6A Identifying Opportunities in Economic & Regulatory Trends

Economic Trends

Upon opening Google Finance, two things automatically caught my attention; several articles pertaining to the economic health of delivery services like UPS and FedEx, and Dow Jones Industrial Average is the current top local market (as of 9/13/18). 

Something we are always going to need is delivery services like UPS. We constantly choose ordering online versus driving to the store to pick up items like clothing and technology in our daily lives, mostly for convenience, sometimes for no social interaction. So seeing articles like this one shows just how much work and innovation needs to be done in order to fulfill all orders in a timely manner. There can be improvements on  shipment and handling, whether that be improvements on the trucks, facilities, or even workers. As the market continues to choose online ordering over in person shopping, there are plenty of opportunities for innovation. This personally interested me because I'm a regular customer of UPS, and can find holes and improvements that can be made in there service.

Next, Dow Jones Industrial Average is currently the top local market, making it very enticing for entrepreneurs to get their ideas in. Lots of interest means lots of money to be spent and a lot of stockholders to keep happy. The index is a combination of several companies, like Chevron, Apple, Walmart, Walt-Disney, and many others. Just like the delivery services, these companies can always be improved upon by better and quicker service, whether that be online sales or technology. And because of their popularity, its safe to say they're not going anywhere anytime soon and always stand to make a profit, making it less risky for entrepreneurs. This stood out to me because of the companies in the index, they were mostly companies I was familiar with so it felt more natural for me to generate ideas and see that this is a trend. 

Regulatory Trends

Something I'm passionate about is protecting biodiversity, so when I see regulations that will protect species and reduce the amount of pollution/trash we create, I get very excited. This regulation is to improve upon the Endangered Species Act of 1973 by clarifying the procedures and criteria for species being on and off the endangered species list. Opportunities for this regulation could be better trackers, observation equipment, and protection technology to help keep endangered species alive and thriving. We all depend on each other, even the smallest species, so protecting animals from extinction should be one of the most important things on peoples minds and agendas. 

Following this, there are also new regulations coming out about reducing the amount of plastics we use in order to create less pollution in our environment, saving millions of marine animals, birds, and more. These regulations have become a world wide affair; places like England are trying to ban micro plastics, and Kenya has banned plastic bags, and could send you to jail. Here are some regulations in the U.S. that protect our bodies of water from plastic pollution. We can already see Starbucks trying to reduce there plastic (unsuccessfully), but there could be so much done at a larger scale that can protect our oceans and animals.