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Instructor
#26 Old 29th Jan 2023 at 2:52 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Sokisims
I remember when the business expansion came out, I went to play it at my friend's house. I remodeled a building in Bluewater and turned it into a restaurant, the restaurant worked almost from the beginning. There were thousands of simoleons in profits and everything progressed very fast. I still remember it as one of the best business I've ever done.

How did you make it profitable? The only time I can turn a profit is by having 3 members of the same household going there (one host, one waiter and one cook) and even then the profits are still really low. Running a profitable restaurant is pretty much impossible without the money business perk when you consider employee costs and the upfront capital needed to buy the lot.

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Mad Poster
#27 Old 31st Jan 2023 at 7:04 PM
Restaurants are probably the hardest businesses to run. What works for me is to keep the restaurant small - have a playable chef with a large family owns it - and be exceptionally frugal with the sim's money, as well as very patient.
Instructor
#28 Old 31st Jan 2023 at 8:24 PM
I don't have a lot experience with businesses except one, and it has to do with buying. I think that getting rich is impossible. My sims own a rank 9 record store and a coffee shop on the same lot they live. Their records are 'expensive', they and their teenage kids work, so free labor, and they serve coffee for extra cash. When their kids were babies and toddlers, it was much harder, I had to cheat and sometimes dig for treasure since they could barely afford anything. They're definitely financially stable but only after rank 5. I also use the mod for more visitors per lot which helped them get more customers. Now I feel like they make the same as a sim at s level 10 job, which isn't a lot considering how short their lives are and how harder is to run a business. I definitely enjoy running a business and it's a great challenge. I don't think I would be ever buying a business lot since I would have to visit it in order to work while this is just on the ground floor.

I'm currently planning to open a family restaurant, it's also on the same lot as the family. Both of members are chefs and have level 9 cooking skill. One can be a chef, the other can be a host and I'll hire a waiter. When their baby girl grows up she'll probably help as well as the potential second child. She will be the kid that does homework in the restaurant
Forum Resident
#29 Old 31st Jan 2023 at 8:47 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Yvelotic2001
How did you make it profitable? The only time I can turn a profit is by having 3 members of the same household going there (one host, one waiter and one cook) and even then the profits are still really low. Running a profitable restaurant is pretty much impossible without the money business perk when you consider employee costs and the upfront capital needed to buy the lot.


I haven't played restaurants for years... But I seem to remember that if you had a good layout, you could risk hiring a lot of waiters. Over time the place was becoming more famous and the bonuses also helped you to win many simoleons.

It is also good to hire people who are not always working and alternate shifts, it is also very good that the sim you drive is in charge of the dining room, since that way you can treat diners better.
Instructor
#30 Old 31st Jan 2023 at 8:49 PM
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Quote: Originally posted by moonlight__
I'm currently planning to open a family restaurant, it's also on the same lot as the family. Both of members are chefs and have level 9 cooking skill. One can be a chef, the other can be a host and I'll hire a waiter. When their baby girl grows up she'll probably help as well as the potential second child. She will be the kid that does homework in the restaurant

I guess there is already a mod for that which I don't know of, but in the vanilla game it's not possible to run a restaurant as a home business since there's no podium. The only thing you can do is a take-away restaurant selling pre-made food in those dedicated shelves whose name I've forgotten. Which is one of the reasons that make restaurants by far the hardest business to run, you need the money for a community lot.

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retired moderator
#31 Old 31st Jan 2023 at 9:05 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Yvelotic2001
I guess there is already a mod for that which I don't know of, but in the vanilla game it's not possible to run a restaurant as a home business since there's no podium. The only thing you can do is a take-away restaurant selling pre-made food in those dedicated shelves whose name I've forgotten. Which is one of the reasons that make restaurants by far the hardest business to run, you need the money for a community lot.


Yes and no. You can before anyone moves in change the lot zoning and place the items. Change the lot zoning back and move a family in. Most of the time but not always the items will spawn in NPC's. That is a host on the podium and a chef on the stove and possibly even a server. They stay doing their roles 24/7. I tried this years ago and hated it. So creepy IMO. So free workers but your sims had nothing to do with running it.

"I dream of a better tomorrow, where chickens can cross the road and not be questioned about their motives." - Unknown
~Call me Jo~
Instructor
#32 Old 31st Jan 2023 at 11:58 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Yvelotic2001
I guess there is already a mod for that which I don't know of, but in the vanilla game it's not possible to run a restaurant as a home business since there's no podium. The only thing you can do is a take-away restaurant selling pre-made food in those dedicated shelves whose name I've forgotten. Which is one of the reasons that make restaurants by far the hardest business to run, you need the money for a community lot.


I actually ran a restaurant like I described for a short time before I lost the save file. I have a mod that makes all of the community objects available on residential lots. Just make sure you lock the residential area with doors, gates and fences and you're good. It was extremely hard because I played a married couple and the wife had to be a hostess and a waiter at the same time but it definitely worked.
Mad Poster
#33 Old 1st Feb 2023 at 2:07 AM Last edited by AndrewGloria : 1st Feb 2023 at 2:24 AM.
The last household I was playing were the Tinkers in Bluewater. They opened a small home business by stocking the shelves in the workshop at the back of their garden, with a mixture of quality toys they'd made themselves, and inexpensive bought-in toys. Of course when they opened for business, they were a Rank Zero business, so only three customers came when the shop opened. A couple of (Playable) teenage boys actually bought toys and left, but the third customer in the shop was Fay Briggs, a stay-at-home-mother, whose husband earns enough that she doesn't have to work (rare these days), and who is currently expecting her third child, so she has a good reason for buying toys. What's more, unlike a many Veronavillians, she can easily afford to buy them -- her husband Val is Head of Planning in Monopolis. But Fay just hung around the shop all almost all afternoon, looking at lots of toys, but not buying anything. When one of the family tentatively approached her, she nearly bit their head off -- no, she didn't need anyone trying to sell her anything; she was quite capable of looking herself. Even when she started complaining about being hungry, she still kept putting off going home, while looking at one toy after another and never buying any of them. I'm afraid that Fay is really the main reason why, at the end of their first day trading, the Tinkers still had precisely zero Customer Loyalty Stars.

Then I read UnfocusedBunny's post (above) about the Customer Limit Adjuster. . . And thought "That sounds like what the Tinkers need!" So I downloaded it. And I intend to have it installed when I next play the Tinkers. I won't go berserk: I won't set it to 50 or anything like that. I have a vision of a bewildered teen standing trying to work out how the till works while 37 impatient customers are queued up in front of them trying to pay. But if I could even set it to 5 or to 6, then one non-purchasing customer wouldn't be able to wreck the day's business quite so easily.

One thing that is beginning to catch on in my game, is asking a Sim to move in, rather than hiring them. Malcolm Landgraab started the trend with Downtownie teen Marion Hutchins, who helps out (without pay) in both his businesses. Malcolm and Marion genuinely like each other, and it's possible that their relationship might one day become romantic, but for now it's just close friendship plus business. An interesting complication is that they share a bed, because Malcolm has never given her a bed of her own, but they never do anything romantic together. Physical contact is limited to a friendly hug or a kiss on the cheek (BoilingOil mod). Last week (the most recent thing to happen in my game) Melody Tinker asked her new boyfriend Roger Jeffrey to move in. Melody and Roger really are in love with each other, and the relationship with sophisticated Melody has done wonders to bring the desperately shy Roger out of his shell. But it can't be denied that having an additional Sim available and (hopefully) willing to work without pay in the family toy business, will be a big help in getting their fledgling business off the ground. I know Florence Delarosa is thinking of doing the same thing. I'm not entirely happy with this development in my game, as it seems to verge on becoming a form of modern slavery, but given the difficulties of getting an under-capitalised business off the ground, it's an understandable way to help a small business get underway. IMHO all the Bluewater businesses, including the Landgraab businesses are undercapitalised. None of the owners has the liquid capital available to significantly expand.

Having spent much of my life as an active trade unionist, it goes against the grain to download a lower wages mod, but I too feel I'm going to I have to install Relevant Wages. If my Sims are paying low wages it's genuinely because they can't afford to pay more. There's a bit of a problem with this mod for me, though I think (hope) I can see the solution. For my highest EP (OFB) there are two versions of it on MATY: relevantwages-p1.zip, and relevantwages.zip, which is the newer of the two. When I look at the rtfm file for relevantwages-p1.zip it starts "Relevant Wages + Fix for TS2OFBp0 - TS2OFBp1". The one for relevantwages.zip, starts "Relevant Wages + Fix for TS2OFBp2". Now I'm guessing, but I think the "p" in these abbreviations must stand for patch. So I guess there must have been two patches for OFB, presumably because the first one didn't fix everything. So my guess is that relevantwages-p1 is for those with unpatched OFB or OFB which has only had the first patch appied. Whereas relevantwages is for those with the newer patch. As I understand my game to be fully patched, I presume that relevantwages.zip is the right one for me. So I'll install it and hope for the best. If it doesn't work, I can try the older version. I suppose I could go to MATY and ask Pescado, but I fear I'm not brave enough for that!!!

Another thing I intend to do shortly is give gold cash register badges to all the teen NPC cashiers in my game. If you watch them working in unowned shops, it's clear that they are consummate professionals, with a thorough understanding of the tills they operate, able to work long hours while quickly and efficiently serving dozens of customers without any fuss. If they can do this on communally owned shops, then they ought to be able to perform equally well in owned businesses. And I reckon the way to achieve this in-game is to give them gold cash register badges. The last time I played Malcolm Landgraab, I saw him talking to Veronaville NPC cashier Remington Creelman. I think he's going to offer him a job. Only drawback I can think of: these boys and girls do know what they're doing. As businesses grow busier, they will be able to keep the checkout queues moving, giving a good experience to customers, and thus contribute to the profitability of the business. Their skills definitely are relevant. As such, even with RelevantWages they'll still be able to command relatively high wages. You just need to compare their performance in unowned shops with the antics of a rookie business owner trying to work out which button to press on his new cash register, and then getting a fright when the cash drawer hits him in the stomach!

All Sims are beautiful -- even the ugly ones.
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Sims' lives matter!
The Veronaville kids are alright.
Forum Resident
#34 Old 1st Feb 2023 at 2:38 AM
I've never needed Business Runs You to have thriving businesses and have achieved the 5 Top Businesses LTW without cheesing it.

I do find the following to be helpful:
Visitor Controller, to ban fight-pickers, and customers with 5 stars (because they keep returning so often they crowd out lower-star customers)
Cyjon's Just Leave Already so customers pay and leave retail and restaurant venues
Cyjon's (or is it Squinge's) Fake Townie Sales

The following is *indispensable* for all businesses:
A well-planned employer lounge, locked to allow owner only (and sometimes employees). A toilet, shower, minifridge, espresso machine, and dishwasher all grouped together will let the business owner keep going for *days* even in a vanilla game. With Bon Voyage, a tent can be placed somewhere for the owner to sleep in.

For restaurants, the only employees I regularly use are family or household members. Much easier to turn a profit that way.

Honestly, I love this expansion. So exploitable.
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retired moderator
#35 Old 1st Feb 2023 at 11:25 AM
Quote: Originally posted by AndrewGloria
no, she didn't need anyone trying to sell her anything; she was quite capable of looking herself. Even when she started complaining about being hungry, she still kept putting off going home, while looking at one toy after another and never buying any of them.

When you have customers like that with a low level business, the best way I find to deal with it is to say goodbye to her. That way you are more likely to have another customer turn up who has high chance of buying.
Field Researcher
#36 Old 1st Feb 2023 at 7:43 PM
Quote: Originally posted by simsample
When you have customers like that with a low level business, the best way I find to deal with it is to say goodbye to her. That way you are more likely to have another customer turn up who has high chance of buying.

Imagine this in real life...
Owner: Hi! Can I help you?
Customer: No thanks, I'm just browsing.
Owner: Sorry ma'am, but I need to ask you to leave immediately.
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retired moderator
#37 Old 1st Feb 2023 at 9:39 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Khal Ulti
Owner: Sorry ma'am, but I need to ask you to leave immediately.

And why not? This is a business, I'm trying to make money! Now get out you cheapskate!
Mad Poster
#38 Old 1st Feb 2023 at 10:02 PM
The thing is I like Fay, and I really wanted her to buy a toy for the baby she's expecting. She had more reason to buy a toy than anybody else there. Probably I ought to have taken control of her and asked her to buy a toy.

[NOTE: I don't direct or tell my Sims what to do; I ask them. It may seem a subtle distinction, but it's important to them: I may not infringe their inalienable constitutional right to liberty.]

All Sims are beautiful -- even the ugly ones.
My Simblr ~~ My LJ
Sims' lives matter!
The Veronaville kids are alright.
Mad Poster
#39 Old 2nd Feb 2023 at 6:39 AM
You can send Fay to buy a toy when you are playing her next, @AndrewGloria
Test Subject
#40 Old 2nd Feb 2023 at 10:56 AM
@AndrewGloria I'm glad you found my tip helpful!

Another idea I came across to help make restaurants profitable by watching Ani Bats run a restaurant. She plays the restaurant, but instead of just serving whoever appears, she spawns specific families who have "reserved" a table, gets them into a group outing and has them eat together. It is unclear from the video whether that makes a significant difference in net earnings for the restaurant since she only played the first day of business. Regardless, I like the idea of families/couples/groups that make sense actually going to eat together, instead of random sims who should not even know each other suddenly appearing to have a meal together.
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