Identifying Opportunities in Economic & Regulatory Trends

• Economic trend: An opportunity for Florida’s tourism sector to bounce back after Hurricane Dorian.

• Source: https://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/tourism/os-bz-hurricane-dorian-visit-florida-20190918-lzqj2qmvd5arjhjsx2oavcupsq-story.html
• I believe an opportunity exists because Florida suffered financially as many tourists cancelled their vacation plans as the threat of Dorian grew. Hotels and theme parks can now offer attractive deals and packages to bring tourists back in.
• The prototypical customer(s) are anyone from more northern states and the usual tourists that visit Florida (English and Brazilian natives.) Theme parks like Disney and Universal can advertise discounted rates for hotels and tickets to counteract the lack of tourist dollars over the past month.
• I think I saw this opportunity because there has been an increased amount of coverage on hurricanes, due to it being the season for them and the devastation Dorian left behind.  

• Economic trend: An opportunity for UAW union members to receive fair compensation from General Motors.
• Source: https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/18/business/uaw-gm-strike-supplier-jobs-recession-risk/index.html
• I believe there in an opportunity here because without the 50,00+ employees of General Motors working, GM stands to lose a significant amount of money, as well as many other businesses, both local and corporations.
• I think the prototypical customers are any employees of General Motors as well as customers of General Motors products and services.
• I think that it will be easy to exploit, because there is such a high need and demand for these workers.
• I saw this opportunity because I am learning about what it takes for a company to earn profits and thrive in my other course, so it’s interesting to see how a company as large as General Motors would jeopardize their future by mistreating their employees.

• Regulatory change: An opportunity for certified caregivers to find employment.
• Source: https://homehealthcarenews.com/2019/08/regulatory-changes-threaten-to-compound-caregiver-crisis/
• I think this opportunity exists because there will be a shortage of caregivers after cuts to New York state’s CDPAP program are executed. 
• The prototypical customer(s) are people who will require home healthcare and those who are certified to provide home healthcare.
• I think it is relatively easy to exploit because it will be a definite need, as many participants of the CDPAP program will be forced to go without services.
• I saw this opportunity because there is a caregiver “crisis” currently going on and it is only gaining more attention as the situation worsens.

• Regulatory change: An opportunity to promote healthy alternatives to smoking/vaping for teens.   
• Source: https://www.boston25news.com/news/boston-cracks-down-on-vaping-with-changes-to-tobacco-nicotine-regulations/987771870
• I think this opportunity exists, because there has been a recent increase in the amount of coverage of vape usage amongst our communities, especially teens.
• The prototypical customer would be any teen who has recently stopped vaping as a result of the recent rise in deaths and businesses that engage in outdoor activities such as team sports, which promote a healthy lifestyle and an alternative to smoking.
• I think this will be easy to exploit since teens are more inclined to engage in outdoor activities and also because there has been a recent rise in documented deaths associated with the habit of vaping.
• I found this interesting because this is such a major issue as it affects our nation’s youth and tobacco companies have targeted and taken advantage of them without regards to the effects, in this case, death.