Helping Catholic singles find their mate

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Schieffelin

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My husband and I have been mulling over a business idea for a couple months now. I’d love to hear your feedback if you’re willing to give it 😃 Especially I would like to hear from any singles and any entrepreneurs out there. Come to think of it though, I’m sure some of you other married folks would have great insights as well.

We’ve noticed it seems particularly hard for singles to find other compatible Catholics to date/court this day in age. And I’ve heard many complaints about trying to use the online dating sites, even the Catholic ones. It works for some people, but for others it feels to unnatural and they don’t like having to form a hundred shallow online connections before actually meeting a good match in person. So here’s our idea:

What about a service where we, the married couple, get to know a bunch of singles individually, one at a time to find out what he/she is really looking for? We would also try to give tips and guidance where appropriate if we think the person is open to advice. So it would be more like a dating consultant business (though I kind of hate the way that sounds). After we’ve sufficiently come to know a good group of people, we would start setting them up on dates with compatible matches. We would start very small, in our immediate geographic area and then see where it goes from there.

The focus would be on trying to really help people fulfill God’s will and their vocation. We’d only work with Catholics who are faithful to church teaching, and from there try to set them up based on the other factors for compatibility. I would consider it a combination of a business and a ministry–we’d truly be invested in the people that we work with.

So what do you think? If you are a single, would give something like this a try? How would we go about finding you? Bulletin ads? Word of mouth? What are the shortfalls of other ways of meeting people, and how could we avoid those?

And for those of you who have a small business, do you think we’d actually be able to make a profit doing something like this?

I’m so excited to hear your thoughts!
 
:whistle:Matchmaker, Matchmaker, make me a match. Find me a find. Catch me a catch.Matchmaker,Matchmaker, look through your book, and find me a perfect match…:whistle:
 
Schieffelin said:
My husband and I have been mulling over a business idea for a couple months now. I’d love to hear your feedback if you’re willing to give it 😃 Especially I would like to hear from any singles and any entrepreneurs out there. Come to think of it though, I’m sure some of you other married folks would have great insights as well.

We’ve noticed it seems particularly hard for singles to find other compatible Catholics to date/court this day in age. And I’ve heard many complaints about trying to use the online dating sites, even the Catholic ones. It works for some people, but for others it feels to unnatural and they don’t like having to form a hundred shallow online connections before actually meeting a good match in person. So here’s our idea:

What about a service where we, the married couple, get to know a bunch of singles individually, one at a time to find out what he/she is really looking for? We would also try to give tips and guidance where appropriate if we think the person is open to advice. So it would be more like a dating consultant business (though I kind of hate the way that sounds). After we’ve sufficiently come to know a good group of people, we would start setting them up on dates with compatible matches. We would start very small, in our immediate geographic area and then see where it goes from there.

The focus would be on trying to really help people fulfill God’s will and their vocation. We’d only work with Catholics who are faithful to church teaching, and from there try to set them up based on the other factors for compatibility. I would consider it a combination of a business and a ministry–we’d truly be invested in the people that we work with.

So what do you think? If you are a single, would give something like this a try? How would we go about finding you? Bulletin ads? Word of mouth? What are the shortfalls of other ways of meeting people, and how could we avoid those?

And for those of you who have a small business, do you think we’d actually be able to make a profit doing something like this?

I’m so excited to hear your thoughts!
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Yes, and you can make a profit. What you are proposing is just a more in-depth matchmaking service and I would be in favor of giving you my business 🙂
 
austenbosten said:
Yes, and you can make a profit. What you are proposing is just a more in-depth matchmaking service and I would be in favor of giving you my business 🙂
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Thanks! And so what is the most enticing thing about it for you? And how would I go about finding singles who would be interested?
 
I think with the way you’ve presented the idea, it would be pretty time-intensive for you since you plan to get to know each candidate individually. The expense would also be up there a little I think, because background checks would be needed. I would also wonder about the legal responsibility if you put two people together and one of them turns out to have criminal intentions.
I like the idea overall, if you can find a way to do it where you can afford the up-front costs and keep it affordable for your clients. My biggest concern would be making sure the candidates are truly trustworthy.
But good luck to you and your husband if you do take a shot at this - I think there’s definitely a need for something like this.
 
Schieffelin said:
Thanks! And so what is the most enticing thing about it for you? And how would I go about finding singles who would be interested?
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For me the prospect of meeting new people is very enticing. I am always looking to meet new people who could possibly share my interests. One way to find singles would be to put an ad in the church bulletin to entice interest or if you have a young adult group you could make an announcement.
 
IrishRush said:
I think with the way you’ve presented the idea, it would be pretty time-intensive for you since you plan to get to know each candidate individually. The expense would also be up there a little I think, because background checks would be needed. I would also wonder about the legal responsibility if you put two people together and one of them turns out to have criminal intentions.
I like the idea overall, if you can find a way to do it where you can afford the up-front costs and keep it affordable for your clients. My biggest concern would be making sure the candidates are truly trustworthy.
But good luck to you and your husband if you do take a shot at this - I think there’s definitely a need for something like this.
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You are correct–it would be a bit more pricey than people are used to paying for online dating sites. But since we’re trying to attract people who are serious about the process, I think requiring a good investment upfront is a good thing. Now the trick is to figure out how much is too much. I welcome thoughts from all of you on what you’d be willing to pay.

I hadn’t thought about the legal liabilities in quite that way. If these people are meeting in a public place and we’re requiring them to demonstrate that they are committed Catholics, I cannot imagine something criminal happening that would be considered our fault (just for introducing to people to each other). But then again, people will sue over anything. So it’s very good to have in mind. Thank you.
 
Schieffelin said:
My husband and I have been mulling over a business idea for a couple months now. I’d love to hear your feedback if you’re willing to give it 😃 Especially I would like to hear from any singles and any entrepreneurs out there. Come to think of it though, I’m sure some of you other married folks would have great insights as well.

We’ve noticed it seems particularly hard for singles to find other compatible Catholics to date/court this day in age. And I’ve heard many complaints about trying to use the online dating sites, even the Catholic ones. It works for some people, but for others it feels to unnatural and they don’t like having to form a hundred shallow online connections before actually meeting a good match in person. So here’s our idea:

What about a service where we, the married couple, get to know a bunch of singles individually, one at a time to find out what he/she is really looking for? We would also try to give tips and guidance where appropriate if we think the person is open to advice. So it would be more like a dating consultant business (though I kind of hate the way that sounds). After we’ve sufficiently come to know a good group of people, we would start setting them up on dates with compatible matches. We would start very small, in our immediate geographic area and then see where it goes from there.

The focus would be on trying to really help people fulfill God’s will and their vocation. We’d only work with Catholics who are faithful to church teaching, and from there try to set them up based on the other factors for compatibility. I would consider it a combination of a business and a ministry–we’d truly be invested in the people that we work with.

So what do you think? If you are a single, would give something like this a try? How would we go about finding you? Bulletin ads? Word of mouth? What are the shortfalls of other ways of meeting people, and how could we avoid those?

And for those of you who have a small business, do you think we’d actually be able to make a profit doing something like this?

I’m so excited to hear your thoughts!
Click to expand...
Why would someone want to pay when they can get it for next to nothing? I speak of the Catholic Alumni Clubs International caci.org/, a club for college grads and professionals. Individual chapters are allowed up to 20% non-college grads. My wife and I met through it. The only cost is an annual fee to cover the mail-out event calendar. It is an all volunteer organization, and the more you put into it, the more you get out of it. I found that you can learn more about someone in a shorter period of time while volunteering than you could with years of dating.
 
Schieffelin said:
You are correct–it would be a bit more pricey than people are used to paying for online dating sites. But since we’re trying to attract people who are serious about the process, I think requiring a good investment upfront is a good thing. Now the trick is to figure out how much is too much. I welcome thoughts from all of you on what you’d be willing to pay.

I hadn’t thought about the legal liabilities in quite that way. If these people are meeting in a public place and we’re requiring them to demonstrate that they are committed Catholics, I cannot imagine something criminal happening that would be considered our fault (just for introducing to people to each other). But then again, people will sue over anything. So it’s very good to have in mind. Thank you.
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I think that this is a bit more than people suing over anything; essentially, your idea is like a matchmaker. People would place their trust in you to find them a mate. If they ended up on a date with a convicted felon, you can see why they would be upset. They are paying money to be fixed up with a Catholic individual with similar ideals/morals. If you wanted to set this up, I would suggest that those people that you work with submit applications, similar to how one would apply to a job. Then, you can have interviews with each applicant to see if they are who they say they are and if they are truly sincere in their desire to find a mate. Another bonus to the application would be the ability to perform background checks. I also must say, this idea is a good one, but only if you have a reasonably diverse and extensive database of people. Sometimes, a person might go through several dates before finding someone close to “the one”. :twocents:
 
AlTheCollegeGal said:
I think that this is a bit more than people suing over anything; essentially, your idea is like a matchmaker. People would place their trust in you to find them a mate. If they ended up on a date with a convicted felon, you can see why they would be upset. They are paying money to be fixed up with a Catholic individual with similar ideals/morals. If you wanted to set this up, I would suggest that those people that you work with submit applications, similar to how one would apply to a job. Then, you can have interviews with each applicant to see if they are who they say they are and if they are truly sincere in their desire to find a mate. Another bonus to the application would be the ability to perform background checks. I also must say, this idea is a good one, but only if you have a reasonably diverse and extensive database of people. Sometimes, a person might go through several dates before finding someone close to “the one”. :twocents:
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Yes, I agree with all of this. We would have a required application in addition to the in-person interviews. And building up the database of potential applicants would certainly be the hardest part starting out. The people who sign up early on would have to be patient while we built up the pool of individuals (and of course we wouldn’t charge anything until you were actually set up on several dates). Thanks for the (name removed by moderator)ut!
 
sedonaman said:
Why would someone want to pay when they can get it for next to nothing? I speak of the Catholic Alumni Clubs International caci.org/, a club for college grads and professionals. Individual chapters are allowed up to 20% non-college grads. My wife and I met through it. The only cost is an annual fee to cover the mail-out event calendar. It is an all volunteer organization, and the more you put into it, the more you get out of it. I found that you can learn more about someone in a shorter period of time while volunteering than you could with years of dating.
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Interesting. I’ve never heard of this particular group before. The two ideas are not the same though and not necessarily mutually exclusive. I know lots of single Catholics who go to plenty of Catholic events with other singles but some reason nothing every materializes (I used to be one of them). Obviously, for many people it’s a good way to find a spouse. For others it just doesn’t work. I have some theories on why it doesn’t always work, but I don’t want to sidetrack the conversation by getting into it here.
 
As far as locking down singles for to net, I would suggest starting by posting in your Parish bulletin or posting on local Catholic websites. I know my Diocesan website has a link to a dating site and such. People read the Bulletins and people go to websites.
 
Schieffelin said:
Thanks! And so what is the most enticing thing about it for you? And how would I go about finding singles who would be interested?
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I think the fact that it is in someone else’s control. It’s hard to go through endless profiles and try and meet people based on a little questionnaire that you don’t even know if you answered honestly because your perspective is different from everyone else’s. Then you go from one bust to another…you blow through all of your money and you feel ripped off because you basically paid $29.99 a month for a virtual single’s bar.

So the fact someone is going to get to know me, my pluses and my faults and match me with someone who can admire and love my pluses and tolerate my faults…goes a loooong way for me.
ShanaA1984 said:
What he said
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There you go again agreeing with me 😛

You’re like this little lost puppy who keeps following me around. 😃
 
austenbosten said:
You’re like this little lost puppy who keeps following me around. 😃
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Oh as if :rolleyes:
If I had more time for a witty come back I would write one but as it stands I am running late. So I will write on upon my return.
 
AlTheCollegeGal said:
I think that this is a bit more than people suing over anything; essentially, your idea is like a matchmaker. People would place their trust in you to find them a mate. If they ended up on a date with a convicted felon, you can see why they would be upset. They are paying money to be fixed up with a Catholic individual with similar ideals/morals. If you wanted to set this up, I would suggest that those people that you work with submit applications, similar to how one would apply to a job. Then, you can have interviews with each applicant to see if they are who they say they are and if they are truly sincere in their desire to find a mate. Another bonus to the application would be the ability to perform background checks. I also must say, this idea is a good one, but only if you have a reasonably diverse and extensive database of people. Sometimes, a person might go through several dates before finding someone close to “the one”. :twocents:
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Even convicted felons need support on the outside :D. But in all seriousness, if a convict was truely serious about turning around his life and he/she and following God, maybe a special person (that truely practices the faith) coming there way would see it as a blessing from God. And having that special person there would keep a person from going back to there old ways and habbits.
 
This would be a great idea, if you could achieve a critical mass of enough singles (100-300 at least) to find viable matches.

The economics of it all are a bit daunting, though. Other matchmaking services (which is what you’re trying to establish) charge well over $1000/year. In contrast, plenty of Catholics are already howling over having to pay $179 for a lifetime Ave Maria membership. I don’t think you can run a good matchmaking service “on the cheap”, but with that kind of fee, you will never sign up enough singles for it to work.

Verdict: Your clients will love it, but the business model stinks. If you want to run something like this as a charity endeavour, go right ahead – many singles will love you for it!
 
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