Identifying Opportunities in Economic & Regulatory Trends

Trump’s $250 billion in China tariffs are now in effect – here’s what could get more expensive

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/09/25/with-trumps-250-billion-in-china-tariffs-heres-what-will-cost-more.html

Trump’s trade tariff will affect millions of consumers of various products across the U.S. Products that are imported from China or U.S. products that contain a Chinese product like aluminum or steel will be more expensive to the U.S. consumer. I’ve noticed a slight spike in prices in some products and the price will likely go up because the tariff is scheduled to increase this year. I believe an opportunity might exist because there is a need to find the least expensive product with the rising prices. Before the tariffs there were less barriers on making a product as cheap as possible but now with an increased tariff product prices have to increase. The opportunity would be people looking for substitute products that are cheaper than the ones that are being taxed from China or the already expensive American made products. I think this opportunity would be difficult to exploit because you would need to find the cheapest way to produce products while avoiding tariffs. I see this opportunity because I think you could find other ways to import cheap items while avoiding tariffs. Already established businesses may have a harder time with this because they probably have current orders and have a relationship with their current distributor across seas.

Health-care dilemma:10,000 boomers retiring each day

https://www.cnbc.com/2017/10/03/health-care-dilemma-10000-boomers-retiring-each-day.html

Baby boomers are headed for retirement and in staggering numbers. About 10,000 baby boomers are retiring each day in the U.S. and by 2020 the cost of Medicare and Medicaid will double. According to Fidelity the average 65-year-old couple could expect to pay $275,000 in expense for healthcare. I believe that there is a huge market to come of retired baby boomers. The increasingly large market is expanding faster than most other markets and there is a huge need for Medicare support for all these baby boomers. I believe that all retired people could be a customer for something that will make Medicare cheaper for all. I think this opportunity could be relativity easy to exploit because there is a very large market at hand. A person with a $40,000 annual income will need $1.5 million to retire comfortably. The higher the persons income the more they will need to retire. I see this opportunity because there are many options and things you can do to advertise and sell this to this market that is so big and needs help.

New ITU statistics show more than half the world is now using the Internet

https://news.itu.int/itu-statistics-leaving-no-one-offline/

ITU says that more than half the world is now using the Internet. That means about 3.9 billion people will be using the internet and it is continuously growing. The increase is significant from 2005 from both developed and undeveloped countries. It leads me to believe that all these people using the internet are customers and you could market to them in some way. Every time I use the internet, I see countless advertisements and different products and services being marketed to me. I believe there may be a better way of figuring out how to advertise to everyone the products they are more likely to buy. I am aware google does this in a way where it looks at your history and then figures what to advertise but it does it without you knowing. I believe there is a large market of people that can not find the correct product for them because it was not advertised to them. I think it may be difficult to exploit this opportunity because of the already big-name services that do similar to this but not any that specialize in this globally.

Artificial Intelligence is the Future of Growth

https://www.accenture.com/us-en/insight-artificial-intelligence-future-growth

Artificial Intelligence is a trend that will grow in the future. Artificial Intelligence will integrate human intelligence with machine intelligence to be able to do countless tasks in the future. These technologies can help with production lines in factories, controlling traffic, be able to do task that don’t require human inclination. This can be very helpful for companies or federal agencies that need to control something or even at home task for the common person. I believe there is an opportunity to develop artificial intelligence and introduce it to the world. I believe that this market will grow exponentially once artificial intelligence is introduced at a large rate to the world and being one of the first to sell artificial intelligence can increase the possibility of controlling the market. I think companies that need more production lines workers or people that need their house cleaned entirely could be customers. I do think that this opportunity could be difficult to exploit because funding is required to develop the artificial intelligence. I know I am not the only one who sees this opportunity, but I think I would be able to market the correct products to the correct people the best.

Identifying Local Opportunities

1.       Government shutdown delays, disrupts environmental studies

https://www.gainesville.com/ZZ/news/20190124/government-shutdown-delays-disruptsenvironmental-studies

Environmental services and research are being delayed and disrupted across the country due the month long government shutdown. Research that is done on endangered animals, air and water quality is all being disrupted greatly. It is not only government agencies that conduct the research but national park services also. On an island off the California coast, the rainwater collection system is not working at the environmental research station. Also, a crane used to hoist small boats in and out of the water is not working. Usually, U.S. Fish and Wildlife services personnel would deal with this problem, but they haven’t been around since the government shutdown. Scientist, Universities, nonprofit organizations, and private companies are unable to collaborate with federal agencies to gain access to these federal islands and laboratories. The government shutdown is taking a toll on research done by a wide variety of organizations and groups. This is a huge problem for animals that need assistance from these agencies that would normally watch over these habitats and take care of these animals. This hinders the ability of students that want to study these environments and it doesn’t allow teachers to teach about them. Many organizations aren’t working right now which is keeping people from getting paid. In my opinion the environment itself is taking the biggest toll because the longer the shutdown lasts the worse the situation will get regarding systems that are not working. Also, not being able to test if the conditions of the habitat are worsening can allow the conditions to become exponentially worse without anyone being aware of it.

2.       How does the government shutdown affect South Florida?

https://www.local10.com/news/politics/how-does-the-government-shutdown-affect-south-florida-

The government shutdown is affecting millions of people. It is not only affecting the thousands of people that are who are working without pay but many other groups of people as well. Many national parks across South Florida will be closed. Federal employees that work at Miami and Ft. Lauderdale International Airports are currently working without pay. These employees then are unable to work overtime, and this will cause many delays. The Amtrak in Miami will only be running for the short-term but will be closed soon due to the government shutdown. These problems all arise due to the government shutdown and will affect thousands of people that live in or are visiting or are visiting. Tourist that visit South Florida will not have the easy transportation of the Amtrak to go around and will not be able to go to any national parks on their visit. They will also have trouble getting on the plane to leave because they must go through the TSA line delays. The TSA people must work long hours and work without pay.

3.       Construction Workers are Dumping Mountains of Garbage Around Miami-Dade

https://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/construction-workers-keep-dumping-garbage-around-miami-10646630

Construction workers accumulate a lot of trash on the job. Including a lot of debris and small garbage also that is accumulated on the job. In Florida it is a felony to litter 500 pounds of garbage. These construction workers need somewhere to dump their debris, but some choose to dump it in unauthorized locations. Littering can cause major problems including partially affecting Florida’s Red Tide and the ongoing mess in the Little River. This problem affects all the local people that the littering is done by. Pollution in the air also affects air quality and could end up hurting the local ecosystem. There are many reports of dead animals being found due to littering and pollution.

4.       What’s gone wrong with New York’s subway system and how is MTA planning to fix it?

https://www.citymetric.com/transport/what-s-gone-wrong-new-york-s-subway-system-and-how-mta-planning-fix-it-4155

There are millions of people in New York City and a lot of them use New York’s subway system to get around. Recent reports say that the system is “broken” or outdated. The infrastructure is outdated and there is a lot of faulty technology. These problems are causing delays for New Yorker's who are on their way to work which contributes to economic costs to business and employees. There was a 45.3% growth in monthly passenger hours between 2012 and 2017. This problem doesn’t only affect people on their way to work but it affects anyone who is taking the subway system. This means adding time travel time to go to your destination when you could be doing something else productive. MTA announced that they have a plan to update and improve the subway system but that it will take about 10 years to do.

5.       L.A.’s traffic congestion is world’s worst for sixth straight year, study says

https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-la-worst-traffic-20180206-story.html

Traffic is a problem almost everywhere in the U.S. In Los Angeles it is a different story because drivers in and around L.A. spent about 102 hours of battling traffic congestion during peak traffic hours in 2017. That is ranked worst in the world just ahead of Moscow and New York. INRIX says that traffic congestion cost about $1,445 per driver and $305 billion across the U.S. This problem affects millions of people every day. People are getting stuck going to work and coming back from work. It affects people that have obligations to attend but have to drive in traffic to get there. It affects people going to school or people trying to catch a flight. There is a huge need for a better method to control traffic control.

Forming An Opportunity

Having loud and obnoxious roommates can be a real struggle for many college students. During college I have had many different roommates, some were random roommates and others were childhood friends and I have gotten along with all of them pretty well. There is one thing though that they all have in common. Since we aren't on the same exact schedules, sometimes my roommates will be making a lot of noise at inconvenient times in the living room or in their own room. I have many friends here at the University of Florida that deal with the same problem of having roommates that are not always the most considerate. There is a need of peace and quite without any disturbances while you are in your own room. This isn't a new problem but there has yet to be a solution that works for everyone. Many people just end up dealing with their roommates or end up speaking with their roommates but that may create tension. I 100% think that their is a great need for solving obnoxious roommates. Not only college students deal with this but many jobs require roommates or  people that want to stay somewhere less expensive and choose to have roommates.
Interviewee: Nina Albino
I began asking Nina whether or not she had roommates and the relationship she has with them. She told me that her roommates were very nice people but that sometimes they make a lot of noise during the day. Nina says she usually likes studying at home in her room because that where she feels most at peace. She says her roommates are a year younger than her and she interacts with them relatively often. Nina mentions that for her school work she needs to make conference calls and sometimes her roommates are in the living room making noise. Unfortunately Nina has the room that is closes to the living room. She went on to explain that her roommates just are naturally loud people and their conversations can be heard from anywhere in apartment. Nina says that she has asked them on several different occasions if they can be more quite but that it only lasts for a little while. She has been in this apartment for a semester and is glad she can move out when the next semester is over.
Reflection: I learned that the issue she had with her roommates was something that she could not anticipate. She knew when she had conference calls to make but she didn't know whether her roommates were going to have a very exciting conversation in the living about something.
Interviewee #2: Noah Rodriguez
Noah lives in apartments just east of campus in a student housing complex. His roommates are old friends that he went to high school with and is pretty close with them. Noah has a very tight schedule every day of the week. He says he is up by 7:30 and out of the apartment by 8. Noah says that he needs to be in bed by 10 to get a good night sleep and to be ready in the morning. His roommates on the other hand are on a completely different schedule. He says they go to sleep after midnight every single night of the week. They are either watching a movie or playing video games with each other. They also have a huge sound system that Noah enjoys using during the day and his roommates will use it at night. He is good friends with his roommates and he says on the weekends when he has time he participates with his roommates in living room. He understands that they are just having fun and are not intending to be too loud but sometimes they are. He says he has put towels and blankets up against the door to try preventing noise from getting in. Noah says it helps but it all depends on the what they are doing in the living room. The first night he moved into that apartment he knew it was going to be a long year because his roommates had people over and they were playing loud music. He isn't satisfied with blockading his door on nights when it is too loud but he rather have roommates he knows instead of random roommates.
Reflection: Noah seemed to be a very smart guy who is very work oriented, He seemed understanding to the fact that his roommates like to have fun late at night but that he can not hang out with them cause he has to wake up early. He stated twice that he rather be with his friends that are sorta loud at inconvenient times rather then be with quite random roommates.
Interviewee #3: Tanner Redding
Tanner is a senior here at the University of Florida and is in a fraternity. I asked him whether he had roommates and he said he had 4 other roommates. 2 roommates were friends of his in his fraternity and the other 2 were randoms that he met when he moved in. He told me that he was good friends with all his roommates and that they all got along pretty well with each other. The first thing he told me about how is roommates interacted with each other stood out to me. He said that he usually only hung out with his two fraternity roommates and that the other two roommates usually were in their room studying or doing their own thing. I asked him if he had any problems with them and he said that they were nice and didn't say much. I went to ask him if he was around the apartment a lot or if he liked getting out of the apartment during his free time. He told me that his apartment was the best spot to have pregames and tailgate get together because of its convenient location. I asked if his other two roommates would join and he said if they were available he thinks they would join. He was not very clear about their whereabouts when there was a party going on. He said occasionally they would ask for them to turn it down and sometimes they would just leave the apartment.
Reflection: I started to think that Tanner had no problem with obnoxious roommates because he was the obnoxious roommate. He was stating the characteristics of an annoying roommate but from the annoying roommates point of view. He saw no problem with the way he acted or dealt with his roommates. I almost asked if I could talk to his roommates to see how they felt because he knew why I was interviewing him and what assignment was about. Overall he did not seem to have a problem with his roommates but his roommates did not seem they were to happy about how Tanner would deal with him.
Summary : I felt like I tackled a pretty common issue on people with annoying roommates. Some had roommates that were sometimes annoying and others were the annoying roommate. All the people had similar issues on why their roommates were annoying but no one had a working solution. Asking them nicely or blockading your door were both things they they tried but neither was an outright working solution. Everyone is also stuck in the apartment they are in until their lease is over. The original opportunity I think is still there but finding a solution would be harder than I originally thought after talking to them. I think customer feedback is crucial to making decisions. Getting multiple points of view will broaden your understanding of the subject and let you make a better decision in the end.

My Entrepreneurship Story

My father is a great entrepreneur and he has exposed me to a lot his work. When I was in high school I would go to work at my fathers factory during my summer break and work there. My father is the controller of the business and would work in the office while I would work in the warehouse. During lunch breaks I would be able to go eat with him and watch what he did. My father has been in this business for a long time and has clients and customers that he has a history with. My dad uses Lotus123 and Excel and keeps all his customer information on those two programs. This my dad told me was a big tool for multiple reasons. One reason is that it is easy to access any info from any customer within seconds. Whenever he has a new customer he goes to the bottom of the spreadsheet and adds a couple of rows for them and that will be the new section for that new customer. Another reason it is a great tool is because all his customer service employees have access to the same files so they can access any information about customers. His employees only have limited access to editing the files. This is great for customer service because while on the phone with a customer you can easily go to that customers section and act as if you remember the customers personally stating transactions and quotes that were listed years ago. Having a system like this is very beneficial and makes things easier to keep track of.
I enrolled in ENT3003 because being an entrepreneur is something I consider doing in the future. I hope to get more insights on being an entrepreneur and learning more things on how to be a successful one. I would like to get a deeper understanding of the entrepreneurial concepts that will be taught in the class.

20 Bugs

20 Bugs

1.  Switching my clothes from the washer machine to the dryer is an extra step that I don't think should be part of the process of doing laundry, You must pay attention to the laundry to make sure you do not leave it sitting in the washer machine to long after it is done. There should be one machine that does both washing and drying even if it takes a little longer.

2. I think all doors should be able to swing both ways. There are many situations where it be more convenient for the door to swing the other way.

3. Not feeling too hot or too cold in bed. I consistently switch from under the covers to being over the covers because I am either too hot or too cold. There should be a blanket or bed that can control its temperature.

4. I hate when I have food expire in the fridge. There should be a way that I can just scan the food in my fridge and be notified that there is food is expiring soon.

5. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day and I tend to skip it the most because I am rushing to be somewhere in morning. There should be a way to have freshly made breakfast already made for you in the morning just like there are coffee machines that make coffee every morning at the same time.

6. I don't like losing things. There should be a way to stick a little tracker that is not noticeable onto anything you'd like to always be able to keep track of it. Things like keys, wallet or a maybe a very expensive water cup.

7. Traffic is a huge bug and frustrates me every time I deal with it. Everyone is headed home from work at around 5 o'clock and its almost impossible to avoid.

8. I also do not like when traffic signals that are not programmed to deal with traffic correctly. It bugs me when I have to wait multiple light signal cycles for me to get through and the people intersecting have lights that last much longer.

9. Another bug would be voting. The process to get my vote in is very long. I either go to a place to vote and have to stand in very long lines or I mail in my vote which won't be counted unless it is necessary.

10. I do not like waiting in a long line to use the bathroom while I am out with my friends. There are usually multiple people waiting to use only one stall.

11. While I am at the movies and I need to refill, I have to miss part of the movie so I can hydrate myself. I am not allowed to pause the movie or there is not waiter that comes up to me when my drink is empty.

12. When you finally land in final destination after a long day of traveling and then you have to wait to get your luggage which can take a long time.

13. It bugs me when I leave apartment layered in clothing because it is cold and then by midday I am sweating because it is 20 degrees hotter. I then don't know whether to just sweat it out or to take of some layers and carry them around.

14. Waiting for a bus at the bus stop longer than expected is a bug of mine. I use the bus app but the app is usually never accurate with the ETA of the bus. I then rush to the stop to end up waiting for a while.

15. Having to drive to South Florida to visit family. It is more expensive to fly to South Florida from Gainesville then to drive but it is less expensive to fly from South Florida across the country.

16. My roommates will let their dishes pile up in the sink so then I don't have room in the sink to actually clean my dish when I am done with it. My roommates like using the dishwasher but I don't think it does a sufficient job of cleaning everything.

17. It bugs me that most things you subscribe to you have to put your credit card information even if you just want the free part of the subscription.  I should be able to get a free trial without entering my credit card info.

18. Going to the gym in the afternoon is crazy. There are usually too many people there and I am not able to go through my workout the way I please because other people are using all of the machines.

19. Not being able to connect to the UF Wifi occasionally bugs me a lot. I go to campus almost everyday and on some days I can not connect to the Wifi.

20. Having roommates that stay up late every night and make a lot of noise. I have to wake up early and my inconsiderate roommates are screaming at very late hours.

Reflection:
I could not come up with the 20 bugs in one sitting. I had to put myself in other peoples shoes and had to do the assignment at different parts of the day, in different environments to get all 20 bugs. It was slightly difficult determining whether my bugs were actual bugs or if they were easily solvable pet peeves. Most of these bugs occur often and unavoidable. Actually thinking and analyzing these bugs makes me feel like I will have a better approach on coping with them next time. 

Test Post

Hello, my name is Isaac Valancy and I am from Pembroke Pines Florida.