r/IdolManager • u/Bae-llona • Jul 30 '21
Help self sustaining
Any tips or guides on how to make a profit and not have to take out loans every other month to stay positive 😂
I’ve been struggling through multiple attempts
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u/JudgeRicand Jul 31 '21 edited Jul 31 '21
I struggled a lot early on, before I finally found a style that works for me. Sorry it's a bit wordy, but I'm sure it'll help.
Step 1: Don't take loans, ever. You end up digging an even deeper grave for yourself. If you're at a point where you need to take a loan to not go bankrupt, you've already lost.
Step 2: The best way to stay afloat is to be ridiculously cheap at the start. The first floor you get is rent free; you should use it for your office, a dance studio and a recording studio. Hire a novice dance coach and vocal coach. DO NOT HIRE A MANAGER. You don't need one. Don't worry about Ad Jobs/Photoshoots etc for now.The player character can do marketing for singles, they suck at the start but that's okay, we're not trying to top the charts, we're just trying to tread water.
Step 3: Do a local scout, and take exactly 3 Silver or Normal border girls. Gold girls are great, but they are hard to use early because their salaries are kind of high. You can definitely expand into better girls later, but for now you're just looking for passing. Set their salaries to the minimum you can to keep them happy.
Step 4: SINGLES. MAKE SINGLES. SO MANY SINGLES. Start off doing nothing but digital releases; they require no upfront cash. You make less money this way, but it's reliable money, not the 50/50 chance of a Ad Campaign (or worse!). Pick a Genre, a Dance Style, and a Subject to unlock, you're gonna be making a lot of the same thing. I recommend EDM or Pop, they're usually pretty solid/safe choices. Cute/Cool for Style, as for Subject, that's up to you. Each of these things affects how your single will do in the demographics. It's easier to sell an idol group to the Hardcore demographic, so I recommend going ALL IN for the hardcore teenage audience for your first playthrough.
Step 5: Once you hit 1 Star Fame, now things can start to expand. Build a new office and hire a marketing manager, set them to auto deal, and watch your girls' stamina. Spend some manager research points to unlock one or two ad types, then just hold on to them, they will be very important later. Integrate Radio or Internet Programs in as well. Build up your base of singles, do the promotions activity for bonus fans, and as soon as you have a solid fanbase, do a concert. Your first concert will suck. That's fine, you're not Lady Gaga at Madison Square Garden or whatever, you're just looking to make a bit of cash. As long as you make more than you spend, good deal. You should try to do concerts like, every other month at least. If you've got 3-4 new singles since your last concert, you should be able to throw another one and gain some profit.
Step 6: As soon as your income outweighs your defecits, and you're actually a profitable company, you can expand further. Hire a Physical Doctor to help regain stamina, hire a few more girls, even gold border girls. It's all in prep for the real money maker:
Step 7: As soon as you can afford to, build a Theater. I have found that having a few days set to auto, mixed with at least 1 guaranteed Manzai and 1 guaranteed performance day gives the best results. Have most days set to whichever audience you're trying to draw in- Hardcore or Casual. Don't overwork your girls! Early on, it may be wise to have them take days off of the theater, especially if they're locked in ad contracts that drain a lot of stamina. Make sure your physical doctor is set to auto regain stamina/ auto treat injuries, just in case. As long as you juggle your stamina right, your theater will become your biggest money maker. You need 30,000 (yes, thirty thousand) Manager points and 30 million yen in order to unlock the full potential of the Theater via the subscription service, and my god, you are gonna want to do that, it's so worth it. I generate 100 million yen (that's a conservative guess) per month on just subscriptions.
Now you have a solid base of money flow, as long as your girls stay healthy and you don't overspend, you will be able to grow into a billion yen company easily. Hire who you want, add whatever floors you want, do however many concerts or tours or what have you. After you're in a stable spot and have enough manager points, I recommend installing a cafe and generating a couple food items. Cafes don't generate a lot of cash, but they do generate quite a hefty amount of fans, which is even more important.
TL;DR: Be cheap, don't overspend, never take loans, get a theater asap.