A feng shui consultant has a working knowledge of the school(s) of feng shui she/he uses. Each feng shui school has specific applications for bringing a home or office into harmony with balanced chi energy.
Choose Type of Feng Shui to Practice
The first thing you need to decide is which type of feng shui you wish to practice. The BTB (Black Sect Tantric Feng Shui) is also known as Black Hat or Western Feng Shui. The Classical Feng Shui is based on compass and form schools of feng shui as well as four pillars, eight mansions, and other disciplines.
Learn Your Craft Well
Once you choose the type of feng shui you wish to practice, you want to seek a legitimate source for your education. There are several online courses and onsite schools that teach feng shui. There is no official certification, but many Feng Shui Masters offer certificates of their coursework and are recognized by the non-profit International Feng Shui Guild (IFSG).
Build Your Credentials
You may wish to add to your coursework credentials by joining a feng shui professional group, such as the IFSG. Ann Bingley Gallops of Open Spaces Feng Shui began her BTB training with feng shui author Terah Kathryn Collins.
Always Learning
Even as you begin to work as a feng shui consultant, you want to continue to learn about your chosen occupation. Over the years, Ann added to her knowledge base with other studies and achieved IFSG's Red Ribbon Professional status. Opting for certificates and joining a professional organization is strictly a personal choice since there is no professional licensing for feng shui consultants.
Begin Small and Grow to Full Time
The best way to transition into a new career of self-employment is to start out small. You can begin consulting during your off hours and on weekends. This is a safe way to begin consulting since you don't have the pressure of full-time self-employment responsibilities.
Transitioning to Full Time Feng Shui Consultant
You can keep your regular job until you've built a reputation and client base. Like so many feng shui consultants, Ann Gallops wasn't planning on making a career change. She was interested in how feng shui could help her as she began a life after a divorce. "One happy outcome to learning feng shui was that it led to my transition from full-time employment to freelance consulting work," Ann says.
Different Pathways to Feng Shui Careers
You may want to take a page out of Ann's career book. She began as a professional organizer and was able to use many feng shui applications in this new career. "My clients loved it when I talked to them about enhancing their lives through simple adjustments to their Relationship or Prosperity Areas."
Referrals by Satisfied Clients
The adage that client referrals are the best form of advertising definitely fits feng shui. Ann agrees. Her first client was a non-believer, until Ann advised her to make a few adjustments to her home. "Three years later she was still recommending me to her friends," Ann says.
You May Choose a Specialty
As you begin your practice, you may discover you have a special talent for certain areas. For example, you may decide to specialize in working with infertile couples or working with estranged couples. If you choose to go into specialty feng shui, be sure it's something you want to do every day.
Challenges Working as a Feng Shui Consultant
Just as all careers, feng shui consultants face challenges. Each project you undertake will have a specific set of challenges. Your job is to solve each of these, so your client ends up with a home that has better feng shui energy and their lives are improved.
Solve Afflicted Areas
You will come across clients suffering from personal issues, such as health, career or relationships. Ann shares a unique challenge she faced with a client. "Her new husband's hostile ex-wife seemed ever-present in their lives despite living over 100 miles away," Ann explains. The negative energy was highly present in her client's home.
Communication Is Vital
Understanding your client's needs and history are helpful in assessing what may be some of the issues she/he is facing. Ann's client discussed the issues she was having with the ex-wife. "During the course of the consultation I discovered that the ex-wife was indeed symbolically present in the house," Ann says.
Work With Clients to Resolve Inauspicious Chi Energy
Feng shui is often a two-way street with active participation by the clients. In Ann's case, she was able to work with the couple to make necessary adjustments, such as the placement of their king-sized bed, artwork in their bedroom as well as the exterior of their home. "By the time I left that day, their feeling of relief was palpable," Ann says.
Decide How You Wish to Work
Just as any job, you need to find your rhythm and how you wish to conduct your business as a feng shui consultant. There are ways to approach your consultations. Ann shares how she sends her clients a questionnaire. "It asks about their personal and professional challenges, their goals and aspirations, the history of their space, and more," she says.
Onsite Evaluations
Of course, as a trained feng shui consultant, once you arrive onsite, you typically see feng shui issues, often those your client mentioned in the questionnaire or on the phone. "An examination of their floor plan frequently alerts me to feng shui issues right away," Ann says.
Make a Plan for Each Project
As you gain more confidence in your feng shui knowledge and practice, you'll begin to instantly recognize feng shui issues. The key to successfully helping your clients is to create a plan to sufficiently address all issues. Ann explains, "At the end of the consultation the client has everything he or she needs to make the changes we've discussed."
Grow Your Business By Teaching Others
You can grow your consulting business by offering free classes to the general public. The best way to gain attendees is to work with your local public library. Often the classroom areas are inexpensive or even free, and the library is usually happy to advertise your event to their patrons.
Free Advertising by Teaching Feng Shui Classes
Teaching classes is a great way to get your name out there and let people know you're available for consultations. Be creative in your approach of the structure of your classes. A few helpful tips to ensure your event is successful include:
- Make printables for your attendees to take home. These should include at least 25 actionable things they can do to improve the feng shui of their homes, such as declutter, bed placements a few cures, and activate elements.
- Offer refreshments and make sure you build-in a socializing part of your presentation.
- With the handouts, offer a parting favor in a small feng shui bag. You can include a feng shui cure, such as three-coins tied with a red ribbon (buy coins in bulk from a supplier), attach to a card with your logo and consulting information. On the back include instructions on how to use the feng shui cure.
- Place a guest book at the entrance of the room and encourage attendees to sign their names and email addresses for next class schedules, special offers, updates and newsletters with assurances their email will be kept private.
- Leave your business cards at the guest book stand.
- Offer a raffle to attendees for a free one-hour consultation or two prizes for a 30-minute consultation each. This can be a great way to gain clients and ultimately referrals.
Room to Grow
You can eventually transition to paid classes. Ann shares, "I started teaching feng shui classes with very small groups and worked up to audiences of over 100 people." You can transition into paid classes by creating more extensive and informative coursework. Some practitioners create their own feng shui school and offer a certificate of completion. The sky is the limit for sharing your expertise.
- 2-for-1 offers can be made for those bringing a friend to your class to encourage enrollment for your first few classes.
- Offer a progression of classes building on the last one and delivering actionable information.
- You may want to write a book and teach from it while offering handouts for additional information not covered in your book.
Joy in Working as a Feng Shui Consultant
Feng shui consultants working with clients to solve challenges is a rewarding career. It's often filled with the joy and happiness that comes from helping others have a better life by overcoming feng shui issues.
