Being a lifestyle manager for the seriously rich can present some rather odd challenges. For instance, Oliver Joyce recalls being asked to find two albino peacocks to strut their stuff at a party, and arranging for a pair of false eyelashes to be flown by helicopter to the South of France.

Oliver, 23, pictured right, is executive assistant to Aaron Simpson, who in 2000 co-founded the global luxury lifestyle group Quintessentially as a super-concierge service with Ben Elliot, nephew of the Duchess of Cornwall. Today, Quintessentially employs 800 people in 37 offices around the world and handles the personal shopping, floristry and security requirements of many a household name.

It has also spawned several spin-off businesses, from chauffeur-driven cars to wine-finding and organising adventures — all for people loaded with money but not time. It doesn’t come cheap, starting at £750 for basic membership and rising to £24,000 a year (about the national average wage).

Oliver started at Quintessentially by working shifts on its 24/7 Ask Q service. “I was a student at the London School of Economics and did shifts from 5pm to 2am,” he recalls. “The service is open to all our members — basically we will arrange anything that’s moral and legal. We won’t lay on young ladies to visit hotels, but we’re often asked to get tables at The Ivy at short notice, for instance, and can help because of the relationships that we have built up over the years, both business and personal.

“If restaurants have a last-minute cancellation, we are the first people they’ll tell. If there are tickets going for a sell-out show, we’ll know which of our members could be interested. And, of course, we are often asked to find plumbers.”

After he graduated, Oliver was asked to join Quintessentially full-time, and he now plays a key role in researching opportunities that could create new business. Already these include Quintessentially Publishing (coffee-table guides to spas and hotels); Quintessentially Events (the Serpentine Summer Party is one of its bashes); Quintessentially Estates (a property-finding service for those who can’t be bothered with estate agents); and Quintessentially Escape, which organises experiences for clients that so far have included private guided tours of the Pyramids, and spy training by former M15 agents.

“I look at new ideas and decide what’s worth putting in front of Aaron and what isn’t,” he says. “If we decide that something is appropriate, we’ll really go for it and I’ll set up companies within the group.

“Aaron is very time-poor, so I try to make sure that he doesn’t have to worry about the smaller things.

“My job has a lot of deadlines, so there is strain and pressure, but in an enjoyable way. I am not quite sure who manages who, but Aaron is definitely my boss.”

Aaron recalls: “Ollie shone as a student, so we pulled him in. But the beginning of our working relationship was quite fractious. He tried hard — probably too hard — and made mistakes, but he won’t repeat them. I suspect that I’m quite fierce as a boss. If something cheeses me off, I’ll say so.”

Aaron was cut out to be an entrepreneur. As a student he staged drama festivals using undergraduate actors: “I persuaded Oxbridge colleges to let us use their lawns, and we’d stage Shakespeare plays to unwitting American tourists.”

After graduating, Aaron went into film production for Elton John’s Rocket Pictures. “It was working with Elton and Hollywood stars that made me realise there was a gap in the market,” he says. He met Ben Elliot through Tom Parker Bowles, who was then doing film PR. Today, Ben is largely based in New York and concentrates on marketing, while Aaron focuses on strategy.

“We plan to be in 80 countries by 2010,” he says. “Are we recession-proof? Luxury goods tend not to be affected too badly. People at the top end spot trends, tell each other and move their money into new markets.

“Of course, you could say that we are looking after the whims of the wealthy, but the fact is that there is a lot of money chasing very few good ideas. Hence Dragons’ Den — ideas looking for investment. Everyone’s looking for the next big thing.”

www.quintessentially.com

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