6A - Identifying Opportunities in Economic & Regulatory Trends

(Economic Trends) The first opportunity I found is that about 14.7% of American people are out of jobs because of the Coronavirus. I found this in the Wall Street Journal (https://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2020/05/08/newsletter-special-report-historic-job-losses/) while reading an article that talked about the historic job losses that this virus has caused. I believe this information suggests an opportunity exists because people being out of work is harming the current state of the economy and getting these people back into work is a very important task that needs to be done in order to save the economy from anymore downfall. The customer with the opportunity would be people who have lost their jobs due to closures and other effects of the virus. I think with the given economy, it might be hard to exploit because there are not many jobs available for these people, therefore not really a way to solve the problem. I saw this opportunity because some of my friends and their parents have lost their jobs because of this unfortunate epidemic and seeing them struggle has opened my eyes to the other people that are struggling as well. 

(Economic Trends) The second opportunity I found is that almost 4 million U.S. homeowners are unable to pay their bills and are facing foreclosure. I found this on Fox News (https://video.foxnews.com/v/6155393648001#sp=show-clips) while watching a video about the economic downturn from the virus as well as the projected growth that is predicted to come from businesses being able to reopen soon. I believe this is an opportunity because it is a problem that is facing so many people and if someone is able to act now with a donation or jobs that allow the people to make money to pay their bills, this would greatly change the economic trend. The customer with the opportunity would be U.S. homeowners who are unable to pay their bills. Again, in this current economic position, I think this would be a difficult opportunity to exploit, but if it was able to be accomplished, it would greatly change the current trends for the better. I saw this opportunity because I have so much sympathy for people that this virus is affecting, thankfully it has not affected my family too greatly. But, it has really allowed me to see how it affects other people.

(Regulatory Changes) The third opportunity I found is that many independent-contractors in California will no longer be classified as such and will have to pay more in taxes because of it. While reading an article on Paychex.com (https://www.paychex.com/articles/compliance/top-regulatory-issues) I found that in California, there is going to be a new regulation that stipulates who is considered an independent-contractor and who isn’t. I believe this is an opportunity because this change may not seem like too big of a deal, but to the contractors it is affecting, it means a large difference in the amount of taxes they pay. The customer with the opportunity would be people who are no longer classified as independent-contractors due to this new regulation. I think this opportunity is relatively hard to exploit because the contractors would be out a lot of money for taxes, and because of the new regulation this sounds like a pretty permanent change that will affect them for a long time. I saw this opportunity because my friend is a contractor and while reading the article I was thinking about him and how this would greatly affect him.

(Regulatory Changes) The fourth opportunity I found is that many states, such as Oregon are banning plastic bags from stores, and requiring customers to bring reusable bags or buy paper ones at the store. I found this on CNN (https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/01/us/new-laws-coming-in-2020-trnd/index.html) while reading an article about the new regulations that have been put into place for 2020. I believe this is an opportunity because people are going to be searching for reusable bags to purchase so they do not have to pay for paper bags every time they go into the store, and this is something that can be capitalized on. The customer with the opportunity is people who live in states that have banned plastic bags. I think this opportunity is relatively easy to exploit because selling reusable bags to customers could generate profit for the company in charge and prevent the customer from having to pay a fee for paper bags when they go shopping. I saw this opportunity because my whole family lives in Delaware, where there is already a plastic bag ban and with each new state that adopts this law, there is a new opportunity.