Looking for Opportunity

1.  Health Care Opportunity

    a)  https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2015/12/10-trends-to-watch-in-2016/

    b)  Health care has and always will be a leading sector in economic trends.  Technology is leading the way in how we interact with the rest of the world from paying for a dinner at Cheesecake Factory without a card, keeping track of how many calories we burn, our heart rate, or the distance of a morning jog.  Our smartphones and wearables have become the center of almost everything we do.  With the rising need for more convenient health care and the growing trend of technology in the healthcare industry there is an opportunity for smartphones and "wearables" to be used as diagnostic tools to monitor the health of patients in need of constant monitoring.

    c)  The customer that will use this type of opportunity the most is those in need of constant monitoring or family members that will ensure their loved ones are being monitored on a constant basis.  For example, the daughter of an elderly man in his 80s may have peace of mind if she can place a "wearable" device on him to send a message to the hospital when his vital signs are in critical condition.

    d)  The opportunity may be difficult to exploit due to HIPPA concerns and protecting a patient's health information.

    e)  I believe I can see an opportunity in this because of my interests in fitness, health, and technology.  As of lately I have also been experiencing health issues that limit me from working out as I normally would.


2.  Low Gas Prices

    a)  http://www.cnbc.com/2015/07/22/falling-gas-prices-not-doing-much-for-the-economy.html

    b)  I believe there is an opportunity to for retail businesses to place gas stations at their respective locations with slightly lower gas prices than local competitors to attract consumers to their stores.  Gas prices have dropped to about $2 per gallon but the economy is experiencing the expected boom due to consumers not using most of their savings towards retail spending.

    c)  The customer will be the consumers that have used their savings from lower gas prices towards things such as new homes, pay debt, or add to savings.

    d)  I think this opportunity will be relatively easy to exploit because if you can get consumers to the pump and they see a retailer right next to the gas station then I don't think it will be very hard to get customers to spend money at these retail stores.

    e)  I think it was easy for me to form this belief because I am the consumer that loves to save money and have not done too much retail spending.  I would be more inclined to venture into a store to "kill" time if there was a benefit to drive to the store in the first place.  I am the one saving for a home, paying debt, and putting away savings for retirement and I had to think about what would make me visit a retail store.


3.  Worker Classification

    a)  http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/7671-regulatory-issues-changes.html

    b)  The Department of Labor are imposing new guidelines on contractors to ensure they aren't designating their employees as independent contractors to avoid the costs of overtime and benefits.  There may be a need for an independent auditor to come in and validate employees are getting paid for overtime and receiving their proper benefits.

    c)  The customer will be government contractors.

    d)  This opportunity will be relatively easy to exploit because an independent auditor can be sufficient evidence to the U.S. Government that contractors are adhering to this new regulation.

    e)  I think I may have seen an opportunity because of the nature of my job which is a Contracting Officer for the U.S. Air Force and understand the regulations imposed on contractors by the Department of Labor.


4.  Changes to the Nutrition Label Facts Label

 a)http://www.fda.gov/Food/GuidanceRegulation/GuidanceDocumentsRegulatoryInformation/LabelingNutrition/ucm385663.htm

 b)  I believe an opportunity exists because currently there isn't a database of nutritional facts of all food sold in the U.S. available to the consumer.  Currently, consumers can go online to the food producer's website but there is no database of all nutritional fact labels in one database available to consumers.

 c)  The customer is all food consumers living within the U.S. that want to have access to nutritional facts at all times.  This will be beneficial in several ways but one example is to help consumers prepare their grocery list based upon nutritional value before they get to the grocery store.

 d)  This opportunity will be very easy to exploit but just time consuming to gather nutritional facts of all food sold in the U.S.

 e)  I am sure someone else has thought of this opportunity because it's a simple idea but I was able to identify this opportunity because I am very conscious of my health and I always get frustrated with the amount of time it takes me to make decisions in a grocery store due to me looking at nutritional labels.  I have always wanted to have access to a database of nutritional facts so I could prepare a grocery list.  I shop according to price and nutritional content.