 13, 17, 20 and 23, respectively.) As a native of that area of Maryland, this author is aware of the advantages in Columbia and, as an entrepreneur, takes advantage of them. There a lot of small to medium sized businesses in Columbia, Meriweather Post Pavilion, a major music and entertainment venue, and lots of venture capital.

As is made obvious, contrary to the current economic state, there is still a bright side to business and personal finance, especially if you live in California, Florida, Colorado, New Mexico, or the mid-atlantic region (Maryland and Virginia) of the country. The bottom line of these findings are easy to decipher. Any business can still succeed, even if a drastic measure like locational placement change must occur, and with strong business centers in nearly every portion of the country, the economy still has a strong core.

Since all locations were not listed, here is the full list:

25. Kendall, Florida- A southern suburb of Miami, parallel to Key Biscayne

24. Santa Fe, New Mexico- Northern New Mexico, northern part of the state

23. Potomac, Maryland- Just on the Maryland side of D.C.

22. Sugar Land, Texas- A southwest suburb of Houston

21. Tustin, California- South of Los Angeles and east of Long Beach

20. Silver Spring, Maryland- A Washington D.C. suburb, nearly directly inside the border

19. Davis, California – Between Sacramento and the Bay area

18. Evanston, Illinois – North of Chicago, on the shore of Lake Michigan

17. Germantown, Maryland- A northwest suburb of D.C.

16. Aliso Viejo, California- Between Laguna Beach and Laguna Hills

15. Sandy Springs, Georgia- A suburb north of Atlanta

14. Santa Monica, California- North of Los Angeles, on the beach

13. North Potomac, Maryland- Farther out than Bethesda, Chevy Chase and Potomac

12. Hillsborough, California, north of San Francisco and San Jose

11. Bellmont, California- South of Hillsborough, right between S.F. and S.J.

10. Foster City, California- South of San Francisco

9. Coral Gables, Florida- A southwest suburb of Miami

8. Rockville, Maryland- Another D.C. suburb but farther inside Maryland

7. Columbia, Maryland- Directly between Baltimore and D.C.

6. Newton, Massachusetts- A suburb west of Boston

5. Cupertino, California- South of San Francisco and west of San Jose

4. Mountain View, California- South of Palo Alto on the bay peninsula

3. Fairfax, Virginia- A western D.C. suburb

2. Doral, Florida- Another Miami suburb

1. Boulder, Colorado- Northwest of Denver, in the mountains

Today, all over the world, 30 GB Zunes, for no apparent reason went into “brick mode.” Meaning, they went to the load screen, froze, and have been there ever since. What does Microsoft have to say to its customers who are going without music this New Year’s Eve?

From Zune.net:

Early this morning we were alerted by our customers that there was a widespread issue affecting our 2006 model Zune 30GB devices (a large number of which are still actively being used). The technical team jumped on the problem immediately and isolated the issue: a bug in the internal clock driver related to the way the device handles a leap year. The issue should be resolved over the next 24 hours as the time change moves to January 1, 2009. We expect the internal clock on the Zune 30GB devices will automatically reset tomorrow (noon, GMT). By tomorrow you should allow the battery to fully run out of power before the unit can restart successfully then simply ensure that your device is recharged, then turn it back on. If you’re a Zune Pass subscriber, you may need to sync your device with your PC to refresh the rights to the subscription content you have downloaded to your device.

Desire first, and plan second. There is nothing wrong with desiring wealth, it is perfectly logical. With wealth comes power, recognition, and the ability to have or change almost anything. Dreams come true, and doors open that otherwise might have been closed. In fact, I encourage thinking about your wants and desires; it is the single most effective way to understand what you want out of life. Now that you know what you want it’s time to lay the groundwork.

Because everyone has a different desire, everyone’s plan to success will be different. Factors such as time, income, and working capital come into play, but there are many ways in which everyone’s plan should be the same. A plan must have a start and an end; without which a path cannot be made to connect the two. The start must describe you as you are now with all truths revealed, the more information you list the better. This helps to establish a “true starting point” as well as an important honest acknowledgment of you. Things that might be included could be your age, current income minus debits, working capital (savings), time frame restrictions (moving, school, retirement, etc.). The end must be equally truthful and honest if your desire is to be a millionaire, have a clothing line, run your own successful law firm, or retire in 5 years then write it down along with all other goals/desires that you have. The more the merrier, your desires need to be written out.

The correction is in the connection. I give out advice a lot to people, mostly on how to get from point A to point B, but I tell them they are looking at it wrong. The best way to from A to B is to go from A to C. A is the start, B is the middle, and C is the end. Most people can only see what they have, and know only what they want.

The middle is simple, and should start simple; the simpler the better. Baby steps helps you succeed here, because we are looking for success not failure. Want to turn $10,000 into $1,000,000 in 5 years? Sit down, grab a pen, and find out mathematically what that comes down to a month. If you hit a wall; find a solution, or an idea. Will the increase in equity come from working more hours, making good investment decisions, or starting a new business? What is your backup plan? How do you plan to carry each task out? Create. Solve. Evolve. The middle is a jigsaw puzzle, include backup plans; use real numbers not guesses for success. Do not lie to yourself in your attempt to get from A to C, it will almost always lead to failure. Create steps that are attainable in order to give yourself a sense of accomplishment when you complete them. When you are done, know that you are focused and that your goals are within your grasp. Soon you will hunger no more.

Recently, I went searching for open positions related to my field of study (marketing and communications) for when I graduate in May. Even when searching through the countless positions on websites like Monster.com, most positions for my major requires years of prior experience. I also visited a college career fair, and most of the companies were not looking for business graduates, but were more interested in pharmacists. Unfortunately, four or five years of sitting through endless lectures and classes devoted to the very position they are seeking does not count toward any experience.

The odds are not in their favor either. In the second quarter of 2008 the Labor Department gave the unemployment rate for those in the 20 ? 24 year old group (the age range is the most likely for new graduates). Unemployment had risen from 7.7% last year to 9.8% this year.

Most colleges require students to intern and/or take career counseling to give them an idea of what to expect after graduation, but they still do not guarantee a job after graduation.

So you are a new graduate and cannot seem to stand out of the crowd? Here are a couple of tips to make you and your resume more noticeable to potential employers.

- Network. Networking helps you stand out to an employer. If you are currently a student, become involved in plenty of events and groups related to your major.
- An impressive resume. Making your resume stand out is not as hard as it may seem. Little things such as adding a picture of you or using positive phrases can add luster to an otherwise vanilla resume. An example of a use of positive language is instead of saying you have no experience in a certain area, saying that you are willing and open to learning is obviously more constructive. Employers are always more open to someone who is willing to conform to their job descriptions, rather than a position having to conform to an applicant.

Student loans are creeping up and you still have not gotten the position to build your career on? Some people have begun to take a more unconventional attitude on job hunting: Create their own career by starting their own business. Once thought to be something only highly experienced professionals do, new graduates are starting businesses related to their fields of study.

If you have the ambition to start your own business, either a new graduate or someone who just has some new or great ideas, here are a few pointers that may help you start:

- Since you are probably bogged down with debt (thanks to student loans), try to limit your start up costs. Internet companies generally have very low startup costs, as long as you have an idea as to what you?re doing. Starting a business with a friend can also limit your costs and you will have more than one person working toward a goal.
- Remember those old textbooks that you could not or did not sell? Some of them have some great ideas in them. I have kept marketing books just because I thought in the future they could come in handy.
- Have a business plan. If you have a business plan, even a simple one, you always have a reference point. Eventually we all hit road blocks, like writing essays and having an outline, a business plan can keep you in order.
- Finally, do not give up and work hard to achieve your goals. Getting through college was not easy (or cheap), so do not be discouraged if your business does not take off immediately. Successful businesses take patience, time and a LOT of hard work.

It is not hard to become discouraged by the declining job market. Plenty of people I know are working in fast food restaurants while waiting to land ?the job.? When the economy is good, graduates may get multiple offers with competing salaries, but now these offers are not landing in people?s laps like they once were. An applicant must do more to be noticed in today?s job market. So good luck graduates, I will be seeing you in May.

Who can really blame people for leaving? After all, they are providing the same service (which doesn’t cost them any more than it did a year ago) at a higher price. Ebay says that the changes in fee structure was made to encourage sellers to list more items. They cut the fees for listing, but raised the ending commissions on a completed auction ending lower than $1000 or a fixed price sale under $100.

What it seems like eBay has successfully done is allow “diamond power sellers” to flood the market. One of the largest “diamond power sellers” is Buy.com. There is speculation that because Buy.com has so many fixed price auctions on eBay, they are being charged nothing or next to nothing for these auctions.

To appease disgruntled sellers, starting September 16, eBay says they will begin allowing sellers (in the U.S.) to list an unlimited number of identical items for a month at a time for $0.35.

Will this really make people happy? Well perhaps for some, but I don’t list unlimited identical items…ever. I occasionally list a few things. There have been times after fees from eBay and PayPal, I could have gotten more for it at a thrift shop. With the fee changes for auctions, sometimes it’s just not practical to sell things auction-style, and I find that buyers don’t always like paying what you’re asking in a fixed-price auction.

The FCC has successfully granted a monopoly. These are the only 2 satellite radio broadcasters in the U.S. Now, they are not a monopoly across all forms of radio, but if you want satellite radio…this is now your only option. But it’s no worse than cable television in any town. You can either have cable, which is one format, Air, or satellite.

So, what’s going to happen?

Well:

Subscribers can purchase the channels they want, not an overall subscription. Current subscribers do not have to purchase new receivers. There won’t be any rate increases for 3 years.