CHAPTER 1
Name & Number
Name
The name of the store is important to your store's successbecause it plays a very yang role. The name is the first thing thatmany people will hear or read before they have physically comeinto your store. Being first is a yang quality.
The store's name should be two to four syllables. Five syllablesis sometimes okay, but the more than five is not a good idea.Years ago I went into a restaurant in San Francisco and had awonderful meal. I told the owner (who was also the waiter) thathe should change the name of his restaurant from Org Veganto something catchier. He asked if I had a suggestion and Isaid, "Raw." That enterprising young man, Juliano, went on toname his very successful restaurant and book Raw. I seldomrecommend that retail stores use a one-syllable name, partlybecause it can sound confusing over the telephone. (The energyof a restaurant is quite different from the energy of a store anddifferent feng shui rules apply.) A one-syllable name is too yangfor most retail stores. It's best to have at least two syllables—it'smore welcoming and generally helps to clarify what your storeis about. Some part of the name of the store should explainwhat kind of merchandise you carry. Questionability is a yincharacteristic as compared to clarity, which is more yang.
If a catchy name doesn't easily come to mind, I recommendPOP: Stand Out in Any Crowd by Sam Horn. She addresses theissue of business names in great detail. The perfect name foryour store will probably come to mind while you're readingPOP. See Recommended Reading.
If the name of the business is two words, it will sound moreharmonious and lyrical if one of the words has an odd numberof syllables and the other word has an even number of syllables.(This is also true for people's names.) If you make the name ofyour store a joy to say, people are primed to love it.
Don't choose a name that is:
• difficult to pronounce
• confusing
• spelled uniquely.
Beware that some names are commonly spelled differently,such as sun and son. Avoid all possibilities of confusion and youwill have maximized opportunities for chi energy (customersand their money) to find your store.
There should be only one name for the business. It amazesme that I should have to state something so basic, but I'vebeen to businesses that had signs in front with more than onebusiness name. That's horrible—it's confusing and turns peopleoff. You'll never know how many people it turns off becausethey won't come into your shop in the first place.
It's best to avoid the arcane in retail. Don't use Shoppe, orOlde. Don't have Ltd. at the end of your store's name, as if youexpect people to say the word "limited," which I hope you don'tbecause to say that is limiting to your store's success. Don'thave the amateurish word Enterprises as the last word of thestore name—it adds plenty of syllables but they aren't clarifyinganything. Plain and simple is yang, and that's what's best inretail. You have to go out of your way to be arcane, and the resultis usually too cutesy.
Unless you own the real estate, don't name your store afterits street location. What if Elm Street Emporium loses its leaseand has to move to Oak Street? You can't predict the future, sodon't limit possibilities by imagining that your store can onlyexist at its current location. However, if you own the property,you (in a sense) own part of the street, and promoting therecognition of your street's name is often to your advantage.
It's a great advantage to have a store name that evokescomforting, familiar, or pleasant memories for the customer.Don't use a name that could be offensive to people whomight otherwise be happy to spend money in your store. Anyname can sound harsher or more pleasant, depending on thespeaker's facial muscles and which syllables are accented. Moreinformation on how words are spoken and heard is in Chapter3 under Telephone.
The spoken name of a business is a special focus in Jes Lim'sFeng Shui for Business & Office. See Recommended Reading.
Numbers
I practice Landform School feng shui, which teaches that whereyou are is more important than what number you are. LandformSchool is concerned with shapes, much more basic than theabstract concept of a number. Lucky numbers have no place inthe feng shui I practice.
The noble number four is considered to be not a luckynumber by some people whose first language is Cantonese,because it sounds similar to their word for death. English doesn'thave any rhyming number names that play into superstitions.All numbers are equally good as far as I'm concerned. Find goodsymbolism in whatever numbers your store has, the numbersvisible on the street or numbers dialed from a telephone.Personally, I like the number four because it feels grounded,complete, and solid, like four-square.
I don't use numerology in my own life, but there are fourlucky numbers in Compass School feng shui. They are 3, 6, 8,and 9. Do with them as you like.
Street Address
Be grateful for whatever numbers are your street address.Be grateful you have a street address. It means you're still inbusiness. Make those numbers extremely visible—directly overthe front door is perfect. Catch the most chi energy from thestreet; let anyone looking for your address find you. Not onlycustomers, but emergency first responders can find you easilyif you ever need them.
Always place your address numbers in a horizontal row.Never place the numbers in a vertical line. Address numbers ina vertical line are read from top to bottom. That directs energydownward, which is not a favorable direction to move energy.
If you are in a historic building and therefore cannot relocateaddress numbers that are to be read going down, don't add newnumbers going horizontally. Honor what you have, and makethe vertical numbers look as nice as possible. That can involvecarefully taking down the old metal numbers and boiling theheck out of them. If you keep the numbers in plenty of boilingwater all the old layers of paint will eventuallys often and separatefrom the metal, which is left unharmed. It can take a while, butyou've used no chemicals and haven't scratched old historicmetal. If you can choose the new paint color of the numbers bevery bold—as bold as your neighborhood will allow. Considerusing a bright, rich red—readable and noticeable. If the oldmetal numbers turn out to be solid brass, don't paint them; justconsider yourself blessed and keep them shiny. When placingthe numbers back where they were originally, put the tiniesttouch of red paint on the back of the number—a super-smalldot. Make the intention stronger by saying out loud somethinglike: "You are being placed horizontally."
Red is a symbolic cure and it means new blood—freshsituation. Red is commonly used in feng shui for making asymbolic change when no physical change is possible. Even ifthe front side of the number is already painted red, it's a goodidea to put the dot of red on the back side just before putting thenumbers up in a vertical orientation. That way you are addingthe dot of red just before the numbers are reattached to the walland the intention is vitally in the mind and being said out loudduring the time that the numbers are being re-screwed to thebuilding. Say your intention out loud once per number that isbeing reattached.
Telephone Number
Your telephone number should have the same prefix as theother stores in your area. If your store has a toll-free number,don't have just a toll-free number, have a local number as well.It's best to have a land line with your local phone company. Idon't recommend having a store with only a cell phone.
The actual number should be easy to remember, so havingrepeated numbers is very advantageous. That makes it easier forchi energy to find you. Having repeated numbers transposed andin different combinations can be confusing and have a back-and-forthenergy that does not indicate progress.
Don't have a phone number that spells words, unless youalso write the numbers out in your promotional material andon business cards. More information about business cards is atthe beginning of Chapter 8.
CHAPTER 2
Location & Exterior
Success begets success—and failure follows failure, so bewareof locations where:
• the immediately previous store failed
• the location has a history of failed stores
• the immediately previous store had a poor reputation
• the location has a history of stores with poor reputations.
If the immediately previous store failed, but the locationdoesn't have a repeated history of failed stores, then the locationmight be fine, but you should definitely do a cleansing of thespace in a very complete way. You can do that yourself or youcan find someone who is experienced in sage smudging. Sagesmudging is my preferred method of cleansing a building. Myown experience, as well as that of other people I've met, hasverified its efficacy. See Smudging in the Glossary.
Questionable locations are best avoided. That uncertaintyis quite yin. Of course there are exceptions, such as when youfeel an area of town is on the verge of resurging. Retail is whatmoves culture along. Energetic shops can help rejuvenate anolder neighborhood through the people they attract.
Locations near large bodies of water can be questionable,unless the business caters primarily to tourists. People don't liveon those large bodies of water, so in the circumference aroundyour store there is less opportunity to harvest the chi energythat your store needs to survive. Fish markets are the obviousexception.
If possible get a location that allows you to put somemerchandise outside. This is not appropriate for all stores, butthe stores that do use some sidewalk space for sales are makingmoney on space that otherwise wouldn't produce income.Nothing looks as fresh or says OPEN more effectively thanmerchandise outside your front door. Your store is then activelyfishing in the stream of passersby. I'm referring to carts or racksthat are rolled out in the morning and rolled back inside atclosing time.
If your store is in a previously residential building, removemost, if not all, of the interior walls and replace them withsupport posts and beams. Get the necessary permits and do itto code and make the interior look standard retail. That yangdeclaration will overcome years of history as a yin building—ahome. Certain businesses are already quite yin in nature:
• Antique shops
• Gift shops
• Bookstores
These businesses are yin because they involve looking at lotsof little things, and they are generally quiet inside. These storescan put to use the different small rooms of an ex-house and stilldisplay their merchandise properly and logically.
Parking
If you expect most of your customers to arrive by driving, thenconvenient parking is a must for the location. The feng shuisymbolism of parking is simple: The potential customer (chienergy) has a huge object they must safely park before they cancome inside and spend money (a different kind of chi energy).The mouth of a store is the place where the energy that sustainsthe store enters. Traditionally, this is the front door. But if yourstore has its own separate parking lot, the mouth begins atthe place where a customer drives in. The main idea is to letyour customer easily know where to park. Your potential tosuccessfully attract chi is strongly tied to the accessibility ofparking.
The message of the parking area should be we care. Theparking area must be patrolled at least once a day to pick uplitter. This is a must. Also be on the lookout for weeds and deadplants. Do this even if you have a shared parking area and noneof the other stores accepts responsibility for patrolling it. A caris a very valuable possession—a customer must feel confidentabout where it is parked.
In a perfect world, parking would not be an issue becauseconvenient mass transit would bring the customers close toyour store. In the real world, not every store is blessed withnearby mass transit. A nearby, safe parking garage is a greatadvantage.
When you or your employees are working at the store, don'ttake the best parking spaces in your lot. Park your car in arelatively unused part of the parking lot. And if the parking lotis fairly large, don't park in exactly the same parking space everyday. The change of using a different parking space has a yang,enlivening effect in an unused area of the lot.
Stores in urban areas need brighter lighting in their parkinglots than suburban stores. Perceived safety is most important.
Electromagnetic Fields (EMFs)
The final thing about location is actually the first thing to checkfor. Get your hands on a gaussmeter and check the level ofelectromagnetic fields (EMFs) in the building. Most freestandingbuildings have no elevated EMFs, but shops that are crowdedtogether in dense neighborhoods can sometimes have very highEMFs. Certain electrical wires and devices have magnetic fieldsaround them that are amazingly strong—so strong that youshouldn't spend much time there, otherwise you're running anincreased risk of developing cancer. Test any potential storelocation for high EMFs.
I consulted for a potential store location in Honolulu'sChinatown. I didn't consider the EMFs until near the end of theconsultation when we were discussing cash register placement.I turned on my gaussmeter and no place in the store had anacceptably low level of EMFs. I just continued out the doorand kept checking my gaussmeter. All the neighboring storeshad very high EMFs, and the situation continued that way forseveral blocks. I got some very curious looks from shopkeepersand people around me, but no one kicked me out, even when Iwent into a restaurant. Occasionally there would be an anomaly,one location with zero EMFs. I assumed the whole problem hadsomething to do with buried electric lines in that part of thecity.
I learned a lot from that consultation, and I now check EMFsat the beginning of a consultation. I was ready to give my okayon the location, but because of the high EMFs, I had to say no.They agreed, especially because their young children wouldspend their after-school time in the store. EMFs affect childrenmore severely than adults.
Electromagnetic fields can be measured with gaussmeters.Gaussmeters were not needed for feng shui in ancient Chinabecause electrical devices hadn't been invented. I use a TrifieldMeter from AlphaLab—the kind most cardiologists use. If youhave a cardiologist friend, you could possibly borrow theirs for afew hours. (I hesitate to say this in a book for independent stores,but Amazon sometimes has other gaussmeters at amazinglylow prices.)
In my experience, electronic security gates do not have highEMFs around the gate, only within the gate. No one should standwithin a security gate for long periods of time. I can't imaginewhy someone would want to.
There is no symbolic cure for being in an area of highelectromagnetic fields. You simply shouldn't be there for longperiods of time. The cancers caused by high EMFs can take acouple of decades to develop, but please take these situationsseriously—your life and future health are at stake. A sheetof solid metal is the only thing that stops EMFs. There aregimmicky devices that are sold to neutralize high EMFs—someyou wear, some you stick on things. They are all bad science—expensivebad science.
Exterior Color
The best colors for the exterior of your building (if your storeis in a freestanding building) and your sign outside are red andyellow (with black for lettering). Be cautious of using the greensand browns of nature—those are camouflage colors and theycan hide your store. Stores need to stand out and be noticed. Ifyou can't stand out physically, you'll need to use color to standout. Even if your store sells natural products and things relatedto nature, use bright colors on your outside sign.
You have a very brief time to grab eyeballs as people are busilygoing past your store. Color can grab eyeballs—use it. Even blueshould be used with great caution because the sky is blue, soour eyes are very accustomed to seeing that color. However, theright shade of blue can be quite arresting depending on whatcolors are seen around it. The right color is one that does notpredominate on neighboring buildings and stores. If the storesaround you are already using reds and yellows, you'll need topick a color that is different from those shades and perhapsuse a purple or an orange. Never use a fluorescent color on anypermanent exterior signage.
