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The new small business system inThe Sims 4:Businesses and Hobbiesallows you to open and run a new kind of venture. Your small business will be able to charge for services as well as admission, and over time can grow into a large-scale enterprise with access to perks and benefits to help increase profits.
This new system is more flexible than retail lots, and will allow businesses to be started on your home lot, or in a separate small business venue. Here’s how you can open, and run, a small business to turn your hobbies into a new career.
How Are Small Businesses Different From Retail Businesses?
Retail lotssimply allow you tosell itemsfrom those lots.Small businesses are much more flexible. A small business can beset up in any space,even on your home lot, and as a default, you cancharge a one-off entry fee, a fee per hour or waive entry feesentirely.
In a small business venue, you canearn extra money from item sales, including food or drink,teaching classes or mentoring Sims.You choose whichactivities you want to allowand then just keep opening your doors and your business will grow.
What Type Of Small Business Can I Run?
There are11 different presetsfor small businesses. Each one has its own set of activities as follows.
Bathe And Shower
Browse And Buy Items
Attend Classes And Lectures
Tattoo Parlor
Get Tattooed
You can also choose toadd activities to these default listsor completelycustomize your business activities.
How To Register A Small Business
To start a small business,click the cash register iconon the bottom right-hand side of your screen, next to the needs menu.
Select Register Small Business ($750)
This will bring up theRegister Small Business Menu. From here, you cancustomise your businessand then the $750 is taken from your household finances once you hit complete. Here are the options.
Business Name And Logo
First, you need aname for your business.Simplytype this into the boxwhich says Small Business Name and then add anoptional descriptionbeneath it.
For a logo, you canchoose one of the 30 preset options.These includeicons for the preset stores, such as a cocktail glass, pottery, and tattoo needle, as well as some othercommon store logosfor an art studio, music store or pet shop. You’ll also find a handful ofgeneral logos, including a rainbow, a flower, some dice and a llama.
Business Activities
You canuse the presetswe described above, or select up to five activities from the list below.
Food And Drink
All Things Grilled Cheese - Cook, Consume, Paint Or Discuss
Cook - Use A Refrigerator, Counter, Stove/Oven Or Cupcake Factory
Make Treats - Use A Candy Machine Or Cupcake Factory
Art And Music
Dance - Dance To A Stereo Or Around A Bonfire
Do Pottery - Use A Pottery Wheel And Pottery Kiln
Get Tattooed - Get A Tattoo From A Tended Table
Listen To Music - Music Can Be On A Stereo, Guitar, Piano, Or Violin
Paint - Use An Activity Table Or Easel
Play An Instrument - Play A Guitar, Violin, Or Piano
Practice Tattooing - Practice On A Sketchpad Or Tattoo Table
View Art - Includes Bonsai Trees, Paintings, Sculptures, Some Decorations
View Collectibles - Any Item In Household Collectibles
Watch Live Entertainment - All Performances On Microphones, Violins, Guitars Or Pianos
Attend Classes And Lectures - Given Using Hobby Whiteboard
Read - Requires Books Or Bookshelf
Rocket Science! - Build or Use A Rocketship
Use Telescope
Woodwork - Practice Or Craft On A Woodwork Table
Work Out - Use Punching Bag, Treadmill, Workout Machine Or Pool
Fun And Games
Play Physical Games - Use A Dartboard
Play Pub Games - Use A Dartboard Or Game Table
Play Table Games - Use A Chess Table Or Game Table
Play Video Games - Use A Computer, Gaming Mat Or Tablet
Hangout By Fire - Use A Fireplace Or Outdoor Fire
Swim - Swim In Pools Or Open Water
Tend And Harvest Garden - Based On Skill
Mischief And Mayhem
Kid Activities
Do Homework
Play On Playground Equipment - Jungle Gyms, Monkey Bars Or Swing Sets
Play With Toys - Dollhouses, Handheld Toys, Large Stuffed Animals
Play With Infant And Toddler Toys - Above Plus Nesting Blocks And Playmats
Home Activities
Bathe And Shower - Use A Bathtub or Shower
Browse And Buy Items - Browse And Purchase Items On Racks Set For Sale
Browse The Web - Use A Tablet Or Computer
Sleep - Use A Bed, Sofa Or Bathtub
Try On Outfits - Use A Dresser
Watch TV
All the above options areincluded with the base game and Businesses & Hobbies Expansion.You’ll also have extras, depending on what DLC you own.
The activity listpulls options from different skills availablein other packs, including do yoga, or fabricate items. You’ll also find someanimal interactionsif you have the appropriate packs.
Business Lot Assignment
By default, you canchoose to use your home lot as your business venue. If you prefer not to do this, you can buy a small business retail lot, but this needs to be done separately.
You can change the Business Lot Assignment after the business has been set up, allowing you to start on a home lot and expand as the business grows.
You canpurchase a small business venue lotusing theBusiness menu on your phoneor computer. You can also do it through theSmall Business menu directly,by selecting the business name, then choosingBuy A Small Business Venue Lot.However, this can only be doneafter the business has been registered.
Whichever way you choose the option, yourSim will make a phone callwhich takes you to theworld selection screen.From here,find the lot you wish to purchaseand select confirm.
Entrance Fees
You havethree options for entrance fees: disabled, hourly, or one-time. Thedefault fees begin at $23 as a one-time fee, or $5 an hour.They willrise over time,as your business increases in level.
You can choose toapply a modifer to the default priceto lower it by either 25 or 50 percent, or increase it by either 50 or 100 percent.
Target Customers
If you wish totarget specific customers,you’re able to choose from the following criteria:
Age- Choose from teen, young adult, adult or elder.
Career- Choose from all available career paths, including part-time, freelance, and work-from-home careers.
Marital Status- This is simplified to married or not married.
Financial Status- Set an income threshold of poor; less than $10,000, moderate; $10,000 - $500,000, or wealthy; more than $500,000.
Trait- Choose any traits from the Create A Sim list.
Skill Level 2+- Choose from any skill you can learn in your game.
Occult- Choose either specific occults or to exclude occults entirely.
Supervised Customer- Decide if infant, toddler and child Sims must have a caregiver stay with them when they visit.
The more specific you are with your criteria, the fewer Sim townies will meet it, reducing visitor numbers.
For each category you cantick as many options as you wish.There’s also an option tomake the criteria required. This means thatall customersattending your businessmust meet at least one of the selected criteriain any area marked as required.
How To Designate Space In A Small Business Venue
In build mode,select the lot type buttonfrom the top left of the screen - the house with an i in the center. This will open up theoptions to designate spacein your build.
If you have used theFor Rent systemof space designation, you’ll recognize this.By default, your entire building will be set to public,and every room will be outlined in pink lines.
To change this,click on the room you wish to edit,and you’ll see the usual box for altering wall heights and foundations appear.Below the copy and rotate buttons you’ll see the word Public.Click this to activate thedrop-down menu.
Space Types
You can now choose fromResidential,which will appear as a blue outline,Public,the existing pink outline, orEmployees Only,a yellow outline.
Anyone who comes to the lotto use the facilities will onlygo into public areas.Anyemployeesof your business will go intopublic and employee-onlyareas. Finally, theresidential areas are only for the family who own the lot, and any visitors they give a key to or invite in.
How To Open And Close Your Small Business
It willcost $75 to open your business for the day, so keep this in mind when deciding on your opening hours. you’re able to open your business in the following ways:
Click theOwned Businesses menu(cash register in the bottom right of your screen) and select Open Business.
Select Open Business by clicking on anOpen For Business! Wall or floor signon the lot.
Choose Open Business from themenu on a Ticket Kioskin the venue.
You canclose for the day by choosing Close Businessfrom any of the above options.
End Of Day Summaries
When you close up for the day you’ll see a summary screen. This will tell you:
