6A – Identifying Opportunities in Economic & Regulatory Trends

Opportunity 1

One economic trend in the US is that Climate Change is causing more natural disasters. I know this opportunity exists because everywhere I look (the news, social media, advertisements),  see people advocating for change. I believe this opportunity exists because I see local businesses in my are taking advantage of this trend. A lot of roofing and shutter companies are marketing heavy right now, since Hurricane season has only just taken off. The prototypical customer is anybody who lives on the east coast, specifically the southeast coast, of the United States. This is the area that always gets threatened during Hurricane season. In my opinion, this opportunity is relatively easy to exploit. All you need to do is find the needs of those prototypical customers on the west coast, and cater your business towards them.

I see this opportunity because I have lived in Florida for a very long time. Every time I see the news of a potential hurricane, I always see people frantically run around and buy water and gas and protective gear. This element of climate change seems to temporarily stimulate the economy every time people are threatened.

Opportunity 2

Another economic trend that is occurring is that the Federal Reserve has leveled the interest rates, and is holding off on raising it until 2021. I know this opportunity exists because I read a headline and an article that explains the Federal Reserve's efforts to level off the interest rates. Also, I understand how important interest rates are for the nature of business. As businesses become established, and do not need to worry about making a profit, they can shift their focus to future planning and investment. With the interest rates leveled, the cost of borrowing for the next two years will remain a low constant. The most prototypical customer will be any entrepreneur that is trying to start up a business. Any start up costs and costs of borrowing will be lower than what it would be two years from now. However, given the nature of how long it takes to start a business, I would say that this opportunity is difficult to exploit.

I see this opportunity because I am taking Business Finance semester, which has taught me the business importance of interest rates. Interest rates control everything within a business, from notes to bonds to Plant, Property, and Equipment. By taking this class, I have successfully found an opportunity out of this headline.

Opportunity 3

One regulatory trend in the US is that cyber security is becoming an increasing threat to our personal lives. I see this opportunity everywhere in the news about every couple of months. The news is a cycle of repeating stories, each about some credit card company or bank that has been breached and millions of people's personal information have been leaked. I know this opportunity exists because people are taking action against hackers more than ever now. People are buying anti-virus in record numbers, and many are pursuing a civil lawsuit regarding their information breach. The most prototypical customer for a cyber security software is anyone who works in the financial sector, and has their name tied to many large, extensive databases. However, developing a software that successfully protects people from hacking is very hard to do and requires a lot of computer science skills. Therefore, this opportunity is particularly hard to follow through on.

I see this opportunity because I have always had the fear that my information will be leaked, and I'm not even as involved with online databases as other older adults. I always try to make my passwords unpredictable and I always log out when I log into something on a public computer. I see this opportunity because I would be one to purchase a product that exploits this opportunity.

Opportunity 4

Another regulatory trend is that Bitcoin, and a lot of other cryptocurrencies are going mainstream. I know this opportunity exists because I trade cryptocurrency myself. There are tens of cryptocurrencies that all have independent evaluation. People are buying and selling electronic currency at an all-time high right now. The prototypical customer in this industry will be the upper-middle class: those with enough money to invest some in the side, but not enough money to where they are constantly finding ways to increase their returns. Making an easy-to-use, user-friendly app that allows for the buying, selling, and trading of Bitcoin will be a great idea to exploit this trend. However, the start up costs are very high, which make this opportunity very difficult to exploit.

I see this opportunity because my dad was one of the initial investors of Bitcoin. He works as an IT, so he is always up-to-date on technological trends. He made back exceptional numbers after his initial investment, which is what prompted me to start trading cryptocurrencies. Right now, the market for cryptocurrency is household, and it can only open up more from there.