By Joanna Tovia
The Courier Mail 17/11//04

WOULDN'T it be wonderful to have your own personal concierge to handle all those time consuming chores you'd rather avoid?

Life is becoming so busy that many people are resorting to just such services and lifestyle management businesses are emerging to meet demand.

Catharina Vaag, president of the International Concierge & Errand Association in Australia and New Zealand (ICEA), says: "The industry is booming, not only in Australia but also worldwide."

Ms Vaag also runs Sydney-based Busy Lifestyle Managers, a business she started last year to help people maintain the work-life balance they so desperately seek.

"It allows people to do what they want to do versus what they have to do," she says.

Lifestyle managers can tackle just about any task asked of them – from doing the grocery shopping or organising a party to walking the dog.

The standard hourly rate is about $35 but blocks of time can be booked at a discount. A five-hour block, for example, costs about $135.

Time is usually booked in 15-minute increments.

The costs of special projects, such as organising a wedding, can be worked out ahead of time.

Ms Vaag says the most common tasks people request of lifestyle managers are errands such as picking up dry cleaning and buying groceries and gifts.

"We also get a lot of requests from people wanting help relocating. It's a huge job and it's very stressful."

Ms Vaag says clients also employ her to track down unusual gifts such as rare bottles of wine or collector's items. And personal chefs can be arranged for a one-off occasion or to prepare a home-cooked meal ready for a client's return from travelling.

It isn't just wealthy executives and celebrities who use personal concierges. Ms Vaag says working mothers are increasingly using the service.

Owner of Adelaide-based Lifestyle Elements and ICEA vice-president Abbie Martin started her personal concierge business this year and says many of her clients are executive business women with young children.

"They are absolutely flat out and need that extra time," she says.

People are realising, she adds, that outsourcing errands and time-consuming tasks is not a luxury but a necessity. A major benefit in having a one-stop-shop for outsourcing chores is the relationship clients develop with their lifestyle managers.

"The more a personal concierge understands a client's needs and wants, the better service they will provide and the more time they can save them," Ms Martin says.

She started her business at the beginning of this year but the idea was born when she worked as a nanny during her university years when her employer used her as a run-around person as well as a nanny.

Now that Lifestyle Elements is up and running, she says her long-term plan is to franchise the business across Adelaide and possibly Australia.

Ms Vaag says 77 per cent of lifestyle managers run their businesses from home but

to start such a business you have to have the right personality.

She says personal concierges must be able to make a client feel like they are the most important person in the world.

They must also have these attributes:

• Strong organisational skills.

• Multi-tasking ability.

• People skills.

• Cultural awareness.

Start-up costs are relatively low at $2500-$5000, according to a recent International Concierge and Errand Association study.

For more information on how to become a lifestyle manager, contact Catharina Vaag on 0403 77 17 37 or visit www.busylifestyle.com.au