By Brad Cook
The first day at Ramirez’s Fine Furniture was full of promise. Checo Ramirez and his wife, Lisa, opened the store after their daughter, Tessa, started school. Checo brought natural salesmanship to the business, but he had no experience in owning a store. Lisa was unskilled but willing to learn new abilities. Even Tessa had been bitten by the entrepreneur bug, deciding to open a lemonade stand in front of the Ramirez home.
With Tessa busy selling lemonade, Checo and Lisa opened their store for the first time. They put their sole employee, Kenneth Miller, to work stocking merchandise while Checo worked the sales floor and Lisa took charge of the cash register. Checo made a few mistakes by selling furniture for less than he should, and Lisa needed some time to figure out how to work the register, but by the end of the day, they had earned their first several hundred Simoleons. They placed the first one on the counter for all to see, closed up shop, and went home to catch up on Tessa’s success.
Who knew work could be so much fun?
Forge New Relationships
Open For Business gives your Sims greater control over their financial destinies by letting them open their own enterprises out of their homes or at the community lots located in the new shopping district. Sims can sell any of the objects found in the game world, including their personal possessions, or even charge other Sims for the time they spend on their lot. Of course, it helps if you give neighbor Sims reasons to hang around, such as offering fun attractions, like hot tubs or swimming pools, for them to enjoy.
Once you’ve decided on your Sim’s business, you’ll want to hire employees and give them tasks to perform. As in any other relationship, the way you treat them dictates how hard they work. Pay them well, give them adequate breaks, and make assignments according to their skill levels, or you may find yourself with disgruntled workers who start slacking off and take too many sick days. They might even quit. Employees who gain enough skills can become managers, enabling your Sim to stay home and just check in on the business occasionally, or start a new enterprise.
Customer relationships are also key, of course, and you’ll want to make sure your Sim stays on top of those too. Positive experiences, such as not waiting too long at the cash register or feeling like they’ve paid fair prices for your wares, build customer loyalty, which in turn increases the store’s rank. Each rank achieved gives your Sim one point to spend on a business perk, such as the ability to assess customers’ moods or discounts on objects purchased for resale. You can even earn the coveted Will Wright Grant, a 50,000 Simoleon bonus named after the creator of The Sims.
It Runs in the Family
Checo built his salesmanship to such a high level that he could sell nearly any type of furniture to almost any Sim. Lisa mastered the cash register and later added restocking, freeing Kenneth to increase his own sales skills. After hiring a couple more employees, Checo and Lisa put Kenneth in charge and decided to spend more time at home with Tessa, who had lines down the block at her lemonade stand. Look for a second Ramirez’s Fine Furniture store to open soon.
