6A – Identifying Opportunities in Economic & Regulatory Trends

Opportunity 1: An Economic Recession is Inevitable

• I found this information in a magazine that is catered to small businesses and startup companies called Inc. Right now, the yield curve is shrinking and once it becomes inverted they say a recession is sure to follow. This is more of a framework for an opportunity as I believe before the recession would hit I believe we can take advantage of a short term opportunity such as a product idea or service idea that will be able to make results in the next few years before being able to sell and wipe our hands clean without dealing with the recession. I believe right now, the economy is under solid shape which leads to opportunity to make money or a difference and this time in between can be the perfect situation before a recession hits. If we did a service then I believe an organization would be the best fit as our prototypical customer because our idea early on could be focused on designing a strategy to cut costs or time efficiency which frees up money. However, this opportunity to come up with a service idea in a limited amount of time as well as rid our hands of it would be extremely difficult because even with the data you cannot determine an exact time for a recession.
• I think I formed this idea opportunity because I see myself as more of a risk taker and this would be a major risk to get involved in because of the amount of steps involved and uncertainty. I think taking chances has been a thing for me and this plays into that.

Opportunity 2: Wages are rising which means the workforce will get fewer.

• This came from the New York Times and focuses on the wages rising and the costs are increasing to retain or attract good help. I believe that an opportunity exists because of this economic trend in the sense that we can revolve an opportunity around the fact that manpower is expensive which means the costs of assembly lines and supplies is rising. We can take advantage of an opportunity to create a technology service or even a manpower service that requires less people such as software or coding and stay away from ideas that require much manpower and also much supplies. I believe the prototypical customer would still have to be organizations because we cannot operate a high operational cost business and if in software, our product would be for distribution to organizations. I think this idea isn't difficult to exploit because we are taking common knowledge of increasing wages and making it beneficial to us to have the most success.
• I think I see this opportunity because I have always been one to find a situation that may affect some and turn it into a positive for me in this sense taking wages increasing and making it fit a mold that can improve and be beneficial to my opportunity.

Opportunity 3: US vs. China

• This came from PriceWaterCoopers and examines the ongoing dilemma between the Trump Administration and their stance on China. I believe an opportunity exists in China even if administration wants to back away. In general, I believe the Asian market is an untapped market and since it is fast growing and continues in development, there is an opportunity to cater a service to the people of China should there be a way in. I believe we can take advantage because of a saturated USA market and if we are fine with no support from the government and dealing in international business, this opportunity to provide services to the Asian market such as travel agencies or entertainment is growing and well beneficial to us. This is difficult to exploit however because China does not allow much access to its people or outside businesses which will take work.
• I think I see this opportunity because I came in contact with a luxury travel planner this year who explained a similar example and I believe that it was a brilliant idea if accomplished as it will target a market that hasn't been tapped yet.

Opportunity 4: Deregulation

• This came from PriceWaterCoopers as well and focuses on the deregulation on multiple industries in America. I believe an opportunity exists with the deregulation for more investment opportunities. More regulation leads to less investments so it is difficult to raise capital or start ideas. I believe this deregulation allows more ideas and opportunities to go and even if there is not a clear cut prototypical customer for an idea, the concept is still relevant. It is easier to exploit due to the fact that deregulation benefits investment and thus provides capital to opportunities and ideas.
• I think I see this opportunity because I always have had the belief that capital is required and necessary to get an idea off the ground and thus it is always a factor in my thinking and actions.