4A - Forming An Opportunity Belief

In my buglist, I identified one of my bugs as there being little to no parking on campus.  The parking that is on campus is either too far away, a school pass required or just not easy to get your car into depending on the type of car you have and your driving skills.  If there is a place to park that fulfills one or all of these factors, you may be paying upwards of $200 a month with a full-year contract.  For example, I live in the Standard and we are not allowed to buy and use Gainesville city parking because we have access to the garage, but it is $150 a month.I believe the unmet need is accessibility to safe parking without overcharging and most students who have a car on campus have this need which creates an opportunity.  This need has always been prevalent, and the student population is steadily increasing.  According to UF's enrollment facts, in 2011 the Fall Cohort Headcount was 49,785 students and in 2017 it was 55,862 students.  To meet the need now, students are either paying large amounts of money to park close to campus, buying scooters instead of using their cars in order to have accessible parking, getting a student decal (most people I know cannot get this because they live off-campus), or paying people that live close to campus to park at their house or apartment.

The protypical customer would be a UF student that has a car, or the parent of the student who pays for their child to park on/off campus.  I talked to three different students that all live in different places.  One was a student athlete, and two were girls I saw at an interview.  They all agreed that the parking availability is a big problem on UF's campus.  One girl even told me that she doesn't have a car and had to buy a scooter because her apartment complex only has 10 spots, and it is over $200 a month to park your car there.  The other girl also does not have her car here due to the parking troubles.  The male student athlete does have his car here, but also agreed and was very expressive of his feelings toward the issue.  I don't believe my opportunity belief has changed after my interviews and is even more accurate because I found out that places charge even more than my apartment does.  I think entrepreneurs should definitely adapt their ideas based on customer feedback at least to some point because without customers, they have no business.  On the other hand, there are businesses out there where the entrepreneur had a sight of an opportunity that no one else could see at the moment, and now they are successful--so I think the entrepreneur also has to listen to their gut before other people sometimes, too.

Comments

  1. Aubrey HoffmanSeptember 9, 2018 at 4:42 PM

    Hi Sydeny,

    In my opinion, your post was very thought out and I too agree that there is an opportunity here. I liked how you incorporated the every growing population of our university and how this is causing parking near or on campus more of a prevalent issue. You spoke to great prototypical customers that encouraged your opportunity and made you realize that it is an even bigger issue than you originally thought.

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  2. UnknownSeptember 9, 2018 at 11:28 PM

    Hi Sydney,

    I think most everyone can agree with the parking issue on campus. Many students are from in-state and therefore have a car on campus. The best way to solve parking in an area is to have a parking garage (I think?). I feel like they could make a couple of parking garages behind midtown or somewhere on campus, however, space is certainly tight. This will continue to be a problem going forward I think.

    Best,
    Grant

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. UnknownSeptember 11, 2018 at 11:03 AM

      Hi grant,
      I completely agree! I think behind midtown would be a great spot for a parking garage. It definitely is tight, but I don't think it is impossible!\
      Sydney

      Delete
  3. UnknownSeptember 10, 2018 at 6:12 PM

    Hi Sydney,

    I completely agree about the parking issue on campus. UF should create more spots to keep up with the increasing amount of incoming students. The cost of parking is way too much. There should be a proportionate amount of parking spaces to students that have cars. My friends that have cars usually take the bus to school in order to avoid the cost of parking on campus everyday. I believe that parking is an issue that hasn’t been solved, but overlooked.

    Regards,
    Ramar

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. UnknownSeptember 11, 2018 at 11:04 AM

      Hi Ramar,
      I agree the problem is also overlooked. I think that is not how it should be--having a car but not being able to use it because no parking or parking is too expensive!
      Sydney

      Delete
  4. Emily HusakSeptember 10, 2018 at 7:53 PM

    Hi Sydney,
    As I just retrieved my car from an impound lot yesterday, I'm also at the point of exhaustion with the lack of parking at UF. I don't know a feasible answer to this problem. A parking spot at my apartment building runs $250 a month, but spots are limited. A parking decal for the "Zone" that I live in costs $105 per year. But spots in my "zone" are limited as well. Trying to find parking near my building after dark is particularly frustrating and scary. I don't even attempt to drive to class because of the parking issue. I agree that there is a need here, I'm just not sure how it can be effectively serviced. Your post provided some good insight on this problem. Best, Emily

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. UnknownSeptember 11, 2018 at 11:05 AM

      Hi Emily,
      Oh no!! I'm sorry that happened to you. Zone parking is so much more affordable than apartments but then you run the risk of not getting a spot, getting one too far, and honestly, I have a huge car that I can't parallel park. Thank you!!
      Sydney

      Delete

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