Two Opportunities related to Economic Changes
- Baby Boomers aren't retiring
This seems to be common knowledge among many people, but it is something that keeps coming up in my life. In almost all of my classes it has been mentioned that as advances in healthcare continue to increase, the longer people are continuing to work. This means that it will start to take longer for people to make it to those higher positions in a company because the older generation isn’t planning to step down anytime soon. This could result in up and coming college graduates having to work in lower paying jobs and maybe even in multiple occupations before they can get their dream job in the career they truly want. I believe there is a need for some sort of balance in the working world- either making the older generation step down after a certain amount of years, or having more positions available for those who have worked hard to get the degree in order to work at said company.
This opportunity jumps out to me because I will be entering the workforce in a couple years and it makes me nervous that there won’t be jobs available in the career I want because of this very reason.
- Unconventional financial and investment strategies
As more and more entrepreneurs are rising up, there seems to be new trends in raising the money to start these small businesses. Since all they have is an idea and the clothes on their backs, these up and coming entrepreneurs are finding their own ways to raise the money needed to start their business or sell their products. They look to the people for the money. And not just through organizations like Kickstarter, but through other creative ways, “venture capital, private equity, hedge funds, real estate investment trusts, commodities and real assets, such as precious metals, rare coins, wine and art.” People are learning that there is a need for their product, and why not get customers on board beforehand? That way they really anticipate when the product finally does come out.
I saw the opportunity for those with money to reach out to those without the funds to help those with products that they believe will change the world. This comes from my own belief that people who are successful should help those who are trying to be- whether it be financially or in just giving advice.
Two Opportunities related to Regulatory Changes
- More ethnic diversity in the restaurant scene
As new restaurants are continually opening, they seem to carry the same basic set up- a highly skilled chef who has enough money to open a restaurant that will become an immediate success because he has already done so well in the food industry. What we overlook when we enter these restaurants is the lack of color in these places besides the wait staff. Now not all of these people dream of owning their own restaurant, but some of them do. They have been cooking and trying new recipes out and tweaking them to make them unique for the day when they have earned enough money to open their own place. But that’s just it, raising the finances needed to open their own place is the hardest endeavor they will have to accomplish.
As I read this article, I saw the opportunity for big companies to take a risk on these dreamers and provide funding for them to research deeper into their cultural heritage in order to better understand the cuisine and in turn start their own restaurant with that knowledge. I believe that if these businesses were exposed to the need of more ethnic and diverse restaurant owners in the industry, they would get on board with funding those who are working hard to do just that. It might be hard to reach the owners or people in charge of these big companies and in turn might make it harder to exploit such opportunities. However, I saw this article in the New York Times and will probably be read by millions of people, so maybe the exposure will help get the attention of the right people.
I think this got my attention because I worked in the food industry for several years with people who started their business from the ground up and are very successful. This probably is why the opportunity caught my eye in the first place.
2. Backyard Chickens with Salmonella
I also found this article in the New York Times. It caught my eye that there is a need to warn local chicken owners that their feathered friends may not be the best pets to have. As the trend of owning chickens has continued to rise, so have cases of salmonella. More and more people are wanting to know where their food is coming from and in turn are getting chickens and ducks to satisfy that desire. However, with this growing movement it is important to also look at ways to keep these consumers aware of the health risks that go along with eating the eggs these chickens and ducks produce. I think there is a need for an organization to make poultry owners aware of the risks before they decide to get the birds. Maybe a class they must take before they can take them home in order for them to be properly informed and educated.
So many of my husband’s family raise chickens and eat their eggs, and this makes me worry for them. I understand the idea behind knowing exactly where your food is coming from, but at what cost?
Hey Laura! The first of your trends that stood out to me was the Baby Boomer one! I like seeing a change of generational blame in the economy for once; usually every little change in the economy and industries is pinned on the actions of Millennials, when really it’s the older folks who are taking longer to retire and thus making it harder for the younger unskilled workforce to get the training and job positions needed to fill in the gap left behind by the time the olders are ready to step down.
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