6 Ways To Select the Best Space for Your Business

Starting a business? Relocating? You can use Feng Shui for land selection to get your business off to the most propitious start.

When choosing the optimal place for your business, consider:

- the land
- the building itself (if you're not building a new structure)
- the surrounding buildings and land features
- the energy (chi) you experience on the site
- the previous occupants

Just as when you're selecting a house or apartment and you consider the lifestyle, challenges and strong points of the previous occupants, when you're buying land you want to think about how well previous businesses did in that space. Why did the previous tenant leave?

There's always that one business site in a strip mall or neighborhood that never does well, regardless of who moves in. Signs rotate from “For Lease” to “Grand Opening.” Shortly after, the dreaded “Going out of Business Sale” sign appears and very soon, it's back to “For Lease.” Avoid this space.

Making the Six Harmonies Work for You

Roman architect Vitruvius outlined “six harmonies” of architecture in his text “The Ten Books of Architecture.” Let's look at these harmonies and see how they relate to land and building selection for a place of business.

1. Order

Large and small architectural elements should correspond, creating a sense of organization. Similarly, you can use repetition and variation to “double” desirable features in the terrain with architectural elements.

2. Arrangement

This relates to the land: the ground plan, elevation and perspective. Selecting a site with strong Earth chi ensures safety (security), fertility (for the birth of new ideas), and the flow of money into the business for prosperity.

3. Eurythmy

Use the center line of the land to direct the flow of chi if you build a new structure. Coordinate the aspects of the building so height, width and length create beauty.

4. Symmetry

This ties in with eurythmy but refers to an appropriate standard of scale, so that small parts of a building (such as windows, porticos and adornments) are in harmony and repeat in different areas of the building.

5. Propriety

This is particularly important for business owners selecting a site with an existing structure. The style should suit the nature of the business. Using natural light and geographical structures also comes into play.

6. Economy

Use common sense to manage your costs and make sure a new building or existing structure fits town or city codes and requirements. For instance, if you open a retail outlet in a space that was previously a restaurant, you may sense an incongruity in the structure which could hurt your business.

Building Green
While it wasn't a consideration in Vitruvius' day, economy also includes building “green,” implementing renewable energy sources and other green building practices when practical. Many times, business owners discover green materials cost less in the long run. Respect for earth throughout the building process and preserving natural resources promotes positive chi and, in the long run, reduces costs for business owners.

Need Help with Land or Office Selection?
By making the investment to be sure you've selected the best spot for your business, you can move forward with confidence. Land, office and site selection for businesses is one of many consultation services I offer as a Feng Shui expert. If you are starting a business or relocating your office, retail or hospitality space, please give me a call for help in selecting a space to help with your overall success.

How to Feng Shui Your Cubicle for Career Success

Corporations don't necessarily design cubicles for success, unfortunately. Many cubicle-dwelling employees feel stuck, exposed, persecuted or unable to advance in their careers. But you can use Feng Shui to make yourself more comfortable in your cubicle and enhance your career success until you finally move into that corner office you desire.

Command position
Most cubicle layouts force the occupant to sit with his back to the cubicle entrance. You can place yourself in the command position, instead, by placing a mirror in front of you. This lets you see behind you, so you can see what's coming at you - in your life and your career.

Under your desk
Space is at a premium in cubicles, so people often use the area under their feet for storage. You may have your computer tower, a tangle of power cords and maybe even boxes, bags and an extra pair of shoes under your desk. Remove these items if possible, organize anything that's left. Can you store your personal belongings in a drawer, or leave them in your car?

At the very least, make sure the area directly below your feet is clear. You should be able to sit straight when you view your computer screen. Sitting an angle can cause numerous health issues.

What's overhead?
Make sure you don't have heavy items over your head. Many cubicles have built-in overhead shelves. Do not fill these shelves with books or other heavy items. If you do, you may feel downward pressure, like a literal weight on your shoulders. Items overhead can also lead to headaches. It is best not to have any items above your head at all.

Remove Piles of Papers
Piles of papers on your desk can mean you're not dealing with items you feel you should be. Unfinished business causes stress and anxiety. Every evening, clear your desk so that you come in each morning feeling refreshed and ready to start a new day.

Proper lighting
Make sure your desk and cubicle is well-lighted. The commercial says, "We'll leave the light on for you," symbolizing a feeling of friendliness and a welcoming atmosphere. This concept applies at work, too. Turn your light on to increase the energy of the space and invite co-workers to visit.

Life energy
Placing a plant in your cubicle enhances the life energy in the space. Consider a money tree plant, bamboo or jade. The plant should be healthy, green and alive, connecting you to nature.

Items of inspiration
Don't scatter documents, calendars and to-do lists around your cubicle. Keep these items carefully filed and organized, making room to add inspirational items to your desk. These can be photos, drawings, figurines-anything that brings you joy and inspires you.

Smell
You may not be permitted to burn a candle at your desk, but consider keeping peppermints in your drawer or a small citrus air freshener in your space. These scents awaken your spirit and give you an all-natural pick-me-up in the middle of the day.

Taste
Keep the chi flowing by placing a small jar of candy in your cubicle. It encourages others to stop by to say hello and grab a treat, increasing the flow of energy, wealth and happiness in your social circles.

Feng Shui Your Office to Advance Your Career and Make More Money

In hard economic times, you need every advantage to advance in your career. But did you know that something as simple as the location of your desk and the placement of your office within the building could send you on the fast track to greater success and more money?

Feng Shui does not provide a "one size fits all" solution. It depends on a variety of factors, including how the chi, or energy, circulates within the entire space. Are you comfortable or surrounded by clutter? Do you look forward to coming to work in the morning, or do you dread sitting at your desk for eight hours (or more) a day?

These Feng Shui tips will help you create an environment in which you can feel productive, happy and successful.

1. Place yourself in a command position.
Your desk should be in the "command position." You should have a view of the room and the door without being in direct line of the door or a main walkway. Sitting in front of a door puts you in the center of rushing chi, which can adversely affect your career - you may get fired or want to quit.

It's just as bad to sit with your back to the door, where you may feel as if you are under attack by your co-workers. If you can't move your desk but are facing a wall, place a mirror on the wall, desk or on your computer monitor so you'll be able to see behind you. This puts you in a command position, where you can see what is coming at you-both literally and figuratively-in your career. It also prevents your co-workers from "stabbing you in the back."

Ideally, you should be able to walk around both sides of the desk. This encourages the chi to flow freely around the room. If one side of your desk is blocked or pushed up against a wall, it can impact your income, as well as your relationships with co-workers, customers and prospects.

2. Get you and your career unstuck.
When many people approach me about feeling stuck in their career, one of the first areas I look at is under the desk. Make sure you don't have anything, including books, shoes, a wastebasket or computer tower blocking your leg room. You should have plenty of space for your feet, without having to do a break dancing move just to sit down. Anything that inhibits your leg room could make you feel stuck in your job.

Likewise, clutter, heavy bookshelves or weighty pictures on the wall above your head can cause anxiety and pressure. The downward pressure these create may even give you headaches.

3. Open the door to opportunity.
Your door, if you have one, should open a full 90 degrees so be careful how much you put behind the door. Nothing should block a person from walking into the space. A clear doorway welcomes wealth energies into your work space and allows you to take better advantage of new opportunities.

4. Add life energy to your space.
You can apply the Bagua map, a tool used by many Feng Shui consultants to illustrate how different sections of a space correspond to different aspects of life, to your desk. For instance, the back left corner of your desk represents wealth and abundance. The back right corner represents relationships. What do you currently have located in the corners of your desk?

But even without any knowledge of the eight sectors of the Bagua, you can easily add life energy to your desk in the form of bamboo or a money tree plant. This can improve relationships in the office and amongst co-workers, as well as attracting wealth and good fortune to you.

5. Trust your instincts
When your minor adjustments are done, look around your office and consider your feelings. Are you more comfortable? Does the space seem to flow? Do any items create stress when you look at them or does your office create a calm, yet energized, feeling for you and others who enter? Do you feel productive or stagnant?

Does this help? Do these suggestions give you some ideas on how to improve your own office? I'd love to know if you have any other advice to add.

If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment below or subscribing to the feed in the upper right hand corner to have future postings delivered to your inbox or RSS feed reader.

Feng Shui Office of Barack Obama and John McCain

What does the Feng Shui of your office say about you? When reviewing the offices of Barack Obama and John McCain, I notice a couple of interesting factors from a Feng Shui perspective.

Barack Obama does not have his desk positioned in the command position. Meaning that his back is to the door and is difficult to see what is coming at him. Based on his office set-up though, the couch is in more of a command position. I have a feeling this may be where he spends a lot of his time listening to others and sharing thoughts.

It could also say something about how he may view his job if he were President, listening to all sides and coming up with his own view or opinion. His space allows the chi (life energy) to circulate easily throughout the space this bringing in health and opportunities.

John McCain's office has a feeling of being stuck. And based on where the seating is in the room, I imagine that those that sit in the room never truly feel comfortable or at ease in the space. And with many of the items on the desk, may represent so many ideas and a lack of focus or completion.




What do you think? Would you change anything about either office?

 

If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment below or subscribing to the feed in the upper right hand corner to have future postings delivered to your inbox or RSS feed reader.