FORMER Singapore Airlines stewardess Mae Lam, owner of Ayana Spa, set up her business in Oman in 1998 after spending four years working for the Sultan of Oman. She was one of the 12 stewardesses on his jets.

'We had a lot of time off. Sometimes we didn't fly for a whole month,' she recalls. 'But they were very strict. We couldn't marry and had to be secretive about our work.'

While describing working for the Sultan as one of the best career decisions she made back then, Ms Lam also says there was 'no progression'.

In any case, she wanted to make a career switch to go into the beauty business and took up courses in the United States and United Kingdom. She also studied management.

'Anyway, I had to quit because I met my husband,' Ms Lam says.

With financial backing from him, a Lebanese working for the Minister for Petroleum in Oman, she opened a spa in the Grand Hyatt Hotel. Start-up cost was about $500,000.

'I realised there were big business opportunities in the spa business then,' Ms Lam says. 'There were no standards', which suggests no competition.

Labour costs were low - about $400 monthly for a receptionist - and the therapists needed for the spa could be brought in from low-cost countries.

Ms Lam applied and got special investment privileges which allowed her to register the business under her name and take on a minority partner. Otherwise, she would have had to find a sponsor and get her business registered in his name - a risky arrangement that may have led to complications.

Ayana Spa had a captive client base at the Grand Hyatt itself: tourists from the Middle East and elsewhere.

But there was a shortage of space in the hotel. So after four years, Ayana Spa moved out to bigger premises.

In the hotel, the female therapists could deal with male clients, but not outside - which suited Ms Lam just fine, because she often had problems with male clients who 'misbehaved'.

She declines to disclose figures, but says her business is 'very profitable'. Her staff has in the past five years doubled to 20. During peak seasons, Ayana now serves up to 60 female clients daily.

Why doesn't she open another spa to capitalise on an apparently booming business?

The personal touch, Ms Lam says; she has to be at the spa to ensure standards are maintained and to greet guests - and she can't be at more than one spa.

'If the Sultan's niece comes, you have to be there to welcome her,' she says. 'It's old marketing. No advertising, only word-of-mouth.'

Ms Lam says she can expand only if she finds another investor who is willing to be hands-on and present at the spa.

Oman has opened up the country more to foreign investors in the past two years - and there are plenty of opportunities for Singaporeans at the moment.

'This is the right time to come,' Ms Lam says. 'Singapore and Oman have a good relationship and Oman sees Singapore as a model for development.'

But you have to make a long-term commitment.

'You have to live there,' Ms Lam says. 'Unlike Dubai, business in Oman is commercial but still traditional. It's who you know, and you need introductions to do business. You need to be hands-on and have the personal touch.'

The cost of living is also lower than in Singapore and so is the labour cost, according to her. But labour laws there are rather rigid - you can't sack a worker after probation. You have to appeal to the Manpower Ministry repeatedly to do so.

Otherwise, life in Oman is 'amazing', Ms Lam says. 'Oman is one of the most beautiful countries in the Gulf. It has a vast desert plain, beautiful beaches and unbelievable mountains.'

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