BeerDrinker [2140025] —
Original article
What really goes behind the scenes in one of Torn's most popular companies? What does it take to be your own boss and run an Adult Novelty store?
Hello, and welcome to Company Insights, the first in a new series of articles where we'll investigate the optimal way to run some of the most popular company types in Torn City. First up, the provider of erotic media so beloved by those who are unhappy, bored or just a little bit horny: Adult Novelties.
Specials
Many players are tempted by the Adult Novelties company for its lucrative specials which include the ability to swap 20 job points for an Erotic DVD and a 100% buff to their effects. These specials are unlocked when the firm reaches three and ten stars respectively. The other perks on offer at the mucky stuff store are the ability to receive money for job points (one star), a Pack of Trojans for job points (five stars), and a passive 25% reduction to enemy speed (seven stars).
An attractive set of specials for sure, and what makes the Adult Novelties company even more alluring is its startup price; a relatively cheap $1,750,000. This low fee, in addition to the aforementioned specials, has given rise to over 350 Adult Novelty companies in Torn City. At the time of writing on Monday 28th of January, 38 of these were 10*, 27 were 9*, 18 were 8*, and 19 were 7*.
New directors will have some stiff competition in this area - pun intended - but if you can rise to the top, the Adult Novelties company is a lucrative industry right now. sexxysweety, director of 10* SWEETY'S says that "DVD prices have gone up making it a better job." A quick peek at the market shows this to be true, and at its current valuation of $4.9m per Erotic DVD, this works out to an extra $2.5m per day for employees of a 10* firm. Add on the 100% buff to the Erotic DVDs, and this puts it on par with a comparable T.V. Station's pay of *3-4m.
Employees
The aforementioned bonus benefits directors as it means you can offer slightly lower wages than normal while DVD prices are this high. And according to Mamii, the director of 10* N@N, this is something you may have to do regardless of the market state, since "it [Adult Novelties company] doesn't give you that much money and getting 10 good employees is hard."
If you can't afford to pay your employees a high wage, it is important to know what else your particular company type can offer them. Your low-paid staff may be interested to know that the 100% Erotic DVD buff can be used in conjunction with the faction 24hr+ Booster Buff to obtain the maximum happiness of 99,999, which in turn will provide them with the Extraordinary Honor Bar, Ecstatic.
Pictured: Ecstasy
However, as Mamii implies, finding good employees can be difficult. Luckily, with an AN store, you don't need as many staff as you might think. There can be a maximum of ten employees in the company over seven different positions. But according to Emperical, the director of 10* Difficult Richards, only four positions are useful - and he only uses three of them.
Those four useful positions are Sexpert, Sales Assistant, Store Manager, and Receptionist. However, Emperical believes you "only want 1 manager though... same for receptionist". The logic behind this is that with a good manager, you don't lose cleanliness if your employees are active, thus removing the need for a cleaner. So while the absence of a janitor in a regular sex store would certainly put me off going, in Torn City, this position isn't necessary to achieve success.
Each of the top three AN companies run by Emperical, J3N, and sexxysweety possess just one store manager, but where they differ is in their number of Sexperts, with four, two and three employed respectively. Emperical is the only director without a Receptionist, so that is likely why he has more Sexperts. After interviewing a few more directors, it seems that a common profitable set up is, according to Mamii, "4 :sales assistant 3: sexpert 1:receptionist 1:store manager."
Receptionists provide you with information about how much an employee is making as well as their drug intake level. Emperical says that receptionists don't make much money for an AN, and he trusts his employees to rehab regularly rather than micro-managing them. KS_Chuckinator, director of 10* TornHub.com, agrees with with this sentiment, suggesting that "if you have Torn Stats, there's no need for that role. I understand they take online orders, but what I saw was it was more beneficial to have another sexpert instead a receptionist."
Pictured: The solution, a salty solution.
Of course, if you fail to keep an eye on your employees' levels of addiction, this can end up costing you more than you'd save if you had a Receptionist in the first place. Emperical notes that "if [an employee] can't rehab regularly, they don't just hurt you, they hurt the entire company... [an employee's] 4% addiction is the difference between making or losing ~100k."
When KS_Chuckinator took over his AN at 5*, he went without a Receptionist and instead hired three Sexperts, six Sales Assistants and one Manager, having seen this setup work at other successful companies. KS briefly tried to get by with just two Sexperts, but soon found himself losing $300k per day. Conversely, he says adding a fourth Sexpert didn't boost profits by much - to raise your cashflow, you must invest in Sales Assistants.
Sexperts make $300-400k compared to an income of $100-250k for Sales Assistants. Most successful AN's hire more Sales Assistants than Sexperts, but the balance seems to vary greatly among the very best. The top five at the time of writing hired Sexperts to Sales Assistants at a ratio of 2:6, 3:5, 4:4, 2:6 and 3:5. Directors should therefore try out a range of formations to see what suits their situation, although if truth be told, your staffing levels will likely be determined by your cashflow, as this affects the standard of employee you can entice to your firm.
Cashflow and Sales
On average, the top 15 Adult Novelty stores make $14.2million per week in profits, not including the advertising budgets or what they may earn from spot and train selling. To bolster their income, AN's can sell trains like any other company, where players pay the director to join the firm and make use of a few days trains, thus enabling them to gain job stats more rapidly.
While this is a great way for company directors to make extra cash on the side, it can lead to internal issues where players vie for trains, meaning some may leave because of a lack of trains. You must balance the needs of your temporary employees with those of your permanent staff. This mantra also applies if you are selling more long-term positions in your company too.
The sale of positions in an Adult Novelty - which is common within this industry - is practiced mostly by firms in the 10* range. Many players will pay for the luxury of having the 100% Erotic DVD boost. However, this practice can be an unreliable source of income, as can paid trains, as they are liable to cause major cashflow issues when players stop paying for their stay.
Another headache you may have is the cost of advertising. Many top AN's strive for a good advertising budget, with most landing in the $1-2.5m range. Advertising plays a major role in the company, and is up there alongside the two main benefit blocks for companies when it comes to the known factors for success. However, as we implied earlier, the relatively low level of income at an AN means that one area you can potentially save on is wages - at a higher AN at least - since most employees are not paid directly, instead being compensated through the Erotic DVD special.
And this is one of the reasons why potential Adult Novelty owners should seek to purchase an established company, rather than starting up afresh.
Tips and Common Mistakes
Buying a pre-existing Adult Novelty company is not only easier than starting your own, but far better for your short-term profits too. Most players look to buy a 10* Adult Novelty because of its high employee attraction rate and the money it can make at this level. Some directors are also enticed by the access to its valuable array of perks.
Starting a company from scratch means you will be hard-pressed to find employees with the proper stats for the positions needed. Even if you can find suitable employees, they may demand high pay in lieu of the other specials they could gain from a higher starred company.
J3N states that, if you are running a lower star company, "to entice players with good stats you'll... spend some good cash for a starter... for instance at 1* you should be ready to pay each employee over $1million if you need players with good stats. The cost can reduce as the company advances [in stars]. At 10*... I stopped paying salaries."
Regardless of which option you choose, all of the directors we interviewed agreed that a Bachelor of Commerce qualification is highly recommended, if not essential. Available via the thirteenth and final module of the Business Management education course, BUS3130 unlocks new size, storage size and staff room upgrades for your company. KS_Chuckinator confirms its importance by stating "If you want your AN to move up and not run out of stock, you absolutely have to be able to fully upgrade the company."
Stock Benefit Blocks can also be beneficial, if not essential, with the TGP and TCP stock blocks providing a buff to company advertising and a 10% profits boost respectively. KS_Chuckinator thinks you benefit most from TCP when you're 7* and higher. J3N has managed to run a top earning company without stock benefits entirely, though, and he warns that directors must also pay attention to a different kind of stock - the kind that you sell.
Pictured: The backlog of Donald Trump's pee tapes just waiting to be shipped.
J3N says he noticed that he dropped down a couple of places in the Adult Novelty rankings because he forgot to purchase sales stock one day, and that all AN company owners must set aside time each day to ensure they do not do this. KS_Chuckinator agrees, and he finds this stock issue quite annoying, elaborating on the problem below.
"My store currently sells an average of 90k daily. The max stock room is 250k. So if you forget to order stock for one day, only one day, you'll run out of something that sells a lot like condoms or lube."
Conclusion
While Adult Novelty firms are not without their problems, the current market situation means they are more than an attractive proposition right now. The directors we interviewed believe you must have a good amount of capital to run your company at a loss initially, with your eventual aim being to earn good money from a combination of free Erotic DVDs and your daily income - trains or paid spots should ideally add to, not comprise your firm's profit.
It is also important to dedicate regular time to an AN, and to remain patient while experimenting with the right blend of company positions. It seems optimal to employ people who bring twice the recommended minimum stats for their job as this allows them to reach the maximum of 150% efficiency. Even if you can't achieve this straight away - and it's unlikely you will - max efficiency should be another long term goal for any owner of an Adult Novelty company. It takes thirty days for an employee to reach full efficiency, so high loyalty and low attrition are most desirable - just 2-3 days of inactivity will see their efficiency plummet.
In conclusion, Adult Novelty firms are sexy for sure, but you must pay attention to your firm at all times. Remember, watching a porno at home is all fun and games until your mother walks in. If you're caught with your trousers down you could end up with a huge mess on your hands. But if you can keep your eye on the prize, you may be rewarded with a very happy ending indeed.
Specials
Many players are tempted by the Adult Novelties company for its lucrative specials which include the ability to swap 20 job points for an Erotic DVD and a 100% buff to their effects. These specials are unlocked when the firm reaches three and ten stars respectively. The other perks on offer at the mucky stuff store are the ability to receive money for job points (one star), a Pack of Trojans for job points (five stars), and a passive 25% reduction to enemy speed (seven stars).
An attractive set of specials for sure, and what makes the Adult Novelties company even more alluring is its startup price; a relatively cheap $1,750,000. This low fee, in addition to the aforementioned specials, has given rise to over 350 Adult Novelty companies in Torn City. At the time of writing on Monday 28th of January, 38 of these were 10*, 27 were 9*, 18 were 8*, and 19 were 7*.
New directors will have some stiff competition in this area - pun intended - but if you can rise to the top, the Adult Novelties company is a lucrative industry right now. sexxysweety, director of 10* SWEETY'S says that "DVD prices have gone up making it a better job." A quick peek at the market shows this to be true, and at its current valuation of $4.9m per Erotic DVD, this works out to an extra $2.5m per day for employees of a 10* firm. Add on the 100% buff to the Erotic DVDs, and this puts it on par with a comparable T.V. Station's pay of *3-4m.
Employees
The aforementioned bonus benefits directors as it means you can offer slightly lower wages than normal while DVD prices are this high. And according to Mamii, the director of 10* N@N, this is something you may have to do regardless of the market state, since "it [Adult Novelties company] doesn't give you that much money and getting 10 good employees is hard."
If you can't afford to pay your employees a high wage, it is important to know what else your particular company type can offer them. Your low-paid staff may be interested to know that the 100% Erotic DVD buff can be used in conjunction with the faction 24hr+ Booster Buff to obtain the maximum happiness of 99,999, which in turn will provide them with the Extraordinary Honor Bar, Ecstatic.
Pictured: Ecstasy
However, as Mamii implies, finding good employees can be difficult. Luckily, with an AN store, you don't need as many staff as you might think. There can be a maximum of ten employees in the company over seven different positions. But according to Emperical, the director of 10* Difficult Richards, only four positions are useful - and he only uses three of them.
Those four useful positions are Sexpert, Sales Assistant, Store Manager, and Receptionist. However, Emperical believes you "only want 1 manager though... same for receptionist". The logic behind this is that with a good manager, you don't lose cleanliness if your employees are active, thus removing the need for a cleaner. So while the absence of a janitor in a regular sex store would certainly put me off going, in Torn City, this position isn't necessary to achieve success.
Each of the top three AN companies run by Emperical, J3N, and sexxysweety possess just one store manager, but where they differ is in their number of Sexperts, with four, two and three employed respectively. Emperical is the only director without a Receptionist, so that is likely why he has more Sexperts. After interviewing a few more directors, it seems that a common profitable set up is, according to Mamii, "4 :sales assistant 3: sexpert 1:receptionist 1:store manager."
Receptionists provide you with information about how much an employee is making as well as their drug intake level. Emperical says that receptionists don't make much money for an AN, and he trusts his employees to rehab regularly rather than micro-managing them. KS_Chuckinator, director of 10* TornHub.com, agrees with with this sentiment, suggesting that "if you have Torn Stats, there's no need for that role. I understand they take online orders, but what I saw was it was more beneficial to have another sexpert instead a receptionist."
Pictured: The solution, a salty solution.
Of course, if you fail to keep an eye on your employees' levels of addiction, this can end up costing you more than you'd save if you had a Receptionist in the first place. Emperical notes that "if [an employee] can't rehab regularly, they don't just hurt you, they hurt the entire company... [an employee's] 4% addiction is the difference between making or losing ~100k."
When KS_Chuckinator took over his AN at 5*, he went without a Receptionist and instead hired three Sexperts, six Sales Assistants and one Manager, having seen this setup work at other successful companies. KS briefly tried to get by with just two Sexperts, but soon found himself losing $300k per day. Conversely, he says adding a fourth Sexpert didn't boost profits by much - to raise your cashflow, you must invest in Sales Assistants.
Sexperts make $300-400k compared to an income of $100-250k for Sales Assistants. Most successful AN's hire more Sales Assistants than Sexperts, but the balance seems to vary greatly among the very best. The top five at the time of writing hired Sexperts to Sales Assistants at a ratio of 2:6, 3:5, 4:4, 2:6 and 3:5. Directors should therefore try out a range of formations to see what suits their situation, although if truth be told, your staffing levels will likely be determined by your cashflow, as this affects the standard of employee you can entice to your firm.
Cashflow and Sales
On average, the top 15 Adult Novelty stores make $14.2million per week in profits, not including the advertising budgets or what they may earn from spot and train selling. To bolster their income, AN's can sell trains like any other company, where players pay the director to join the firm and make use of a few days trains, thus enabling them to gain job stats more rapidly.
While this is a great way for company directors to make extra cash on the side, it can lead to internal issues where players vie for trains, meaning some may leave because of a lack of trains. You must balance the needs of your temporary employees with those of your permanent staff. This mantra also applies if you are selling more long-term positions in your company too.
The sale of positions in an Adult Novelty - which is common within this industry - is practiced mostly by firms in the 10* range. Many players will pay for the luxury of having the 100% Erotic DVD boost. However, this practice can be an unreliable source of income, as can paid trains, as they are liable to cause major cashflow issues when players stop paying for their stay.
Another headache you may have is the cost of advertising. Many top AN's strive for a good advertising budget, with most landing in the $1-2.5m range. Advertising plays a major role in the company, and is up there alongside the two main benefit blocks for companies when it comes to the known factors for success. However, as we implied earlier, the relatively low level of income at an AN means that one area you can potentially save on is wages - at a higher AN at least - since most employees are not paid directly, instead being compensated through the Erotic DVD special.
And this is one of the reasons why potential Adult Novelty owners should seek to purchase an established company, rather than starting up afresh.
Tips and Common Mistakes
Buying a pre-existing Adult Novelty company is not only easier than starting your own, but far better for your short-term profits too. Most players look to buy a 10* Adult Novelty because of its high employee attraction rate and the money it can make at this level. Some directors are also enticed by the access to its valuable array of perks.
Starting a company from scratch means you will be hard-pressed to find employees with the proper stats for the positions needed. Even if you can find suitable employees, they may demand high pay in lieu of the other specials they could gain from a higher starred company.
J3N states that, if you are running a lower star company, "to entice players with good stats you'll... spend some good cash for a starter... for instance at 1* you should be ready to pay each employee over $1million if you need players with good stats. The cost can reduce as the company advances [in stars]. At 10*... I stopped paying salaries."
Regardless of which option you choose, all of the directors we interviewed agreed that a Bachelor of Commerce qualification is highly recommended, if not essential. Available via the thirteenth and final module of the Business Management education course, BUS3130 unlocks new size, storage size and staff room upgrades for your company. KS_Chuckinator confirms its importance by stating "If you want your AN to move up and not run out of stock, you absolutely have to be able to fully upgrade the company."
Stock Benefit Blocks can also be beneficial, if not essential, with the TGP and TCP stock blocks providing a buff to company advertising and a 10% profits boost respectively. KS_Chuckinator thinks you benefit most from TCP when you're 7* and higher. J3N has managed to run a top earning company without stock benefits entirely, though, and he warns that directors must also pay attention to a different kind of stock - the kind that you sell.
Pictured: The backlog of Donald Trump's pee tapes just waiting to be shipped.
J3N says he noticed that he dropped down a couple of places in the Adult Novelty rankings because he forgot to purchase sales stock one day, and that all AN company owners must set aside time each day to ensure they do not do this. KS_Chuckinator agrees, and he finds this stock issue quite annoying, elaborating on the problem below.
"My store currently sells an average of 90k daily. The max stock room is 250k. So if you forget to order stock for one day, only one day, you'll run out of something that sells a lot like condoms or lube."
Conclusion
While Adult Novelty firms are not without their problems, the current market situation means they are more than an attractive proposition right now. The directors we interviewed believe you must have a good amount of capital to run your company at a loss initially, with your eventual aim being to earn good money from a combination of free Erotic DVDs and your daily income - trains or paid spots should ideally add to, not comprise your firm's profit.
It is also important to dedicate regular time to an AN, and to remain patient while experimenting with the right blend of company positions. It seems optimal to employ people who bring twice the recommended minimum stats for their job as this allows them to reach the maximum of 150% efficiency. Even if you can't achieve this straight away - and it's unlikely you will - max efficiency should be another long term goal for any owner of an Adult Novelty company. It takes thirty days for an employee to reach full efficiency, so high loyalty and low attrition are most desirable - just 2-3 days of inactivity will see their efficiency plummet.
In conclusion, Adult Novelty firms are sexy for sure, but you must pay attention to your firm at all times. Remember, watching a porno at home is all fun and games until your mother walks in. If you're caught with your trousers down you could end up with a huge mess on your hands. But if you can keep your eye on the prize, you may be rewarded with a very happy ending indeed.
Original article
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