The World This Week: Market Moves and Legislation

In keeping up with the recent news developing in the United States and abroad, there are several things that we can address that will be big players for niche or far-reaching markets.

Trend #1: A Rise in Bicycle Prices

Considering the recent introduction of tariffs by both the United States and China against one another, the first big break in a niche market will be the exclusive cycling market. Since China produces 86% of American bicycle imports, any tariffs that strike can make bike sales lucrative for the higher end brands. A used Giant Shimano Carbon Fiber Bike runs $1500, and the most expensive of the Off road variety Giant produces goes for $11,000. Any restriction from the Chinese manufacturers and these prices could skyrocket as more cyclists upscale into more aerodynamic and competitive frames. The prototypical consumer can range from newcomers seeking average race bikes to die hard fanatics seeking the sleekest and efficient designs. The biggest hurdle would be initial investment, as the market will require extremely personal knowledge of the local market, needs, psychological desires and capital to invest in buying the frames and wholesale prices before even being able to go for retail values.

The main source of inspiration comes from the knowledge I have gained from being exposed to the many cyclists in my hometown, my own dad being part of the crowd for some time. After lengthy conversations about his bike and its origins, added to the multitude of biker crowds spotted herding through the city and the recent Internet tirades over presidential actions and words, I felt this would be a competitive market that can spark a huge profit and many pains for cyclists seeking to attain them.

Trend #2: Increase in Online Privacy Measures

As technology centers like California take steps to introduce the most comprehensive state laws about net neutrality, the Federal Communications Committee's Chief Ajit Pai moves to try and fight the bill at all costs, citing interstate companies and federal superiority of law as precedent for the bill to be shut down. With the current net neutrality laws from the 2012 Obama era scrapped by FCC Chief Pai, the services provided to the public can by any means alter service speeds and connectivity to everyone from website to individual. To skirt around this problem, the market will tailor the needs of privacy and unaltered Internet services through safe and encrypted channels, inevitably being Virtual Private Networks. VPN's would be a crucial part of a secure, nondiscriminatory Internet, and would be vital to everyone from general Internet users who don't wish to be targeted by personalized ads to people who's political opinions or positions of power can be perceived as threats to national security or deemed illegitimate and silenced through non-direct silencing. The ability to jump into this opportunity depends on accessibility to data centers, licensing and legal precedent to protect customers should federal agents request logs of users.

This may not be a unique position, but having been exposed to years of literature about the benefits of free and unrestricted speech, and realizing the potential torrent of issues that can arise from losing something that has become as vital as the Internet to society, that privacy and security of personhood online has been a personal pillar of my beliefs.

Trend #3: Selfies, Upgraded

With social media continuing to explode in popularity and traffic, the ever eternal question lays on every baby boomer's mind:Are Millennials taking too many selfies? The answer in reality is who cares how many pictures you take as long as you don't garner an acute addiction to them. While most smart phone cameras are being fitted to be powerful right out of the box, the limited nature of the lens due to the nature of thinness being a selling point has led to an increased supply of attachable lenses to increase the opportunities of camera styles from fish lens to theatre mode to full extension zoom lenses. Prototypical consumers are varied, the most consistent will be full fledged photographers who may want to carry the tools to take professional grade photos without the heavy weight of full DSLR cameras and attachable lenses, and social media influencers or photography enthusiasts who want to try high grade photography but not invest into learning the whole hardware of a DSLR camera. Taking into consideration the size and reproduction time of these pieces, it could be relatively easy to invest the capital into producing and marketing an entire business around small attachable features and accessories.

Having an uncle who is trained in photography but only does it as a hobby rather than a living has led to interesting perspectives about how technology and the needs and requirements to take good, great and stunning photos. having someone knowledgeable in the market as a guide in what could be important starting points to sell for beginners, and what would go best together for more professional photographers into kits or packages.

Trend #4: Get your Paper

Technology is omnipresent in today's world. The chance of truly going off the grid is minuscule compared to how much has been front-loaded and built upon the Internet. One thing that hasn't gone off the wayside is keeping records on paper. Bullet Journals have become a major cultural phenomenon amongst Millennials, using physical paper to maintain and track daily logs of life to practice intentional living with mindfulness built in. The beauty behind Bullet Journaling is that the methodology behind it creates so many prototypical customers, ranging from stay-at-home parents to students to business executives, and with the market only continuing to grow, getting a foothold in the market couldn't be easier with the flexibility in products and services that one can offer.

The biggest advantage to knowing how I saw this trend is the fact that I too am a part of it! Having implemented Bullet Journaling into my time on campus, the strain of work and activities became easier to manage when I knew the day was as productive as I'd like it to be, and gives me more incentive only to above and beyond my plans to get ahead.