With the release of the Businesses and Hobbies expansion pack for the Sims 4, a whole world of possibilities has been opened for entrepreneurial Sims everywhere! From Sulani to Del Sol Valley, any sim with a dream (and a few simoleons in the bank) can make their small business idea a reality. This guide will walk you through the process of how to open and run a small business in the Sims 4.
Guide Contents
Coming up with a Business Idea
Starting a business can be a lot of work for your sim, so why not help motivate them by making it something they’re passionate about? For example, an animal enthusiast sim might enjoy running a cat café or petting zoo, whilst an athlete may have more enthusiasm for opening a gym.
There’ an abundance’s a lot of cross-pack compatibility within the options for small businesses, so there’s plenty of scope to be creative with your ideas.
Creating a Small Business Venue
Once you have finalised your business idea, it’s time to set up the perfect venue. Businesses can be run on community lots, small business venue lots, or your sim’s own residential lot. These can be bought through the phone or computer, or you can simply move a sim to a new lot through the ‘manage worlds’ menu.
Your sim’s venue will need to contain all the objects and different areas they need to carry out all their business activities, as well as other amenities that make the space nicer, and perhaps offer more variation for customers.
For example, my sim Athena has created a space for their bookshop on a residential business lot. Their flat is located on the first floor, with the ground floor offering a space for a variety of activities that they want to offer. This includes an area to browse/buy books, a space for mentoring sims who want to learn to write their own books, a little coffee area to sit, read and drink coffee, as well as a bathroom so sims can stay for as long as they like without their needs decaying too much.
Once your venue is set up, you can zone each area to control who can access it. Athena’s lot, being a residential business lot, needs separate zones for their flat, the bookshop, and behind the counter at the café. Their flat is, of course, residential, the main shop area is public, and behind the counter is employee-only.
Finally, you must make sure you place a ticket kiosk near the door so customers have somewhere to pay!
Registering your Small Business
Finally, your business is ready to open! Registering your business will require a one-time fee of §750. You can find the option to pay this either under the ‘business’ tab in your sim’s phone, the ‘small business’ tab on the computer, by clicking on the ticket kiosk in the business venue, or in the ‘owned businesses’ tab at the bottom right-hand corner of the screen.
This will take you to a screen where you will get to assign your business name, logo, activities, price, and target customers.
When selecting activities, try to be diverse! Customers are more likely to come if there are a few different options of things to do. If you want to sell craftables or other items, select ‘browse and buy items’ as one of the activities, and place items on the business racks, shelves and pedestals that come as part of the expansion pack. These can be found under the ‘small business’ category in the build menu.
Entrance fees can be set to one-time, hourly, or disabled altogether. Consider the sort of business you have and what would suit it best. You can also modify the price higher or lower, from -50% to +100%. Setting the modifier higher will earn you more simoleons, but could deter customers who don’t want to pay so high a price.
Finally, set your target customers. This will effect who visits your business, and can be a really useful step in shaping a business to be exactly how you want it, but can also limit your customer base too much if you’re not careful! Customer criteria can be required or optional, and include financial status, career, and skill level.
As Athena wants a wide customer base for their bookshop, the only criteria I selected was the trait ‘bookworm’, set as not required. Other businesses, such as a werewolf fight club or a nightclub would function better with required criteria such as occult or age.
After registering your business, you’re ready to open! Select ‘open’ from the business management menu at the bottom of your screen, or by clicking on the ticket kiosk.
Growing Your Business
Now your business is open, it’s time to start earning simoleons and working towards improving your business. This can be done by ensuring customers are happy, increasing your business renown and obtaining small business perks.
Customer Reviews
Customer satisfaction is key in increasing your business renown! Items such as fireplaces and speakers can create a cosy, welcoming atmosphere, as well as welcoming customers as they arrive. Ensuring your venue is nicely decorated, clean, tidy, and free from broken items also helps to ensure customers leave with a smile on their face and a plan to return again!
Throughout the time it’s open, your business will receive customer reviews. These can be seen above customers in live mode, and can be positive, negative, or neutral. Pay attention to what they’re indicating, and make changes accordingly. When the business closes, you will be able to see more in-depth customer reviews that may offer more actionable suggestions to improve your business.
Business Alignment
As your sim’s business builds renown, they will be presented with options that allow them to choose between the path of ‘dreamer’ or ‘schemer’. Dreamer options are marked with a dove, whilst Schemer options are labelled with a raccoon.
Depending on how your sim chooses to gain renown, they will appeal to or deter customers based on their personality traits.
Small Business Perks
As your business gains renown, your sim will earn perk points to spend on small business perks. These will help improve your business, and can also influence your business’ alignment. They can be accessed through the business management menu at the bottom of your screen.
Hiring Employees
Managing a business is a lot of work for one sim! If they can afford it, it’s a good idea to hire an employee or two to delegate some responsibilities to.
This is done through the business management menu at the bottom of your screen. Select ‘manage employees’, and select a sim to hire. Consider their traits and skills, and ensure they’re a good fit for your business! Once hired, you can set the employee’s salary to either low, average or high. It may be tempting to save some simoleons by underpaying your employees, but beware, this could lead to a bitter sentiment over time and cause your employees to quit! High pay, on the other hand, will foster a positive relationship between your sim and their employees.
Your sim can only hire someone they know, so this is a good incentive to get networking and socialising with customers and the community!
Employee tasks can be managed through the business management menu – select ‘manage employee tasks’. Here, you can see your employees, their skills, and assign tasks accordingly. You can also set tasks for your business owner, to ensure they maintain their business autonomously.
Selling Your Business
Perhaps your sim has grown tired of the responsibilities that come with owning a small business, or maybe they have become so successful they have decided it’s time to retire or move onto something new! If your sim wishes to, they can see their small business.
This can be done from the business management menu or a computer. You will be told how much your sim’s business is worth, and if you’re sure you want to go through with selling it! Be careful, as it cannot be undone!
Whatever small business venture your sim chooses, we wish them the best of luck! And if you want to play with Athena and their bookshop, they can be downloaded from the gallery, and only use the Businesses and Hobbies expansion pack and the Book Nook Kit.
