6A – Identifying Opportunities in Economic & Regulatory Trends

1. Plastic Bags- (regulatory)
1. I have found out about this regulatory trend in multiple places. I have read about its dangers to humanity and animals in the news along with changes in policy. Also, I have done a project on this issue in ENC1101 in regards to the endangerment of whales and how it affects human beings in return.
2. It has been banned in certain states including Washington state and other states have added fees as opposed to banning it. Boston is about to ban plastic bags as well. This creates an existing opportunity because now there are a lot of people that need a substitute for plastic bags. For example, this could be cute reusable foldable bags.
3. I think the prototypical customer for this opportunity is a mother who does a lot of grocery shopping and is going to be affected by the ban even though she should already be on the reusable bag trend (lol).
4. Although many businesses will jump on this opportunity making it a little difficult to successfully exploit, reusable bags is not the only substitution for plastic bags and there could be a lot of variations of reusable plastic bags such as different materials and sizes, etc.
5. I saw this opportunity because I did a big project on this topic last year so I know about the increasing number of regulatory changes being made due to the spreading knowledge of damage caused by plastic bags.
2. Funding to arts- (economic)
1. This was inspired by a local opportunity that I noticed due to the decreasing funds to the Hippodrome which really upsets me personally.
2. This suggests that an opportunity might exist because less people right now are being given the opportunity for creative outlets and places to see art-related shows and exhibitions.
3. The prototypical customer to this opportunity is an a part-time actor or dancer or artist of some sort that are looking for jobs and cannot find many opportunities.
4. This opportunity could be relatively easy to exploit because more theatres, art galleries, and dance studios are needed but the difficult part would be attracting customers to a live art business venture. This can be very difficult to find a market for this but I believe in the Gainesville community, there are many students along with locals that appreciate performance art and visual art so much that that they would spend their money on a venture like this.
5. I saw this opportunity because as an actress and arts-lover, I’ve noticed the lack of culture here and creative outlets. On top of that, I have heard from friends about the unfortunate news in regards to the decrease of funds to the Hippodrome.

3. Plastic lids- (regulatory)

1. I found this opportunity online on a news website.
2. This article discusses how many major businesses in the United States are choosing to ban plastic in order to lessen our impact on the environment. This includes places like Starbucks, Au Bon Pain, etc. This can serve as an opportunity for people to increase their usage of reusable mugs, portable cups, and so on.
3. People enjoy being comfortable and having convenient accsess to their drinks. This ban would pose a lot of problems for companies whose premise of profit comes from serving drinks. There will be a need in the market for a cheap eco friendly alternative.
4. This opportunity will be easy to exploit because more people have become proponents of protecting the environment and people love to support environmentally friendly organizations and companies.
5. The ban of plastic lids would cause a ruckus at first but overall become a brilliant business venture. Creating an eco friendly, reusable lid would promote the well being and well meaning nature of big companies. Finding an alternative to plastic lids would be easy since the market can be easily distinguished and targeted.

4. Homeless shelters- (economic)

1. I found this opportunity online on a news website.
2. This article talks about how homeless people in the Gainesville area have increased. They have become increasingly dispersed throughout the city. Creating a home for them is a good business venture because reforming the lives of homeless and reintroducing them into society will help propel the economy forward.
3. The prototypical consumer would be willing homeless people who have been known to plague the Gainesville area.
4. I think that this opportunity is easy to exploit. Many need a shelter to restart their lives and reform them into productive members of society.
5. I think that this would be an opportunity that benefits not just those directly in the shelter, but also all of society. Reforming the lives of the homeless and giving them tools to be productive members of society (such as hygiene products, business clothes, simple life courses) will be beneficial to all.