I've been playing The Sims 2 for years, and I especially loved the Open for Business expansion pack.

I liked making giant malls on residential lots, (because then the game wouldn't have to load a different area when your Sim went to work!) hiring employees, giving them specific roles, and trying to get their sales star rating up. I also thought it was cool having random people from the neighborhood drop by to check out your store.

Can the same be done in The Sims 3, or are some features missing? I've just bought it, along with the Ambitions and Late Night expansion packs.

Well, from what most people are saying, without mods not exactly..But if you get certain mods such as the rabbithole mat, you can build your own lot and make it like a open rabbit hole, and sims would go to work naturally etc..You can also buy most of the businesses in game, and in WA you can create a nectar shop..But other than those things, I can't remember anything else. oh! A big help would be the Town Life Stuff Pack as well, but somebody will either correct me on this or addon to this, because I barely remember..We're still waiting for an OFB style expansion pack, hopefully its on the horizon.

short answer: hell no!

long answer: no and yes. You certainly can't create shops and businesses in Sims 3 like in Sims 2, but you can get pretty close. Sims 3 has more of a "hands off" approach to economics in the game. You can build businesses such as laundromats, nectar shops(if you have WA), bookstores, eateries, grocery stores, and consignment shops on community lots. With the appropriate object/register, the game will assign a cashier/attendant and you will have what is known as a community venue. You can even go to a computer or telephone and either become a business partner in or outright purchase community lots around town. You will, unfortunately, not be able to "engage" with the community lot that you own like in OFB. If I remember correctly, the only extent is redesigning the community lot and firing/hiring employees. You will not be able to give them specific roles, teach them to sell, sell anything yourself, etc. As I said before, it's a very "hands off" approach. Not a well liked approach either. There are a bounty of mods available that cater to giving the player some of those abilities. One such mod is ani_'s shopping mod. It allows user controlled sims to sell items from their inventory(food, craftables, collectibles, etc)through various available registers and allow other sims to purchase said products. In the vanilla game, sims would sell things to the consignment shop and call it a day. As TMBrandon stated, there are several CC rabbithole rugs, doors, and objects that will allow the user to mimic the use of a rabbithole, but to build a custom lot around it. For example, I can take the rabbithole spa rug(or door), build a swanky 4 story building with a jacuzzi(s) and a full bar, and not only will sims be able to enter and disappear on to the rabbithole rug when directed to visit the spa, but they will also have a chance to enjoy the amenities I have placed on that lot when they return. Other sims and townies may also visit the lot just to use the amenities so it's like an actual spa. It may takes a little work, but you can enjoy some of the favored features from OFB.

TMBrandon: Town Life SP basically supplies the game with redesigned objects to use on community lots, so it can be useful to those who like to build. Same objects that are already available in the game, just a different look or theme. May be useful for those who like variety.