Does your office look and feel support your business intentions?

From 1994 through 2013 I worked out of my home. Like many homebased business owners, I prided myself on the fact that the walk from my bedroom to my office was a very short distance.
This all changed when I moved my business out of my home to an office space a few miles from away. The greatest advantage to making this change is the clear separation of home and business.
Another great benefit is having a nice space to host clients for VIP Days or intimate mastermind meetings.
The downside is not being around all my animals throughout the day and the fact that I no longer work in my jammies.
For anyone who wonders why I wouldn’t simply take my animals to work with me, loading up three horses and three dogs and a cat on a daily basis would be a bit much. LOL

Seriously though, after nearly two decades of having a homebased business, when I made the decision to get an office space nearly three years ago, there was a period of adjustment.
I was so used to working any time of the day or night, that to have regular office hours was kind of freaky. (Now I love it)
Another big change in the business was having Karen, my business and life partner, go from operating full time in the business to scaling way back in the business in order for her to pursue a different kind of business; indoor barn doors that are actually functional art as well as closet, pantry and office space doors.
After months, actually nearly a year of her being out of the office, Karen stopped by my office and commented on how not much had changed in the energy of the office since she started her own business. Her recommendation? Feng Shui my office.
Sounded like a great idea to me, but I wasn’t sure where to start other than with a Google search. There was no shortage of information. Some really good and other information not so good.
What I found interesting is with the thousands upon thousands of pages of information to choose from, there were only a few experts who consistently utilized content marketing to reach their audience. Most of the “so called” experts had one or two things available and that was it.
Eager to learn what I could, I actually booked a consulting call with a gentleman who has videos, ebooks, audios, landing pages and lots of enticing information available. He even had some media interviews posted.
I didn’t book the session right away because I wanted to make sure my time would be well invested. Granted, this was for a complimentary session but I already knew that if I liked the experience I would likely book more (for a fee).
Excited to talk to an expert, I anticipated the day of our session like a kid waiting for Santa to arrive. But my excitement turned to disappointment when I received a message a short while before our session letting me know that he had double booked and I was the one that got bumped.
Okay… that happens. It’s likely if you’ve been in business long enough you may have done the same thing. I was willing to let it go, but when the guy took several days to get back to me with another choice, I had gone on to other searches and found a different solution.
Lesson in this is; he worked really hard to get my attention, engage me, build my trust, get me to book and appointment and then he let the ball drop. Have you been guilty of this with potential clients?
We’ve all heard, “First impressions are lasting impressions.”

Is he as good as his content makes him out to be? It’s likely he is. But I, like most people searching for a solution, get impatient and we want to know our potential business is appreciated.
During the time he had cancelled and finally gotten back to me, I came across some great information and books that addressed a lot of my questions. On my own quest, I started buying a few things for my office.
One is a beautiful water fixture that sits on a table in the South part of my office. According to the Bagua Map, this is where a water fixture is best positioned. This is the career space.
Behind me sits a candle. It is on a book shelf that is in the Illumination and Reputation area and fire is perfect for this area.
There are other additions to my office such as a live plant on a beautiful wood table in the foundation and family area.
I’ve had a lot of fun using my intuition to select pieces I am adding to my office. The energy has definitely shifted and it has such a great feeling from the moment I walk through the front door.
I am continuing to add to the space to create the best feeling I can. Whether I am meeting with a client, working on a new information product, blogging or being interviewed by the media, my space energetically supports my actions and efforts.
What are you doing to enhance your workspace? Regardless of whether you work out of your home, an office offsite, you share an office or you co-op, you can do amazing things to enhance your space and making it somewhere you love showing up fully for your business, your clients and customers and yourself.