Friday, April 12, 2019

28A – Your Exit Strategy

1) Identify the exit strategy you plan to make. Do you intend to sell your business in the next 5 years for a large return? Do you intend to stay with the business for several decades and retire? Do you intend to protect the venture as a family business, and pass it down to your children?
My exit strategy for my mobile gas station would be to stay with the business for several decades and try my hardest to grow my organization into a fortune 500 company. I am not too sure what I would do with the business after I was to retire. I would most likely sell the company and pass that money down slowly to my children. 
2) Why have you selected this particular exit strategy?
This strategy seems like the most stable and safest route. 
3) How do you think your exit strategy has influenced the other decisions you've made in your concept? For instance, has it influenced how you have identified an opportunity? Has it influenced your growth intentions or how you plan to acquire and use resources?
My exit strategy has barely influenced the other decisions I have made. The decisions I made for this company would remain the same with any route I were to take.

26A – Celebrating Failure

1.
This entire semester I have been struggling with one of my classes. It is another class, similar to this course, that is almost fully online. It is a very tough class with a lot of material. However, at the beginning of the semester, I thought it was going to be a breeze, so I unintelligently did not put my full effort into the class. Once the first test came around, I did not do too well on it (I failed it haha). 
2.

This first failure so early into the year made me realize that this class was not going to be as easy as I thought it was going to be. That one failed test made me rethink my approach at this class. It made me seek extra help and study for longer times in preparation for the next test.
3.

Failure is one of the hardest things that people have to go through, but at the same time, failure can be one of the best teachers in life. Everyone knows the saying "You learn most from your failures," and I think this is one of the truest statements in life. Failure is something that you never want to experience twice. The next time u do something after a failure, you will make sure or at least try to make sure that it won't end in the same result.

Friday, April 5, 2019

25A – What’s Next?


Existing Market. 
-The next step in my venture is to widen the fuel types available for purchase/refueling and then expand into various other states in the US. After conducting three interviews with customers who are included in our market of service, I have realized that the price of the fuel is very important to those who would use the service. This means that the next step in our venture should be focusing on how to get fuel for the cheapest prices. 
Growing our market is very important in making this venture successful. At the begginning, we will obviously have to start small and work our way up the ladder. The first step in growing our market is to increase our range of service. To increase our area of service, we would need to put more and more fuel trucks on the road that are able to provide the refueling service via the app. The more trucks on the road will mean that there is a greater area of service. 
New Market
A radically different market from what we plan to target would be aircraft refueling. This is a radically different market because of how much fuel is needed to refuel an aircraft. It would require much larger trucks with much larger fuel capacities. First and foremost, it would require a way to enter that market. 
The value would be created in this market if we were able to lower the cost of our fuel to lower numbers than our competitors. Aircraft cost a lot of money to refuel, meaning whoever is selling the cheapest fuel will probably be hired. 

24A – Venture Concept No. 1 . OTM Gas (On The Move)

Opportunity
Who has the need?
Anyone who is a frequent customer of stationary refueling stations (7-11, Mobil, Speedway, etc) to purchase fuel for their vehicle. Anyone who owns or frequently uses vehicles that require liquid fuel are potentially people with this need.

What is the nature of the need?
The nature of the need is that most people waste much of their valuable time refueling their vehicles. This opportunity makes it so that people no longer have to go out of their way to find a gas station. The gas station comes to them. 

·      What are the forces or changes in the environment creating this opportunity?
The forces in the environment that created this opportunity is the need for gasoline but the absence of a way to get that gasoline to you rather then you going to it. 

·      How is this market defined geographically and demographically?
The market is geographically defined as anywhere that has gas stations in use. The market is demographically defined as anyone who is a frequent customer of stationary refueling stations (7-11, Mobil 1, Speedway, etc) to purchase fuel for their vehicle. Anyone who owns or frequently uses vehicles that require liquid fuel are potentially people with this need.
·      How are customers currently satisfying this need?  And how loyal are they to whatever they use now? 
Customers are currently satisfying their need for fuel by driving out of their way and using up valuable time that could be used elsewhere by refueling their vehicle at a gas station. There is little to no loyalty in the fuel market. Customers tend to go to whatever gas station is closest or the cheapest.

·      How big is this opportunity?
Very big due to the number of vehicles on the road today. Gasoline is one of the most used resources on our planet today.
·      How long will the “window of opportunity” be open?
This opportunity window will be open until gas powered vehicles are no longer on the road. 

Innovation
     
-My opportunity is a mobile refueling station/truck that comes to you rather than you going to it. There will be an app that allows you to pinpoint your vehicles stationary location and then request for a truck to come and refuel the said vehicle. Credit Cards or other payment methods will be attached to the app, which means your presence is not necessary during the refueling process. The amount of fuel you requested or however much it takes to refuel your vehicle will automatically be charged to your account after the service has been provided.

Venture Concept

-My innovation will address the issue of having to travel to a gas station to refuel by having the gas station come to you. Customers will switch to this service because of how much time it will save them. Customers will no longer have to waste time trying to find a gas station or refueling their vehicle. 
-The competitors of my potential venture are all stationary gas refueling companies (7-11, Speedway, Mobil1, etc). The weakness of these competitors is their stationary nature. All the competitors do not have a mobile refueling service.
-Price points and business location are the two things that define my business concept the most. The price points of the fuel will be similar, if not the same as stationary refueling stations. The business location is the most defining concept of my business because it has no location. It is a mobile refueling service that can be anywhere at any time. 
-To organize the ongoing growth of my opportunity, I would need to employ app developers, drivers, and service workers who do the refueling. 

The Three Minor Elements

-My most important resource in this opportunity is the mobile nature of my service. My service comes to you rather than you coming to it. 

-The next step in my venture is to widen the range of fuel types available. (diesel, high octane, etc) 
-In five years I hope to be operating in multiple states and I hope to be the leading refueling service on the market.











23A – Your Venture’s Unfair Advantage

10 Resources:


My Human Capital- 

Is a valuable resource, however, could be imitated by others.

My Social Capital- 

Is a very valuable resource that is not easily imitated. Building social relationships take time. 

My Financial Capital-

Financial Capital is a valuable resource that every company wishes to have. This is not an easily imitated resource, however, it is possible for other companies/organizations to have similar financial capital/abilities.

My Work Ethic-

Work ethic is a very valuable and rare resource that is not easily imitated by others.

My Relationships-

Relationships are everything. Relationships are rare and very valuable resources. Relationships can be imitated or substituted but it is not easily done.

"It's not what you know, it's who you know."

My Education-

My education is a very valuable resource but can be easily substituted.

My Problem Solving Abilities-

Problem Solving Abilities are rare and very valuable. Not everyone possesses a quick-thinking mind. 

My Creativity-

A very valuable resource that is not easily imitated.

My Understanding Mindset-

An understanding mindset is something that every successful entrepreneur should possess. Knowing that things are not always going to run smoothly or that problems will arise is key to being ready for anything.

My Leadership Abilities- 

Leadership abilities are valuable and rare resources that are not easily imitated or substituted.


Top Resource-


Relationships are my top resources because having the ability to ask for help or advice is always easier and quicker than solving the problem yourself.


Friday, March 29, 2019

22A – Elevator Pitch No. 3


2) A reflection on the feedback you received from your last pitch. Describe what stood out to you as important, what feedback surprised you the most, what feedback you think was outright wrong or silly or amazing and inciteful. 
The most important piece of feedback from my last pitch was the recommendation to further memorize my pitch. I feel as if my last two attempts were decent however my memorization was were my downfall began. The least helpful feedback I received was just very generic unspecified comments. 
3) What did you change, based on the feedback?
Third time's the charm, as they say. I bet you find a few things different from the first time, including: (a) it's almost memorized, (b) you're far more comfortable in front of the camera, and (c) the pitch itself is better. If this is or isn't true for you, please include this in your reflection!
This time around, I decided to memorize the majority of my short pitch. Having the core information memorized helped me a lot in front of the camera and allowed me to use more improv in my pitch rather than just reading from a script. 

21A – Reading Reflection No. 2

BOOK= The Art of Social Media: Power Tips for Power Users, Guy Kawasaki

1) What was the general theme or argument of the book?
The general theme or argument for this book is that social media has the ability to be a very useful and meaningful tool in the growth of a company.
2) How did the book, in your opinion, connect with and enhance what you are learning in ENT 3003?
This book connects and enhances my learning in ENT 3003 immensely. Almost everything we do in this class revolves around a variety of social media. All of our weekly assignments have to do with posting on a public website and reading/critiquing other social media user's posts. This book shows its readers that being an entrepreneur requires much more than just being able to run a company. Entrepreneurs have skills in a wide range of topics.
3) If you had to design an exercise for this class, based on the book you read, what would that exercise involve?
1. Make four tweets that your hypothetical company would tweet. (Try and get more likes/engagements on each post)
The goal of this exercise is to gain increased engagement in each of your tweets.
4) What was your biggest surprise or 'aha' moment when reading the book? In other words, what did you learn that differed most from your expectations?
My biggest 'aha' moment was when I realized that maybe all my time spent on social media is not a waste after all. Our society has come to be built around the internet and different social media pages. I learned that there are so many ways and forms of advertising and getting the word out about your company.

Friday, March 22, 2019

19A – Idea Napkin No. 2

1) You. Who you are. What your talents are. What your skills and experiences are. Also: what are your aspirations? Specifically regarding your business concept, how do you see this business (if you were to start it) playing a role in your life?
My name is Chase Hodgson. I am a Student at the University of Florida studying Business Administration. I excel in leadership positions, social interaction/communication, and problem-solving. I aspire to be the CEO of a prosperous company in the future. This business would mean the world to me. It would play a huge role in my daily life.
2) What are you offering to customers? Describe the product or service (in other words, how you'll solve customers' unmet needs)
My company is offering a service that refuels your car without having to travel to a fuel station. My company offers an app that allows you to pinpoint the location of your parked car, which will then send out a mobile fuel truck that will come and refill your vehicle while it is parked and you are going about your day.
3) Who are you offering it to? Describe, in as much detail as possible, the demographic and psychographic characteristics of your customers. Think especially of this question: what do your customers all have in common?
We are offering this service to anyone who owns or uses fuel powered vehicles. The person that is most likely to use this is someone who travels a lot via car/truck.
4) Why do they care? Your solution is only valuable insofar as customers believe its valuable to them. Here, explain why customers will actually pay you money to use your product or service. 
Customers will care about this service because of how much time it will save you. This will revolutionize the fuel industry. Customers will no longer need to stop at gas stations to refuel their cars. 
5) What are your core competencies? What sets you apart from everyone else? Also: what do you have that nobody else has? 
What sets us apart from everyone else in the refueling market is that we are a mobile refueling service. We are not a stationary fuel station like our competitors. We come to you, rather than you coming to us. 
In addition to these five elements, please spend a paragraph evaluating whether you believe these elements fit together or whether there are aspects of your business concept that are weaker / out-of-joint with the others. 
I feel as if these elements fit together rather well. In my opinion, these five elements seem to mesh very well with no weak links noticeable. 
For the "feedback memo" -- please summarize at least two main points that you took away from the feedback you received. Also, please describe how you incorporated the feedback into this idea napkin. 
I received some very interesting feedback on my last Idea Napkin. One of the biggest realizations that I had from the feedback was that my competitors (stationary gas stations) would probably still cost less than this service. I also realized that stationary gas stations have more than just fuel to sell. Almost all fuel stations sell snacks, drinks, candy, etc. My service is strictly for refueling which could affect the interest in this service. Another realization I had after reading the feedback from my peers was that my business has to be able to cater to various fuel types/engines, so this time around while writing my idea napkin, I tried to stay away from the words gasoline, etc. because it would seem like that's the only fuel we serve. 


Friday, March 15, 2019

17A – Elevator Pitch No. 2


2.

After reading the comments on my first elevator speech, I realized that I was unprepared and lacked specific evidence or information about my company. This time around I made sure that I focused more on what my company provides rather than setting an example of how it is used.

3.

After reviewing the feedback on my last elevator pitch, I made the decision to further prepare for my elevator speech recording. I got facts of what my company or service was and how it is used. This time around I chose to focus more on the basic services my company provides rather than providing examples.

18A – Create a Customer Avatar

My prototypical customer is a male between the ages of 30-35. He has recently just started a family, drives a pickup truck and has an old jet ski. He likes movies and crime tv shows. During the weekdays, he wears a suit to his CPA job. On the weekend he likes to take his family to the lake or do something adventurous.

Image result for rams head coach


My avatar and I have a lot of similarities, most likely due to the fact that I created him. I chose things that I would like to be doing at that age, so obviously it connects with me. He would be a customer of my product due to the things he enjoys doing and what he drives.

Thursday, February 28, 2019

Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No. 2

In the three interviews, I conducted, all three people being interviewed had relatively the same answers for all the questions. When asked about deciding between a product and its alternatives, two said that they typically choose the cheapest alternative. The one other person said, "It depends on the product, cheaper is not always better." When asked about where they buy, the answers seemed to favor online shopping over in person. They all described how the internet is quicker, easier, and more cost-efficient. If the item is useful and long-lasting the purchase is looked at as a "right purchase." This segment seems to care most about price rather than quality. I think this is because most college students do not have much money. They try to find the cheapest products that will suffice their needs.



Friday, February 22, 2019

14A – Halfway Reflection

1) Tenaciousness is a competency. What are the behaviors that you have used (or developed) to keep up with the requirements of this course? 
Time management is a key reason why I am able to keep up with the requirements for this course. I manage my days so that I always have some time to go on Canvas and look at the daily assignments and complete them. 
2) Tenaciousness is also about attitude. Talk about a moment or two when you felt like "giving up." What pulled you through? Do you feel like you've developed a tenacious attitude during the past two months? What experience or experiences most contributed to this?
There have been a couple of scenarios in which I had almost given up. They typically were when the assignment was difficult or long. I think that I have most definitely developed a tenacious attitude during the past two months. The homework assignments played the biggest roles in developing my tenacious attitude.
3) Three tips. What are three tips you would offer next semester's student about (1) fostering the skills that support tenacity and (2) developing the 'tenacious mindset' ?!

1. Check Canvas daily

2. Read emails and announcements from the professor.

3. Research topics that don't come easily to you.

Image result for mental reflection picture

13A – Reading Reflection No. 1



Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson
1) You read about an entrepreneur:
  • What surprised you the most?
The thing that surprised me the most about Steve Jobs was how he spoke about his coworkers and friends. A majority of the conversations that discussed Steve Job's peers included destructive and negative remarks.
  • What about the entrepreneur did you most admire?
I admire Steve Job's work ethic the most. Jobs came from nothing and worked his way to operating one of the biggest companies on the planet. This is a feat everyone strives to achieve one day.

  • What about the entrepreneur did you least admire?
The thing I did not admire about Jobs was his ability to balance work and family. Jobs was described as someone who would regularly give up time with his family in order to progress his growing company.


  • Did the entrepreneur encounter adversity and failure? If so, what did they do about it?
Steve Jobs encountered adversity and a slight form of failure when he dropped out of college. Leaving halfway through your schooling to embark on an extreme business venture is very risky, however, in the end, it worked out for Jobs.
2) What competencies did you notice that the entrepreneur exhibited? 
Steve Jobs exhibited numerous competencies including hard work-ethic, brainstorming, group-think, etc. 
3) Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you.
The most confusing part of Steve Job's life was how he was able to win over so many people to work with him while lacking social persuasion abilities.
4) If you were able to ask two questions to the entrepreneur, what would you ask? Why?
Did you ever think that your company would be where it is at today?
What would you do over?
5) For fun: what do you think the entrepreneur's opinion was of hard work? Do you share that opinion?
Honestly, I feel as if Jobs struggles in the social aspect of a workplace (relationships between coworkers etc). Meaning, Job's opinion of hard work would be in building relationships.

Friday, February 15, 2019

12A – Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No. 1

1) Pick a segment. In class, we have discussed how you might intuit the existence of segments that might exist in your venture's market. For this exercise, you must pick one segment.  
People with cars that get bad fuel mileage.
2) Find three people who would fit that segment and arrange to interview them. These interviews, if conducted properly, should take about 10-15 minutes. Any less, and you won't be able to obtain adequate information. 
Interviewed-
Joey
Beck
Ryan

3) Begin with need awareness. In earlier exercises, you have identified an unmet need and developed a solution. If the person you are talking to does not have the same unmet, then you need to move on. You may not include this as one of your three interviews. If the person you are talking to does have the problem, then you're on the right track! For need awareness, we need to figure out at what times, situations, places, contexts, etc., their need becomes the most salient. The questions you ask should be related to determining exactly when, how, and where their need awareness occurs. 
All three of the people I interviewed, own cars with subpar miles per gallon (mpg). This means that they run out of gas quicker than others with better mpg. Their need for a mobile refueling company, like the one I suggest, is higher than most due to them having to refuel more. They spend more time at gas stations than others. They notice this need when their cars get low on fuel.
4) Move to information search. When the person you are interviewing becomes aware of their need, what is the very first thing they do to find a solution to their problem? What sources of information do they look for? When they search in Google, what are their search terms? Do they talk to friends and family.

All of the people I interviewed answered in relatively the same manner. When asked about how they proceed after they become aware of their need, all three said that they stop at the nearest gas station. There is little to no search needed. 



5) Report the findings of your research. Simply summarize what you learned in the interviews.
I learned that the idea of a mobile gas station has some grounding. A lot of people agree on the fact that stopping at gas stations is time-consuming. I realized that people with lower mpg cars are more likely to use the service mentioned, due to the fact that they are refueling more than others.
6) Draw conclusions. Based on what you know about this segment and what you learned in your interviews, how would you succinctly describe this segment in terms of need awareness and information search? 
This segment made me realize that certain people will need this more than others. People who use more gas than others are more likely to want this service because they spend more time pumping gas.

11A – Idea Napkin No. 1

1) You. Who you are. What your talents are. What your skills and experiences are. Also: what are your aspirations? Specifically regarding your business concept, how do you see this business (if you were to start it) playing a role in your life?
My name is Chase Hodgson, I am a sophomore at the University of Florida majoring in Business Administration. I am a student with great time management, organization, and work ethic. I aspire to be a business owner. This business would play a huge role in my life. It would be my main focus.
2) What are you offering to customers? Describe the product or service (in other words, how you'll solve customers' unmet needs). 
I am offering a service that eliminates the need for gas stations. The service allows you to request our company to come to refill your gas tank via an app. This means you can be at work, at home, or even asleep. No more wasting time at the gas station.
3) Who are you offering it to? Describe, in as much detail as possible, the demographic and psychographic characteristics of your customers. Think especially of this question: what do your customers all have in common?
Anyone who owns a motor vehicle or regularly has to go to a gas station to refuel. People who have to fill their own gas and waste time.
4) Why do they care? Your solution is only valuable insofar as customers believe its value to them. Here, explain why customers will actually pay you money to use your product or service. 
They care because everyone knows how annoying having to stop and get a fuel can be. This service will save users much of their wasted time at gas stations.
5) What are your core competencies? What sets you apart from everyone else? Also: what do you have that nobody else has? 
What sets us apart from everyone else is that we are mobile. We come to you, rather than you coming to us.
I think that all of these five elements fit together well. They all have the same goal in mind. They are weak statements, however, they all do relate in one way or another.

Friday, February 8, 2019

Testing the Hypothesis, Part 2

After Conducting five addition interviews about my opportunity, these are the answers I have come up with:

Who: Are there certain people or certain businesses that, although they share a lot in common with the others in your opportunity, nevertheless fall outside the boundary? Why?
There is a multitude of businesses that share a lot in common with my opportunity but fall outside the boundary. Any gas station based company (7-11, Mobil, Speedway, Wawa, etc) has similarities with the majority of my opportunity, however, they all fall out of the category due to their stationary, nonmobile nature. 

What: At what point does the need you identified differ from another need? (Is thirst the same as hunger? Or is the desire to appear fashionable the same as the desire to be loved by others?)
This need differs from other needs because it is acting upon two opportunities at once. It not only focuses in on the gas selling industry it also focuses on the time-saving/delivery service opportunity.


Why: Is the underlying cause of the outsiders' need different than people who are inside the boundary?
Yes, people outside the boundary are those who have no need for gasoline. This would include people without cars, or own electric vehicles. 

Inside the boundaryOutside the boundary
Who is In- Anyone that owns a gas powered
vehicle.
Who is Not-
Those who don't own a car
What the Need Is-
Obtaining Gas without spending time
pumping gas.

What the Need Is Not-
They have no need for a mobile
gas station.
 Why the Need Exists-
People are busy and don't always
have time to stop for gas.
Alternative Explanations-
They don't need to buy gas.

10A – Elevator Pitch No. 1




Friday, February 1, 2019

7A – Testing the Hypothesis, Part 1

1.
Sometimes when you get food delivered to you, it is cold by the time it arrives.

2.
The who: Anyone who orders food online or uses delivery services.
The what: The food you order is not always hot and fresh when it arrives.
The why: All delivery drivers are not equipped with heating/warming devices to keep food hot.

3.
Yes, there are numerous other people who have this same need. 

Testing what:  
When you use food delivery services, your food is not always going to be cold. It all depends on how many stops the driver has to make before you, or how long it takes to drive to your location

Testing the why: I feel like this need is very widespread and an agreed on need. Most people who have used delivery services have probably experienced cold food before. To my knowledge, most people want their food still hot/warm when it arrives.
4) In Part 1, you must interview five people. These interviews must be long enough for you to get the information you need. In these interviews, you want to ask questions that try to capture the variation in the whos, whats, and whys, and your objective is to test the boundaries of your opportunity hypothesis. 
After interviewing 5 different people, it seems like my potential opportunity has a lot of support. Every single person that I interviewed told me about previous experiences with food delivery services and how their food has been cold upon arrival. All five of the people I interviewed, agreed that there should be a food heating system required for every driver.

5) Include your write-up of each step in your assignment. For step 4, please summarize what you find. Given your interviews, what do you know about the opportunity that you didn't know before? 
When I first thought about this opportunity, my mind was mainly focused on the heating issues while in transportation. However, after interviewing numerous people about delivery issues, there seems to be an additional issue with delivery services, which is receiving the wrong food/order.


Friday, January 25, 2019

6A – Identifying Opportunities in Economic & Regulatory Trends

OPPORTUNITY #1- Facebook looks to merge Instagram, WhatsApp, and Facebook messenger.

(a) where you found it (i.e., what the source of the information was that led you to form the belief about an opportunity)

I found this opportunity on the popular tech website: 
https://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/apps/a26038352/facebook-merge-instagram-whatsapp-messenger/

(b), what leads you to believe that this information suggests an opportunity might exist, 

I think this information makes you realize how powerful and important social media apps are. Facebook owns three of the largest apps out on the market and they are looking into ways to mash the three of them together to become one. If Facebook is interested in increasing the ability to communicate across different platforms, it surely suggests that there is an opportunity in that market.

(c) who do you think is most likely to be the customer with the opportunity (i.e., the prototypical customer)

The most prototypical customer would be anyone who uses Facebook, WhatsApp, or Instagram.

(d) is the opportunity relatively easy or relatively difficult to exploit, and why do you think so?

I feel as if this opportunity is relatively easy to exploit only because so many people have the opportunity to create apps similar to this.

OPPORTUNITY #2- Fed wants to raise Interest rates.

(a) where you found it (i.e., what the source of the information was that led you to form the belief about an opportunity)

I found this opportunity on thebalance.com

(b), what leads you to believe that this information suggests an opportunity might exist, 

This information leads me to believe that an opportunity exists because interest rates directly correlate with consumer money owed as well as inflation rates. 

(c) who do you think is most likely to be the customer with the opportunity (i.e., the prototypical customer)
The prototypical customer is anyone purchases bonds or anything from the FED that requires interest.


(d) is the opportunity relatively easy or relatively difficult to exploit, and why do you think so?

This opportunity is rather difficult to exploit since its a government-run decision. 

OPPORTUNITY #3- Change in Trade and Terrif policies. 

(a) where you found it (i.e., what the source of the information was that led you to form the belief about an opportunity)


https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/7671-regulatory-issues-changes.html

(b), what leads you to believe that this information suggests an opportunity might exist, 

Tariffs and trade policies can have huge impacts on our economy. So the changing of these policies can lead to drastic economic changes.

(c) who do you think is most likely to be the customer with the opportunity (i.e., the prototypical customer)

Any company or organization that deals with trade coming in or out of the United States.

(d) is the opportunity relatively easy or relatively difficult to exploit, and why do you think so?

This opportunity is relatively difficult to exploit because it is not something that any one person can change unless you are the president.

OPPORTUNITY #4- Change in Trade and Terrif policies. 

(a) where you found it (i.e., what the source of the information was that led you to form the belief about an opportunity)


https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/7671-regulatory-issues-changes.html

(b), what leads you to believe that this information suggests an opportunity might exist, 

The minimum wage plays a huge role in business expenses, meaning it could either hurt or help business owner.

(c) who do you think is most likely to be the customer with the opportunity (i.e., the prototypical customer)

Pretty much any company that deals with human labor.

(d) is the opportunity relatively easy or relatively difficult to exploit, and why do you think so?

Rather difficult to exploit because of how strict the rules are. This is a government regulated topic that is not easily changed or manipulated.