Forming an Opportunity Belief (4A)

I believe that there is a lot of frustration surrounding parking in student apartments (not dorms) when a friend or family member comes to visit because most complexes do not offer guest parking. Students living in the apartments have this need/problem. I believe this need has existed for a while because I have heard people talking about their parking woes around the area for a while. To meet this need now, people are parking far from their desired destination or walking because they know they cannot park in the building. I am 98% percent sure that this opportunity exists. I left the 2% out because there might be a solution that I am not yet aware of (i.e.: perhaps there is a way to gain guest parking). The prototypical customers are off campus students or on campus students who would like to drive to their off campus friends' apartments.

Prototypical Customer 1: An on campus student

• I become aware of this need when I get to where I want to go and then have nowhere park. I only experience this sometimes, like when I am driving. I've had this need since school started about three weeks ago. I first became aware of this need when I wanted to come visit your dog at your apartment but couldn’t park. Currently, if I want to visit you or anyone that lives in an off-campus apartment I have to walk or Uber there because having to find parking on the street is impossible. I am very unsatisfied with this solution because I have a car and would like to use it.

Prototypical Customer 2: An off campus student

• I am aware of this issue when I have a guest come visit and they do not have anywhere to park. This is a need I experience only sometimes because I myself do not have a car here but many of my friends do. I have had this need since I started school in Summer B (and lived on campus) and have started experiencing it more about three weeks ago when I moved into my off campus apartment. This need started then too- when I began school here (at UF). I do not have a car here regularly but I did have my car here the first few days I moved into my apartment, so I addressed this problem by illegally parking in residents spots. So far, I am satisfied with this solution because I have not had any trouble from it yet.

Prototypical Customer 3: Student from a different school visiting a UF student that lives off campus

• I am aware of this need whenever I come to visit. I only experience this need sometimes because I do not spend a lot of my time here. I only notice it when I come up to visit my friend that attends UF. I have been aware of this need since my friend started school at the university this summer and I came up to visit her. When I come visit, I address this need by illegally parking in her apartment garage. I am not satisfied with this solution because I love coming to visit my friend but I hate the risk of getting a towed or getting a ticket. 

Reflect: From the three interviews I conducted (the student living on campus, the student living off campus, and the student visiting from another school) the thing I was most surprised about was that not having guest parking in off-campus apartments seemed to bother the on campus student and the student from another school more than the student living off campus herself. In retrospect, that should have been expected because it is more of a hassle for those visiting, than for those who actually live there. However, I myself find it very frustrating when my friends would like to visit but then have nowhere to park. The main thing that I took away from this is that everyone is always happy with more parking, but the opportunity seems to be more of a priority for some than others. 

Summary: I have seen many guests and residents frustrated with the off campus complexes's parking situations. In fact, last semester my friend (who lived on campus at the time) came over to visit and had to park across the street because my complex did not offer guest parking, after less than an hour his car was booted and he was very frustrated. After talking to the three interviewees, I do believe that much of my original opportunity is still there because they seemed to have faced (and still face) this problem frequently. I also think that my opportunity is more accurate than when I started because now I am certain that this is an issue that not only I have faced but people all across campus have faced. I think that entrepreneurs should definitely adapt their opportunities based on their customers feedback because being an entrepreneur is not about creating a need, but it is about solving one. That means that if customers are describing what opportunities they need, entrepreneurs should strive to solve and fulfill them.