Making Money on Starter Business

Problem

• How do I make money when I am first starting a business?

Solution

• You can make money fairly fast if you buy a business, grow it a star or two, sell it at its enhanced star-driven value, then rebuy it for normal price.

 To illustrate this, lets follow Joe Standford, a new sim in Pleasantfview, through his first day.

1. Joe arrives with $20,000. He buys a simple house with simple furnishings for $11,259.

2. Joe spends the mornimg and afternoown reading the paper, meeting neighbors, joining the garden club and other routine sim activities.

3. Around 4 pm, Joe sends everybody home and buys the little Mercantile Mart for $6111. This is a small empty storefront, that has a cash register and 3 sales counter-things.

4. Joe goes to Mercantile Mart. He buys an open/closed sign, a phone (for later, not today), and assorted inventory for about $2000 more. He chooses an art store, as it is easy to find art objects at any price. He buys half a dozen nutcrackers, a few running man statues, a few vases and a fountain and CD rack the run ($400-500). This leaves him enough cash to restock any item or several items.

5. Joe starts greeting customers. He shows them items (expensive ones if he has a chance), does basic sales, restocks, and runs to the cash register when anyone wants to leave and pay for an item. When he is getting tired, he closes up. Joe has made about $150 in cash from his sales, after restocking. He has gained a star. He takes credit in wholesale discounts. He goes home.

6 At home, he takes a bath, then sells the store for $13,026, which is its enhances 1-star value. He immediately buys it back, without its repuatation but with its stock of goods for $8,026. So, Joe has made just over $5000 for his half day's work at the store--most of it on the resale boost from gaining a star. He has also improved his business skills, but not enough to level up.

7. Joe hires a maid and a gardener. He gets ready to repeat this the next day.

8. By Friday evening, Joe has added a little bathroom to the store so he can stay longer (making the store cost $9173). He's managed to get a gold sales badge and bronze badges in restocking, cashier and gardening (a hobby for his spare time). He has earned 7 business perks while still having some time left over for a sim life. When he sells the store that night, he has $46,816 in cash, a net worth of $55,434 and has accumulated 65,250 aspiration points (mostly from being a money sim performing business and make-money wants). He is ready to take the weekend off to enjoy himself and plan his next move. Will he keep buying and reselling the art store? Will he go try to build a larger business up to a high level? will he go off and do something else entirely? Will he combine building another business with running his buy/sell cash cow art store? His choices are wide open. Who need "Motherlode" when it is soooooo much more satisfying to do it yourself?