To ensure a flourishing business venture, one must first cultivate an auspicious environment. Are you aware of the Feng Shui taboos concerning storefronts? Let us delve into the following discourse to gain insights.
Frontage Feng Shui Taboos:
1. Avoid Drainage Holes: It is inauspicious for the storefront to have circular drainage holes, as they signify money loss. If these holes are large, they may even attract financial disputes. It is advisable to cover the drainage with a red carpet to divert misfortune and promote prosperity.
2. Conceal the Kitchen: For industries requiring gas usage, it is unfavorable for the stove to directly face outward, symbolizing financial exposure. Since the kitchen represents fire and the influx of customers symbolizes water, their clash should be avoided. Ideally, customers should not have a direct view of the kitchen, and north-facing storefronts are unsuitable. Conversely, businesses associated with water, such as beverage sales or aquariums, should avoid south-facing storefronts.
3. Transparent Pricing: Despite lavish decorations, failing to display price lists can deter potential customers, making it a significant taboo in storefront Feng Shui.
4. Optimal Location: Besides choosing bustling commercial areas, within such areas, there are distinctions between “sunny” and “shady” sides. The sunny side, characterized by a high influx of people, is preferred, while the shady side should be avoided. It is crucial to select the right location. Moreover, opening a shop at the end of an alley, in a corner, or in a dead-end alley should be avoided. In Feng Shui, water symbolizes wealth and never flows towards the end of an alley or cul-de-sac, resulting in stagnation. Such locations not only fail to attract customers but also increase the likelihood of business failure and frequent changes in ownership. The mirrors used for facade Feng Shui decoration should not directly reflect the outside of the door: it’s prone to financial leakage and gossip. Five major taboos in storefront decoration: First, the door of the shop should not be too small. The number of customers welcomed and sent every day determines whether our shop business is prosperous. The door is the throat of our storefront, the passage for customers and goods circulation. Therefore, it’s best not to make the door too small. According to Feng Shui, a door that is too small narrows the shop’s air intake, hinders the flow of Qi, and slows down its inflow, thereby reducing the vitality indoors. For the operation of the store, a door that is too small will cause inconvenience for customers to enter and exit. Customers carrying items are likely to collide with the door, often damaging sold items. A narrow shop door will cause congestion at the entrance, and a large number of customers may stop due to this situation. Excessive crowding is prone to friction between customers, ultimately affecting the normal operation of the store. Second, the color of the storefront should not be arbitrary. The choice of colors for storefront decoration is also crucial. Some businesses believe, through psychological tests, that bright colors like red will make people relatively excited, thereby stimulating their desire to purchase. From the perspective of Feng Shui, the color of the storefront should be combined with the owner’s birth date, the orientation of the storefront, and the five elements attributes of the items sold. Classify the attributes of items into five categories: wood, fire, earth, metal, and water. Then, based on the owner’s fate and the Feng Shui of the store, determine the specific color scheme inside the store. The method is extremely complex, so it’s best to consult a professional Feng Shui expert for guidance. Counter placement at the exit is discouraged in certain shops for promotional purposes. Often, counters are strategically positioned at the escalator exit to showcase promotional items as soon as customers step into the mall. However, this approach tends to prompt many customers to intentionally bypass the counter and head directly towards adjacent ones. We suggest relocating the counter blocking the stairwell exit about 2 meters to the side and observing the resulting effects. It is believed that this adjustment will unveil the subtle charm of “home aesthetics.”
Furthermore, it is advisable to avoid aligning the escalator directly with the storefront entrance. In many contemporary shopping malls equipped with escalators, it is cautioned against positioning the automatic escalator facing the entrance. If this layout is already in place, it is recommended to use shelves for concealment. The rationale behind this is to prevent customers from immediately encountering the escalator upon entering—a principle rooted in Feng Shui, favoring the avoidance of direct alignment. Failure to adhere to this principle may lead to an abundance of customers but a scarcity of actual purchases.
In the realm of interior ambiance, caution should be exercised regarding the volume of live music played within the store. Many establishments play overwhelmingly loud music to create an atmosphere. While music itself is capable of shaping the ambiance, the genre and volume are crucial considerations. Gentle and refined melodies can captivate customers, encouraging prolonged stays and potentially increasing the likelihood of purchases. Conversely, deafening sounds, classified as “sound Sha” in Feng Shui, exude ominous energy, inducing customers to experience irritability and adversely affecting the sale of items in the store. Recommended Reading: Comprehensive Taboos in Stair Feng Shui
In the realm of commercial Feng Shui, the orientation of a shop’s entrance holds paramount significance. If the entrance aligns unfavorably with ominous structures, an air of foulness, mournful wails, and disease-ridden sighs will inevitably engulf the establishment. While managing a miscellaneous sundry store may bear some resilience to these energies, ventures in the culinary domain or the operation of an inn are destined to witness a paucity of patrons and sparse lodgers. Furthermore, for proprietors immersed in such an environment, it can lead to mental lethargy, stagnation of spirit, and, in severe cases, succumb to illness and financial ruin.
It is imperative to shun locations with irksome storefront Feng Shui. When selecting the foundation for a dwelling, the cardinal objective is to face northward while exposing the southern aspect. This aims to evade the scorching sun in summer and the biting cold winds in winter. The choice of a business address also warrants consideration for avoiding exposure to harsh sunlight and chilling winds. Hence, the most auspicious orientation remains facing north while embracing the south, emphasizing a southern disposition.
For commercial enterprises housed in storefronts, if the entrance faces east or west, sunlight will permeate the interior from dawn to dusk during the summer months. The intense summer sun is considered inauspicious in Feng Shui. The intrusion of this ominous energy adversely affects the operational activities of the establishment. The initial victims of this malevolent energy are the shop attendants. Under the scorching sun, they experience dry mouths, dizziness, profuse sweating, making it challenging to maintain a positive demeanor. The staff, grappling with low morale, either seek makeshift shades or attempt to cool down with fans or air conditioning. Engaged in such conditions, the attendants are inevitably plagued by restlessness, and their interactions with customers—deemed as deities by business proprietors—become perfunctory at best and even veer towards rudeness. In such a scenario, the prospect of conducting successful business transactions becomes an unattainable aspiration. Avoiding the piercing cold in a shop, especially one facing the north, is essential as the impending winter approaches. Whether it be the biting northeast wind or the chilling northwest breeze, both tend to infiltrate the wide-open entrance of the establishment. Feng Shui considers the cold air as a form of negative energy, and its excessive presence poses unfavorable effects on both individuals and commercial activities. When the cold wind strikes, it becomes an additional torment for the store staff. Those with robust health may endure, while those less fortunate may succumb to illness. Despite efforts to bundle up and warm themselves by the fire, the excessive cold makes the staff reluctant to move, hindering the flow of goods and diminishing sales.
Avoiding a shop with an excess of yin energy is crucial in a bustling market where people converge, creating a vibrant atmosphere. According to Feng Shui principles, where there are people, there is vitality – representing yang energy. The more people and vitality there are, the more prosperous the business becomes. From an economic standpoint, the bustling areas in the market are where commodity transactions are most active and frequent. People gather there, primarily for the purpose of purchasing goods. Choosing to establish a shop in a bustling market not only positions one’s merchandise actively toward potential customers but also attracts them, fostering a conducive environment for sales and business prosperity.
On the contrary, setting up a shop in a secluded street is akin to avoiding customers. Operating a store with minimal foot traffic results in a desolate atmosphere, with the shop possibly being devoid of customers. According to Feng Shui, people represent vitality, and a lack of customers signifies a lack of vitality for the store. The scarcity of vitality leads to an excess of yin energy, contributing to the downturn and stagnation of the business. A store steeped in excessive yin energy not only suffers financial losses but also drains the vitality of its owner, ultimately leading to bankruptcy. Opting for a spacious location is essential when selecting a commercial property, as it aligns with the principle of embracing abundant energy from all directions, a philosophy akin to the ethos of commerce, which thrives on attracting diverse clientele.
Adhering to this principle, when choosing the address for a shop, consideration should be given to ensuring unobstructed space directly in front of the storefront, devoid of any impediments such as walls, utility poles, billboards, or excessively large trees. Prioritizing openness in front of the shop not only allows for unobstructed visibility in all directions but also ensures that both distant customers and passersby can easily perceive the storefront. This, in turn, facilitates the dissemination of information regarding the shop’s offerings, reaching far and wide, thus enticing potential customers and passersby.
In the realm of feng shui, this dissemination of information is referred to as the flow of energy, which, when present, imbues the space with vitality. From a business standpoint, when customers and passersby receive information about the shop’s products, they are more likely to visit and make purchases.
When selecting an auspicious location for business, considerations extend beyond mere visibility. Some may opt for a street name imbued with positive connotations, or choose a house number believed to bring good fortune, thereby imbuing the address with symbolic significance. Such choices not only offer psychological comfort to entrepreneurs and customers but also hold significance in the realm of feng shui.
