Proxenia is the ‘olden days’ concept of matchmaking in a village by a ‘proxenitis’ and is being ‘modernised’ by Maria Christodoulou, a personal coach and founder of Selective Matches, an island-wide offline Personal Matchmaking and Coaching Service.
“Meeting a potential partner is proving more and more difficult the world over,” says Maria “and Cyprus has its own added challenges and limitations. There are relatively few quality options available for singles to meet like minded ‘relationship ready’ people.”
Born in Cyprus and raised in London, having a successful career in hospitality and human resource management, she found she did not have enough time to ‘live’ and decided to change the quality and direction of her life. Always having been interested in coaching she took personal coaching courses at one of London’s leading coaching academies and in 2011 returned to her roots, Cyprus, to launch her own business.
Soon after arriving, Christodoulou realised that many of the professional singles she was meeting would benefit from a personalised solution to dating. She carried out in-depth research of the ‘matchmaking industry’ – an industry that is booming all over the world – and took a course as matchmaker.
She launched ‘Selective Matches’ last year, offering personal matchmaking services for selective, commitment-minded, busy single men and women from 30 years and over. She explains that she does not believe in flashy advertising, but instead growing her business organically, earning people’s trust and eventually have the happy couples that have met through her services speak for her work.
“Members are quality ladies and men who are educated, smart, decent, stable, professionals with high standards and know what they are looking for, and won’t settle,” said Maria. “They have no problem dating, but don’t want to date for the sake of it. They don’t want to waste their time meeting people who aren’t right for them and are cautious.
“The majority are divorced, some never married and all are commitment ready for the right person. They are not desperate or in a hurry but are being discreetly proactive, because having a companion to share the next stage of their lives with is important to them.
“By using a matchmaker they are outsourcing the search to increase their chances of meeting a potential suitable partner, which they are not likely to meet in their usual circles and day to day busy life. It saves them time, effort, energy and disappointing dates.”
Maria personally meets her clients, learns about them and then selectively introduces them to like-minded singles. Her background in human resources is a great asset in this step. “I take headhunting to a romantic level,” she laughs. Confidentiality clearly is imperative.
The way it works is a four step simple process: “Members contact me and we arrange a confidential, no obligation chat in person or skype if they re abroad. They think it through and decide if they want to go ahead; We then have an in depth chat about them, their relationship goals, needs and what they are looking for. I verify some details, with them as added security for all members. Single status, age etc never financial info; I prepare a personal profile which stays private. I then search my network, data base and proactively meet people with members in mind; When I have potential matches, I propose them personally and show their profile, when both agree to meet, the date is arranged and they just have to enjoy getting to know each other. If one is abroad it begins via skype, but members have to be prepared to travel at some point for it to work. If they want to see each other again, great. There is also a membership freeze period if a male member wants to get to know one of the ladies better, so they don’t lose time on the membership. If there is no connection on the date, then more dates are arranged,” Maria explained.
The matchmaker plans small scale singles events in 2016 as an additional opportunity to introduce like minded singles to each other in a discreet and fun way. Her services are complimentary for ladies and very affordable for gentlemen with a 6-monthly or yearly membership. And they come with a money back guarantee! She will guarantee a minimum of 4-10 dates depending on the requirements and time frame and encourages her clients to progress unhurriedly. Finding that perfect match may after all take some time, but will certainly be worth it.
Maria can be contacted via hello@selectivematches.com or www.selectivematches.com