Location, location, location ... we’ve all heard the mantra.  Location is important to any successful business venture, but location is especially important to practitioners of and believers in Feng Shui -- the ancient Chinese art of placement -- in which the exact location of everything is of paramount importance.

The Chinese believe that where and how building structures, furnishings and even very small items are placed will greatly affect the flow of positive and negative energy. To channel this energy effectively, believers have been using Feng Shui (pronounced fung shway) to improve their health, wealth and happiness for more than 5,000 years. It’s only within the last decade or so that an increasingly large percentage of North Americans have accepted the validity of the philosophy, in part thanks to moguls such as Donald Trump, who has incorporated Feng Shui into the development of his multi-billion dollar projects. Hey, if it works for The Donald, it’s worth a second look!

Go With The Flow
By introducing Feng Shui into your place of business, it’s believed you can optimize a positive energy flow while minimizing the negative. This translates into a more pleasant, efficient and comfortable place in which to work, along with happier staff and increased business volume.

We matched Ali Moledina, a Montréal c‑retailer looking to increase his state of wellbeing and business success, with Marie‑France Dayan of Feng Shui Dynamics Inc. (also of Montréal,) to see if a little Feng Shui could increase the good vibrations in Dépanneur Dino, Moledina’s store.

“My main issue is to be able to spend more time with my family,” says Moledina, the father of a young family. “I’m having to work very long hours in order to make ends meet.” As well, Moledina feels communication could be better between him and his staff, noting they don’t seem to share his concern for providing the best in customer care.

“The focus of this Feng Shui consultation will be to help Ali achieve faster revenues and to open up the communication flow in the store,” says Dayan.  “The ch'i (pronounced chee) or life force in the store is average and can be increased by implementing a number of recommended cures.”

The nice thing about Feng Shui is that recommended cures, or fixes as they’re sometimes called, can be relatively inexpensive. Mirrors, fish tanks, live plants, and fans are all useful fixes to improve the flow of positive energy in homes, offices and business establishments. In principle, the five basic Feng Shui elements of metal, fire, water, earth and wood must be in balance to maximize positive ch'i at any location. Fortunately, there are ways to improvise when your location seems to be lacking one or more of the key elements.

The Feng Shui Audit 
Dayan says there are three main areas of concern when performing a Feng Shui audit on a small establishment such as a c‑retailer, including the placement of the cash register, the front door, and the location of the store itself.

“The general location of Ali’s store is considered auspicious or favourable. As he’s located at a cross street, with four stoplights, traffic is slowed down enough to gather ch’i, or positive energy, into the store,” says Dayan.

If a store is located on a thoroughfare where traffic flows through too quickly, it is considered much less desirable. “The address at 7401 Papineau is also an excellent number for business, as the combination of the numbers one and four is said to be a great money generator and very good for career and promotion,” says Dayan.

With respect to Dépanneur Dino’s front door, Dayan suggested that Moledina plant pine trees around the door to create a semi‑circle curvature surrounding the entrance. “Symbolically, this will counter the effects of a non‑levelled (uneven) threshold and stairs going down to the street ‑ which mean loss of money. Vigorous trees wrapped around the entrance will help Ali retain his money and should alleviate him from having to work so hard all the time.”   ... page 2.

[ Top of Page ]