The Possibilities for Businesses are Nearly Endless!

The Sims 4 Businesses & Hobbies has granted Simmers a wealth of opportunities when it comes to ownable businesses and venues. In the past few days, the gallery has become inundated with builds by Simmers from all over the globe. I’m here to show you some of my favourite (and some of my own) builds and unique business opportunities you may want to try out in your game. A full list of business activities can be found on the official blog post. Let’s take a look!

Pottery Studios – It’s Time to Spin!

Pottery is a new skill and hobby added with The Sims 4 Businesses & Hobbies, so it makes sense that the new world of Nordhaven comes with a pre-built pottery studio. ‘Terra-Potta’ was built by creator Yohannabuilds and features a pottery studio space with a lecture board, a shop front for selling creations, and an apartment above for business owner Jolanda Koopman and her husband Gert to take a break from a hard day of being business owners.

The business is pre-set with the ‘Do Pottery’, ‘Browse and Buy Items’, and ‘Attend Classes and Lectures’ activities. These activities will direct customers and influence their actions when visiting. The venue is also set up with an hourly entrance fee which will be automatically charged for visitors and affect the daily cash flow. Lectures cost Sims to attend, while classes are free. However, for Sims to teach they will be required to have a relevant skill. Lucky for us Jolanda is level 10 in pottery when you first play the household.

Tattoo Parlours – Making Your Mark

Alongside pottery comes Tattoos. This brand-new feature allows Sims to level up their tattooing skill, create custom designs, and offer a tattooing service to Sims. ‘Spilled Neon’ by creator KELLYHARTX comes pre-built with Nordhaven and is run by Nia Sarpong, who resides above her studio with her daughter Lerato.

Nia’s studio only has one business activity, and that is ‘Get Tattooed’. This activity means that Sims will arrive, pay an entrance fee (if applicable), and request tattoos from Nia. Sims who run tattoo parlours are also able to offer services directly to Sims. Be careful though, as tattoos can go wrong and customers might not pay up. When the business is closed your Sims can improve their tattooing skill on the digital sketchpad. The sketchpad can also be used to create custom designs that your Sims can apply to other Sims.

Cafe’s – That’s That Me Sim-spresso

The third and final pre-made business in Nordhaven is Koffieboon owned by the Loden household. This business combines a cafe, library, and lecture space all in one. Dhalia Loden is an avid writer and uses the non-cafe half of the ground floor to teach writing classes for all those who wish to attend. The new coffee bar is perfect for any Sims who wants to open their own cafe, and the previously seen coffee bar in Get Together is also usable in small business venues.

Koffieboon comes preset with the required activities and all income is made from coffee and tea sold, and lectures held. The ‘Drink Tea’ activity will not only direct Sims to coffee bars but also to tea sets available with previous packs such as My Wedding Stories and the Secret Sanctuary Kit.

Daycares – Tiny Tots

It’s time to toot my own horn a bit. After the reveal of business activities, some Simmers began to theorise on whether or not daycares would be a viable business option – we even covered it here on The Sims Community. In preparation for the release of The Sims 4 Businesses & Hobbies, I decided to create a daycare. This venue comes complete with a classroom, nap room, playground, and a lecture room for teaching parenting skills at the weekend for a bit of extra cash.

In terms of business activities, I chose to choose ones that would direct the toddlers to play with toys and use the playground. The ‘Target Customer’ feature allows me to select toddlers under the ‘Supervised Customer’ tab and uncheck the handy box that reads ‘Caregiver Stays at Business’. This means that when the business opens parents will drop their tots off and leave until the daycare closes for the day. While the daycare system isn’t perfect, It is workable. It is important to keep in mind that daycares are not a focus of the pack. Perhaps one day we will see a daycare system fully implemented into its own pack. The build is available on the gallery under ‘CBXSims‘.

Movie Theatres – See it on the Big Screen!

I got a bit excited before the release of this pack and created a cinema that is fully ownable and can run as a functioning business. This feature does require The Sims 4 Movie Hangout Stuff Pack, however, the venue also features an entertainment space and a bar.

As you can see Geoffrey Landgraab has purchased this business – It’s in his name after all. I set the business activities to ‘Watch Movies on TV’ and ‘Eat Popcorn’. Sims will autonomously do these interactions and will seat themselves in one of the three screens to watch a movie. The popcorn machine from Movie Hangout Stuff Pack costs Sims to use so Geoffrey was seeing earrings from that, along with ticket sales at the entrance. If I wanted to have an evening dedicated to live performances I could simply switch out the activities and hire a performer for the microphone or piano on the top floor. The build is available on the gallery under ‘CBXSims‘.

Hotels – Rest & Relaxation

Similar to daycares, hotels were not explicitly stated as a feature of Businesses & Hobbies. This didn’t stop Simmers from giving it a go, and that is exactly what content creator lilsimsie has done. This hotel can be purchased as a separate lot or as a residential with a home business as there is a residential apartment on the top floor. It’s about time that the golden sands of Sulani get some tropical resorts for townies to take a break in.

In terms of business activities, I chose ones that would direct Sims to use both the suites and the on-site pool and spa. I decided on an hourly rate payment system as Sims would often spend a few hours sleeping. The spa is fully functional, just make sure to hire employees who are familiar with the wellness skill for the best results and an increase in business renown. The build is available on the gallery under ‘lilsimsie‘.

Laundromats – It’s Time to Spin (Again!)

Upon the release of The Sims 4 Businesses & Hobbies, Maxis uploaded this laundromat and arcade combo that fits perfectly in Windenburg’s lake-side. The idea of a laundromat was heavily promoted by Maxis in the lead-up to release as a major cross-pack feature. Sims will come to the venue and wash the laundry that they have in their inventory.

For a laundromat to function the only business activity you have to set is ‘Do Laundry’ and Sims will head straight for the washers and dryers. As ‘The Laundry Game’ is a joint arcade I also set the activities appropriately. I found that when Sims are waiting for their laundry to be done they will go and play the arcade games on offer. The build is available on the gallery under ‘Maxis‘.

Internet Cafes – Blast From the Past

This internet cafe by june1016 is the perfect money maker. Customers will simply use the computers to write or program, and they will not need any supervision from the business owner. Charging Sims by the hour is the perfect money printer. The build comes with a range of vending machines that customers will use autonomously and the cost of the service will be given to the business owner.

Running this business is fairly simple. You will want your business activities to be set to any computer-focused task (this can be seen when hovering over activities) and customers will use the computers you have provided. As there is no lecture board, bar, or stall for your Sims to attend you as a business owner will be free to sit back and relax as the money comes pouring in. The build is available on the gallery under ‘june1016’.

Dance Studios – And at the Top of the Pyramid…

The townies of Nordhaven are going to be saying “She’s zooming, dude” when they see your dance studio owners go by. Lectures and classes are a big feature of Businesses & Hobbies and the list of skills available for teaching is huge, you can check out our list of skill classes here! And with such a big list it is no surprise that dancing was not left out. First introduced in The Sims 4 Get Together, the dancing skill has 5 levels and your Sims can unlock new dance movies and group dances as they progress. What better way to profit off of your hobby than to own your very own dance studio?

The activities I selected for the New Harbor Dance Co are self-explanatory. Once customers have paid the entrance fee I was able to direct my business owner to start a class for all who turned up! The lot I used by rep-13-tv also included a cafe so if you wanted to earn a little extra money you could hire an employee to tend the coffee machines. The build is available on the gallery under ‘rep-13-tv‘!

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Have we missed any unique business ideas that you’ve enjoyed playing with in The Sims 4 Businesses & Hobbies? Let us know below, and make sure to stay tuned to The Sims Community for all future announcements and articles!