OFB Business Type Questions
sewinglady:
I know it's not awesome, but I haven't installed BRY as of yet.
I have discovered that there are some businesses that an owner can successfully run and actually make a profit.
However, most of these require the business owner to actually run the business without any employees. Employees' wages suck all the income right outta the business.
There's a little bar in Downtown called "Lucky's Cards & Drink" or something like that. I've remodeled it. Put in two card tables. Every night after work the business owner goes down there and plays cards. He not only collects winnings from playing cards but as long as he's got at least three people on the lot he makes money (installed the tickettaker doodad). No employees, no checking in...a lot of playing poker and making friends (this is a great business for popularity types).
The other business that I have found to be extremely successful is an 'in home' gym/spa. That business had so many customers that the lot often dragged when playing it. And again, the money was made from the ticket-taker thing.
Want to kill your sim from sheer exhaustion? Have them open a bakery and stock it with home-baked desserts and meals. Between the normal work of the business and the never-fixed glitch where food items don't restock and then become 'negative inventory' if an employee or family member attempts to restock an item of which there is none in the owner's inventory. What an exercise in futility.
Oh yeah...one other moderately successful business venture - one which can have one employee (a cashier preferably) and still see a profit is a car sales lot.
Remember just because there's a 'frowny' face at 'ridiculously expensive' doesn't mean that isn't what you should price goods at.
In real life, most retail is priced at 200% of wholesale cost OR HIGHER. Even dollar store owners - where everything's a buck? They don't like to pay more than 10-11 cents wholesale for stock. So if you pay a dime and sell it for a dollar, how much mark-up is there?
Frowny face... bah.
Kyna:
Home businesses with ticket machines work remarkably well I found. I just don't like them.
Brandi Broke made quite a nice living out of charging people to come by and watch her crappy tv on her single seater lounge chair. Between customers and taking the cash track rewards, she was able to do up her house quite nicely. By the time she closed the business (at level 5) she had added a very nice living room with best tv, high quality stereo, comfortable furniture, chess table, bookcases, etc, a well-fitted out kitchen, as well as extending upstairs for the boys' bedrooms and bathrooms. The money coming in kept Dustin's aspiration up, too.
I just don't like the thought of strangers in a sim's home.
J. M. Pescado:
Quote from: sewinglady on 2007 May 09, 07:10:57
Remember just because there's a 'frowny' face at 'ridiculously expensive' doesn't mean that isn't what you should price goods at.
That's the ONLY thing you should be pricing goods at. Otherwise it's just a waste of your time. It takes maybe a sim hour, minimum, for a single customer to decide to purchase anything and check out. If you have, say, 5 customers at a time, and your profit on an item is $6, you make a whopping $30 an hour. This does not pay staff wages, if you had any, and doesn't pay for your time, or make back the investment in purchasing the store at all.
Furthermore, some items don't function even on standard Ridiculous. There should be considered an effective price floor at about $200-$500. Nothing should be priced below that, even if you have to use the custom tag to do it. It will still sell in one dazzle anyway.
Orikes:
To earn money on a business you're not currently working at, don't you HAVE to have a manager at it? Meaning, at some point, you have to have employees and have to get them at least a gold and silver badges?
I've done okay so far with the employees, but I might have been lucky. Of course, I've also got snapdragons scattered over my businesses, so that helps. One behind the counter, and the only need I worry about for my cashier is energy. Same thing goes for the bar in my cabana club.
I probably will install BRU, but I wanted to get a feel for how OFB works otherwise. I've had the expansion since last summer, but this is the first time I'm really actually doing anything with it, and it's mainly because my legacy heir's spouse has the 'Own 5 Top Businesses' LTW. The clothing store and salon went remarkably well as far as getting it to L10, but I lost money on it. He went into it with 100k to build it, but when it was L10, he only had 20k. That scewed me over for the next businesses, so I'm trying to figure out how to actually make money at these things too.
J. M. Pescado:
Quote from: Orikes on 2007 May 09, 08:05:43
To earn money on a business you're not currently working at, don't you HAVE to have a manager at it? Meaning, at some point, you have to have employees and have to get them at least a gold and silver badges?
In theory, at the very end, but one does not need to ever actually call in or use said manager, to avoid paying his bloated salary at all.
Quote from: Orikes on 2007 May 09, 08:05:43
I've done okay so far with the employees, but I might have been lucky. Of course, I've also got snapdragons scattered over my businesses, so that helps. One behind the counter, and the only need I worry about for my cashier is energy. Same thing goes for the bar in my cabana club.
And without BRY, energy is incurable, yes, as your cashier will not know how to fix this.
Quote from: Orikes on 2007 May 09, 08:05:43
I probably will install BRU, but I wanted to get a feel for how OFB works otherwise.
It Doesn't. BRY + Macros is the single most important thing for using OFB. Without it, businesses do not function. It makes such a HUGE difference by overriding the brick-stupid AI..but you're welcome to try "without" first. You might appreciate it more afterwards.
Quote from: Orikes on 2007 May 09, 08:05:43
I've had the expansion since last summer, but this is the first time I'm really actually doing anything with it, and it's mainly because my legacy heir's spouse has the 'Own 5 Top Businesses' LTW. The clothing store and salon went remarkably well as far as getting it to L10, but I lost money on it. He went into it with 100k to build it, but when it was L10, he only had 20k. That scewed me over for the next businesses, so I'm trying to figure out how to actually make money at these things too.
Price floor. Do not sell anything less than $500. Period.
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