Choosing a good day to start business

TIMING is everything in business. Whether you’re starting something new, negotiating a deal or signing a contract, picking a date when market conditions are conducive for your endeavour will go a long way. It eliminates a significant portion of risk factors and could yield profitable returns.

Date Selection has long been used in ancient Chinese metaphysical studies and has since been adapted into all sorts of activities both major and minor in the modern life. The philosophy behind Date Selection is to schedule a certain activity or allow it to be activated during a point in time when the energies are most conducive.

The Tong Shu is an ancient algorithm that uses one’s BaZi chart to identify suitable dates for specific endeavours, including that of a business nature. It singles out clashes with the BaZi day pillars and is able to point out fitting events with hourly precision.

The Tong Shu is used to help regular folks apply Date Selection to particular activities without having to calculate energy patterns and cycles to determine the right time at which an action would yield the best results. Indeed, if this was possible, why leave it to plain chance? Let’s take a look at some of the more important decisions in business that could depend on Date Selection.

The grand opening

A business opening is not the preliminary paperwork or signing of contracts, but the very day a business begins its operations. For example, if you’re running an online business, then it would be the first day your website goes live and is ready to accept online transactions. You would want to avoid doing this on a Year Breaker Day, Month Breaker Day, or your own Personal Breaker Day.

Determining your Personal Breaker Day is fairly simple. The Personal Breaker Day is the day that clashes with your personal animal sign based on your year of birth. Most of us are already aware of our personal animal sign from the 12 Animals of Chinese Astrology. All that’s left to do is to plot your BaZi chart and, from there, pay attention to the Earthly Branch animal under your Year Pillar.

Let’s observe an example. If you were born in the year of the Dog (Xu), the clash will take place with the Dragon (Chen). All Dragon days as marked out in the Tong Shu are against your animal sign, and therefore, considered to be your Personal Breaker Days. Here’s another example: If you were born in the year of the Monkey (Shen), then the clash is with Tiger (Yin), and all your Personal Breaker Days are Tiger days.

Good days to start your business would be on an Open Day, Success Day or Stable Day in the month of your choice as indicated in your Tong Shu. The Success Day is self-explanatory, but an Open Day indicates auspiciousness for any sort of activity that welcomes the participation of others. A Stable Day is favourable for long-term activities and will confer your endeavour with longevity.

Negotiating a deal

The same rules apply when it comes to days you should avoid when negotiating a deal. Steer clear of any kind of Breaker Days, be it Year, Month or Personal Breaker Days.

Good days on which to negotiate a business deal include the Success Day. You could opt for the Stable Day, depending on the duration of potential outcome from the negotiation. If it’s something that will have long-lasting consequences, then go for a Stable Day. A Full Day would also work well. It is used when you expect bountiful returns, particularly if you’re negotiating a deal for a franchise, as it creates a multiplier effect. A Receive Day would also be auspicious as it is used to earn something particularly rewarding, or in the case of a negotiation — to receive an agreement. In other words, to receive what you want from a deal or negotiation.

Signing a contract

Avoiding Breaker Days is equally imperative for this instance. Days that would apply here include the Success Day, for the same reason as stated in negotiating a business deal. The Stable Day would also fit this equation, particularly if the contract stretches for a significant amount of time, or long-term. Conversely, the Balance Day is welcome as it is meant for activities that benefit several parties involved, thus producing a win-win outcome.

Clearly, there are plenty of ways of using Date Selection to help you achieve specific targets in business-related endeavours. These are just some general ways to get you started. But if you require something more personalised, a consultation would be able to help you demystify your BaZi chart. Visit www.joeyyap.com and find out how you can take baby steps towards exploring the art of Date Selection for your business.

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

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.

This story first appeared in TheEdgeProperty.com pullout on Aug 19, 2016, which comes with The Edge Financial Daily every Friday. Download TheEdgeProperty.com pullout here for free.