Business Operations

'Business Operations' is the term used to describe any ongoing, regular, money-making activity on which a little time needs to be spent to ensure continual income flow. Not included in this category are such as booze hijackings, 'Other Crimes' (one-off robberies & heists), ransom demands for kidnapped rivals, or any other activity which generally results in only one-off, single payments or income boosts. Essentially, anything which earns money but is usually conducted through issuing specific Orders, rather than an automatically-repeated activity which does not require an actual Order. Valid, automatic 'Business Operations' generally fall into one of three areas, as follows:

Rackets

All Characters need to make money, the main source of which is to operate illegal rackets. Once established, a racket requires managing and overseeing to maintain a decent level of income. The longer a racket is in operation without direct competition, however, the less time it will require on the part of the controlling character to maintain a steady income, but initially it will require much of his time each week. Some rackets are also simply more time-intensive than others might be, whereas some rackets will be able to be run almost entirely by paid subordinates once properly established, reducing the controlling character's time requirements to a very low minimum. A typical racket might require, for example, 15-20 Time Points each week when first set up, but as time goes by this might fall to as low as 3-6 Time Points to keep the income flowing, allowing this Character to set up yet another racket. Time requirements will vary considerably from racket to racket, as will the length of time needed to be in operation before a racket reaches its minimum time requirement. However, as a general rule, the more time you allow a Character to put into his Business Operations each week, the sooner he will reduce the Time Points requirement of each racket until each is at its minimum for the income being made. When assigning Time Points to Business Operations the slider will turn red as soon as you reduce a Character's Time Points below the minimum needed to ensure normal maximum income collection. There is nothing to stop you doing so of course, this is merely a visual warning. Conversely, allocating more Time Points to Business operations than are actually needed will act as a bonus in one of two ways. Firstly, extra time will be spent on more rapidly reducing the future time requirement for the latest new racket. Secondly, if all rackets controlled by this Character are already down to their minimum time requirement then any extra Time Points will be used by the Character to squeeze even more income out of all existing Business Operations. However, using extra time in this fashion will not be as profitable as setting up & running a brand new racket would be, once that too is down to its minimum time requirement. Over time, most Characters will be capable of developing 3-6 different racket operations, depending on the types of rackets involved and, of course, their own appropriate Abilities & Skills. Note that just because a new racket would require 20 Time Points when first set up does not mean it cannot be set up by a Character with only 10 points spare each week, it simply means that he will only collect half normal income from it until its time requirement falls. It will also take twice as long to fall to its minimum time requirement if he can only devote 10 weekly Time Points to it instead of the 20 it needs.

Legal Businesses

Most legitimate businesses, regardless of size, will use 'front' men who are friends and family of the controlling character, thereby making it harder for rivals or the authorities to connect the gang member to these businesses. This provides for a safer income as well as better 'fronts' for illegal rackets using the legitimate business as a front. However, even though his own involvement in the day-to-day running of his legal businesses is kept to a minimum, each legal business will still take up a little of the character's time on a regular basis, if only to check receipts, cook the books, launder some of his illegal income through the business account, and to draw his own income from the business.

Blackmail Income

Blackmailing a wealthy Civilian character through knowledge of a hidden 'Skeleton' is one of the most lucrative forms of criminal enterprise in Vendetta, not in the sense that it can earn a fortune so much as the fact that it takes very little time to actually collect the weekly 'hush money' payments. However, it still takes some of the character's time and is also a regular activity, therefore collecting Blackmail income is included in the 'Business Operations' category. In those cases where a character is not allowed a great deal of time to conduct normal 'Business Operations', he will generally collect Blackmail payments before normal racket income (though income from legitimate businesses will always be collected first). This is generally safer from rivals than is operating a known racket, and the income gained for the little time spent can often be the best time-profit ratio available in the game. Consequently, Blackmail income is preferable to any other illegal income when it comes to waging gang warfare, when little time is available due to excessive caution - and when what little time there is normally has to be spent conducting aggressive actions, or the planning of such. Bear in mind that the one great disadvantage of Blackmailing any character is that your Syndicate or Family will never then be able to use this 'Skeleton' to gain real influence over that character. Once you Blackmail someone, he will always be deeply (if secretly) hostile towards you, and towards anyone known to be associated with you.