Forming an Opportunity Belief

This assignment is designed to have us start forming beliefs about opportunities that exist.

I believe that there is an opportunity to help many dog owners in Gainesville. A lot of working people and students have dogs. Many of these dogs are left at home by themselves or crated throughout the day while the person is away for multiple hours in a row. I am currently dealing with this issue since I started a new job and I'm away from home from 7:30am-5:30pm Mon-Fri. I feel horrible leaving my dog home for this extended period of time, especially when my roommate is not home to take him out a couple of times.

1) What is the unmet need:
The unmet need is something to do with my dog while I am away from work, so he is not left alone and bored.
2) Who has this unmet need:
Dog-owners who work, go to school or have to leave their dogs for extended periods of time.
3) Where did this need come from:
This need has always existed for dog owners.
4) What are people doing to meet this need now:
People can currently take their dogs to day-care, hire a pet-sitter or just leave them by themselves.
I am 80% sure that this opportunity exists.

A prototypical customer would be someone who doesn't want to leave their dogs at home for extended periods of time.

I interviewed local dog owners in Gainesville. I asked them if they believed they had an unmet need to have something to do with their dogs while they are away from home. I also asked them to tell me about a time when they had to leave their dog for multiple hours in a row. Had they tried other options, such as day-care or a pet-sitter? I concluded with asking them what would be the ideal solution to helping their dog.

To be continued....