6A Identifying Opportunities in Economic & Regulatory Trends

• Regulatory Changes: Increasing the age to buy tobacco problems to 21
• Source: https://www.alligator.org/news/alachua-county-commission-raises-age-to-buy-tobacco-end-prisoner/article_2d479bf0-1ed7-11e9-ae13-7bc0f41a3835.html
• I believe that this means there is an opportunity that exists because now there are going to be groups of 18-20 year old people who previously could buy tobacco products and have developed an addiction who now cannot, but that addiction will still be there. They will just need to find a new way to get their products.
• The prototypical customer is 18-20 year old people who use tobacco products in Alachua county.
• This opportunity is easy to exploit because it's an addiction so consumers will want their product in any way they can get it.
• I saw this as an opportunity because I know how addiction can affect people and a law like this going into place is 100% going to affect 18-20 year old people who can no longer get their product. I see how it affects my friends, so seeing them react to this law helped me see an opportunity.
• Regulatory Changes: Government shutdown
• Source: https://www.foxnews.com/politics/shutdown-fallout-intensifies-as-officials-signal-stalemate-could-last-much-longer
• I believe that this means there is an opportunity that exists because thousands of people have been not able to work and are not receiving paychecks, needing a new place to receive money from to support themselves and their families.
• The prototypical customer would be government workers, most likely with children and family that they need to support and cannot do so with no paychecks coming in. 
• I think this is easy to exploit because the fact of the United States is that one needs money to live and without it, then it is hard to get by in life so people affected by this shutdown will most likely want to get money.
• I saw this as an opportunity because my mom has friends that are government workers that are being affected by this shutdown and I have seen the effects in her life. Also I can empathize with the desires of these workers to get money for themselves and their families.
• Economic Trend: Thinner Tax Refunds
• Source: https://www.thesimpledollar.com/four-economic-trends-that-will-impact-you-this-year/
• I believe that this means there is an opportunity that exists because tens of thousands of people will be affected by thinner tax refunds, especially people who depend on those refunds.
• The prototypical customer would be people of lower economic standing who really depend on the tax return to help them with their bills.
• I think this is easy to exploit because money is a necessity in life and families are at times dependent on the tax refunds, so if they are thinner they will want to find a new way to get money.
• I saw this opportunity because I can relate to it, as a college student I don't have much money so I can relate to wanting a big tax refund in my checking out and can relate to the dependence on it.
• Economic Trend: Interest Rate Increases 
• Source: https://www.thesimpledollar.com/four-economic-trends-that-will-impact-you-this-year/
• I believe this means that there is an opportunity because people are going to have to be paying more for things such as credit cards, home equity, and mortgages. This will be an extreme effect in some people's lives.
• The prototypical customer will be someone who cannot afford the increase in interest rates, such as home owners or people who have multiple credit cards.
• I think this is easy to exploit because it will affect thousands of people in a crucial way.
• I saw this opportunity because money is a really important issue and I can empathize with people having to pay extra for things out of their control when they really cannot afford it.