Identifying Opportunities in Economic and Regulatory Trends

For my first category, I would like to talk about two economic trends that are happening right now.

1. The first economic opportunity I recognized was unemployment trends and the homeless issue in Alachua county. Many of the people who are homeless here have a number of reasons why they have been found without a home including economic struggles, disability, and unemployment that could all be caused by another aspect in their lives. I feel that there is a major opportunity here. I think that if we were to create a program in Alachua county and even expand to other counties or states, that we can help not only to rehabilitate but to reinstate work ethic in those people by hiring them to do work around the city. I did not really research this, I just thought about it and thought it would be great for the economy because it could lead to things like neighborhoods getting cleaned up which would help with real estate, for example. I think that the prototypical customer would be homeless people who could find themselves employed and this, in turn, would benefit everyone in the community.

2. The second economic trend I thought about was the increasing rates of the student, and family, housing in Gainesville. I have noticed that there is an array of people who have complained about the cost of living in Alachua county. I feel that if I had the opportunity to maximize the amount of resident in a building while keeping it private and putting the building in a lower cost area yet still central to many things around Gainesville that it would benefit me, the entrepreneur, as well as residents who find housing to be nearly unaffordable. There could even be income limits in living there so that the people who really need it are able to rent an apartment comfortably. The prototypical customer would be residents of Alachua county who find housing too expensive.

My second category is about recent regulation changes.

1. The first regulation I would like to talk about, as many people are, is the age of tobacco sales going up to 21 years of age in Alachua county. Folks, we have entered the day in age where sadly we see many people young and old smoking not only tobacco but synthetic e-cigarettes. These products and devices obviously have nicotine in them more often than not which is an addictive substance. For those under 21, it must have been a shock to those addicted to nicotine because in their own town they are no longer to buy it for themselves. While I certainly don't condone the use of tobacco or vapes, I feel that there is an unmet customer need for the prototypical customer of adults 18-20 who depend on tobacco and nicotine in their daily lives. I have to be honest, I see a definite opportunity here I just don't exactly know what the solution could be. With this, I thought this regulation was extremely relevant.

https://www.gainesville.com/news/20190122/county-raises-tobacco-buying-age-to-21
https://www.wuft.org/news/2019/01/23/alachua-county-approves-ordinance-making-it-illegal-to-sell-tobacco-to-anyone-under-21/

2. The second regulation change I found an opportunity in was a tightening in food stamps. Due to President Trump's new regulations on SNAP, about 700,000 people will no longer be able to receive food stamps. This can really put a damper on those who lost this welfare support. I feel that an opportunity for this could be to create a program where people who can't afford food from the grocery store go to save money on food. A version of this exists in waldo at the flea market. They sell new food, food that's about to expire, and mildly expired food at a very discounted price. They also sell things like vitamins, feminine products, household products, and pet supplies. I feel that if someone were to open a place similar to this locally that there would be some real opportunity there. The prototypical customer would be someone who can't afford food from average grocery stores, possibly due to losing their governmental benefits.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/12/04/food-stamps-trump-administration-tightens-snap-work-requirements/2608297001/
https://time.com/5744647/trump-food-stamps-rule/
https://www.supermarketnews.com/laws-regulations/snap-rule-change-would-cut-food-stamp-benefits-700000-recipients