Recently we have been given the opportunity to invest in a new business in Colorado Springs, CO. Although there are many different options, we have narrowed it down to fitting the needs of the youth, catering to the growing population of retirees or the influx of the Hispanic population. All options appear as great investment opportunities, but after some research we found some of the options were better than others.
Sources and Methods:
The first test we ran was creating a population pyramid (Figure 1), which is shown below. It is important to know which group of people has the greatest population, which would increase our opportunity for profit.
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| Figure 1. This is the population pyramid for Colorado Springs, CO. |
As you can see, there seems to be a fairly even split between males and females in Colorado Springs. When looking at the age class breakdown, it is apparent that the greatest population is the younger people, but would not be considered youth. Although it is not the highest population percent, it is staying consistent, which could offer a safe investment for the needs of the youth. The retiree population is significantly smaller than that of younger people. Based solely off of this model, it would be in our best interest to cater to the younger people of the city. Along with the population pyramid, it is important to look at the dependency ratio. The figure below (Figure 2) shows the result of the dependency ratio for Colorado Springs, CO.
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| Figure 2. The dependency ratio for Colorado Springs, CO. |
The dependency ratio is at 46 percent, which means that there are more working class people in the city, than people that are not working.
The next statistic that was looked at was the location quotient. This allowed for more specific analysis to be done with different variables that relate to Colorado Springs and the United States as a whole. The table below (Table 1) shows the data that was used in order to find the location quotient. Figure 3 (shown below) is the result of calculating the location quotient.
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| Figure 3. Shows the results of the Location Quotient for Colorado Springs, the state of Colorado as well as El Paso, County, Colorado. |
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| Table 1. This table is the data used to determine the location quotient for Colorado Springs, CO. |
After looking at the results for Colorado Springs, the only two variables that proved to have a higher concentration were the population of white people as well as the population of children ranging from 0-14 years of age. Although the location quotient for Hispanic population at the state level proved to be a high concentration, it was below the average for the city of Colorado Springs. Since we are looking for business mainly within the city, this may not be the market to invest in.
The last statistic to look at was the location quotient for the different economic sectors of the city. The table below (Table 2) shows the results of the analysis.
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| Table 2. Shows the location quotient for the different economic sectors for Colorado Springs, CO. |
Results:
After analyzing the population pyramid as well as both the location quotient for the population statistics as well as the economic sector data, investing in a business that fits the needs of young children will be the best option. Although they do not have the highest population percentage, the population is growing at a consistent rate. Compared to the average U.S. city, there is a higher concentration of children between the ages of 0-14. Given the above average educational and art jobs in the city, it may draw parents into raising their children in Colorado Springs because of the different educational opportunities.
