Identifying Local Opportunities

1) Charleston’s drinking culture makes it hard to stay sober in entertainment scene in the Post & Courier https://www.postandcourier.com/news/charleston-s-drinking-culture-makes-it-hard-to-stay-sober/article_841357ce-e90a-11e8-ab8e-57b38e68f158.html 

Society as a whole, but specifically Charleston was noted as having an increased issue with having alcohol in their entertainment and essentially not being able to escape it. Nearly every event and location that you go to has alcohol for sale and it is creating a sensation of alcoholism and drug addictions in society. This problem is affecting the people that are drinking, the police for the crimes that are caused when people are drunk (DUI, fights, vandalism), and the medical systems that have to treat the people that come in with alcohol withdrawals or excessive drinking.

2) HIV positive numbers rose in 2018, according to North Charleston nonprofit in the Charleston City Paper https://www.charlestoncitypaper.com/TheBattery/archives/2019/01/24/hiv-positive-numbers-rose-in-2018-according-to-north-charleston-nonprofit 

There were 20 more HIV cases reported by a local Non Profit in Charleston. 90% of the new cases were reported from men that have sex with men. It appears as though there is not enough safe sex education or resources for safe male to male sex to occur to prevent AIDS from spreading. This affects the people that contract the STD, their families, and the medical system for the places that have to treat them, their insurances, and the tax payers if they are unable to pay. 

3) Tecklenburg: Flooding an ‘existential threat’ to Charleston in the Charleston Regional Business Journal https://charlestonbusiness.com/news/government/75879/ 

Being a low lying area that is at or below sea level, flooding has developed as a significant problem that continues to get worse every year. As sea levels rise and we have increased rainfall, local residents often find themselves stranded, having to use/find alternate routes, and our roads crumbling. This affects everyone that lives in or travels on the local roads. It also affects everyone that has a home in a low lying area the can flood. The problem also affects local governments, insurance companies, builders, city/county councils, the state budgeting, state department of transportation, Army Corps of Engineers, and probably even more than that. This is a massive issue that continues to become more important every year.

4) Charleston appeals tour guide licensing decision in the Charleston Regional Business Journal https://scbiznews.com/news/hospitality-and-tourism/75828/ 

Recently the US Circuit Court ruled that it was illegal for the City of Charleston to require anyone offering tours in the City to have to take and pass a very detailed and lengthy exam. The City of Charleston has appealed this decision, attempting to open up the opportunity for their licensing process to once again be required. If it does not get overturned, it can provide the opportunity to open up new tour guide companies with lower cost tours and featuring different tour options than the other companies. This affects the city, the federal government for courts, the tour guides, and everyone that goes on the tours.

5) S.C. unemployment rate remains at 3.3% in the Charleston Regional Business Journal https://scbiznews.com/news/human-resources/75759/  The unemployment rate in Charleston continues to be at record lows. This creates a unique problem of leaving employers with jobs they can't fill with qualified candidates and creates a larger demand than the supply can handle. This presents a unique opportunity allowing staffing companies to charge a premium to help companies fill valuable positions with the best quality individuals. This affects the employers, the staffing agency and their employees, and the people being hired.