When I first came to the United States, I spent a lot of time with my uncle, who has a good mind for business. We discussed different ideas, and I kept a small notepad with me where I gathered infor- mation. He was glad that I was thinking about my plans. I told him that I wanted to start a small organic poultry farm of 500 chickens.

I bought 100 bags about opening my own of chicken feed at business. He started $35 per bag. asking me questions

The chickens would need space to roam freely and receive sunshine, so it was important for me to think about how many square yards I would need for the chicken house and for open space. After three months of collecting information, I finally found and rented the right space in the country- side. It had been a poultry farm before, so there was a chicken coop and an outdoor area. After pre- paring the avail- able space, I had 78 square yards outdoors and 50 square yards indoors which is Poultry (n): domes- ticated birds that we keep sufficient for rais- for their eggs and ing 500 chickens.

I used math meat. Chickens, turkeys, in many ways to start my business. For example, I

ducks, and geese are all

examples of poultry.

hired me friend

to help me replace a fence. It took 59 hours to finish the work. When we were done, I paid him $1,062 for his hard work, which is $18 per-hour.

It was a great feeling to make the property ready. My next job was to buy the chickens and everything they would need. I bought 100 bags of chicken feed at $35 per bag. I bought PVC pipes to use as chicken feeders which cost $400. I installed a $900 solar panel and many other things. And finally, I bought the 500 chickens, which cost about $16.27 per chicken. My total expenses came to $14,000, which I borrowed from my uncle.

When my chickens started laying eggs, I I collect 33 dozen started to have an in- come. I collect 33 dozen eggs a day, which eggs a day, which I sell for $6 per dozen, for a total of $198. In addi- tion, every five months I send all the chickens I sell for $6 per dozen, for a total of $198. to the slaughter house. I sell them for $11 each, for a total of $5,500. To replace them, I buy young healthy chickens that are ready to lay eggs.

Math is a part of life. Without math, I couldn't start a great business. It is hard to think how dif- ficult everyday life would be without math. I hopeAFTER YOU READ: 1. How did Mustafa arrive at the total of $14,000 to start the poultry farm? Which of the expenses were one-time expenses and which are repeating? 2. How much money does he earn from the farm in five months? How much does it cost him to run the farm for five months? (Assume that a $35 bag of feed weighs 50 pounds and that a chicken eats 4 pound of feed every day.) At his current rate of income and expenses, how long will it take Mustafa to become profitable? If you are missing information to answer this question (such as, how many days are in each month and the hourly rate he pays himself for his labor), make a reasonable guess. Make a spreadsheet to show your work. 3. What reasonable changes could he make to bring in more revenue in less time? Show the changes in your spreadsheet. 4. How much could he reasonably pay back to his uncle each month? Assuming his uncle is not charging interest, how long would it take him to pay off the $14,000 loan?