My Solution

Do you ever see anything at a store that you really love but it is too expensive to get? Plenty of people have this same feeling. Overpriced items in stores are a real problem. A lot of stores charge more money because they know that they are the only store around that supplies the item. I think the solution to this problem would be a mobile app. This app would allow you to take a photo of any item that you want and in return it would show you things that look like said item but that are less costly. With a picture of similar items would also be links to where you can buy the items that the app shows. This could also help when you have a favorite shirt that you just love. I have a favorite shirt but it got a stain and now I can’t find one like it anywhere. With this app you could quickly take a picture of the shirt and it would give you pictures and links to buy one just like it. 

Looking For Opportunity

1. Because people want minimum wage to be $15, I think that there is an opportunity for a business that makes self-serve machines for fast food restaurants.

a. I had this idea a few months ago when the minimum wage issue was a major topic.

b. I think that there is an opportunity because doing this will save fast food franchises more money than if they were to pay employees $15 per hour.

c.  I think that the prototypical customer would be fast food restaurants and other businesses that can’t afford to pay employees $15 an hour.

d. I think that this is an opportunity that would be relatively difficult to exploit because you would need not only the technology, but the connections to get into big fast food chains. 

I do not think that I am the only one that saw this as an opportunity. In fact, some McDonald’s locations are already using self-serve machines to take orders. I only see that there is an opportunity to do this on a larger scale. I think that I see this because I believe that the minimum wage should not be $15 dollars per hour.  I think that if minimum wage is raised there should be a way for businesses to operate without having that much employee salary to pay. 

2.   Too much food is grown in America every year, therefore the government buys and destroys millions of pounds of food every year. I think that there is an opportunity to do something better with this food.

a. We learned about this problem in one of my classes and I thought that there had to be something better to do with all of this food. 

b. Being that it is just thrown away, it would be easy to repurpose the food for something else.

c. I think the customer would be people that don’t have enough money for food all around the world.

d. I think that this would be difficult because you would need quite a bit of money to purchase all of this food and you would get very little money in return because you would be selling it for very cheap to people that need the food. 

I think that if more people knew about this problem then I wouldn’t be the only one thinking that there needs to be a solution. I know that it would be hard, but I think that some real good could come from using this food to feed the hungry.

3.   A new regulation for the summer at UF is that parking lots requiring green decals now accept any decal. This is a good change because it gives people with park-n-ride permits more places to park, like the garage by the stadium. I think there is an opportunity to make parking permits on campus work in more parking lots. 

a. I thought of this idea because I imagine that it is annoying only being able to park in one spot, but this new change makes it much better. 

b. I think that an opportunity exists because there are plenty of lots on campus that could be converted into garages. 

c. The ideal customer is a college student that lives off campus that wants to drive to school.

d. I think that the opportunity would be hard because you would have to build more parking garages and you would have to reconfigure all of the parking lot colors.

I think that a lot of people would want this change to happen, and I think that everyone that has ever wanted to park on campus would agree that there could be more parking garages built to create more parking spaces on campus. 

4.   Publix has excellent subs, but I believe that there is an opportunity for them to sell more by creating a business of stand alone sub shops. 

a. I actually heard this idea from my father. He thought that they could sell many more subs if they made a sub shop rather than having to go into the store to buy them. 

b. I thought about this and it really seems true. I have asked a few people and they too think that they would go more often if they didn’t have to go into the grocery store.

c. I think the ideal customer is anyone that enjoys a delicious sub sandwich.

d. I think that the idea would be relatively easy. They already have the subs figured out. All they would have to do is get the locations and set up shop.

I think that I saw this as an opportunity because I eat a lot of Publix subs and I would love to be able to go sit down and eat one. It would be much better than having to go in the store to get one and take it home to eat. 

Forming An Opportunity Belief

1. I believe that the parking restrictions at Southwest Recreation Center should be changed or abolished completely.
2. Parking at Southwest Rec is not allowed between the times of 7:30am and 3:30pm. During those hours, you must have a parking permit in order to park in the lot. I think that parking there should be changed in order to allow students without permits to park and workout during those eight hours. Most college students enjoy working out. Weather it be to get in better shape, to stay in shape, or just to give them something to do, many college students like to go to the gym. I am one of these people. I have, many times, wanted to go workout between these hours, but I was unable to do so because there was no way to park there. I think that getting rid of the parking restrictions would not only encourage more people to get in shape, but would also take some pressure off of the 3:30pm-11:00pm hours when the gym is most full.
3. The prototypical customer is a University of Florida student that goes to Southwest Recreation Center a few times a week. This customer would be the person that most likely knows about the problem and has an opinion about it. 
4. Interviews:
1. The first person I talked to was a man named Evan. He is a recent University of Florida grad you used Southwest Rec about two times a week while he was a student here. When I asked him what he thought of the parking he said that he wished the parking restrictions were a little less strict. He said that he would have been much more inclined to go to the gym earlier in the day. He told me that his favorite thing to do was to play pick-up basketball. His complaint was that around 4:30 the basketball courts get very full and it is almost impossible to get in a game. According to Evan, this level of fulness normally lasts till about 11:30. He said that had he been able to go around noon there would have been much less people there and he would have been able to shoot and play more.
2. My second interview was with a girl named Rachel. Rachel just finished her junior year here at UF. She said that she uses the gym about once a week, however, she uses the parking lot everyday. Rachel purchased a park and ride permit at the beginning of the year. This permit allows her to park in the lot at Southwest Rec any time of the day. When I asked her what she thought of the parking, she thought the parking was great the way it is. I then asked what she would think if the parking changed so that there was no permit necessary. She said that she would be against that. She said that she is fine paying the $160 to get the permit. She continued by saying that if there were no parking restrictions, the parking lot would be completely full all the time. She thought that the price of the permit is worth knowing that there is always a parking spot for you. She said it would be awful to get there and find that there are no parking spots. 
3. The final person I interviewed was Rachel’s friend Lauren. Lauren is also going into her senior year at the University of Florida. She uses the facilities at Southwest Rec about three times a week. Lauren had mixed feelings about the parking restrictions. When I asked her what she thought about the possibility of unrestricted parking she said that she could see how it would benefit some people but that it would not increase the amount of times that she goes to the gym. She said that she could see the benefits of having unrestricted parking, mainly the idea that it would keep the gym less busy at night. On the other hand she said that it would not make her go to the gym more. She said that the main reason she goes to the gym is to go to group classes such as Total Body and Hip-Hop Fitness. Most of these classes are scheduled at night so that as many people as possible can have the opportunity to go. She said that she only goes to these group classes, so parking restrictions do not really effect the amount of times she goes. 
5. Through interviewing Evan, Rachel, and Lauren, I realized that there might not be as much of an opportunity as I originally thought. I was most surprised by Rachel’s interview because I honestly did not think that there would be someone that liked the parking restrictions. 
6. Summarize: After interviewing all three people I learned that this may not be as much of a problem as I originally thought. I did not think about how full the parking lot would be all the time if there were no restrictions. Maybe selling permits is the only way to keep the lot from being overrun with cars. It was very helpful to get out and here what the customers had to say as their feedback really changed my views. I think that customer feedback is very helpful, especially for entrepreneurs. The most important thing with a new business is customer service. Going out and talking to actual customers is the best way to learn about the customers desires and to make sure they are completely satisfied with your service. 

Identifying Local Opportunities

1. District could lose $53 million in federal funding over transgender bathroom issue

http://www.ocala.com/article/20160519/ARTICLES/160519776/1412?Title=District-could-lose-53M-in-federal-funding-over-transgender-bathroom-issue

Marion County Public Schools have made a rule that students must use the bathroom of their birth gender. This keeps transgender students from using the bathroom of their gender identity. Because of this, the school district could possibly lose $53 million of federal funding. The Obama administration said that schools must allow students to use the bathroom of their gender identity or else they would lose federal funding. If Marion County Public Schools do not change, they will lose this funding. They really have no choice but to change, but their fight is that telling them what they have to do is an abuse of the federal governments power.

2. Direct flights to NYC, DC not likely, but Midwest and Texas? Maybe

http://infoweb.newsbank.com.lp.hscl.ufl.edu/resources/doc/nb/news/15CF441D08BB0FC8?p=AWNB

Gainesville Regional Airport is adding new destinations to their list of flights. Two of the more wanted flight paths were to New York City and Washington D.C., but these are not very likely destinations. This is because they are already so full, they would have to get rid of some planes in order to accommodate flights from Gainesville. Instead, they are adding flights to Chicago, Dallas, and Houston. The problem is that most people want the flights to go to NYC. In order to do this, Gainesville Regional Airport would have to convince the New York airports that they would be a profitable investment.

3. ASO: Another skimmer found at gas station near I-75

http://infoweb.newsbank.com.lp.hscl.ufl.edu/resources/doc/nb/news/15CF18D94E685EA8?p=AWNB

A gas pump skimmer was found at the Circle K near Exit 382 in Gainesville. A skimmer is a device designed to steal your credit card information when it is swiped. They are put on the inside of the machines. One way to keep this from happening is to look and see if the pump looks tampered with, however, the best way is to pay for gas inside the store using cash.

4. Lane Ranger: Traffic jams common in once-rural area

http://infoweb.newsbank.com.lp.hscl.ufl.edu/resources/doc/nb/news/15CE71BE5E0A6E00?p=AWNB

The intersection of 39th Avenue and CR 241 has become a real problem. The traffic backs up for over a mile with people waiting to turn south onto CR241. This is because the road was built when that part of the county was still rural. Now, there are two new schools there along with other growth. The fix to this is to conduct a traffic count and find out what needs to be fixed. Weather it be the traffic light, or the road itself. It will be up to the county on what is done.

5. County looks for flexibility on bike lanes in repaving projects

http://infoweb.newsbank.com.lp.hscl.ufl.edu/resources/doc/nb/news/15CDC7F74EBBA310?p=AWNB

The problem is that Alachua County does not have enough money in the budget to fix all of the roads that need repairing. the county’s policy is that all roads that are resurfaced must have bike lanes added to them. This is a problem because adding bike lanes more than doubles the cost of resurfacing a road. The County Commission is in the process of changing this policy so that they can resurface roads without fixing or adding bike lanes. The fear is that once roads start getting fixed, there will never be enough money again to add more bike lanes.

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