Identifying Local Opportunities

1) The newspaper I really enjoy reading is the TC Palm.

2)

 Articles

Article 1- "Will Trump put $250 million for Everglades restoration in his next budget request?"
The Link- https://www.tcpalm.com/story/news/local/indian-river-lagoon/health/2020/01/30/trump-budget-250-million-funding-everglades-satisfy-mast-rubio-scott/4619450002/

Summary- House Representaive Brian Mast and Senator Marco Rubio and Rick Scott forwarded letters to the President to increase funding for the Everglades restoration program by 50 million in the fiscal year 2021 budget request to Congress.

The Problem- The article states that the program needs more money to fund the Army Corps of Engineers to be effective at successfully cleaning up one of Florida's most prized natural resources.

Who has the problem?- Specifically, the Army Corps of Engineers has the problem, but so do the senators and representative. The Army Corps of Engineers needs more funding for the program to be effective at cleaning and restoring the Everglades.

Article 2- "LIFE AFTER HURRICANE DORIAN"
The Link- https://www.tcpalm.com/in-depth/news/local/indian-river-county/2020/01/06/hurricane-dorian-treasure-coast-florida-residents-volunteers-help-aftermath/2732457001/

Summary- Treasure Coast residents partnered with other volunteers from around the world, for about four months, to help clean up Marsh Harbour in the Bahamas from Hurricane Dorian.

The Problem- The article states a local group from Treasure coast raised 100,000 dollars to help rebuild devasted homes and schools in Marsh Harbour from Hurricane Dorian. These various volunteers have been a huge help to this community by bringing in various essential supplies, although there is still a major lack of resources for this community.

Who has the problem?- The residents of Marsh Harbour have the problem here in this situation. The community is lacking a strong government infrastructure and resources to help this devasted area rebuild.

Article 3- "Martin County fires OPUS choral director; her actions drew criticism from parents, students"
The Link-https://www.tcpalm.com/story/news/education/2020/01/29/martin-county-fires-kylie-lowe-director-high-school-opus-choral-group/4608602002/

Summary- The article states that the Kylie Lowe had been under internal investigation for belittling and using cruel language at students. She was the director of the school's advanced touring vocal ensemble OPUS.

The problem- The Martin County Commissioners faced a difficult situation in the face of the community. They needed to decide whether or not to fire a director based on parents' allegations of the students. 

Who has the problem?- The Martin County Commissioners specifically had the problem on their hands due to the fact that it was their decision on whether or not to fire Kylie Lowe, the director of OPUS, and if there was enough evidence to fire this individual.

Article 4- ""Malware attack targets Port St. Lucie Parks and Recreation Department"
The Link-  https://www.tcpalm.com/story/news/local/st-lucie-county/2020/01/30/malware-attack-targets-port-st-lucie-recreation-department/2859004001/

Summary- The article states that there was a malware attack on the Parks and Recreation department of Port St. Lucie on January 29th.

The problem- This attack could compromise confidential records and other information about the Parks and Recreation department, which could be overall damaging to the department's reputation and productivity.

Who has the problem? The Parks and Recreations department of Port St. Lucie directly has the problem.

Article 5- "Florida Department of Health monitoring China-born coronavirus"

The Link- " https://www.tcpalm.com/story/news/local/shaping-our-future/growth/2020/01/24/final-deal-pelican-cafe-stuart-not-done-yet-pushed-february/4560878002/"

Summary: The article states that the Florida Department of Health is monitoring the coronavirus situation in China very closely and making sure to set up any screening for possible individuals with symptoms of the new novel coronavirus.

The Problem- The coronavirus is a novel virus never seen before in Humans. It is becoming more dangerous and contagious as the virus mutates. Therefore the Florida Department of Health is monitoring the situation. 

Who has the problem?- The entire world technically has a problem, but China definitely is the main concern for the problem. However, the US must be careful to take precautions and monitor the disease to stop the spread here.

Forming An Opportunity Belief

1) I personally believe that there is an opportunity in the supplement industry, specifically in bridging the gap between beauty and wellness niches within this industry.

2) For so many consumers within the supplement industry, there has never been a brand to capture their attention for wellness products that truly add in the way they look and feel. That is there has never been one brand to create products that are excellent for overall health as well as aid in one's appearance. That is the goal of my current company, Anam Beauty and Wellness. We have narrowed down our target audience as being primarily female between the age of 18-45, however, as time goes on we believe we can make this brand popular for men between the ages of 18-45. The need for this kind of supplement line came from high consumer education on "what goes into your body, the quality of the nutrients plays a major role in what is reflected on the outside of one's body. Lastly, people have been consuming from various different companies by picking and choosing specific products to fit those needs.

3) The prototypical customer is any individual, most likely young adult, looking to build a healthier lifestyle day by day.

4) Prototypical consumer 1 stated that he wanted to find a supplement line that was transparent and delivered products both for overall health and workout/recovery.  He stated he became aware of this need by not finding a product that fit his overall health and fitness goals. The individual became aware of this need over a course of about 6 months not finding a brand that he believed in specifically, was transparent, and delivered quality/tasty products. I wanted to actually interview someone who did not know about my business, therefore, it was extremely difficult to find someone to properly interview. 

5) I honestly learned so much from this assignment. The most surprising thing that I found out from this interview was the fact that so many consumers have different have slightly different needs from the total market. I will apply this to my current business in broadening my range of supplement products in the near future.

7) I believe that there still is a large portion of my opportunity out there in the market. I also do believe that my opportunity has even more potential for growth due to the various needs of the market.

My Entrepreneurship Story

My entrepreneurship story actually came about this last summer while I was sitting in my kitchen back home. I have been an avid consumer in the supplement industry ever since I decided to get into shape, around the age of fourteen. I found myself spending hours upon hours researching various supplements to achieve an overall healthier and more aesthetic body type. I dove in headfirst into consuming within this industry, buying up every supplement that I found to give me the most results. I realized as a young consumer in this industry that there were a lot of companies making millions off selling "worthless" products that had no real nutritional benefits. 

Fast forward to this past summer in 2019 where I was in my kitchen speaking with my father about some protein powder he had just bought to help him lose weight. The product was total trash and it smelt even worse than literal garbage. In response to seeing this, I made the blanket statement to my father that I could create a better, more transparent, supplement company than most of these million-dollar corporations. Then it occurred to me that maybe I could, in reality, pull off the creation of a functioning, transparent, good-tasting supplement company. 

Fast forward now to the present day. I just got word this week from my manufacturer in New York that they just finished production on the final product for Anam Beauty and Wellness LLC. There have been so many challenges I would have never imagined in starting my own supplement company. However, it has truly been the best decision of my life and I am so thankful for the opportunity to take on this challenge. I cannot discuss exact details at this moment due to our expected launch coming up very shortly, but I certainly will in the near future. My goal is to bring a fresh perspective into the supplement industry while producing products of the highest quality that provide real benefit to all seeking to build a healthier lifestyle day by day. 

My business, as well as my entrepreneurial spirit, is what inspired me to take this class. I hope to gain some new insight from this class that I can apply in real-time to my business. The image I choose for this assignment is my business logo. I thought it was rather fitting. Thank you to all who took the time to read my post. I wish you the best. 

-David Dietrich.

Bugs List

My Bugs List 

1. The Uber app is frequently wrong with the wait times for a ride, especially in major cities like New York. Why: Uber platform struggles to predict traffic and other road conditions. 
2. The Uber app is constantly wrong about the pickup location for my driver. Why: Uber has a network issue establishing an exact location. 
3. Finding healthy and quick food restaurants is always difficult, even with Google. Why: There are no platforms designed to find healthy and quick restaurants. 
4. Reserving a table at restaurants is so time-consuming and often difficult. Why: Finding the proper contact information and reaching an employee is burdensome. 
5. Finding your departure gate at any airport is confusing and slow, especially at large airports. Why: Large screens displaying lots of different gates with small print and poor directions. 
6. Finding a hotel that allows under 21 individuals to check-in is often challenging and annoying. Why: Most platforms do not have a filter that finds hotels with a check-in policy of 18 or older. 
7. TSA security checkpoints are slow and inefficient. Why: A large amount of human foot traffic through these areas, as well as TSA abilities to only scan 1 individual at a time. 
8. Finding a car rental is difficult for many young adults under 23. Why: Most platforms do not offer car rental or insurance to individuals under 23. 
9. Finding a parking spot is very difficult at major airports, such as Orlando International Airport. Why: A high amount of cars park in these areas for an extended period of time. 
10. Keeping track of all the various charging cables for different electronics is difficult and tedious. Why: There are a lot of cables to manage and keeping track of the cables for different devices is difficult. 
11. Finding a secure and reliable VPN service is surprisingly difficult. Why: VPN providers are not mainstream and large corporations do not support them because they stop ad trackers. 
12. Keep track of all my passwords is very difficult and a hassle. Why: I forget my passwords a lot. 
13. Apps like Grubhub and Postmates are always slow and deliver lukewarm food. Why: The boxes they use to keep the food warm are not well insulated or designed. 
14. The points system at Chipotle is too hard to scan and offers slow rewards. Why: The app takes a long time to load and rewards take many orders to obtain. 
15. Finding affordable student living in Gainesville is difficult due to minimal apartments. Why: There are not many platforms specifically designed for students to find living arrangements. 
16. Driving up the parking garage at the Standard Gainesville to park is very time-consuming. Why: Takes a very long time. 
17. Finding a good place in Gainesville to get a haircut is very hard and takes trial and error. Why: There are very few places to get a haircut and most of them are poorly managed. 
18. Keeping track of assignment due dates in canvas is difficult. Why: Canvas is hard to keep track of and it doesn't have the ability to set reminders. 
19. The noise outside my apartment in Gainesville is so loud, even at 3am. Why: Close to the street and the walls are thin.
20. The bathroom in my apartment has a fan that is very loud and is connected to turn on whenever the lights turn on in the bathroom. Why: It is very loud and annoying. 

Reflection:

I struggled writing this list due to the fact that I am a person who usually accepts flaws and doesn't directly try to change them for the better. However, when I sat down and started listing things throughout my day that annoyed me, it was pretty easy to pick up on these "bugs." I definitely see the benefit of being aware of your daily surroundings, the good and the bad. Once I listed the "bug" down I found it was also easier to develop and brainstorm solutions for the particular "bug." 

My First Blog Post

Hello Everyone,

My name is David Dietrich. I am a sophomore at the University of Florida where I am currently studying business management. I hope you enjoy reading my blog:)