By Davies Zhai - Jetek Staff
Three Ways to Identify an Opportunity
Observing Trends
Solving a Problem
Finding Gap in the Marketplace
Observing Trends
Trends create opportunities for entrepreneurs to pursue.
The most important trends are:
Economic forces
Social forces
Technological advances
Political and regulatory changes
Economic forces
Understanding economic trends is helpful in determining areas that are ripe for new business ideas, as well as areas to avoid.
Example of Economic Trend:
State of the economy
Level of disposable income
Consumer spending patterns
Social forces
Social trends alter how people and businesses behave and set their priorities. These trends provide opportunities for new businesses to accommodate the changes.
Examples of Social Trends:
Aging of the population
The increasing diversity of the workforce
Increased participation in social networks
Growth in the use of mobile devices
An increasing focus on health and wellness
Emphasis on clean forms of energy, including wind, solar, biofuels, and others
Continual migration of people from small towns and rural areas to cities
The desire for personalization (which creates a need for products and services that people can tailor to their own tastes and needs)
Technological advances
Advances in technology frequently create business opportunities. Once a technology is created, products often emerge to advance it.
Examples of Technological Advances:
Computer industry
Internet
Biotechnology
Digital photography
Political and regulatory changes
Political and regulatory changes also provide the basis for opportunities. The political change also engenders new business and product opportunities. For example, global political instability and the threat of terrorism have resulted in many firms becoming more security-conscious.
General Example and Specific Example of Technological Advances:
This happened with the passage of the Affordable Care Act in 2010. The provisions of the act yielded opportunities for entrepreneurs to launch electronic records start-ups, apps to help patients monitor their medication, and similar companies.
Evolv Technology is a start-up that has assembled a multidisciplinary team of experts to identify, invent, and apply new technologies to meet current terrorism-related threats.