Reality TV as a business model. Don’t laugh. There have been more than a few Survivors launched to fame, as well as Bachelors, Bachelorettes, and the odd freak show mom – thank you, Kate Gosselin – but for every fame whore that reaches the brass ring, there are dozens of flash-in-the-pan corpses littering the sidewalk along Hollywood Boulevard.

But Laguna Beach and The Hills hottie, Lauren Conrad, has a plan to use reality TV as a springboard to big enough fame that she doesn’t need television at all. Grand aspirations to be sure, and while we have sometimes wondered if there were more than a few stray molecules of thought dancing around in that beautiful, blond head, so far it’s looking she’s the business savvy queen.

Keep in mind that when she started out, Ms. Conrad was famous for nothing more than…err…well…being a teenager? That doesn’t seem like the usual stepping stone to international stardom but look at what else she’s done since signing on the dotted line to have her quasi-real life recorded for posterity. Already a best-selling author (a “fictional” chronicle of a young woman dealing with the travails of reality TV), creator of a hot, new fashion line, and exclusive spokesperson for an Avon line of cosmetics, LC has also snared endorsement deals with Hasbro, Linea Pelle, AT&T, Kohl’s, and even has her own “Got milk?” ad.

So what’s the new show going to be about? You’d never guess in a million years. How about a young business woman using reality TV to increase her business empire to the point that she doesn’t need television at all because her far flung business empire income dwarfs what the idiot box can provide. No name for the series yet but hold onto your seats – it’s coming from MTV early this year.

You go, Lauren.

The American Monetary Association Team

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