Brookline Business Research | Part 2: The Data

-

Hello people!

Recently, I visited businesses in Brookline to better understand how policies are affecting them. I asked a wide range of local shops to better represent the diverse Brookline landscape, including restaurants (casual and sit-down), cafes, specialty stores, and supermarkets. While I cannot provide specific information about some of the businesses in my sample due to a desire to remain anonymous, what I have below is data worth looking into more deeply.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Data

Forms response chart. Question title: Do you rely on any imported goods or materials for your business?. Number of responses: 9 responses.Forms response chart. Question title: Have tariffs affected your business in the last 1–2 years?. Number of responses: 9 responses.Forms response chart. Question title: If yes, how? (Check all that apply). Number of responses: 6 responses.Forms response chart. Question title: Have you made any changes in response to rising costs or supply issues? (Check all that apply). Number of responses: 9 responses.Forms response chart. Question title: Are you currently using any AI tools or data analysis software to support your business decisions (e.g. pricing, inventory, forecasting)?. Number of responses: 9 responses.Forms response chart. Question title: Would you be interested in tools or support (e.g. workshops, software, grants) to help small businesses use data or AI to adapt to changes like tariffs?. Number of responses: 9 responses.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Now What?

I will delve deeper into my interpretation of this data in a future blog post. Analyzing this could help me understand the disparities in the support for Brookline's local businesses. I want to learn more about the divide between support systems for larger and smaller companies. I can infer that larger corporations struggle less from new policies or supply chain issues because they have more support. (i.e., algorithms to help source desired imports for the lowest prices). But does that mean that support for Brookline's local businesses is lacking? 

While much is unknown, it is evident that policies like tariffs are affecting my community. When I walked through the bustling streets of Brookline, North and South, entering shop after shop and experiencing the unique, vibrant atmosphere of each, I realized my desire to preserve them. Local shops give Brookline its character. Nowhere in a big corporation would you see owners serving as cashiers, classmates serving as workers, or specialty products being sold by a nearby farm. These local small businesses define Brookline's identity and community, and losing them could erode aspects of that identity that make Brookline unique.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Do the 3Cs (Cut, Color, Clarity) Really Impact the Overall Pricing of a Diamond?

-
Hello everyone!  My experience in the Coding School National High School Research Program has concluded, and I've completed my research on the impact of cut, color, clarity, and carat weight on a diamond's overall value. I'd also like to extend a special thank you to The Coding School and my mentor, Sujay Shetty, for all the fantastic guidance; your help made this possible. Why I Did This Project  I wanted to explore product pricing and how items could be priced based on their key characteristics. While I didn't immediately think diamonds would be my topic of choice, it became fascinating once I delved deep into the subject. My dataset, sourced from Kaggle, has over 50,000 entries, making EDA incredibly worthwhile for uncovering trends. As I delved deeper into the data, my curiosity only grew, and h ere's  what I discovered .  What I Found Using methods described in my paper, I found that around 90% of level changes for the 3Cs significantly affected price; however,...
Read more

My Response to a TED Talk by Mallory Freeman

-
Hello everyone! I recently watched a great Ted Talk by Mallory Freeman titled "Your company's data could help end world hunger." In it, she describes her experiences in optimizing trade routes to reduce food costs and, consequently, feed more people. How did she do this? She used data to build a model that identifies the optimal route for food. Freeman's accomplishments are built on data. Without it, she wouldn't be able to make a model to feed thousands more individuals. She is a firm believer that "information visibility drives efficiency." So she proposes three advancements that would benefit humanitarian organizations, tailored to how companies share and manage their internal data and analytics teams. Companies should: Share data with humanitarian organizations Lend their data scientists/decision scientists who can clean and model data Share their new innovations/technologies to allow for more data collection Freeman closes her talk discu...
Read more