Identifying Local Opportunities

1. http://www.gainesville.com/news/20180126/democrats-immigration-check-of-south-florida-bus-was-arbitrary
1. Border Patrol Officers boarded a Greyhound bus and removed a woman. The bus was heading to Miami from Fort Lauderdale. There is a 100-mile zone along the U.S. coast and border where routine checks are allowed. People in this zone in Florida can be interrogated and searched because of this. This is a violation of privacy and can affect one's life. If someone is found suspicious, being arrested or interrogated can impact what was going on in their life at that moment. It takes unnecessary time out of traveling and causes unnecessary stress. 
2. http://www.gainesville.com/news/20180125/judge-weighs-ban-on-smoking-medical-marijuana
1. A law was passed that bans smoking medical marijuana. Legislature believes they are addressing safety and health concerns. While people who do not agree with the ban, believe it is going against the constitution. This affects patients who qualify for medical marijuana and are not able to use it in other ways in the state of Florida. 
3. http://www.gainesville.com/news/20180123/wetlands-ordinance-passes-despite-some-opposition
1. An ordinance was passed that will protect more wetlands in Alachua county. This ordinance will also improve water quality, cleaning up contamination. The passing of this ordinance affects a proposed economic development project that was going to be constructed on wetlands in Hawthorne. This economic development was going to provide about 4,000 jobs. The cities in the county are going to have to find ways to work around this ordinance. 
4. http://www.alligator.org/news/article_a12c8ddc-00bf-11e8-8e17-87797da33c2b.html
1. There has been an usually high outbreak in the flu this year. Shands is restricting visitors to patients with the flu. They are recommending the flu shot for people who even have already had the flu this year. This outbreak is putting stress on hospitals, stores that sell medicine, and people who are getting the flu. With so many people getting sick, it is hard to take off work. People having to be out while sick, further spreads the sickness. Stores are running out of medicine and hospitals and clinics are swamped with patients. 
5. http://www.alligator.org/news/article_f607df50-fcb9-11e7-adb9-d3fc660d992c.html
1. A bill might be passed allowing free speech anywhere outside on campuses. Currently UF has free speech zones, but if this bill is passed, free speech would be permitted in all outdoor areas. This would affect people who dislike hearing people yell and preach ideas that they disagree with. Today, people can avoid the free speech areas on campus. If the bill is passed students and faculty will not be able to avoid someone practicing free speech. 

Forming an Opportunity Belief

I believe that comparing prices while shopping in store and online is time consuming and a hassle.

• This affects shoppers who are looking for the best deal
• When supermarkets like Walmart, Target and Publix began to enter populous areas, products were sold for different prices to compete with one another
• These shoppers are currently have to check advertisements in the newspaper, check online at multiple websites, spend gas returning items that they have found somewhere else
• There are thousands of products with multiple brands for each item. 
• I am about 75% sure this problem exist

The prototypical costumer would be someone who is looking to save money and willing to find the best deal.

I found from my three interviews that if the product was considered expensive to them, they would put in more effort to find the best deal. If a product was inexpensive, it was more convenient to buy things on their shopping list at the same store. When it came to online shopping, people are more willing to do research and wait to find the best price. The people I interviewed, agreed when they are do want to find the best price when it comes to groceries is the most difficult. They said in Gainesville there are numerous grocery stores, so finding the best product at the best price is a lot of work. 

I thought I would find people caring about how much they spend on products more. I found that is something I pay more attention to than others. I think there is less of an opportunity than I thought. I now think people do whats easiest and convenient. The amount of options we have is too great, from how many grocery stores there are, to how many brands for one product there are. I think costumer feedback is very important. They are the ones that will be using the product. It gives the entrepreneur more insight to the problem that they might not have seen previously. The more input, the better the solution could be.  

My Bug List

1. Breaking in new shoes
• The shoes have never been worn before or been molded to the owner feet. The material is still firm
2. When someone cooks smelly food and the whole apartment smells
• Some vegetables give off a strong odor when cooked
3. Having to hold the remote in the air to reach the sensor to change the channel
• If the sensor for the remote is higher than where the person is sitting and/or not in clear sight of the remote, the sensor will not be able to receive a signal 
4. Parking in Gainesville
• There are not enough parking garages
5. Cleaning lint out of the dyer
• lint is small particles and get build up in places that are hard to access
6. Trying to drink coffee at the right temperature 
• Some cups keep coffee too hot and some don't retain heat at all
7. When you have to layer up in the morning when it's cold and then carry around jackets when it warms up
• In Florida, the temperature can rise about 20-30 degrees through out the day
8. Uploading pictures onto computer or external hard drive 
• You have to connect your phone and manually upload them and organize them
9. When you use a spoon to stir a liquid and now its covered with that liquid
• Its not easy to knock off some liquids and spread, like peanut butter
10. Not many vegetarian options at fast food restaurants
• There isn't a huge demand for vegetarian options
11. Having to buy new editions of textbooks
• New information is constantly being discovered and information in textbooks becomes outdated
12. Trying to figure out if something can be recycled or not
• Different counties have different policies for recycling
13. Public places not having recycle options or compost options
• It is too much work to compost and sort recycling
14. Having to put multiple stamps on an envelope because of it's weight
• No other method has been used to pay for mailing something from one's home
15. Taking prescribed medicine in intervals and remembering to take it
• There isn't a way for medicine to be released inside a person's body in intervals
16. Driving somewhere and it being very crowded (gym, coffeeshop, library)
• There isn't an easy way to find out how crowded a location is before driving there
17. Burning tongue on hot coffee because you can't tell if its cooled down enough
• No one knows the temperature at which one's tongue wont get burnt and there isnt a practical way to find out the temperature of your coffee
18. Not being able to wear jewelry in the shower because it might corrode
• Recycled metals will corrode when exposed to water
19. Having to find an outlet to charge things
• Outlets are scattered around a house and sometimes furniture can block the outlet
20. At night when you turn off the light and cant find your bed
• Human eyes take awhile to adjust to a change in lighting

My Story

The summer before I started my freshmen fall at UF, I met a Mary Kay consultant. I was able to attend one of her "parties" and learn about her business. I was introduced to the life of running a business from home. I found it fascinating how successful she was just by selling makeup and beauty products to other people. At the party, she discussed some of the benefits of working for Mary Kay. She told me about the ways she can expand her business and get promoted. I loved learning about how Mary Kay was helping women around the world. They are able to have a flexible work schedule and still be able to support their families.

I took this class out of interest. One of my aspirations in life is to open my own boutique. I like to be in control of situations and make my own decisions. The idea of picking out trendy clothes, jewelry and shoes sounds like the best job ever. I understand it might not be the easiest job, running my own business. I don’t ever know if this dream will one day become a reality, but I am hoping this class will help shed some insight into the career of an entrepreneur. I also love local businesses. I enjoy going to local restaurants, markets, coffee shops, and boutiques. I struggle to be creative and hope this class can push me to be more open-minded. 

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