4A: Forming an Opportunity Belief

Imagine that you must relocate because of work or school to a place where you don’t know anyone. The idea of being alone can be stressful and depressing. There is an unmet need regarding not having friends or family around to help maintain that healthy balance of sanity after relocating to an unfamiliar place. This has been an ongoing issue for people for years, especially military personnel. 14.19% people move each year. (avrickdirect.com).  Whether they are new to the military lifestyle or just starting a new job, every time they relocate, they must rebuild their support system.  While there are resources to help people gain support or make friends, a lot of people opt out of utilizing the channels. Some people feel that they are not a match, it’s not genuine and more like a job and some are just too shy. I have a solution that can help make relocating easier.  A mobile app that allows people to create a profile, sharing information about themselves. Solely to meet people that match their personality or characteristics to become friends in their local area.

Interview Questions:

1.      Do you think a good support system helps makes life easier?

2.      Have you ever relocated to a place where you didn’t know anyone?

3.      How did you manage

4.      Do you think an app that allowed you to make friends like you would have made a difference?

Debbie Williams (55) Military brat

1.      Having a good support system in place period is always a good thing. It does make like easier.

2.      I grew up in a military house hold, we traveled a lot because of work.

3.      I hate it because it caused me to start over every time we moved. I had to make new friends and gain trust in them. A very difficult task for me.

4.      I think an app that helps you find people you can relate to could have made things easier for me because I am very shy and didn’t like to just go up to random people to start a conversation. The app would have given me an opportunity to get an idea of what the person is like and if we are a match to even move forward.

Reflection:  Growing up in a military household can be challenging when you must move often. Sometimes the move requires you to leave the country. While you may have friends that you can communicate with via phone and social media site from your home town, it’s always cool to have friends locally to socialize with and have physical interactions.

Imoni Jenkins (22) Kentucky Native

1.      Everyone needs support from time to time and it’s good to know that you have support during those times. Especially someone who is near that you can meet up with.

2.      When my mom got a new position that required us to move to Washington state from Kentucky.

3.      This move was a stressful move and change for me. I didn’t have any friends and we didn’t have any family to hang and enjoy life.

4.      I think an app that made away for you to meet people could have made a difference. My mom made me join different clubs at schools and church but I felt like I was forced to talk to people that I had nothing in common in with.

Reflection: You can use resources like church and after school programs to make friends but sometimes it doesn’t feel like the formed relationships are genuine. Sometimes you find that you have zero things in common.

Jacob Castillo (16)

1.      I don’t think it makes a different on whether you have support, it is up to you to make your life easier.

2.      I moved to Florida from Georgia to go to college and didn’t know anyone in this area except my uncle.

3.      The move wasn’t stressful to me because I am used to being to myself.

4.      I am sure the app would help others but I don’t think I will benefit from it because I don’t like meeting people I have never seen first.

Reflection:  Some people are anti-social or prefer to make friends on their own by meeting them first. Some people don’t need to help of others to make life easier because they are accustomed of being alone.

 

Summary:

The original opportunity is still there and bigger than before and is more accurate than before because the amount of people that relocate each year continues to increase. Many of the people that relocate move to an unfamiliar place and have zero support system in place. Some people may have kids that are in school, which can be hard for them to adapt to change without any friends.  The app can help alleviate stress and allow people to find friends prior to moving to gain some assistance in the new area. Entrepreneurs should adapt their opportunities based on customer feedback because it gives an idea on how to market their brand, products, and satisfy the need of the customer.