small
business
Good vibes,
good Feng shui can bring
success to your door
feng shui
By Doreen Pendgracs
basics
• Avoid clutter. Clutter is
the No. 1 no-no in feng shui.
• Never sit with your back
to the door. It symbolically
leaves you open to surprise
or attack.
• Use real plants when
possible. Silk plants are a
good substitute, but never
use dried flowers.
• Display pieces of art
and photographs that make
you feel positive about your
life and business and that
symbolize your successes.
Display them within your
clear view for inspiration.
• Follow your consultant’s recommendations
to the letter.
Finding an
expert
• See
www.wofs.com for an
online listing of feng shui
practitioners or check your
local alternative newspaper.
• Look for a “certified”
feng shui practitioner
or master and ask about
their training to avoid getting someone who is not
fully qualified.
• To sign up for a free
electronic newsletter and
have a consultation done
by telephone or mail, see
www.fengshuidynamics.net.
FENG SHUI (pronounced “fung shway”)
is the ancient Chinese art of placement
in which the precise location of everything A stark and uninviting environment
is of paramount importance—that will drive away business faster than
where and how buildings, furnishings you can say “feng shui.”
and even very small items are placed, how
they are shaped and the direction they’re
facing will greatly affect the flow of positive and It’s up to the patient to take the remedies and follow
negative energy. directions as given.”
PHOTODISC
Asian believers have been using feng shui to One businessthat followed Dayan’srecommen-improve their health, wealth and happiness for dations saw its sales increase 70 per cent over the
more than 5,000 years. It’s only within the last decade course of a year. Not bad for a process that cost the
or so that an increasing percentage of North business owner about $300 for the comprehensive
Americans have accepted the validity of the philos- consultation and $300 for the fixes—which included
ophy, thanks in part to moguls such as Donald some specific landscaping at the store’s entrance and
Trump, who has incorporated feng shui into the the precise placement of a few Chinese-style orna-development of his multi-billion -dollar projects. mentations such as jade elephants, water-immersed
In Canada, several large companies, bamboo and silver coins within the store.
such as Shell Canada, Quebec-based Another business owner changed her fur-L’Union Canadienne, The Body nishings from white (which represents
Shop, Avon and others, have death in feng shui) to black wrought
achieved positive results by intro- iron—said to be auspicious. She also
ducing feng shui into their corpo- neatly packed away all her clutter out
rate premises and philosophies. of sight in accordance with her feng
L’Union Canadienne had a man- shui practitioner’s suggestions. The
dala —a customized feng shui– result was a significant increase in
inspired circular piece of art— sales and a dramaticdecreaseinthe
installed in their foyer, which lifted stress she had been feeling.
the spirits of all who entered the office. During my own recent consulta-By introducing feng shui into your tion, in which the focus was to try to
own place of business,it is believed you can increase sales, recommendations included
optimize a positive energy flow while mini- placing a small bowl of water and a turtle
mizing the negative. This translates into a (not a real one!) on the bureau by my
more pleasant, efficient and comfortable desk. These changes were easily done, and
place in which to work, along with a hap- since that time I have enjoyed a 50 per
pier staff, less stress and increased business cent increase in my monthly sales follow-volume. FRANCE FREEMAN ing a four-month slump earlier this year.
The nice thing about feng shui is that it How much of that good fortune is a result
doesn’t necessarily involve expensive or extensive of the feng shui fixes? Who knows? But one thing is
renovations or changes to your environment. indisputable: The feng shui recommendations cer-Changes, or “fixes” as they’re called, can be as simple tainly didn’t hurt, and they cost me very little effort
as the introduction of a tabletop fountain, fan, mir- or money to install. C
ror, fish tank or live plants to the room.
The changes suggested in your consultation are Doreen Pendgracs is a freelance writer who avoids
very specifically tailored to your own environment clutter and never sits with her back to the door.
and to the activities conducted there. “We’re like
doctors,” says Marie-France Dayan of Feng Shui
