List of Business Possibilities «1234567…30...Next Go

Mstybl95

I've decided to start building my town from scratch. I want to make my main hood have a little bit of everything you would find in a small city.

Give me your creative business ideas. My goal is to have a town full of business owners.

So far I have the regular stuff-
Clothes store
Book store
Flower shop
Restaurant
Arcade
Photography studio
Car lot

What else can I create?

LaBlue0314

I don't know if it would be considered an arcade, but I did have one where it was at my sim's home. I had built a separate building for their business to keep people out of their home. I had hired a maid, which also kept the business clean. There was one of those devises that would not allow a sim to enter, unless they paid. Once they got inside, there was a pool table, a card table, and a Mahjong table. There was also a restroom (with two toilet stalls). Up stairs there was a soda, and a snack machine, alone with some tables and chairs. I did also have a stereo, in case someone wanted to cut loose and dance. I even placed a buffet table upstairs as well.

I left this open 24 hours a day, and it kept a steady income coming in on a regular basis. Since the maid came every day, my sim never had to mess with the dirty work, and if something broke, either they fixed it themselves, or hired a repairman to come out to do the job. It was the easiest business any of my sims owned, and they did not have to hire any employees.

cleo00

Gym, bowling alley, did you have pet store on your list? Clubs. Toy store.
Furniture store. Electronics store. Parks. Bakery.
You could build like a mock vacation agency.

Decor shop. Something like Pier 1 in real life.

Mock garden shop like Stein's or something. You can't sell outdoor flowers or trees. But hopefully you get what I mean.

I'm fairly certain if you put the little ticket things you can own any community lot and charge townies just to be on it. You could do anything in theory.

Edit: another idea not just a clothing store but you coukd also do a separate like makeover place. Pretend it's like a makeup boutique.

Mstybl95

Awesome ideas! Thank you both.

I used to have an awesome world, but I lost it a few years ago. I'm trying to recreate it, but don't remember my list if businesses.

Rflong7

Hi

I have a list of some I want to start/open/have opened.
City Hall
Library - with Community lot learning mod
Museum
Grocery Store
Farmer's Market
Public Beach
Cemetery
Gym
Sports Bar
Supernatural Bar
Diner
Spa
-Hobby Stores- Toys, Robotics, Flowers, Pottery, Sewing, Beauty parlor
Bakery
Campgrounds
Meditation gardens
Art Studio
Fishing Grounds
Car Dealer
Landscaping Store
Holiday Store
Clothes Store
Different types of Restaurants
Witches' Shop
Furniture store
Wedding Store
Baby Store
Wedding Chapel/House
Prison
Coffee house/Bakery
Pool hall
Dance Club
Dance Studio
Photographer studio
Rock Store
Pet Store
Pet Park
Pirate Beach
Skate Park- indoor/outdoor
Park for sports-- soccer/basketball
Hotel- restaurant with rooms -on beach is fun
Grilled Cheese Hangout for that aspiration
Karaoke Bar
Country Quilt store
Find a Mate - online or pickup bar type thing. XD
Movie Theater

*Recycled Store (dug up stuff/old stuff) or yard sales

kremesch73

I pretty much run them all.

Fitness centre
Potions and warlock crafts. Both good and evil
Arcade
Flower store
Toy store
Electronics and robots
Pottery store
Furniture store
Harvestables
Fish store
Home-crafted items from the sewing machine
Clothing stores
Jewelry stores
Restaurants
Amusement parks
Found items from digging
Workout equipment stores
Etc

Rflong7

Campgrounds are fun because they can sleep on the lots in tents and it can be like mini vacations- with all the Vacation stuff, too.

It's the lot my Bigfoot, Charles, ran. He had a great time.

SPARKY1922

@Mstybl95

Thanks for asking such a great question as businesses of all kinds are on my next to do list to learn in the game

@LaBlue0314

what a great idea re the arcade and gambling especially as its on the home lot making it work like that, nice idea re the maid and the repairs as well, 24 hour profits rolling in too is my kind of biz lol

@cleo00

A garden center is going to be one of the first things I am going to try as I have gotten into the garden/fishing skills just lately but prior to trying the business aspect I am going to place a community garden in the neighborhood and send my sims there to pick produce by a cheat I found outlined within this great community garden lot I found on MTS

http://modthesims.info/download.php?t=553801

Then If that works I found a mod that charges sims to harvest fresh produce on community lots at the same charge they would have to pay when purchasing at the shops. When looking in the comments section the modder explains how it works if the garden is run as a business and it has been tested with boiling oils more realistic prices mod as well.

Charge Harvest on Community Lots

http://modthesims.info/d/573560

@Rflong7

What a fantastic list and proves to me just how much can be achieved with this series as I dare anyone moan about not having enough to do
This might be asking the obvious but after you mentioned the campground it made me wonder if there is any way to be able to have mini vacation style lots in the home neighborhood where sims can visit and actually stay over? Also is it possible to have a proper functioning vacation style hotel that could be placed in downtown so sims could stay motel style like for weekends visits to the city?

@kremesch73

Great list but when you say run them all do you mean you have one family running one biz and another families running others so you play rotational style depending one which one takes your fancy at the time?

kremesch73

I play rotionally. Many different sims run different business. I forgot to mention graveyards too. All of my graveyards are also owned by different sims.

Rflong7

@SPARKY1922 Yes, it's what I do for the campgrounds. They can sleep in tents on community lots without mods. It's what I use to run businesses for days without going back to their home lot.

Mstybl95

One of the things I love most about TS2 is seeing my other business owners running their shops while visiting with different sims.

Thanks for all the ideas. It's great to have a list!

SPARKY1922

@kremesch73

Thanks I was making sure it wasn't just one massive playable family having to run them all and @Mstybl95 that's what I was hoping to achieve with regards my sims visiting other businesses but didn't know if that's what happened so thanks for answering another question I had not asked again

@Rflong7

Now I know that can be achieved that's another thing for me to have a go at, my to do list is piling up here

Frogprincess_q

Now that I have the mod that allows sims to gain skills on community lots I have built a few hobby/learning type lots. I have one that I am particularly fond of called The Shed which is very roughly inspired by the Australian Men's Shed Association. The idea of a place were my sims can gather and build things (from pottery and sewing to robotics and flower arranging). There is a small gym and a place where thay can fish and it's all very masculine in decor. Including being built in an actual tin shed.

I also have a sports field with a BBQ area, hot spring and massage table, for my serious athletes. I like to mash together a few things on one lot, but trying to make it make sense at the same time.

I built a mid-town alley, with a public toilet, a few vending machines and a breakdancing mat. I dropped in a few of the most wretched pieces of furniture I could find and now it's a great downtown hangout for little rebels.

SataiDelennn

That all sounds so cool!

SPARKY1922

@Frogprincess_q

I love your idea of the shed I have a lot with all outdoor sports except for jogging which your sports field gave me the idea of a jogging track if that's possible.

I also made kind of a teen rebel style hangout but honestly a mid town alley sounds way better then mine

Frogprincess_q

With mods you can make a jogging track in Sims 3, someone made markers that you can place on a lot. Sims 2 they just go jogging off the lot and eventually return when all their stats hit red, or so it seems. You can bring them back early by cancelling the action.

SPARKY1922

@Frogprincess_q

Yes in sims 3 I use the jogging mod to make it look like my sims are jogging around a sports track but with sims 2 when my sims are gaining the fitness skill and I get the message your sims can go jogging I think jogging to where as I realized they were probably going to go off the map which is not my idea of jogging lol

I found the following mod Joggers Don't Walk Off Lot which I am going to try and see what it does and if it works the way I would like I see a running track somewhere in my sims future-)

http://www.modthesims.info/download.php?t=544387

Mstybl95

Ooh - good find, @SPARKY1922 !

I use the joggin set for TS3, too. I placed a track around my gym and I love seeing sims, even townies, running around the building and field. I even love how they sometimes look like they're running together.

I have to see if I have the mod for comm lot skilling. I know I used to, but I just did a reinstall and am not sure that I downloaded everything I used to have.

SPARKY1922

@Mstybl95

You are welcome I hope it works the way I would like it to

I too have the community skill mod its essential in sims 2 because I like my sims to gain a lot of their skills while outdoors but I cannot remember which version I have used by just looking at the package file in my folder so if you have lost your links I have found 2 versions

I am almost sure I am using the following version and all is okay in game

http://www.moreawesomethanyou.com/smf/index.php?topic=11216.0

but I did find another one as well you might be interested in

http://www.insimenator.org/index.php/topic,91613.0.html

Frogprincess_q

My impression of the joggers don't walk off lot is merely that they jog to the edge of the lot and still disappear, but I haven't used it.

Mstybl95

If anyone is interested in seeing my world, tada:







I have one lowly community lot so far. I'm making my small business district. It's going to have all the craftables in that area.

Now...there used to be an ATM mod. I used to use it so that my sims could take out loans. They'd have to pay it back with interest, which I loved because it made owning a business much more realistic. But since I did a reinstall, I can't seem to find it anywhere. Does anyone know where that mod came from or know of something similar?

Rflong7

HI @Mstybl95

I love looking at neighborhoods! I like the layout.

I never used one but there's one at modthesims- http://modthesims.info/d/151698

Mstybl95

Thanks, Rflong. That isn't the right one, but it's an alternative to the ticket machine thing, which would come in handy for some lots.

I made that terrain ages ago in SimCity4. It has always been one of my favorites because it can look like a city with lots close together. I don't know when I will be done with it, but I'll keep posting pictures in this thread.

Rflong7

Oh, Sorry!

Cool!

I edited Pleasantview to be a Medieval (kinda) Island and have been playing challenges with the families- Dina Caliente is doing the Who's Your Daddy Challenge- while the whole town is part of a BACC (Build a City Challenge). I've taken a break because my family count is up to 18.

Mstybl95

That's Pleasantview!?

I had been playing in Pleasantview before I started working on my world. I added a few lots of my own, but nothing major. I absolutely love how you changed it!

Rflong7

@Mstybl95 I used Mootilda's Hood program. It's much more easy than Simpe - http://modthesims.info/download.php?t=279992