By Special Request Upscale concierge businesses give new meaning to the phrase "service with a smile."

Come on, admit it--you secretly want to be treated like a star,to have the world at your feet and your most whimsical desirefulfilled. Tickets to a sold-out show? Reservations at a high-endhot spot? A chartered flight to Bali?

You're not the only one. A whole industry has sprung up tomake people's wishes come true--and concierge BIZ Experiencess areprofiting from doing so. For the concierge who traffics in theluxury market, it's all about making life a little moreplush.

In fact, it's the rare and luxurious that concierge SteveSims, founder of Bluefish Concierge in Palm Beach, Florida, specializesin. Whether it's one-of-a-kind adventure expeditions or ticketsto high-profile Hollywood awards shows, Sims, 37, makes theimpossible possible from his locations in Florida, Geneva, HongKong and London. (Sims, 37, also plans to add locations in Dubai,United Arab Emirates; Los Angeles; Moscow; and New York City by theend of the year.)

"That's the whole point of this job--the imagination.You've got an endless inventory. These people have theimagination, creativity and money. As long as you can cater to thatand manage people's expectations, then you've got a goodbusiness," says Sims, who founded Bluefish Concierge in1996.

While working as a stockbroker in London, Sims spent much of histime attending the hottest parties and making friends with thehippest people. Unbeknownst to him at the time, he was building theconnections that would help his business gross about $3.7 millionannually. Sims projects 2004 sales will reach more than $5million.

Sara-Ann Kasner, president of the National Concierge Association, points out that"being well-connected is a huge factor. It's lifeblood.You're dead in the water without a team of experts to helpyou." In other words, you have to be on the best terms withhead waiters, club owners, airline stewards, hoteliers and so on toget your clients the best.

With a background as a hotel concierge, Cynthia Adkins had theconnections to launch Concierge at Large in 1997. Catering to thecorporate set, Adkins, 44, says her business is all about service."You have to be passionate about it," she says."You've got to believe that what you're providing isgoing to make a difference to somebody." From chartering aprivate jet for a client to tracking down an "impossible tofind" skin-care product from Europe, this San DiegoBIZ Experiences enjoys the challenge of coordinating last-minuterequests from clients--which have pushed her sales to $2.2 millionannually.

Kasner notes that while the high-end concierge market is largelyabout your network of connections and tends to be most popular incities such as Los Angeles and New York City (where wealthy peopleare used to first-class services), there are other niches in theconcierge market to explore. Homemakers, new mothers,academics--all kinds of people with limited time are learning theadvantages of a concierge that makes dinner reservations orarranges an appointment with the cable guy. But it's not justabout errand running--it's about coordinating people'sresponsibilities and desires.

"It's a growing industry. Everybody's getting onthe bandwagon," says Kasner, whose organization has grown to500 members since its launch six years ago. "When I became aconcierge [a decade ago], the average person came up to my desk andsaid 'How do you pronounce that word, and what does a conciergedo?' And now, the average person not only knows what the titlemeans, but [also] exactly what it stands for--that level ofhigh-end service."

For more information about starting your own concierge business,read BIZ Experiences magazine's Startup Guide #1818, How to Start a Personal ConciergeService (www.smallbizbooks.com).

What's Your Pleasure?

• Created a James Bond week in Monte Carlo, Monaco, for asuccessful businessman for $350,000. The Octopussy-themedevent included actors and leather-clad women who"kidnapped" him.

• Arranged MiG flights out of Russia

• Arranged for a famous celebrity to sing to a client's wifeas a surprise

• Set up a "spontaneous" marriage proposal for aclient, complete with a bagpiper on a pier at sunset

• Booked rare submarine dives to see the Titanic for agroup of New York City accountants

• Planned private tours of haunted castles in Europe for a clientplanning a not-to-be-forgotten family vacation