Small Business & Covid-19

(Nick’s Place)

Efthemia Markopoulos

What is considered a small business?

• Everywhere in your community you can always find a variety of small businesses…
• Pizza shops
• Nail salons
• Barber shops
• Chinese restaurants
• Convenience stores
• Etc
• Some are fun by families, some are run by one individual and in other cases you hire employees

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Part 1:

1. Whether with the help of parents/guardians you choose to use the internet, go for a quick drive with a family member around your town or just simply have a place in mind. Pick one small business from your town
2. Give them a call and explain to them what you are doing
1. I am _________ and I am calling for a school project. Do you have a couple minutes to answer some questions for me?
2. Create a list of questions that you may want to ask.
3. After you hang up, look at your questions and the answers and think about how any of those may be really important and how can they relate to math/science?

As we make our way through this project, I want you to fill it out as we go. Let’s see how much we learn from what we may already know!!!

Workplace Protocol:

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(specifically during this pandemic)

1. Customers and employees are REQUIRED to wear a mask at all times when in the store.
2. Customers who come in must keep a safe distance of 6 feet apart at all times.
3. Wash or sanitize your hands thoroughly after touching money or going outside to bring someone their food.
4. Clean off all counter tops with a rag and disinfecting spray or water with some bleach every couple of hours.
5. Clean soap and water in the dishwasher
6. A splash of clorox (bleach) in the disinfecting area of the dishes.
7. Paper towels, hand soap and sanitizer in various areas of the store.

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How do we tie in Math?

1. Math is used everyday in a business no matter what that business may be. For Nick’s Place we use math without even thinking about it….
2. Just about all of our ingredients are home-made

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TAKE A SECOND….

Either on a piece of paper or in your head think of some ways that math is used in a pizza place

Do we have our guesses????

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SO...here it is….

1. Amounts of spices and ingredients that go into pizza sauce?
2. Giving back change after a customer pays you?
3. The amount of food that goes into the different types of meals that you order?
4. How much does each ball of dough weigh in order for you to be able to make a small and large pizza?
5. How much flour and water go into the dough in order for it to rise properly?
6. At what temperature should the oven be in order to fully cook a pizza?
7. Adding up the tips at the end of the night and splitting them evenly among all the employees who worked that day
8. Doing the payroll every week so that all employees get paid the correct amount

Now can you guess how we can tie science into this?

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Let’s see if you thought about some of the same things….

1. Certain foods must be cooked at certain temperatures and also must be stored at certain temperatures in order to keep them fresh and safe
1. Chicken
2. Roast beef
3. Sauces
4. Pizza dough
5. Vegetables
6. Cold cuts

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TIME TO CREATE YOUR OWN MENU!!

Now that you know a little about a pizza place, let's get creative and make a menu of your own….

1. Pick a name for your pizza place
2. Design a logo of your own and color it in (you can pick any location you want your store to be located in)
3. Pick 3 of your favorite appetizers (side orders: mozzarella sticks. Chicken fingers, fries, etc)
4. Pick 3 pizzas and a couple dinners (chicken finger dinner, cheeseburger dinner. Steak tip dinner, pasta, etc)
5. Give a couple of options for the sides that can go along with those dinners
6. OPTIONAL: if you would like, on your menu you can also add desserts or drinks that will be sold there
7. Now add some fair prices to your menu!

A quick glimpse at a work day!

MOST IMPORTANTLY….

The most important thing through all of this though is to have some fun. The people you work with overtime become a second family. Not only is it a place of work and that needs to be respected, BUT YOU ALSO NEED TO HAVE SOME FUN!

Share some laughs, crack jokes, play mini harmless pranks on each other. Work is great and work is important but the connections, your actions and your smile are also important. Not only just for you, but the customers love to see it to. What has made me most successful through it all is my relationship with my customers.

1. Learn your frequent customers names. It makes them feel special and that you appreciate their business
2. Crack friendly jokes with the customer
3. They love to see a happy, well-rounded environment that they can support
4. Little things DO NOT go unnoticed

GIVING BACK!!!