Business

The business ownership system, introduced in inZOI's v0.5.0 update (December 2025), lets your Zoi start and manage their own commercial enterprises. As a business owner, you control every aspect of operations from setting business hours and hiring employees to adjusting pricing and monitoring customer satisfaction. Business properties operate independently from your residential lot, and a single household can run multiple establishments as a franchise.

The system is accessed through the Business App on the Smartphone (press P to open the phone, then select the Business App icon). Businesses can generate significant daily income, with well-managed gyms earning over 20,000 Meow per day.

Prerequisites

Before you can open a business, your Zoi needs to meet a few requirements. First, you need enough Meow to purchase a commercial property. Property prices vary depending on the lot size and location, but expect to spend anywhere from 20,000 to over 100,000 Meow. Your Zoi must also be a Young Adult or older. It helps to have some savings beyond the purchase price so you can furnish the space and cover initial operating costs before revenue starts flowing in.

Having relevant skills leveled before opening is strongly recommended. Low-skill products sell poorly and reduce customer satisfaction, which can cause your business to lose money in the early days when operating fees and employee wages exceed revenue.

Purchasing a Business Property

Business properties are available on commercial lots throughout the game world. You can browse available properties through the Edit City window or by visiting vacant commercial lots in person. When you find a property you like, interact with it to view the price and lot details.

Once you purchase a lot, it becomes your business location. Unlike residential lots, commercial properties are specifically zoned for business operations. The lot size affects how many items you can place, how many customers can visit at once, and ultimately how much revenue you can generate.

Business Lot Presets

The v0.5.3 hotfix added 12 pre-built business lot presets across the three cities, giving new business owners ready-made locations:

Some NPC-operated business lots (such as Goz's Bakery in Bliss Bay) can also be purchased. A v0.6.0 fix resolved an issue where entry to NPC business lots was blocked during their operating hours, preventing purchase.

Registering Your Business

After purchasing a property, open the Business App on your Zoi's phone to register your business. The registration process involves several steps:

• Select the commercial property you purchased as your business location.

• Choose a name for your business in the Business Settings tab.

• Set your operating days and hours in the Business Hours tab.

• Pick a business preset that determines the type of establishment you will run in the Business Type tab.

• Configure which recipes or services to sell in the Recipe tab.

• Set customer targeting (age groups, activities) in the Player Settings tab. "Order" is the key activity that makes customers buy items.

The Business App serves as the central management hub with five main tabs:

The business preset is the most important decision because it defines what products and services you can offer. You can change certain aspects of your business later, but the core preset shapes the entire operation.

Business Types

inZOI offers nine distinct business types, each with its own products, customer interactions, skill requirements, and profit potential. Your choice of business type determines what equipment you need, what skills your employees should have, and how customers interact with your establishment.

More business presets are planned for future updates. Each business type includes a default preset that auto-configures the management environment, but all settings can be customized.

Setting Up Your Business Space

Once registered, enter Build Mode to furnish and arrange your business property. The layout of your space directly affects customer satisfaction, employee efficiency, and overall revenue. Here are the essential elements every business needs:

• Kiosk: The point-of-sale terminal where customers pay. Every business needs at least one kiosk near the entrance or counter area.

• Market Stand: Displays products for sale. Place these where customers can easily browse your offerings. Supports up to 8 slots.

• Seating: For businesses like cafes, restaurants, and bars, seating is essential. Customers need places to sit while eating or drinking.

• Production Equipment: Cooking stations, espresso machines, ovens, and similar equipment where employees prepare products.

• Lecture Board: For gyms and schools. Each paid lecture teaches 5 to 6 Zois at approximately 560 Meow per Zoi, making it one of the most profitable equipment items.

• Decorations: Furniture quality and decorations contribute to customer satisfaction. Higher-quality items improve your business rating.

Pay attention to flow and layout. Customers should be able to enter, browse or order, find a seat, and leave without getting stuck on obstacles. Employees need clear paths between production stations and serving areas. The v0.5.0 update added 39 business-specific display and showcase items to Build Mode, including display cases, menu boards, and 35 display models.

Market Stall Mechanics

Market stalls are the primary way to display and sell products. The Island Getaway DLC introduced market stalls with several interactive features beyond basic sales:

• Greet Customers: Interact with the stall to greet browsing customers, which improves satisfaction and encourages purchases.

• Promote: Use the promote interaction to attract more customers to your stall. Helps during slow periods.

• Thief Defense: Thieves can attempt to steal items from your stall. When a theft is detected, you can select "Fight the thief" to recover your Meow and gain karma.

• Food Portioning: The v0.5.3 update added the ability to portion large food items for display. Use "Fill Cooking" or "Fill Baking" interactions on fridges to stock market stands with properly portioned servings.

The Wider Sales Stall is available from the Farm Store in Cahaya for 330 Meow and provides more display slots than the standard stall.

Configuring Products and Recipes

Through the Business App, you can configure which products your business offers. For food-based businesses (cafes, bakeries, restaurants), this means selecting which recipes to add to your menu. Each business preset comes with a default set of recipes, but you can customize the menu to focus on higher-margin items or cater to customer preferences.

Pricing is another important consideration. You can adjust the prices of individual items. Setting prices too high drives customers away, while prices that are too low cut into your profit margins. Start with the default pricing and adjust based on how your business performs.

For gym and school businesses, you configure customer activities instead of food recipes. These activities determine what customers can do at your establishment, such as using cardio machines, lifting weights, attending group classes, or participating in paid lectures. You also set an entrance fee that all customers pay when they visit.

Inventory Management

Businesses need regular restocking to keep selling products. The restocking method depends on the product type:

Items are placed for sale at the market stand or kiosk on the property. Customers browse and purchase from these stands. A v0.6.0 fix resolved an issue where "Stock Your Market Items" auto-interaction sometimes failed, and another fix addressed "Fill" interactions not working on the last slot of 8-slot sales stands.

Hiring Employees

Running a business alone is possible but inefficient. Hiring employees lets your business serve more customers, produce more products, and operate even when your Zoi is not physically present. You can hire employees through the Business App.

Who Can You Hire

Employees must be acquaintances or members of your household. You cannot hire strangers off the street. This means you need to build relationships with other Zois before they become eligible candidates. Potential employees must be Young Adult age or older. If a hired employee already has another job, they automatically resign from it.

Salary Negotiation

When hiring, you negotiate a daily salary with each employee. Salaries are calculated based on business level, salary rank, and working hours. Offering a higher salary increases the chance they accept, while lowball offers may be rejected. Once hired, the employee's salary is deducted from your daily revenue. Keep salary costs in mind when calculating your profit margins. Employees can also negotiate salaries through conversation.

Be mindful that long working hours may negatively affect your relationship with employees over time.

Employee Skills

The effectiveness of your employees depends on their skills. Different business roles require different skill sets:

Assign employees to roles that match their strengths. A single skilled cook or charismatic server can make a bigger difference than multiple unskilled workers.

Business Levels and Star Ratings

Your business has a level system tied to its star rating. As customers visit and leave satisfied, your business earns experience toward the next level. Higher business levels unlock additional features, allow hiring more employees, and improve your establishment's reputation, attracting more customers.

The star rating (displayed on your business profile) reflects overall customer satisfaction. It factors in several elements:

Customer satisfaction is displayed in real time through thought bubbles above customers during visits. At the end of each business day, customer reviews provide detailed feedback. You can also ask customers directly for feedback through conversation, or search for "Tips to Improve Customer Satisfaction" on a computer for improvement suggestions.

Income and Revenue

Business income is calculated through daily settlement. At the end of each business day (when your operating hours close), the game tallies up all revenue from sales and entrance fees, subtracts employee salaries and a daily opening fee, and deposits the net profit into your Zoi's account.

Revenue comes from several sources:

• Item Sales: The primary income source for most businesses. Every product sold at your market stand or kiosk generates revenue.

• Entrance Fees: Gyms, schools, and bars charge an entrance fee. Every customer who walks in pays this fee.

• Paid Lectures: Gym and school lecture boards generate approximately 560 Meow per Zoi per session, with 5 to 6 Zois attending each lecture.

Estimated Daily Earnings by Business Type

Revenue varies significantly based on your setup, location, employee count, pricing, active management, and customer traffic. Based on player reports, here are approximate daily earnings ranges:

Active management (visiting your business in person) can triple daily earnings compared to leaving it unattended. Sending any adult household member to the business counts as active management.

Business-Related Traits and Ambitions

Several traits give Zois advantages in business ownership and management:

• Go-Getter: Zois with this trait enjoy discussing business and build business relationships more easily.

• Authoritarian: Provides natural leadership abilities that help with employee management.

• Leader: Similar to Authoritarian, this trait makes managing employees and running operations smoother.

The ambitions system includes a Business Success ambition (added in v0.5.0) that provides structured progression goals for aspiring business owners. Completing ambition milestones rewards Meow Coins.

Additionally, Young Adult Zois can study Business Administration at university, which may provide skill advantages for business ownership.

Franchise System

A single household can own and operate multiple businesses as a franchise. Each location operates independently with its own employees, hours, and accounting. This lets ambitious Zois build a business empire across Dowon, Bliss Bay, and Cahaya.

However, only one business can operate per property. You cannot run multiple businesses on different floors of the same building. Each business must have its own dedicated commercial lot.

Business Inheritance

Family businesses can be inherited by other household members. When a Zoi who owns a business dies or becomes a Senior, business ownership can transfer to another adult family member. Ownership can also transfer upon marriage or household separation to the eldest member. This allows multi-generational business dynasties without losing progress when the founding Zoi ages out.

Maximizing Profit

To get the most out of your business, focus on these key strategies:

Optimize Your Layout

Arrange your business so that customers and employees can move efficiently. Place production stations close to serving areas. Ensure there are enough seats for peak customer flow. A cramped or poorly laid out business slows down service and lowers satisfaction.

Hire the Right People

Prioritize employees with high relevant skills. A single skilled cook or charismatic server can make a bigger difference than multiple unskilled workers. Balance your staff between production and customer service roles.

Upgrade Furniture Gradually

Furniture quality directly impacts satisfaction. As your business earns money, reinvest in better tables, chairs, counters, and decorations. Each upgrade slightly boosts your star rating and attracts higher-spending customers.

Manage Operating Hours

Set your business hours to match customer demand. Bars should open in the evening. Cafes and bakeries do well with morning and afternoon hours. Gyms and schools can operate throughout the day. Running the business during off-peak hours wastes employee salaries on empty rooms.

Keep Prices Balanced

Resist the urge to set prices at maximum. Moderate pricing leads to higher customer volume and better satisfaction scores, which translates to more customers over time. The sweet spot is usually slightly above the default pricing.

Known Limitations

• One business per property: Each commercial lot supports only one business. You cannot run multiple businesses on different floors of the same building.

• No home-based businesses: Running a business from a residential property is not currently possible. A separate commercial lot is required.

• City travel restricted: City travel is restricted while a business is actively open. Close your business before traveling to another city.

• Bar cocktail display: Cocktails currently cannot be placed on market stands for direct sale. Bars primarily rely on their entry fee model rather than drink-by-drink sales.

• Business management requires attention: Businesses left unattended for multiple days lose reputation quickly, reducing customer count and revenue.

Common Issues and Troubleshooting

The business system was introduced in v0.5.0 and has received several fixes in subsequent updates. Here are recurring issues and their workarounds:

SetBusinessLevel Cheat

For players who want to skip the grind, inZOI includes a SetBusinessLevel cheat command. This allows you to set your business to any level instantly. While useful for testing or sandbox play, using this cheat removes the natural progression experience. The cheat can be entered through the game's developer console.

Related Systems

Tips

• Start with a Cafe or Gym for your first business. Cafes have low setup requirements, and gyms generate the highest consistent income with zero crafting costs.

• Build relationships with skilled Zois before opening your business so you have a pool of employees ready to hire.

• Visit other businesses in the game world to see how they are set up. You can learn layout ideas from NPC-owned establishments.

• Keep an emergency fund of at least 5,000 Meow after opening. Early days may have low revenue until you attract regular customers.

• Level the relevant skill before opening a business. Low-skill products sell poorly and reduce customer satisfaction.

• Visit your business regularly. Active management can triple daily earnings compared to leaving it unattended. Sending any adult household member counts as a visit.

• Gyms with entrance fees and two lecture boards are the most profitable early-game business setup.

• Florist shops pair well with the Gardening skill to reduce ingredient costs by growing your own flowers.

• Check customer satisfaction feedback at the end of each business day and adjust pricing, menu, or staffing accordingly.

• Do not neglect your Zoi's personal needs while managing the business. A Zoi with low mood or energy performs poorly, affecting the entire operation.

Customer Satisfaction

Customers automatically visit the establishment during business hours. Satisfaction is tracked through several indicators:

• Thought bubbles above customers show real-time satisfaction.

• End-of-day customer reviews provide detailed feedback on the business.

• Search for "Tips to Improve Customer Satisfaction" on a computer for improvement suggestions.

• Ask customers directly for feedback through conversation.

Customer satisfaction is affected by product quality, furniture quality on the property, pricing, employee skill matching, and how often the owner visits the business.

Revenue and Profitability

Business revenue depends on product quality, customer volume, pricing, and how actively the business is managed.

Gyms with entrance fees and lecture boards are particularly profitable, as each lecture teaches 5 to 6 Zois at approximately 560 Meow per Zoi. Early-stage businesses may lose money until the owner levels the relevant skill and upgrades equipment.