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How to Open a Small Business in The Sims 4: Businesses & Hobbies

Open a Small Business in The Sims 4: register it in Live Mode, choose where it operates, set activities and prices, then manage customers and staff.
WorldThe Sims 4: Businesses & Hobbies Length3 min Posted Quest giverVGSources Team
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To open a Small Business in The Sims 4, enter Live Mode and choose Register Small Business from the Owned Businesses tab, the phone’s Business app, or the computer’s Small Business category. Registration costs Simoleons. You’ll then set the business name, activities, customers, location and prices. The feature is part of the Businesses & Hobbies Expansion Pack, which requires the base game.

How to register a Small Business

  1. In Live Mode, open the Owned Businesses tab (the cash-register icon) and select Register Small Business. You can also open the phone’s Business app or the computer’s Small Business category and select Register Small Business. Registration costs Simoleons. EA’s Small Business setup instructions use the same command.
  2. Enter a business name and description, choose a logo, and configure its activities, target customers and lot assignment.
  3. Set the price modifier for products or services. If the business uses a ticket kiosk, choose its entrance-fee settings as well.

Choose where the business operates

You can run a Small Business from a Small Business Residential Lot at your Sim’s home, from a purchased Business Venue Lot, or from an existing Community Lot after adding a ticket kiosk. The Business Venue Lot option is available once you have bought that type of lot. Only one business can be open at a time on a lot.

Choose activities and customers

A Small Business can have up to five Business Activities. Choose activities that describe what customers can do or buy, then select the customers you want to attract. Targeting can include age, career, marital status, financial status, traits, skill level, occult status and whether a customer is supervised. EA cautions that requiring too many specific traits can leave too few eligible customers.

Selling products

For a retail business, choose Browse and Buy Items as an activity and place the products on Retail Surfaces. Items displayed on those surfaces are automatically for sale.

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Offering services or instruction

Businesses can charge for services such as tattoos or offer classes. Teaching and service ideas depend on the activities available in your game.

Charging for access or activities

A ticket kiosk lets you charge customers to use a place or take part in activities. EA describes possibilities such as bars, pools, gyms, painting studios, music venues, parks and art galleries. Hobbies that can become customer activities include fishing, gardening, cooking, comedy, writing, violin, video gaming, painting, piano, reading, programming, woodworking and exercise.

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Some activities require other packs. The official expansion listing notes that cross-pack play requires additional DLC; check the requirements for an activity before planning a business around it.

Set fees and product prices

A ticket kiosk can charge a one-time entrance fee, charge by the hour, or be disabled. With the kiosk disabled, customers pay only for services or items they buy. The game sets the entrance fee based on business success and Renown; the Price Modifier controls the markup on products or services. These are separate settings, so choose the kiosk option for access and the modifier for sales.

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Manage staff and build Renown

Manage employees from the Owned Businesses tab. EA describes a limit of up to three employees; you can assign tasks and manage their salaries. Customer satisfaction builds Renown and earns perk points. Perks are grouped into Neutral, Dreamer and Schemer categories, and alignment can affect customer interactions and some personal relationships.

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What you need to play

Small Businesses are a feature of The Sims 4 Businesses & Hobbies Expansion Pack, released March 6, 2025. The pack requires The Sims 4 and is sold as a digital content license. Store prices and availability can vary by platform and region, so check the listing for your location. EA’s February 18, 2025 announcement introduces the pack’s business concepts and features.

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