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THIS WEEK
Guest Article: How to Get Your Office to Flow
ALSO IN THIS EDITION
| Guest Article: How to Get Your Office to Flow |
This week we have a guest article by Julie McLeod from Kharma Consulting. Julie is an energy master who works with businesses to improve the positive energy flow around their business, clients and staff.
Many small and home based businesses are looking for an edge to help them gain a continuous stream of clients who pay their bills on time, combined with happy and motivated employees. What most businesses don't realise is energy can help give that edge.
Here's a case study of a recent home based business consultation I completed. The client had a busy home based business but with the economic downturn they wanted to do everything they could to keep business flowing. They had also noticed an increase in customers not paying their bills on time.
 The first thing I noticed when I walked in was the clutter. The owner, although generally tidy had over time accumulated bits and pieces that gave an untidy appearance. Clutter in a business is like plaque in arteries – it clogs things and slows the circulation down.
I recommended they move the old files into plastic archive boxes to contain the energy of the past, and to store them outside of the main office area.
We then got down to business! The owners' desk was up against a wall and had a hutch to store things in it. Hutches are generally not great energy. The top of most hutches can energetically cut off the top of the owner's head when they sit down – which means they can either live in their heads or can make them fuzzy thinkers.
I recommended they remove the hutch and relocate the desk so it was facing, and diagonally opposite to, the front door, which also meant they were sitting in the wealth corner of the office. This placed them in a more commanding power position and freed up their thinking. It also resulted in a solid wall being at their back, which meant they had greater support in their work.
The desk top itself needed to be cleared. The phone was moved into the wealth corner of the desk, along with a silver treasure box in which the owner had written down the exact type of client they wanted to attract to their business. The business card box, representing the wealth of
contacts the person had, also went into the wealth corner.
On the relationship corner of the desk, we placed a photo of the owner with their family –to remind them about the reason they were working, and to provide balance.
We placed one of their business cards at the base of the computer screen in their fame area, to keep them focussed on their goal. We also placed another business card under the telephone to attract people to call them.
The chair they were sitting on was quite good –it was well proportioned, had a high back and was ergonomically designed. This meant they had a good foundation to move forward with. On the days when the owner felt they were procrastinating, I recommended a red piece of fabric to be placed on the seat – to put a fire under them (metaphorically).
Just like most businesses, the owner's desk had a computer and thousands of cords running everywhere. As the cords were out of sight she hadn't thought about the effect of having the cords in a tangled mess in the wealth corner of the business. These represented that while on the surface it may appear that money and abundance were under control, when you dig a bit deeper things were not as organised as they seemed. I recommended some cord tidies be used once the cords were untangled.
We next looked at the placement of the office bins. They were out in plain view and were overflowing. Bins need to be emptied daily for good energy flow. They also need to be tucked out of sight under desks as they represent past opportunities. You don't want to be stuck in the past – so keep them out of sight.
The stationary cabinet was packed to the rafters with stuff – much of it dating back years. I recommended a total clearout – only restocking with things that were in constant use to keep the energy flowing.
The bookshelf was in the same boat – overstocked and full of a mixture of work and private books. Within a home based office, only work related books that are in constant use should be within the bookshelf. Non work related books need to be within the home area.
Like many people, the owner had a vision corkboard of things they wanted to attract into their life. I recommended they move the board so it was the first thing they see when they enter the room from their home entrance. I also recommended it be cleared of things that no longer served them.
With vision maps, it is best to have them laminated once they are completed. It helps to seal in the intentions and stop any bad energies from attaching themselves to the images.
I also moved the owner's degree into the fame and recognition part of the room, and placed a picture of flowers into the relationship area of the room to bring in more harmonious relationships with people.
The relationship area was also cluttered. The top of the filing cabinet had become a place to store equipment when not in use. We cleared the top of the cabinet and the owner placed a pink mat on the top and something that represented to her a group of people working together for a common goal.
To attract wealth in, we placed a 6 pronged wind chime in the room in the helpful friends area (it could have also gone into the wealth area), and arranged it so a fan would blow on it to gently make it tinkle all day.
We cleaned the water feature. Water features are great for a business, but they need to be cleaned thoroughly at least weekly and should never be turned off (other than during cleaning), as otherwise you could be turning off the flow of abundance.
Finally I recommended a large bright red mat be placed at the front door for visitors. It attracts in new customers and highlights the entrance of the business.
The result? New customers have been appearing every day – to such an extent my client is now feeling overwhelmed with the volume (a good problem to have!)
Energy work can appear as common sense solutions, but it is very easy to get caught up in the everyday and not see what is before and around us. Take a fresh look at your office today and see where you may be unwittingly blocking your flow of abundance, ideas or clients.
Julie McLeod offers a 3 hour home based business, and a 3-5 hour small business consultations which include analysis not only of your location, but analysis of your business cards and marketing materials. Call Julie
on 0417 460 741
to make an appointment.
| HR Tip - Staff Office Seating |
Keeping with the office theme, how and where you seat your employees has a large part to play in their productivity (and health). If you supply poor quality furniture for them to sit on or work at, you are sending a message to them about their worth.
Recently I have seen some businesses make employees sit on stools that had dangerously wonky legs,and other businesses have employees sit on chairs with ripped fabric and stuck wheels.
Some employees have to work in dangerously cramped conditions, where they trip over each other to reach folders or equipment.
As an employer it is your responsibility to provide a safe place of work under workplace health and safety regulations. There are legal rules around things such as space allocated per person. If your employee has an accident, then your liability increases if you have not complied with the core WHS legislation.
Take a walk around your workspace and ask yourself what message you are sending to your employees by the conditions you have placed them in?
This week I had the pleasure of presenting a full day workshop onf recruiting and selecting staff, and managing staff performance to members of the Nursery & Garden Industry Association.
Many industry associations struggle with how they can develop and grow their members, but the Qld Branch of NGIA really impressed me.
 They are highly proactive in providing an ongoing series of professional development courses for their members covering everything from technical skills on the latest irrigation techniques, to garden design and propagation enhancements.
They also cover a full suite of business growth sessions, including HR. They are totally dedicated to improving the professionalism of the garden and nursery industry.
The attendees themselves were fantastic - with many of the recent Qld Award winners including best Large Garden Centre in attendance.
The garden and nursery industry has been hit hard in recent years with the drought, recession and introduction of large "box" style garden centres such as Bunnings.
But rather than focus on doom and gloom, the attendees were passionate about learning ways to improve their business. They wanted to explore other options and ideas, beyond the traditional nursery thinking. They could see the potential in the industry and wanted to embrace their niche ideas.
Many industries could take a leaf out of the nursery industry book. Check out the national website and the Queensland website to see what makes them so great. Not only can you find out what they do, there are sections for the home gardener as well.
One of the great things about small business is their capacity to dominate a niche. That's why keyword research is vital to help you identify the web niches you may be missing out on.
Performance Management Misconceptions - Breaking Down the Myths
exuberantly yours
Ingrid
Heart Harmony
PS: This week's Small Business Tips blog also included a post about
Putting the Fun Back in
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