Open for Business Tips

[Jessica]

This tutorial is originally found here


Work From Home!
The easiest way to go into business is to purchase an Electrono Ticket Machine for an existing residential lot. If your Sim's home is a favorite stop on the neighborhood circuit, reap a financial benefit by charging folks for the privilege of visiting. Use a phone or computer and choose START A HOME BUSINESS. Begin by setting the ticket price low and concentrate on gaining Customer Loyalty and Business Perks. Your Sim won't make a lot of money, but the loyalty and perks will pay off as the business grows.

Polish Your Talents
Gaining talent levels can take some time. Purchase a crafting station (flowers, robots, or toys) for your Sim's home lot and start crafting. To help fund their new hobby, set up a cash register in the driveway and sell the fruits of their labors. This has a greater benefit than selling directly to the catalog because it helps your Sim build Customer Loyalty and earn Business Perks.

Buy in Bluewater Village
If you'd like to own one of the brand-new Bluewater Village businesses right away, choose one of the new Sim families that come with The Sims 2 Open for Business. These families are already on solid financial footing, which will allow you to purchase a pre-established community business lot without any undue economic hardship.

From Rags to Riches
When you purchase a community business lot with a newly-created Sim, you start off with only 20,000 Simoleons to spend on setting up shop and putting a roof over your Sim's head. To make the most out of your Simoleons, create the cheapest possible home, so there's enough money left over to buy a community lot. With a little frugality and lot of hard work, your Sim will be on their way to becoming a self-made millionaire in no time!

There's Real Money in Real Estate
Once a community lot has been purchased, the owner can put the deed up for sale. If your Sim has enough capital, they can buy a cheap business, concentrate on improving its value, and then sell it for a tidy profit after a couple of days. Buy low, sell high!

Final Tip
When running a business, it's easier to sell cheaper items, but you have to sell a lot more to generate profit to live on. This creates a bigger burden on restocking and register. Selling expensive stuff, on the other hand, takes longer for each sale. A key strategy here is to sell cheap stuff to build up your sales badge and business perks, than switch to expensive stuff later.

[Jessica]

Entrepreneurship can be confusing even for the smartest Sim.  
Business-minded Sims everywhere have asked for a no-nonsense guide to making their shops, stores, and community lots actually work.  
Below you'll find a link to a guide to the basics of starting your own business.  Although you should develop your own strategy, this guide should get you through setting the foundation and past all of the confusion that is inherent with starting out in the business world.


Open for Business Guide

Sample of the Open for Business Prima Guide (you have to pay for a full guide)


Hopefully these links will give you more information than what was included in the handbook with your game.

If you need more help, please make sure to post here in the Open for Business Help Section so someone can help you