My little business

What it is

You can own one small business of your own: a lemonade stand, a flower cart, a bait shop, a bakery kiosk or a tea house. It earns takings while you keep it open, customers come by with little stories, and it grows as you look after it.

Open the game menu, choose Village life, then More to do, then My little business. The shortcut is /business.

Opening one

Pick the business you want and pay its licence once. The licence goes out of the game; it does not go to anybody. A lemonade stand costs one thousand five hundred points, a flower cart two thousand five hundred, a bait shop three thousand five hundred, a bakery kiosk five thousand and a tea house seven thousand. Bigger businesses earn a little faster.

You can own one business at a time.

Shifts

Your business only earns while a shift is open. Choose Restock and open a shift. You pay a few points for stock, and the shift runs for four hours, even while you are away or offline. When it ends you hear a bell if you are in the game. Come back, empty the till, and restock to open the next shift.

The till and the daily limit

Takings collect in the till. Choose Empty the till to take them. You can take at most four hundred points a day from your business, customer bonuses included. Anything more stays in the till for the next day. The till holds up to four hundred points between shifts; anything over that is given away as day-old goods when you restock.

Customers

While a shift is open and you are in the game, a customer sometimes wants a word with you. You hear a bell and a message. Open My little business and choose A customer is waiting for you. Somebody may ask for a discount, a supplier may offer a deal, a food writer may drop by. Choose how to answer. Good answers bring reputation and a few bonus points. A customer waits about fifteen minutes, and you can answer up to six customers a day.

Stars

Reputation gives your business stars, up to five. You earn reputation by opening shifts regularly, answering customers kindly, selling treats to other players and decorating. Every star makes customers spend a little more.

Upgrades

Choose Upgrades. Capacity, up to level five, makes every hour earn more. An assistant, up to three levels, makes each shift two hours longer. Decoration, up to five levels, adds to your reputation. Upgrades take effect from your next shift. They are meant as a long-term goal: a fully upgraded business pays for itself over weeks, not days.

The daily ledger

Choose Daily ledger to hear what you earned and spent today and on each of the last seven days, and whether your business is up or down overall.

Visiting other businesses

Choose Visit another player's business to hear every business with a shift open, or look one up by its owner's name. Buy a treat there, such as a cold lemonade or a warm cinnamon bun. A treat is had on the spot at the counter; it is not an item and nothing goes into your bag, but it does you a little good. Lemonade and mint tea quench your thirst, and the tea also warms you. Roasted nuts and a cinnamon bun ease your hunger. A flower lifts your energy. The owner gets ninety percent of the price, ten percent is lost, and the owner earns a little reputation. You can buy ten treats a day, and three at the same business. The ledger remembers how many different businesses you have tasted.

The best business board

Choose Best business board this week. It ranks businesses by takings, customer bonuses and treats sold since Monday. When the week turns, the best business is announced, and the top three get a reputation boost. You can turn the announcement off in Privacy options.

Name and closing

Choose Name your business to give it a name of up to thirty letters. You can rename it once a day.

Choose Close and sell your business to give it up. Empty the till first. You get back a quarter of the licence. Upgrades, stars and the name are lost.