6A – Identifying Opportunities in Economic & Regulatory Trends

Economic Trends

Subscription box services

a)     I found this on https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/323660, and it mentioned how this industry is growing by 1% a month. Growth means opportunity.

b)    In addition to its growth, subscription boxes cover so many avenues. There is food, beauty, apparel, even pet subscription boxes.

c)     There is something for everyone so ANYONE can be the customer.

d)    It is very easy to exploit, because you can advertise on social media platforms, television, print, and even word of mouth.

I saw this as an opportunity because there is always something new you can come up with to create a new type of subscription box. While others may just think there are already a ton of different subscription boxes, they wouldn’t be able to come up with an idea for a box that hasn’t already been created—but you can make your OWN box. You can personalize your subscription box to your own personality and pitch it to others. I personally have multiple monthly subscription boxes that I'm subscribed to and I’ve always thought of ways to change them to make them better. This was an easy idea for a possible opportunity due to its growing popularity and increasing economic trend.

Non-bank lending

a)     I found this opportunity on https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/323660 as well. It mentioned how this type of business opportunity it has been steadily growing for years, but in 2018 its economic trend boomed.

b)    This article led me to believe that an opportunity exists here because it mentioned that over 80 percent of small business loan applications are rejected, and this results in the startup founders looking to non-bank lending.

c)     Small business startup founders are the target customer here since they account for the majority of people seeking this type of business.

d)    I think this may be pretty easy to exploit, since you know your target customer. It is very specific, and it would be easy to reach out to them and promote to them.

I saw this as a good opportunity because there is proof that this business is growing, and the need will always be there as long as people are still trying to build and grow businesses. Others may not think of this avenue because many do not know it exists, especially if they are not familiarized with entrepreneurial startups and how those startups struggle to find financing.

Regulatory changes

Marijuana legalization

a)     I found this opportunity on https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/9722-cannabis-industry-business-ideas.html. The article had mentioned how the industry is quickly becoming big business with customers spending more than $10 billion in 2019. Many states are quickly legalizing recreational marijuana, so this regulatory change means big business opportunities.

b)    The fact that even with federal prohibition of marijuana still there is still that much of a growth. This screams that there is going to be a huge boom in profits when more states legalize it and even more so when federal prohibition ends.

c)     The prototypical customer would be almost any adult, but mostly concentrated on young adults.

d)    This would be extremely easy to exploit. Marijuana already widely used all around the world even with it being illegal and there are so many different avenues you can go with when it comes to cannabis.

I saw this opportunity because of all the different avenues within the industry. There are avenues within growing plants, breeding plants and developing high-quality hybrids, dispensary owners, extractors which is a whole other avenue of all the different types of products you can make from marijuana. You have the option to go recreational or medicinal, or both. Other may not view this as a business opportunity because it is still federally prohibited, and recreationally illegal in many states. The trend of the pro-marijuana laws increasing is very promising for the marijuana businesses.

Privacy laws

a)     I found this opportunity on https://mlexmarketinsight.com/insights-center/editors-picks/area-of-expertise/data-privacy-and-security/new-privacy-laws-generate-business-opportunities-compliance-headaches. The article mentioned how there are new privacy laws that would generate business opportunities within AI technology.

b)    With this new General Data Protection Regulation, the business opportunities opened up. There are many data-protection services now needed.  Many new and old businesses are looking for a privacy advocate. And that is where this opportunity comes in with AI technology.

c)     Business owners would be the prototypical customer, but consumers could even be a customer as well.

d)    This business opportunity may be a little more challenging to exploit because a lot of people are still a bit weary of AI, they prefer human interaction and human workers.

I saw this as an opportunity because artificial intelligence is becoming the next big thing whether you want it to or not. People not supporting AI are the reason others wouldn’t see this as an opportunity. AI gets the job done quicker and when it comes to massive databases held by companies, AI makes more sense not only in the effectiveness, but it is also more affordable to the prototypical customer.