The Sims 4 Businesses & Hobbies Expansion Pack: Turn Your Passion into Profit

The Sims 4 Businesses & Hobbies Expansion Pack was released on March 6, 2025, and has greatly expanded what players can do with their small businesses. Prior to this expansion, players who wanted to run a business had to rely on Get to Work’s retail system, which was functional but limited. Businesses & Hobbies changes the game entirely. Players now can run businesses out of their own homes and freely design their business types and venues, be it a cafe, a spa, or a teaching institute, only limited by players’ imaginations. This guide covers everything the player needs to know about the pack, and some interesting tips on how to maximize its use.

What Does The Sims 4 Businesses & Hobbies Expansion Pack Include?

At its core, The Sims 4 Businesses & Hobbies Expansion Pack is about one thing: freely designing your own business and turning it into profit. Unlike Get to Work, which focused on retail stores where Sims sold objects, this pack allows players to create businesses based on activities. A Sim can charge customers to use a gym, attend a painting class, listen to live music, or even just hang out and be friendly.

The pack introduces two new skills, a new world called Nordhaven, and a flexible small business system. It is a mish-mash of features, but together they create one of the most versatile expansions in recent Sims 4 history.

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New World: Nordhaven

Players who purchase the expansion gain access to Nordhaven, which contains 13 lots of varying sizes spread across two neighborhoods: Gammelvik and Iverstad.

Nordhaven is described as a “world of opportunity” where Sims can chase their dreams among a passionate community. The architecture style is clean, Nordic, and timeless. Players can purchase the lots and start their small businesses here.

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The Sims 4 Businesses & Hobbies Expansion Pack New Skills: Tattooing and Pottery

These are the headline features of the pack, though experienced players will note that the small business system is the real star.

Tattooing Skill

The new tattooing skill allows Sims to give other Sims tattoos. Players can choose from pre-made designs or create entirely custom designs in Tattoo Paint Mode. This system works similarly to pet coat customization, so the only limit is the player’s creativity.

As the Sim levels up the Tattooing skill, more patterns unlock, and the odds of achieving excellent results increase.

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Pottery Skill

The pottery skill is another gem. Sims can use a pottery wheel to shape clay into various items. As the skill level increases, more designs become available.

After shaping a piece, the Sim finishes it in the pottery kiln, where they can choose from a variety of colorful glazes. For small businesses, the pottery works can be sold as art crafts, just like paintings.

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The Small Business System: How It Works

This is the true heart of the expansion. Many players find this pack one of the best packs ever because now they can build business however they want, with the help of the kiosks. The new small business system is far more flexible than anything The Sims 4 has offered before.

Setting Up a Business

Players can start a small business in two ways:

1. On a Residential Lot: Purchase and place the kiosk to start running a business where you live.
2. On a Small Business Venue Lot: Purchase a dedicated lot for the business.

When setting up a business, the player must choose:

• Business name and logo
• Up to five business activities from an extensive list.
• Pricing model: Charge a one-time entry fee, a fee per hour, or waive fees entirely.
• Employees: Your Sim also counts as an employee. Players can assign employees to do different tasks.
• Target customers: Define who the business is for.

There are presets to help players get started, including Bar, Gym, Library, Museum, Nightclub, Park, Pool, Pottery Studio, Shop, and Tattoo Parlor. But the real fun comes from customizing the activities, and these just give players an idea of how versatile the small business system can be.

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Business Perks and Reputation

As the business operates, the Sim builds Business Renown and earns Business Perks along one of three paths:

• Dreamer: The “good” path, focused on quality and customer satisfaction
• Schemer: The “shady” path, focused on cutting corners and maximizing profit
• Neutral: A balanced approach

Each path offers unique opportunities. For example, the dreamer path allows players to attend dreamer’s seminar and earn additional Simoleon rewards.

The best approach is to hire employees for fixed duties, so the Sim that players control can talk to the customers and accumulate the points for either Business Renown, dreamer, or schemer perks.

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Classes, Lectures, and Mentoring

One of the most significant additions is the ability to teach and learn through structured events. This feature is a good combination with any other business design. For example, players can combine cafe service with lecturing on how to bake, cook, or mix drinks to improve the profit.

One thing worth mentioning is that players need to finish the event and reach at least the bronze-tier level to get paid. Some skill teachings are more profitable than others.

• Mentoring: Any Sim with a skill at level 5 or above can mentor another Sim. The mentee builds the skill much faster. Mentoring can be paid.
• Classes and Lectures: Sims can host classes as part of their small business. These classes can cover any subject the Sim has sufficient knowledge of (level 5 and above), and the host earns Simoleons for teaching.

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Creative Ideas on Small Business Design: Make Tens of Thousands Every Day

There are some innovative ideas that may give you some inspiration when it comes to building your own business in the Sims world!

Cafe + Retail + Mentoring	Players can open up a cafe to earn entry fees, coffee spending, and bubble tea spending. Expensive cakes can be placed in the display case for retail. Employees can also give lessons to make extra profit.
Gallery + Retail + Mentoring	Some players claim that this is the most profitable route. While players can mentor the NPCs to create their paintings, they can also sell the students’ paintings for a high price. (This route works for pottery teaching too.)
Laundry + Hotel	Charge customers a per-hour fee, and provide laundry machines, shower rooms, and beds for them. This seems to be the most trouble-free way to earn a profit.

Players can also try adding mods to have more expensive goods for retail, such as jewelry and luxury goods. Selling these is way more profitable compared to cakes!

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Tips for Getting Started

• Start small: For this pack, your Sim has to be on the business lot to open for business (unlike the restaurant running in Dine Out). Good interactions with customers help you gain Renown points faster.
• Choose activities wisely: The player can only select five activities per business. Some activities are more difficult to organize than others, and NPCs tend to be interrupted halfway, such as cooking, making pottery, etc.
• Hire employees: Employees are very helpful to handle fixed activities, such as tending bars and cooking. Players then can have free time to interact with customers for Renown points.

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Limitations to Consider

No expansion is perfect. Here are a few limitations to keep in mind:

• Only one business per Sim: A Sim cannot own multiple businesses simultaneously. To start a new business, the player must sell the existing one. This is due to the limitation that the Sim has to be on the lot to open the business.
• The financial chart is not very detailed: The downside of having many available activities is that players cannot know for sure which activities are generating revenue. The financial chart of the business info is also unclear about this, and it lumps revenue into major sectors like tips, fees, and services.
• No ads available: While in Dine Out, players can set the ads fee directly for more customers; this pack does not allow that. The customer number only grows through the level-up of the business.

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So, Should You Try Playing The Sims 4 Businesses & Hobbies Expansion Pack?

The Sims 4 Businesses & Hobbies Expansion Pack is a strong addition to the game. While it may feel like a mish-mash of features at times, the core small business system opens up new gameplay possibilities that have never existed in The Sims 4 before.

The tattooing and pottery skills are fun and well-implemented, but they are not the main reason to buy this pack. The real value comes from the freedom to turn any activity into a profitable venture. Want to run a sketchy back-alley tattoo parlor? Do it. Want to open a gym with spa service? Also possible. Time to turn those hobbies into Simoleons!

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