Although Camille Bird’s Carytown business has spa in its name, the focus of the operation is well-being. “We’re not fluff and buff,” she says. Instead Sacred Waters offers holistic skin care, reiki healing, therapeutic massage and cupping.

“We’re more interested in your entire journey in a holistic, mind-body-spirit sense,” Bird says.

But don’t make the mistake of underestimating Bird’s sharp business sense: She took a circuitous route from standup comedian to theater and production company owner to spa owner, but her business has expanded three times since opening six years ago, and she’s still found the time to be the Carytown Merchants Association’s president three consecutive years, in addition to organizing the Watermelon Festival. She’s actively volunteered for the Democratic Party and the Virginia League for Planned Parenthood. And in between, she’s taught art classes to inmates at the Richmond City Jail.

“I just feel like you can’t stop putting things out,” she says. “It’s community service, it’s service to your business. … You can’t miss a beat.”