1. Economic Trend: Baby Boomers Aren’t Retiring
a. Where I found it: https://www.thebalance.com/top-usa-future-economic-trends-3305666
b. Why an opportunity exists: The article explains that in a recent survey, half of the people surveyed between the ages of 45 and 75 had to delay their retirement because they were no longer prepared because of the recent recession in 2008. People are transitioning into semi-retirement instead of truly retiring. This causes a problem because the older generation are not retiring and freeing up jobs for the new generation.
c. Prototypical customer: The prototypical customer is a new college graduate who is looking to begin a career. Because of the “retirement crisis,” new generations are seeking higher level degrees, or using new technology to create jobs that were not available to baby boomers.
d. Relatively easy or difficult to exploit: I’d say this is relatively hard to exploit if the trend of baby boomers not retiring does not change. The only way for new college graduates to take up typical careers is for the opportunities to open.
e. Why I see the opportunity: I see this opportunity because in two short years I will be a recent college graduate and will be presented with the task of starting a career. If this is difficult because of the retirement crisis then I will also be forced to figure out a different, less main-stream career.
2. Economic Trend: The Economy is in the Expansion Phase
a. Where I found it: https://www.thebalance.com/top-usa-future-economic-trends-3305666
b. Why an opportunity exists: This article explains that the cycles of the economy change frequently, and the 2008 recession was a major setback for the economy. It took seven years for the economy to recover, and things like the U.S. debt crisis and government shutdowns slow economic progress. However, now the economy is in the expansion phase, and then it will reach the peak phase.
c. Prototypical customer: Someone who has a business idea or wants to begin an entrepreneurial endeavor would be the prototypical customer.
d. Relatively easy or difficult to exploit: the difficulty of this would depend on the type of business, but in general it would probably be difficult to exploit.
e. Why I see the opportunity: I think this is a pretty common opportunity, I think I noticed it because I know several business owners and can see how the recession and subsequent improvement of the economy affected them.
3. Regulatory Change: Protection for First Responders
a. Where I found it: https://www.workcompwire.com/2018/11/partner-post-4-current-regulatory-trends-and-what-they-mean-for-pharmacy-management/
b. Why an opportunity exists: Recently there has been extra attention and coverage for first responders who struggle with post-traumatic stress disorder. Because of the increased awareness, there has been more people distinguishing post-traumatic stress from other disorders, and if there is care that is more specifically tailored to a person then they are more likely to seek help.
c. Prototypical customer: The prototypical customer is someone like a first responder or a military veteran who suffers from post-traumatic stress and wants to seek help.
d. Relatively easy or difficult to exploit: I think this would be relatively easy to exploit if there are people willing to seek help for their problems and now evidently there are people willing and eager to help these problems.
e. Why I see the opportunity: I see this opportunity because I know that there are many people who suffer from post-traumatic stress but don’t know how to seek help for themselves. I also agree that sometimes people are less inclined to seek help if the help may not be specific to their needs.
4. Regulatory Change: Medical Marijuana
a. Where I found it: https://www.workcompwire.com/2018/11/partner-post-4-current-regulatory-trends-and-what-they-mean-for-pharmacy-management/
b. Why an opportunity exists: Marijuana is legal for medical purposes in 30 states, despite the fact that the Drug Enforcement Agency still considers it a “schedule 1” drug. In the states where it is legal, the requirements people must meet in order to be prescribed marijuana are getting wider and wider.
c. Prototypical customer: The prototypical customer is someone who wants or needs to use marijuana as a means of medicine such as for pain relief.
d. Relatively easy or difficult to exploit: I think this is relatively easy to exploit, as there are many people who are eager to use marijuana medicinally and even more people who want to use it recreationally. People are opening up dispensaries all over in places where it is legal.
e. Why I see the opportunity: This article made me think of a family friend I know who has struggled with opioid addiction. In the article it talks about how medical marijuana can be used as a means of trying to break someone’s opioid addiction, and that leads me to believe there is a large group of potential customers.
a. Where I found it: https://www.thebalance.com/top-usa-future-economic-trends-3305666
b. Why an opportunity exists: The article explains that in a recent survey, half of the people surveyed between the ages of 45 and 75 had to delay their retirement because they were no longer prepared because of the recent recession in 2008. People are transitioning into semi-retirement instead of truly retiring. This causes a problem because the older generation are not retiring and freeing up jobs for the new generation.
c. Prototypical customer: The prototypical customer is a new college graduate who is looking to begin a career. Because of the “retirement crisis,” new generations are seeking higher level degrees, or using new technology to create jobs that were not available to baby boomers.
d. Relatively easy or difficult to exploit: I’d say this is relatively hard to exploit if the trend of baby boomers not retiring does not change. The only way for new college graduates to take up typical careers is for the opportunities to open.
e. Why I see the opportunity: I see this opportunity because in two short years I will be a recent college graduate and will be presented with the task of starting a career. If this is difficult because of the retirement crisis then I will also be forced to figure out a different, less main-stream career.
2. Economic Trend: The Economy is in the Expansion Phase
a. Where I found it: https://www.thebalance.com/top-usa-future-economic-trends-3305666
b. Why an opportunity exists: This article explains that the cycles of the economy change frequently, and the 2008 recession was a major setback for the economy. It took seven years for the economy to recover, and things like the U.S. debt crisis and government shutdowns slow economic progress. However, now the economy is in the expansion phase, and then it will reach the peak phase.
c. Prototypical customer: Someone who has a business idea or wants to begin an entrepreneurial endeavor would be the prototypical customer.
d. Relatively easy or difficult to exploit: the difficulty of this would depend on the type of business, but in general it would probably be difficult to exploit.
e. Why I see the opportunity: I think this is a pretty common opportunity, I think I noticed it because I know several business owners and can see how the recession and subsequent improvement of the economy affected them.
3. Regulatory Change: Protection for First Responders
a. Where I found it: https://www.workcompwire.com/2018/11/partner-post-4-current-regulatory-trends-and-what-they-mean-for-pharmacy-management/
b. Why an opportunity exists: Recently there has been extra attention and coverage for first responders who struggle with post-traumatic stress disorder. Because of the increased awareness, there has been more people distinguishing post-traumatic stress from other disorders, and if there is care that is more specifically tailored to a person then they are more likely to seek help.
c. Prototypical customer: The prototypical customer is someone like a first responder or a military veteran who suffers from post-traumatic stress and wants to seek help.
d. Relatively easy or difficult to exploit: I think this would be relatively easy to exploit if there are people willing to seek help for their problems and now evidently there are people willing and eager to help these problems.
e. Why I see the opportunity: I see this opportunity because I know that there are many people who suffer from post-traumatic stress but don’t know how to seek help for themselves. I also agree that sometimes people are less inclined to seek help if the help may not be specific to their needs.
4. Regulatory Change: Medical Marijuana
a. Where I found it: https://www.workcompwire.com/2018/11/partner-post-4-current-regulatory-trends-and-what-they-mean-for-pharmacy-management/
b. Why an opportunity exists: Marijuana is legal for medical purposes in 30 states, despite the fact that the Drug Enforcement Agency still considers it a “schedule 1” drug. In the states where it is legal, the requirements people must meet in order to be prescribed marijuana are getting wider and wider.
c. Prototypical customer: The prototypical customer is someone who wants or needs to use marijuana as a means of medicine such as for pain relief.
d. Relatively easy or difficult to exploit: I think this is relatively easy to exploit, as there are many people who are eager to use marijuana medicinally and even more people who want to use it recreationally. People are opening up dispensaries all over in places where it is legal.
e. Why I see the opportunity: This article made me think of a family friend I know who has struggled with opioid addiction. In the article it talks about how medical marijuana can be used as a means of trying to break someone’s opioid addiction, and that leads me to believe there is a large group of potential customers.
Hi Caroline,
ReplyDeleteThe article about why baby boomers aren't retiring is very interesting. As an accounting major, I have seen this first hand. A lot of CPAs are retiring at an older age which is causing less entrance for positions in small, private companies. The article on protection for first responders is also interesting because PTSD is something that is overlooked in the aspect to them. Thanks for sharing these articles!
This is an interesting post because it is different than the way that I interpreted the assignment. I looked at singular markets as opportunities but you looked at the economy as a whole. There are many opportunities to be had from the expanding economy because people have more purchasing power and ability to open new businesses.
ReplyDeleteHi Caroline,
ReplyDeleteThe trend that caught my eye out of your 4 was the trend regarding protection for first responders. I think that it makes sense and that we should help those who have served in the military or some other service and are now suffering as a result. I also noticed that for your economic trends you chose trends with a wide scope relating to the entire economy, while I chose trends that pertained to the economic trends in a specific industry.
Hi Caroline,
ReplyDeleteAn article that really stood out to me was the regulatory change affecting the protection for first responders. Post traumatic stress disorder is a real and scary problem that people face. It saddens me that the people who risk their lives to save us can end up with something so powerful and debilitating but I do think that if it is a good idea to help them because of what they do for us.