Housewife in Hollywood - housewifeinhollywood.com

I’m always fascinated by entrepreneurs. When I came across a video from the Today Show about a business called Celeb 4 A Day, I just had to find out more from the founder Tania Cowher.

Celeb 4 A Day gives the average person the star treatment and offers their own personal paparazzi. I have to admit that I wouldn’t want to be followed every day by the paparazzi but one day would be exciting. Especially if I knew I was being photographed and could play along with each shot, going from the limo to the club in celeb style. Tania and her Celeb 4 A Day team can make this idea into reality. We can experience the excitement of celebrity for one day and get back to our mundane existence the next. Thank goodness for mundane because I wouldn’t want to be caught by the pap’s the next morning while taking out the trash.

Find out more about Celeb 4 A Day with my Q&A with founder Tania Cowher.

HIH: How did this idea come about?

Tania: Over six years ago I was in photography school in Santa Barbara. On one of my infrequent days off, I happened to be watching one of the celebrity culture shows, I think E.T. or something like that, and had the thought, “I wonder what that’s like?” My next thought was, “Surely, I’m not the only one that wonders.” The idea came to me then to offer personal paparazzi to people. It sat with me until November of 2007 when I tried my hand at designing websites and needed to do one with “no pressure” of succeeding (not for a client, something I could do in my own time). Basically, I paid the $10 for the URL, designed the site, put it up on the web and called my friends to see what they thought. It spread like wildfire and a week later we had our first customer.

HIH: Celeb 4 A Day is offered in Los Angeles and you have more than a few locations. Did they all launch at the same time?

Tania: I am based in Austin, Texas. So naturally we opened Austin first. Then I reached out to some of my friends from school and opened, in order, Los Angeles, San Francisco and finally New York City.

HIH: On your site you have a suggestion for D-List actors to try Celeb 4 A Day, has Kathy Griffin signed up yet?

Tania: Ha, no Kathy hasn’t called me. I wish she would as I think that would be a ton of fun (if at the very least just for us), but since creating the company she has definitely moved beyond D-List in my opinion. She may not need us anymore! However I do think it would be a good idea for people in the industry that want to control their own image/ coverage. The Pope has his own paparazzi, so why not?

HIH: Do couples ever choose to be celebrities for a day together? I could see this as a great wedding or engagement gift.

Tania: We do have couples hire us a lot for many different reasons. We’ve done date nights, surprise birthdays for spouses and even one where our client just found out they were having a boy – so he hired us and took his wife out (she was 8 months pregnant) on a celebratory date with us in tow. We also have done a few actual engagement nights – where our client proposes to his wife-to-be and we are there to memorialize the night and make her feel like the most special person on the planet.

HIH: I noticed on your Today Show spot that a Birthday Girl and her friends were going from club to club. I imagine if I was a celebrity for a day I’d be going from the grocery store, to the gym, and then to my kiddo’s park days. Do you ever have people doing the not so glamorous things like heading into Rite Aid, and Starbucks?

Tania: Because our normal packages run anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours, it doesn’t always put us in a position to get people doing normal things. Most times our events coincide with the client’s special event. We would definitely do that, though, should a client want that kind of attention.

HIH: Is there an age requirement for this? With all the Super Sweet Sixteen style parties that happen I can imagine teenagers would love this type of experience.

Tania: We do a lot of sweet sixteen’s. The great thing about what we do is that it is for anyone that has an event where they want to feel special or one of a kind. We’ve had everything from 6 year old birthdays to a 64 year olds surprise retirement party. I’ve never thought there was an age requirement for feeling special or having fun – so why limit the experience?

HIH: You started the idea of a paparazzi experience and you say you’re “often imitated, never duplicated.” What makes Celeb 4 A Day different compared to the copycats?

Tania: Well, I’d say first and foremost is that we really do care about our clients and want them to be able to have an experience that they’ve never had before and that they will never forget. I started this company truly wanting the everyday person to be able to feel special because I believe in those types of people and we do everything we can to provide that. I always say that it’s those types of people that are paying the tickets for the movies, shows, buying the products advertised on television/ in magazines that ultimately pay the salaries of the real celebs – surely they deserve a little attention and to have some fun too.

Also, I don’t know how other companies do it, but we don’t just show up with cameras for the gig and go home. From the moment you call, we’re there to help make the event as smooth as possible. Whether you need help planning an event (where to go, what restaurant is best, where to shop, arranging other services, etc.) or you just need our services, if our services are included we’re going to make sure that you have the time of your life because ultimately that’s our real job.

Experience Personal Paparazzi with Celeb 4 A Day

If experiencing the Star Treatment or having your own Personal Paparazzi for a day sounds fun, visit celeb4aday.com for more information.