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Case
Study: Starting a consulting service in the 'personal and corporate
development' market.
By Stuart Ayling
Debra Jarvis runs a leading
Feng Shui
consultancy located in Brisbane Australia.
Debra Jarvis is a graduate of the Western School of Feng Shui (pronounced fung-shway). She has studied in the USA with Terah Collins and Becky Iott who are authorities on the practical application of Feng Shui to western culture while honouring eastern heritage.
Debra describes Feng Shui as "Enhancing our environment to enhance the quality of our lives", and she is internationally recognised for her skill in applying Feng Shui enhancements to Australian homes and workplaces.
In her quest to establish the premier Feng Shui consultancy in Australia, Debra Jarvis has learnt a lot about what works in starting a new service business. And Debra readily admits that perseverance and enthusiasm have been essential drivers of her success. |
Buy
Debra's book
The ABC of Feng Shui
(Published 2004)
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Debra first developed an interest in Feng Shui whilst working as an accountant. After attending an information session in Brisbane presented by Terah Collins, founder of the Western School of
Feng Shui, Debra's attention was drawn to the tangible benefits of Feng Shui.
I know what you may be thinking…and it even took Debra a little while to fully accept the results Feng Shui could bring. As Debra says "My rational 'accounting' brain had trouble accepting Feng Shui at first. But over time I came to see what was possible".
Some months later Debra went to San Diego California to study at the Western School of Feng Shui, and successfully graduated as a certified Feng Shui consultant.
On her return to Australia Debra was uncertain of the demand for her services. Little did she know that in the not-to-distant-future she would be accompanying Terah Collins on an Australian tour meeting hundreds of Feng Shui enthusiasts (and potential clients).
Debra's business - Feng Shui Miracles - started with presentations to intimate groups of less than 10 people in
August 1999. At the time Debra did not charge anyone to attend these 'party plan style' gatherings that met at the hosts home.
In the early days Debra usually knew the hosts of these events through friends or
other people she'd met. Debra's confidence began to rise when she found a number of the participants booking her for personal residential Feng Shui consultations and being asked to do more group presentations.
This success convinced Debra there was a viable market for Essential Feng Shui and she began to charge for each attendee at her presentations. Interestingly she found this discouraged people who were not really interested, and as a result her ratio of bookings from presentations increased. The largest group Debra has addressed was over 150 people.
During 2000 Debra retained a business planning 'mentor' to help organise her business activities and found this assistance to be priceless. Debra explains " It was great for me to be accountable to someone to make sure things were happening. I was also encouraged to have a longer-term view of my business, like considering "What happens in 12 months time?" Before then I had been totally focused on what to do day by day to generate revenue."
As a leading proponent of Feng Shui in Australia, Debra was asked by Terah Collins to accompany her and other key speakers on the 'Working with Wisdom' tour in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane during March 2001. On this tour Debra assisted
Terah during book signings and was responsible for fielding questions from hundreds of interested seminar attendees.
Not surprisingly Debra is now recognised as an Australian Feng Shui expert and is constantly sought for both private and business consultations.
Feng Shui Miracles has recently moved into new premises at inner city Milton (Brisbane) with ample room to run workshops in-house.
Debra has had success with business consultations and is keen to expand her work in this area. "I usually find the business owners will also want a residential consultation after they see the difference it can make at work" claims Debra.
An initial business consultation takes around 2 hours to complete and evaluates the most important Feng Shui elements, with information given on possible future changes. A written report is provided, with anywhere from 20 to 40 items listed for action. Debra says, "I usually stress the importance of the combined home/work environment. It is best to look at both situations to get the best results for clients".
Which marketing activities work for
Debra?
 Word-of-mouth mentions have certainly been a major part of her marketing success. Debra has also arranged some verbal references for any potential clients needing
extra encouragement.
The initial free group
presentations. Debra says "The free presentations generated a great deal of goodwill for me and I still have people being referred to me by some of the first attendees".
Quarterly
newsletters. Both printed and emailed.
Email messages about upcoming
workshops. "I usually get a few personal consultations from every workshop message I send out. And this doesn't count the bookings for the actual workshop!" says Debra.
Yellow Pages. Debra explains, "Because Yellow Pages has a separate category for Feng Shui I have found a positive return on investment with my ad".
Producing an annual schedule for her workshops gives potential attendees more time to plan their time away from work or home.
Bartercard was a useful tool when she first started out. "I found many business people had too many Bartercard credits and they could spend some with me. So it definitely helped in the early days," says Debra.
What hasn't worked so well?
Display advertising in 'new age'
magazines. This is attributed to the fact these publications do not target Debra's key customer group - business people. Through experience Debra knows that Feng Shui is
much akin to business, and that business people appreciate the structured approach to get results from implementing Fung Shui recommendations.
So what does the future hold for Debra Jarvis and Feng Shui
Miracles?
Debra is keen to continue her work in the commercial sector, seeking to apply her business background to Feng Shui principles so clients can have confidence in achieving some noticeable outcomes.
And of course she will continue with her personal residential consultations and group presentations. Debra's reputation and ongoing workshop program guarantees more and more people will hear of Feng Shui.
Debra believes the 'personal and corporate development' market will continue to
expand as balance in our lifestyle and working environment become increasingly important.
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