And what mods and CC you use to make them work.

I've been planning on doing this thread for awhile where I and anybody else details how they play a job or business. For example perhaps you have a great office set up, a court house or an internet cafe, tell us how you achieved it. What mods and ideas have made it possible or really enhanced a business in your game?

Also I would love to see pictures, but do remember to put them behind a spoiler.

I thought to kick it off I would show my tiny cafe in Coral Bay.


Resorce List

Very pretty lot.

I have the automatic cash register, but I've never used it. The idea of them just passing a thing and money drains bugs me, it's so futuristic, it hasn't felt like it fits my hood. But the way you set it up just gave me an idea of how to explain it. Membership cards! I'll just think of it as the Sim having registered for a card, that it charges with money, that registers what they buy and deduct the money when they pass the register.

We're starting to have things sort of like that where I live, so it's not that far off. Thanks jo, now I might actually use this!

Great idea for a post too. I'd love to see more talk about businesses and how to set them up.

How long has your Sims been running it? My game really seems to hate reporters, and once they've had one appear that's the end of it. I've never had a Sim be evaluated twice, despite having the mod from paladins place that should make them spawn more frequently.

I don't have that mod, haven't even seen it. Perhaps how often the reporter shows up is to do with the overall number of sims a hood has. Coral Bay had no townies to start with and only 13 couples. I've only made 3 townies now and the uni students (two eating cake) are coming into town. Should have mentioned that mod, uni students on community lots. I can say she turns up pretty often at every businesses. She also comes home with my fireman on a regular bases-not sure what that is about since I have the hobby friend mod.

I can't say I like the look of the automatic cash register, an invisible recolour like I have for the ticket machine would be handy. Glad to give you an idea for it. I don't often use it myself but there just isn't room on that lot for a register which only gets used for half a day. I am thinking of trying to hide it in a bush.

She has owned it for quite awhile but due to having kids hasn't opened it as much as I would like. It's only rank 3.

I'm working on an invisible recolor right now, because I've always disliked how it looks. So much so I apparently removed it I thought I had it, but apparently not any more. If I get the recolor to work I'll send it to you, if you'd like.

Interesting. My hood has a lot of townies, so that may be it. I didn't know that the reporter is always the same Sim, I'll have to pay attention next time one comes and see if inviting them over might work.

Non-cash register payment huh? Ha! Sounds a lot like Sims 4 GTW! All kidding and disappointment aside though, wonderful lot! Very pretty! I love the way you've set up a little story about it!

Jo, your inbox is full

So, this isn't necessarily about a specific business, but more about how you guys have sims play businesses on different lots. I usually only let my sims have home businesses (and very rarely take my sims to community lots in general) because I hate the way the time is the same when you get back, but your sim is out of sync with the day (like being tired at 8 am because that's when they left the house, and they stayed there till 10 pm, but it was 8 am again when they got back). I know there's a community lot time fix, but it worries me. Does anyone play with it? Is it buggy? Have you ever had an issue? What about when you take one sim out but not all of them- what happens then?

In terms of running businesses, do you guys usually have set hours of operation (like 9-5 Monday-Friday), or is it just whenever you feel like taking your sim out there?

If this is too off-topic, please let me know. It's just something I've been wondering about for a while, and was reminded of when I saw this thread title.

Community lot time works as such that when you return, the Sim won't appear until the time you left. It'll be like when the Sim is at work. If you only bring part of the household, then only those remain away until the correct time, the others you play normally. You can't go to community lots again until the Sims return, so you can't take the remaining ones to some other lot and have them also return.

I don't use it, so I can't say if it's buggy or not. But on the off chance a Sim does not return home, just go to a different family and teleport the Sim in with a mod and move it in, then go back to original house and do the same with a Sim who lives there. If it's a single Sim household, move someone into the original lot before you start. If you use Simblender, note down the household funds of both households, because the move in function is the same as asking a Sim to move in (meaning they will bring some of their funds).

I don't set hours for my stores. While realistic, I would not enjoy playing it that way. When a Sim wants to go, a Sim wants to go. I don't tend to take my Sims to shops in the middle of the night either way. And how I run it with the owner depends on other things, but I'm more likely to run that realistically. For example, one Sim had a home business market where she sold the produce she grew, and she'd open it on weekends when she was off work and had the time. Plus I liked the idea of a weekend-farmers market. The Sim who runs my take out store tends to go around lunch and keep it open until 9-10pm.

I hardly ever look at a clock, only at motive bars. When my sims are active, they're active, and I'm only concerned about whether the teen curfew is kicking in, whether it's late enough that a called sim will be angry, or if someone I want to go on the outing is at school or work. If someone in Widespot wants to go to Nathan's Fun Bowl at midnight, Nathan's Fun Bowl is open at midnight!

And I find the time-stoppage handy, as dates can last till sunrise without anyone being too tired for work or school in the morning; and if kids have to fall into bed as soon as they come home and are then awake in the middle of the night, I can get their fun up, make them do homework, take them to the park to get their fun up again, and put them to bed again tired out, perfectly timed to catch the bus in the morning and not be worn out again when they come home. If I couldn't do community lots I would never be able to break out of that cycle and none of my kids would get to enjoy their childhoods. But that's thread drift.

The Community Lot Time mod has mostly played nice for me, even in an all EPs+3SPs config, and later the Ultimate Collection. As gummilut said, if you take part of a household with you it allows you to play the ones left behind while you wait for the others to return. The only times it's not is when it's incorrectly read when a sim should return, and instead of ~8hrs I end up with ~3days 8hrs, but a lot reset or retrieve sim at the appropriate time has worked.

In terms of running a business, I do have set hours. The most a store can open is 7AM-11PM, though if it's popular and needs restocking before the sims leave they can risk not getting to bed until 1AM. This is the same for community and home businesses, otherwise I have a tendancy (from my Build a CIty days ) to have sims stay there for days upon end, using the energizer repeatedly.

A lot of my shops tend to be closed on Sundays, more because that's family get-together day than any kind of religious reasoning. I can still take non-owner sims to community businesses, but I just won't run the business from the owner's side of things.

In terms of actual businesses, I've not got too much to offer. One of my old Build a City challenges had a couple of sports clubs for children and teens -- basketball and soccer (football). Used to be an after-school thing ~4PM to ~7PM, using a small lot, and with changing rooms and a couple of vending machines. Never earned too much money or stars from it, but it was always more for atmosphere than to be a money-maker.

I use community lot time and it works as intended for me. In the past year or so (of pretty much constant use) it's glitched out 1-2 times. I'm using the UC. Personally, I love how the time actually passes while they're gone.
As for businesses, the standard opening hours at 9-5 M-F and 12-5 on Saturday. Businesses fluctuate depending on the sims that run them (workaholics will generally keep things open longer, a single mother might only be open from 10-2, etc.) and the type of business (a gym might open at 6am, a club will open at 7pm, a crafting business will generally have shorter hours so they don't run out of stock).

I haven't done anything really "outside the box" with my businesses, but I'll be following this thread with a lot of interest!

P.S. Thank you so much, jo, for linking that all in one bathroom! I was looking for something like that for a few of my businesses!

On the topic of 1x1 lots related to food, here's the take-out restaurant I mentioned earlier.



My Sim runs it on her own most of the time, sometimes she brings her husband to help man the register. But even with 8-10 customers she manages really well on her own. She sells all the maxis group meals, made from Season produce to be extra filling. The kitchen is mainly if something runs out while she's there, she does most of the cooking on her home lot. It doesn't generate a whole lot of profit, but since it has no employees, she doesn't lose money on it. It'd probably make more profit if she grew the produce herself, but she buys it from her daughter (Paladins produce packing station to sell it in crates).

(Edit: Looking at my own pictures I realize she has a fairly paid regulator. Whoops xD Silly me, why did I place that there?)

Why would I need a telephone when she has no employees, needs no employees, and can have a cellphone?

@gummilutt I emptied out some Pm's. *housekeeping, not my best task*

Nice lot, I've thought about doing a pre made meal shop based on fresh produce. I think I would want a larger lot with the food actually growing on the lot as well. Then I would sell some fresh veg on the side.
What is the fairly paid regulator object mod? I have a lot of mods but not that one.


@Jojoa777
If I am going to a community lot business many of them I do aim to open from about 8-5 but not all.

I would not play community lot business without community lot time. Yes it does have a few hiccups, the main one being only one mode of transport may work for you. (walk, taxi, private car)The second is to be aware there is a Known bug with pregnant sims in the second and third trimester. You may need to maxmotive them while you wait for them to return. (Motives should remain static)Very occasionally CLT doesn't work and my sim arrives home as if I haven't used it. I have never had a sim not arrive home, although sometimes they are late..

Then why point it out Platinum? You yourself know there's other methods to get employees, and you know cellphones exist. Everything you've mentioned is already covered, because cellphones can take calls, and I already said no employees needed.

I'm not very good at keeping my inbox empty either, jo. I hoard messages, because I use them to keep track of things like requests and answers to questions. I'm very grateful that Delphy upped the limit a while back.

The fairly paid regulator is by Monique. If you place it on a lot and turn it on, it will make sure your employees are always fairly paid, so that if you fail to notice they gained a badge/skill they won't rage quit on you. I find that part of the game really unrealistic and stupid, so I have it on pretty much all my businesses.

Growing the food on the lot is a nice approach too. Adela is her daughters manager, helps her run her gardening shop when needed. So most Sims in town will already know where the produce comes from

Well alright then

If anyone else would like an invisible version of Inges automatic cash register, mentioned in the first post by jo, I uploaded the one I made on my livejournal (click here). I don't like sharing minor edits of other peoples work on MTS, because I feel I don't deserve the thanks and downloads it gets, so I decided to go with livejournal instead. It's not a recolor, it's a clone. I would have preferred a recolor, but I can't get one to work, so clone it is.

What about sims visiting the lot when you're playing them?

How many businesses do you know that keep a phone available for the shoppers? The phone to call for a cab from is there, that's all they need. If they want to make personal calls, then they need to buy a cellphone.

Don't mind me; just getting the *censored* last post doesn't show up unless you post bug again.

Edit: Actually, I do have something to add lol. The problem with sims is that no phone is sacred. It doesn't matter if it's in the manager's office in the staff area, Joe Public will use it as if he was at home. Therefore I prefer to imagine that the taxi calling phones are also payphones for public use (they just use them when you aren't watching lol) and if I can't lock away a staff phone I don't use one.