Identifying Local Opportunities

1. I found my first opportunity in an article titled "Dole salad recalled in Florida, 20 other states after deadly listeria outbreak" by the Orlando Sentinel. The company Dole in Ohio had to recall several of their salad products around the country due to this outbreak. It began in July but the connection to Dole was made fairly recently after listeria was found in a bag of salad at a grocery. Listeria can have deathly effects on the elderly, pregnant women, and young children. This problem effects both the consumers who have been harmed from consuming the salad and the suppliers who will likely experience a decrease in sales. This could create an opportunity for other salad suppliers to ramp up their sales while Dole is experiencing this setback. The article can be found here: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/consumer/os-ap-florida-retailers-recalling-dole-salad-listeria-outbreak-20160122-story.html.
2. The second opportunity I found was in an article titled "Airlines cancel thousands of flights as big storm advances" by the Miami Herald. With the recent blizzard that's been hitting the northeast US, thousands of flights have been delayed or cancelled. This is leaving tons of unhappy and dissatisfied customers in airports along the east coast. The opportunity I discovered was for hotel companies in these areas. It would be smart of them to lower their prices for a little while so they can fill up their rooms with people who can't fly out. People would much rather stay there than an airport terminal. The article can be found here: http://www.miamiherald.com/latest-news/article56192835.html.
3. Another opportunity I found in the Jacksonville Business Journal was titled "Starbucks opens 528 new stores in a quarter, profit falls 30 percent." It described how Starbucks had opened up hundreds of stores but compared to this quarter last year, profits were down significantly. This could really hurt the Starbucks franchise if this trend continues. This creates an opportunity for several groups. It could force Starbucks to come up with better marketing schemes. It might also be a good chance for competitors to lower their prices and really hurt Starbucks. The article can be found here: http://www.bizjournals.com/jacksonville/blog/morning-edition/2016/01/starbucks-opens-528-new-stores-in-a-quarter-profit.html.
4. One opportunity I found was in an Orlando Sentinel article titled "Orlando airport aims for greener environment." The article talked about how big the Orlando International Airport really is. It would be the second largest city in central Florida if it were classified as a city. It is also not a very efficient building in terms of energy use, as it relies primarily on fossil fuels. The goal is to turn it into a greener airport in order to help out the environment. The opportunity here exists for companies that develop green energy. They could sell some of their technology to OIA in order to help them out. It would be a win-win situation for both sides. The article can be found here: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-cfb-cover-orlando-airport-environment-20160123-story.html.
5. The last opportunity I found was in a Pensacola News Journal article titled "Charter schools cost taxpayers, produce mixed results." This article talked about some of the mixed results that charter schools have had so far. In Escambia county, they have really failed and the less there are, it would be for the better of the school district. The opportunity here exists for public schools to show that they can be better than charter schools. This will hopefully move students back to public schools and prevent a waste of taxpayer money. It would also be an opportunity for companies that tutor students if there are so many students in charter schools that need help with their studies. The article can be found here: http://www.pnj.com/story/news/local/education/2016/01/23/charter-schools-cost-taxpayers-produce-mixed-results/79070036/.