Feng Shui Consultant

Feng Shui meaning “wind and water” is the ancient Chinese art of achieving harmony between a space and nature. Some might consider it simply superstition but there are many others who find it very important to consult with a Feng Shui consultant before designing their new office or home. A Feng Shui consultant is by no means an interior decorator, he or she uses this Chinese practice to remove unnecessary clutter from living spaces and correctly align the remaining essential items with the forces of nature.

Before The Start-Up, Let’s Not Get Ahead Of Ourselves

A qualification is by no means necessary, but if there is a school close to your home and you have the time it is highly recommended as it will boost the credibility and marketability of your consultancy. What is essential is a thorough knowledge of Feng Shui and good people skills.
If you enjoy improving people’s quality of life and helping them get rid of unnecessary clutter this is the perfect job for you.

The Start-Up

To start up you’ll need a few essential business items, a reliable car and cell phone are essential as you will be mobile for a large part of your working day. A computer, internet connection and business stationary such as business cards, flyers and an invoice template are also required. The Work Pad’s article on Business Cards, Brochures and Letterheads is a recommended read. An internet connection will allow you to keep up to date with the latest Feng Shui trends without any hassle. If you’ve never practiced Feng Shui before its possible to learn the art by doing plenty of reading.

When starting out its important to network and get your name out in the community. Network with local real estate agents and interior design companies and let them know about your consultancy; these companies most likely don’t offer your services and can refer work to you when clients request it. Remember to be generous and award any referrals with a commission of up to 15%.

Making It Work

Many Feng Shui consultants teach short informative courses on ancient art or specifically ancient Chinese art, consider branching out into this related field and offering courses yourself. You could teach at local community colleges or adult education programmes at high schools. This will allow you to diversify your income and might indirectly bring in business.

Marketing

Your consultancy will receive most of its work from word of mouth, always make a good impression on clients and never be without business cards, you never know when you might be able to land a new client. Advertise your services in local newspapers, the Yellow Pages, at interior design firm’s offices.

If you are looking to expand your service consider developing a small website, register your site with local business directories like Google Local if you live in the U.S. Be sure to list your services, rates and contact details. Try to have a least one small testimonial on every page. Consider having a section with free tips and advice, it might take up to a year for such pages to start attracting traffic from the search engines but if they do it will be well worth the wait. If your site does attract substantial traffic consider monetizing it with pay per click ads such as Google Adsense or by selling affiliate products through Amazon.

Don’t Forget

It’s important to always be up to date with the latest trends in the industry, don’t forget to factor the cost of new reading materials into your budget.