The ideal business environment

LOCATION, location, location — this is the mantra that the real estate world lives and breathes. It is not very different for business owners when it comes to selecting a premise for their endeavours which can range from corporate enterprises to food and beverage establishments.

Although the mantra seems to highlight the location alone, it actually consists of other factors which are equally important for businesses to flourish.

These include demographic compatibility, accessibility, visibility and others. However, even with the business owners’ best efforts, why is it that some businesses still fail despite having executed what seems to be carefully calculated business strategies?

The ability for a business to succeed at a specific location is sometimes attributed to the Feng Shui of the premise. In today’s business world, Feng Shui could give a business an advantage over its competition. The study of the surrounding energy, or Qi, is slowly becoming a widespread practice. For Feng Shui to play a significant role in the success of a business, we must first understand the type of energy of the location that would suit a business best.

Identifying positive energy

For any commercial property, it is a fundamental practice in Feng Shui to first figure out the direction from where Qi is coming. The next step would be to harness and tap this Qi through various methods that could maintain the continuity of the positive energy flow.

For this to take place, the Qi should have ample space to collect and bring about positivity. This can be achieved by having a park or open space in front of the physical structure of the business.

Apart from providing access to the business, roads around the establishment also double up as a carrier for inbound Qi. Observe how these roads undulate on the surface of the earth and that they carry Qi subtly — akin to a calm river flow. This gentle flow of Qi will ensure that your business is on the receiving end of auspicious energy, instead of Sha Qi or Killing Qi that comes in the form of a raging flow. This undesirable form of energy appears when roads in front of the business are steep, thus rendering substandard effects.

Harnessing Qi collection

Even in nature, water that travels from higher to lower ground eventually gathers to give life. The calm flow of Qi that approaches the business would gather and bring about great Wealth Luck. Ideally, the physical structure which houses the business should be located at the foot of a landscape. To benefit owners and tenants alike, the property should be sitting in the East, Southeast or North.

A business owner would do well to open the Main Door to welcome Qi into the establishment. This allows Qi to circulate within the premises. Keeping other doors open would further encourage its dissemination.

However, some premises may not be able to collect Qi as easily. Certain older premises, for instance, are designed with sharp corners, and are located along straight lines or have narrow gaps in between buildings or structures. These negative features allow Sha Qi to be formed in the surrounding environment of these businesses. Such undesirable types of energy are vicious and aggressive, and come in a variety of forms such as T-junctions, roof-edges, pylons, sharp mountain peaks or even straight roads. Sha Qi is also produced when wind is forced through narrow gaps between two structures.

It is however important to take note that pointy plants or furniture do not produce these negative effects. After all, it is almost impossible to run a business without the use of anything sharp. If that were the case, you can kiss office desks and butcher knives goodbye! The best form of defence against Sha Qi, believe it or not, is practical common sense. As long as these features do not harm your business in any way, there would not be any reason to panic. To learn more about the energies circulating within your new or existing business environment as well as their effects on the business property, visit www.joeyyap.com for a definitive guide.

Datuk Joey Yap is the world’s leading Chinese Metaphysics consultant and bestselling author of more than 160 books which have sold over four million copies worldwide. He is chief consultant of the Joey Yap Consulting Group and founder of Mastery Academy Of Chinese Metaphysics. His nearly two decades of professional consultancy includes working with Microsoft, Sime Darby, UEM, Prudential and Citibank. He has students in more than 30 countries.

If you have any feng shui-related questions for Yap, please go to the Tips section of  TheEdgeProperty.com.

This story first appeared in TheEdgeProperty.com pullout on July 15, 2016, which comes with The Edge Financial Daily every Friday. Download TheEdgeProperty.com pullout here for free.