Looking for Opportunity

About a year ago, around this time, I was extremely unhealthy. I took advantage of my college scene, and did what any overly sheltered, church every Sunday, Catholic high school girl would do once she left home: I partied. I went out every chance I could, and I came home at the crack of dawn. I was barely pushing through my classes, and I was miserable.

See the thing they don't tell you about college is that being a party animal isn't like the movies. You don't bounce back and have flawless abs like the girls who dance around in bikinis in Project X. You don't wake up for your 8:30 class prepared for the pop quiz on the book you were supposed to read that week. You don't succeed, and you are not happy. I had gone from being the witty, intelligent, petite girl I had grown to be, to a beer-belly, smile-less, unhealthy college student. I knew I wanted to make a change, and so I did.

I decided not to go home that summer, and re-take the class I had done so poorly in. Everyone was traveling the world, and I lived with a random roommate, practically alone in Gainesville. Somehow, that roommate changed my life. He listened to my dreams, and helped me pursue them. He let me become infatuated about health, fitness and nutrition, and read him article after article about how to be the best version of yourself. I began to write journals while experimenting with exercise and proper nutrition, and eventually began my own blog. By the end of the summer, my body, my mind and my health transformed. Nutrition wasn't just something I needed to achieve anymore, it was something I grew extremely passionate about.

You may be wondering why I'm telling you this story. Well, I went a little out of order, but I believe this passion reflects in my entrepreneurial mind, and my experience is the reason I sought out and found these opportunities. Because I was a customer with an unmet need, I was able to find so many things that I needed to change, specifically the regulator opportunity below; they are as follows:

Regulatory Opportunity #1:

Statement by FierceHealthcare.com

The health care industry, specifically in hospitals, promotes the continuous advancement of innovation and technology. With a smartphone in the hands of the majority of Americans, people are craving speed, always in a rush, and mostly concerned with their opportunity cost of time. With the introduction of new applications, Price Waterhouse Coopers predicts that 2016 is the year that consumers will necessitate smartphone apps to be integrated into their medical care. This kind of application and handheld medical treatment could promote ease of knowledge, quickness, and first-hand (literally) availability of immediate test results. The opportunities in this upcoming technological trend are endless, ranging from creation of the beginning appointment to the post exam or post-op care, depending on the reasons for visits.

http://www.fiercehealthcare.com/story/10-emerging-healthcare-trends-2016/2015-12-08

The consumers with this opportunity are both the patients and the medical centers. The medical centers could, with this new technology, promote efficiency and relieve themselves of potential wasted time and resources. In the end, this could raise revenue and even marketing success. On the other hand, patients will probably be the most realized consumers, as it is they who may end up deciding their treatment plan based on where these applications are offered, so they can make it easier on themselves.

Regulatory Opportunity #2

The beginning of summer marks a major turning point across the country: high school seniors, like my two sisters, are graduating and preparing for college. This turning point in their life comes at a fantastic time--summer season, Memorial Day Weekend and Fourth of July. Furthermore, it also comes at a time where huge sales are happening, and where they need to get into the technological bind that college practically forces you into. Apple, Inc. knows this, and at the beginning of summer they take advantage of the demand for laptops, and offer recent high school graduates a major discount on their products.

The opportunity here is the availability of sales or marketing tactics that could drive major sales and branding for other brands providing technologically necessary school and work products to students. The consumers here would be recent high school graduates or recent college graduates. Every year, millions of young adults are graduating, so the target market is massive. A decrease in price will drive quantity demanded, but as of now they only have one sales option through Apple. Upon graduating, the requirement for new laptops and specific technology is exceedingly common.

My Apple computer is eight years old. I recently was looking for new ones, and began to compare all of my options. I stumbled upon this opportunity because I noticed the the discount offered to me from Apple as a college student.

Economic Opportunity #1:

Income growth has been steady in the U.S. economy, which has the potential to put more money into the economy for businesses. As a member of a sorority, I often see girls steadily looking for jobs as they enter the real world. This past year, however, I began to notice that every one of my friends was getting a fantastic job, with great salary opportunities. After looking more into it, Forbes.com, specifically declares that my hypothesis is correct. Not only is income growth a trend in the economy, but it is, according to the article below, 1 of 5 to look out for in the year ahead of us.

Income growth for consumers pushes them to potentially spend more. Failing businesses should take this as a huge opportunity to save themselves. With the correct marketing techniques, they could drive this increased spending into sales and push their revenue back up. This opportunity isn't exactly easy, per se, because it is definitely risky. However, businesses could also invest in consulting resources on how to drive in consumers, and promote sales.

I saw this opportunity because I've been very concerned with the income I will be receiving upon graduation next year. Also, because I noticed that my sister's start-up company, which has a very small market, was seeing rises in sales for no apparent reason.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/brucemccain/2016/01/03/five-key-economic-trends-to-watch-in-2016/#55323d0e5f17

Economic Opportunity #2

Because ten-year treasuries are so low, people are investing way more than they have before. This increase in demand is beginning to drive up interest rates because the cost of ten-year treasuries is beginning to rise as well. With this information, investors as consumers should see this as an opportunity to invest right away. With this knowledge, they can get the best prices before they begin to rapidly rise. Students right out of college are huge consumers. This is the time to invest in real estate, because disposable income is very low for this target market and they need to make their purchases as worthwhile and inexpensive as possible. I wouldn't say this opportunity is extremely difficult to exploit, as there are massive amounts of real estate brokers who could help this market. However, the problem is that they are not very aware that these interest rates and loans may be rising.

I think I found this opportunity, mainly because my sister and mother are both brokers and major investors in the stock market. They've trained my brain to look for changes in the economy mostly relative to real estate and return rates. Furthermore, I don't want to move home after college, and I'm already getting e-mails about paying back my college loans. The real world barrier is slowly lifting on my college career, and I need to be aware of my opportunities when I graduate.