Fame

Let's start with an easy route to your fifteen minutes of fame: You can become the spa manager to the stars. Suppose, for example, that a certain American Idol judgette swears by your spa's Godiva chocolate wraps. She won't even consider showing up for the series' taping unless she visits your spa beforehand. Perhaps a top makeup model insists on your esthetician's specialty facial to make the diva look her best for a close-up photo shoot. This kind of fame can do wonders for your spa's appointment calendar.

However, there's another kind of publicity that can potentially wreck your reputation. Suppose your spa technician applies a perfect seaweed body wrap, and leaves the client to percolate in a warm, toasty room. Your staffer returns to find the client has broken out in hives from an allergic reaction to something in the seaweed marinade.

Trouble is, the poor woman can't scratch herself, so she's writhing and thrashing in a futile attempt to get some relief. Finally you and your technician get her unwrapped and into the shower, and then pack her into a cab for a trip to Urgent Care. Guess you'll be footing the bill—and ditching the profit—for that mishap.

Finally, your massage therapist might forget her last client is dressing after a relaxing massage. When the woman finally emerges from the soundproofed massage studio, the massage therapist and the other spa staff have really, truly left the building (and no, they haven't seen Elvis along the way).

The poor client panics, realizing she'll have to trip the building alarm if she wants to get out before morning. With no other option, she pops the door and waits for the security company to alert the police (who think she's there to rob the place). Next morning, the story appears in your metro newspaper's gossip column. You did want to make the news, didn't you?