Owning a retail store in The Sims 4 is so much fun! Whether you’re selling huge flat screen televisions or small baked goods, your Sims can soon start earning lots of simoleons. But I always wanted the option of my Sims being able to live and work on the same lot. Today, I will show you how to make this happen and get your creativity flowing by building in different styles.
First Steps
After you have created a couple of Sims (having 2 or more Sims makes the retail work a lot easier), give them an amazing personality to help sell their goods. For example, having a Sim who is creative will help sell their paintings or Sim that is a whiz in the culinary field will help with selling baked goods. Remember you can sell just about anything from the build mode menu. Determining what you want to sell in advance will also help you decide what style to build in.
Next, buy an empty plot of land. You have to own a residential plot to make this work! Newcrest is good for this as the world is blank and you can always build a house on it once you have made your millions from your retail store! Now, select the “Buy Retail Store” from the phone menu and choose where you want your retail store to be. You will have limited simoleons so make sure you have everything your Sims will need to keep them happy.
Here is a list of essentials:
- Kitchen items (Fridge, oven, sink, and trash can)
- Bed
- Shower/Bath
- Toilet
Buying these items above first and keep them to the side will help you not overspend on the build.
Purchase the tools necessary to sell your merchandise. (For example, if you’re selling paintings buy an easel, or if you’re selling electronics buy a television, etc.) You must also purchase a cash register in order to sell your items.
Try to keep starting costs to a minimum. You can always expand and buy more things to sell the more you progress with your business!
Starting The Build
Of course, your Sims will need somewhere to sell their goods and a separate area for your Sims to live. Start with something simple, it doesn’t need to be too fancy in the beginning. I have built 3 separate lots in different styles, one being traditional, one being industrial and the last being modern. Each of them sells different things.
Now it’s time to get creative!
Lot 1 – Pennywell Farm and Art Gallery (Traditional)
I built a really simple farmhouse in a traditional style with a barn connected on the side and enough room out the front for a small manageable farm area. The farmhouse is the residential area where the Sims will live and the barn is where I have put the art gallery. These are a few things you’ll need to make this particular lot work:
- Cheap PC/Computer – Sims can purchase seeds from it or visit the library to use the computer there!
- Painting easel – It’s no good having an art gallery with nowhere to paint!
- Front desk with cash register – You’ll need this in all retail lots to be able to sell your goods.
Remember to keep things simple in the beginning. If you want your lot to look more appealing use the terrain paint tool as its free and easy to use! Here is an overview and progression of this build:
Other things to help
- Install a wall-mounted speaker outside and get your Sim to listen to music whilst gardening. This will increase their fun while working!
- Lock residential doors to non-household members. This will stop any customer strolling into your Sims private quarters!
- Explore the different worlds and harvest as many wild plants as possible. Plant them on your farm and sell them too for extra simoleons!
Soon enough your Sims will have enough simoleons to extend the business and make the lot look a whole lot prettier!
Lot 2 – Revolution Bakery and Coffee Shop (Industrial)
This next lot I decided to have a bakery and coffee shop, but I wanted to do something a little different. I wanted the lot to have a more industrial aesthetic so I built a derelict run down factory. I used dark weathered brick and lots of objects from the Get To Work expansion as the industrial elements fit the build.
Because I wanted to build a derelict lot and renovate it, I needed some extra cash. So I used my favourite cheat: the ‘Motherlode’ cheat. It will automatically give you 50,000 simoleons to play with. To do this cheat you’ll need to open the console, press “CTRL + SHIFT + C” in game, and type in ‘Motherlode‘.Â
I then looked at Google Images to get some inspiration on renovated factory type builds. In my opinion, Google Images is by far the best place to get inspiration for building!
On this lot, I’ve kept the bakery on the ground level and the residential area on the first floor with access via stairs on a side entrance. Inside the bakery, I wanted the industrial aesthetic to carry through so I kept most of the exposed brick but used the white washed brick effect in places to brighten up the inside.
I kept the original concrete floor too as I felt it suited the décor and build. Little details such mismatched chairs and industrial light fittings to give the bakery some personality. You can also see I have a barista bar on this lot to hire a barista. You do this by selecting the barista bar in-game and choosing the ‘Hire Barista‘ option. I have also put the kitchen to the back of the build so it is important to remember that you lock any door to non-household members to stop customers coming in.
Other things to help
- Buy a retail bakery unit to display your baked goods and keep them fresh!
- Have one Sim bake and cook and another Sim in the front of house helping customers!
- Grow a small vegetable and fruit garden to use in your Sims baked goods and make them even more delicious!
Lot 3 CloudTronics Electronic and Furniture Store (Modern)
The final lot I built was an electronic/furniture store. I decided to build it in a modern contemporary style. As with all of these builds, I started small and simple and extended the build when I got the business more successful. The residential area I decided to put in at basement level with direct access around the back of the build.
To put a basement garden in, use the ‘Custom Basement Tool‘ and map out what area you want the garden to be. After you have made the basement go down to its level using the ‘Page Down‘ key select the basement so it is highlighted. Now use the ‘Page Up‘ key with the basement still selected. You will notice when you run your cursor over the outline of the basement a yellow line appears, left click this with your mouse and the option of ‘Remove Ceiling‘ will appear. Choose this option and you have yourself a basement garden area!
Electronics will make the most money out of any of the retail options, but as always start with small items first or if you have enough simoleons; buy a couple of large items (eg: flatscreen TV, PC) to sell. Soon enough you’ll be able to buy bigger and more expensive items to sell and develop the store further. After a while, I built the second floor and decided to extend the store and start selling furniture too.
Other things to help
- When your Sim is trying to sell something, don’t feel pressured to use non-stop retail options. Compliment your customers, brighten their day etc. You’ll soon see the customer will be more receptive to buying something!
- Once your store is established, don’t be afraid to increase your prices to start bringing in more simoleons!
- Be creative with the retail lots. Choosing a theme and picking something to sell will help you in deciding what type of build to go for!
The most important thing to remember is to be creative and have fun with whatever it is you’re building! Getting inspiration is the best way to make a start! Happy building everyone!
Below is a video tour of all these builds so you can take a better look at them. Enjoy!
