How to successfully host a speed dating party. How to Start a Speed ​​Dating Business? How do speed dating work?

Speed ​​dates or mini-dates are parties organized specifically so that people can get to know each other and chat at a table in a cafe. Such dates do not last long, but this time is enough for sympathy to arise.

Business" speed dating"

Mini-date parties (Speed ​​dating) were invented in 1998 by Rabbi Jacob Devo. Jacob and his wife Sue, living in the US, were worried that Jewish girls had no place to meet Jewish boys to start a family. A big city separates people, leaving no time for simple acquaintances, conversations about nothing, during which mutual sympathy usually arises.

An old national tradition prescribes, if not pandering, then assistance in creating families. And so, in the millionaire district of Beverly Hills, in an institution under the sign of "Pete's Cafe", the first express date took place. The combination of theory and practice has led to an improvement in the Speed ​​Dating format: each blitz date lasts 7 minutes, after which the interlocutors change.

At the beginning of the new century, dating parties became fashionable in Europe, Australia, the United States, and indeed throughout the world. Such rapid popularity is clear evidence that so many people of different ages and social groups experience communication problems.

What is Speed ​​Dating?

By participating in Speed ​​dating, you can make acquaintances with 10-15 representatives of the opposite sex in a short time. In Russia, express dating appeared relatively recently, but many have already liked it. Marriage is not always the result of acquaintances at such parties, but pleasant acquaintances and interesting pastime are guaranteed to everyone.

For all the simplicity of speed dating, someone has to take care of organizing them, so why don't you do this noble thing - connecting lonely hearts? You provide people with the opportunity to meet at a cafe table and chat, and they pay you a small amount in gratitude for this. Start-up capital to start such a business is not required, only organizational skills are required.

How to set up a speed dating business?

Two options for business development:

1. You have your own restaurant or cafe for Speed ​​Dating.
2. You gather for express dates in rented premises. This option can be considered a business from scratch.

With the first option, everything is clear - organizational issues are reduced to holding and attracting visitors.

In the second case, you must first find a suitable room. Newly opened cafes that have not yet had time to acquire regular customers. Cooperation will be beneficial for you and for the owner of the establishment receiving the flow of visitors.

You should choose a cafe in the central part of the city or not far from the business center. In such places, cafes are filled only on weekdays during lunch break, and there are almost no visitors in the evenings and on weekends. Express meetings are best organized on weekends, so the owner of the cafe will be happy to cooperate. The atmosphere in the cafe should be cozy and inviting, so that the participants do not tense up and feel confident. The task of the organizer is to provide the meeting participants with a pleasant atmosphere, order light drinks, sandwiches, fruits, etc. The cost of organizing a party for 30-40 people will be approximately 10,000 rubles (including rent).

When the issue with the venue is resolved, you can start looking for clients. Do not limit your choice to young people, as experience shows, people of mature age and even the elderly are happy to participate in Speed ​​dating. Groups should be made up of people of approximately the same age, interests and social status. It has been noticed that in European countries, couples go to such meetings, seeking to diversify relationships. Do not try to form groups by eye, have clients fill out questionnaires, on the basis of which you can judge the interests and goals of each person who has contacted you.

Questioning can be carried out when registering for Speed ​​dating via the Internet. To organize this business, access to the Internet is vital: you need your own website where participants could register, there will also be information about the place and time of the meetings.

To attract participants, it will be useful to advertise in the local press, on the streets, in cafes where the event is supposed to be. On average, advertising costs are 10,000-30,000 rubles per month.

How to hold meetings?

At the appointed time, the participants gather in a cafe. There should be an equal number of women and men in the group. Women occupy tables, and men sit down at them. The conversation lasts seven minutes. On a signal, the men stand up and move to the next table. So, moving from table to table, all men will communicate with all women. Participants put marks in the questionnaire, marking their favorite interlocutors. In a matched pair, the participants exchange phone numbers.

If you invite 30 people to parties, selling them tickets for 500 rubles, then each event will bring about 5,000 rubles in net income. This is not bad at all, given the simplicity of organization and positive emotions from communication.

Now I will write, rather, a nostalgic essay on the times from 13-15 years, but I will try to arrange it in a readable form :)

In 1914, I twice went to the Geek Speed ​​Dating event, organized by the St. Petersburg IT bar KL10CH (the institution moved to Moscow at the end of 2015, if I’m not mistaken), which was then still owned by Aida Fazylova and Tatyana Shvetsova.

The essence of the event fully corresponded to the essence of classic speed dating - that is, they preliminarily collect participants' profiles with photographs and some kind of welcome description, then, during the evening, on the date of the event, several "circles" are held in turn, each of which involves about 8 -10 random pairs, each participant has his own number. The couples sit down at the tables one by one, and on a signal, each participant in a free form gets acquainted with his current interlocutor, after 5 minutes the men clockwise change to the next table, the action is repeated until the circle is completed. At the end, the participants gave the organizers pieces of paper with the number of their favorite interlocutors, and then found out their matches.

The difference between the events in the Key and the classic speed dating was that people were not random, but united by an interest in the IT industry and science, or an interest in IT people and, strictly speaking, geeks - there was already something in common among the participants a priori, in addition, it was free to come. Judging by the photo reports, some of the people came on dates again, simply because it’s fun, and quite naturally - I personally remember that the regulars of the place came with me to the date night twice (they recognize themselves, I won’t deanonymize), for example, a guy, a Toronto-educated, The Big Bang Theory-esque Steward-like, red-haired and charming recruiter; Well, the mistress of the Key also participated. In general, there were funny times, I met colleagues and friends, like-minded people and just interesting characters in this bar.

What can I say about the effectiveness of speed dating? Considering that in my case, some of the participants already knew each other and had some common interests, it’s hard for me to draw conclusions about a classic event that people come to for the first time just from the street. But from the experience of the Key, I can say that this is an appropriate declaration that you are free, do not mind meeting and interested in those who are already in your circle of friends, but, perhaps, were embarrassed to call on a date. It's just that people honestly said, "I'm looking for a mate." I don't know if couples/families have appeared after such speed dating, probably yes; I personally matched up with a beautiful girl that I knew before, and the event just pushed the two of us to the idea that we could get along well and meet outside the bar, and the fact that she chose me was very flattering to me :)

If we compare speed dating with, say, Tinder, then I think speed dating has its own important advantage - here I will explain that being able to see a person once is undoubtedly more valuable than being able to scroll through a few dozen photos on the screen - so on speed dates, you meet several new people live in one evening and have equal chances with others to tell about yourself, observe the interlocutors, evaluate their gestures, voice, facial expressions and much more, which, with all the huge choice online, is not available until make an appointment. That is, you save time and get several candidates for subsequent dates at once. At the same time, of course, you will not be able to influence who ends up on the date night in any way - this is all within the competence of the organizers and, as a rule, they simply provide an equal number of girls and men, and they will no longer take care of your taste can.

Throughout his life, a person is in search mode, sometimes not even intentionally, at the level of the thought process. What is he looking for? “A man needs a man” are prompted by poetic lines and a hero from the movie “Solaris”. This is true, everyone wants to find a “soul mate”, “support and hope”, “companion or life partner” in any way.

Of course, no one has yet canceled the love that flares up during a chance meeting. However, when personal life is not going well, people are ready to resort to systematic acquaintance.

After all, in this way you can meet a person who shares your views. In order to pick up a worthy soul mate in this way, you need to get acquainted with a lot of people, attend a lot of parties.

However, you can do much easier by resorting to dating services that are popular today. One of these ways to find love was invented in Europe, and it quickly became widespread in all major cities of the world.

What is Speed ​​Dating

Express dating (from English Speed-dating) is a method that allows you to get to know several people of the opposite sex in a couple of minutes. During this time, you can choose the so-called soul mate or continue your search if the partner did not seem too interesting.

As a rule, the first impression of a person becomes the basis for further relationships. Often people who are completely opposite in occupation and character begin to literally attract each other after the first meeting. And people who have known for many years experience inexpressible boredom, being nearby. It is on this effect "first sight" and founded the principle of speed dating.

Currently, this service sector has become very popular and in demand, and if you want to organize your business, flexible and communicative, then speed-dating is what you were looking for. Let's try to figure out how to organize a speed dating business.

Development of a speed dating business plan

To organize your business, and any, and not just instant dates, you need a plan that will spell out all the necessary components and nuances. And advertising comes first.

It is necessary to inform the population about the opening of an agency providing services of this kind. The wider the PR will cover the segments of the population, the more successfully your business will begin to develop.

So what do you need?

Not so much, is it?

Now, knowing how easy it is to open a speed dating club, let's deal with the details:

Now let's conclude: in an economical scenario, you only need means for communication and printing, plus rent, which you pay from participants' contributions. Usually, up to 30 people are recruited, and the event goes on for 1.5 hours.

Came from the USA where this idea became profitable investment time and money, bringing entrepreneurs a decent income.

"Speed-dating", as such a dating organization sounds in English, implies a meeting of single men and women who are invited to some institution. The peculiarity of the organization of speed dating is in their fundamental difference from what marriage agencies offer, and a completely different clientele shows interest in them. Dating takes place in a fast mode, through short dialogues with each other, and this is much more fun and practical.

Solving the problem of loneliness using a similar concept is a good suggestion for a modern city dweller. Speed ​​dating evenings are steadily gaining popularity, and the target audience such events is very wide both in age and in social status and other signs.

Undoubtedly niche has great potential- people who want to meet will never decrease. Nevertheless, dating business - is it profitable or not, what is the profitability, investment and payback? An introductory overview of the possibilities of starting a turnkey speed dating business will help those who want to start their own business from scratch.

How do speed dating work?

An equal number of participants must be invited. Each guest must talk at the table with a representative of the opposite sex in order to talk about themselves and learn about the interlocutor during a 5-minute conversation. Usually, girls sit at the tables, and men sit down at each of them alternately at the signal of the leader. “Transplantation” is done until all participants manage to talk in person.

To make it easier to remember each other, for each guest you need to make badges with numbers. People are invited to enter their impressions from the first acquaintance with each of the visitors in a special “list of sympathies”. It makes notes, the main of which are formulated as follows: liked or not / interesting as a friend / business partner and more, here the organizer can show imagination.

The finale of the event is the “moment of truth”, when, according to the results of studying the lists, the host finds matches of mutual interest, informing the participants about this after the party on e-mail or in sms. The host can announce the results of the evening and directly on the spot. Undoubtedly, those who wish can exchange contacts on their own, however, the problem of refusal is removed, because the rules of the event do not imply this.

Target audience of the event

Speed-dating was originally aimed at middle-class people, they do not meet on the street and do not go to places of entertainment so often. As a result, they are comfortable with the speed dating format, which is not devoid of a romantic component and even erotic overtones. For the most part, these are attractive people, however, they have little time to arrange their personal lives. This fact explains the high percentage of successful acquaintances - as a result of each meeting, according to statistics, at least one pair is formed.

The minimum age of those who are interested in such acquaintances is 20 years old. The bulk of men should be somewhat older than women, on average by 3-4 years, and the average age difference is about 5-7 years.

In general, speed-dating attracts a rather diverse audience, it is only important to find and develop the concept of your business, finding opportunities to give customers something that competitors do not yet have. There is a lot of scope for opportunities and extraordinary solutions in this enterprise. Speed ​​dating business is ideal for creative entrepreneurs who know what can interest contemporaries.

Where to begin?

Species classifier economic activity classifies this business as OKVED code 90: "Activities creative, in the field of art and organization of entertainment." You can register an individual entrepreneur, and if necessary, register legal entity It is preferable to form an LLC. This is explained by the fact that individual entrepreneur and a limited liability company can operate under a simplified taxation system, limited to deductions of no more than 6% of income or 15% of operating profit. But this business does not involve being liable with property, therefore registration as an individual is sufficient.

What do you need for events?

For rent, you need to take a spacious room in a cafe, restaurant or establishment located in a cozy but accessible place. It should not be too noisy here, the atmosphere of mini-dates should be calm and relaxing.

Rental time is 2 - 3 hours, if it is not supposed to continue after the end of dating. The advantage of the organization is that there is no need for significant costs, both for rent and for full meals for guests and the purchase of any expensive consumables.

An important success factor is the promotion of events. It is necessary to create a website with information about the organization, the schedule of evenings, conditions for participation and prices. It is possible to bypass competitors in the region by optimizing the site in order to bring it to the first page of search engines for the necessary queries. These are not mandatory, but desirable investments.

For a long time in the trend promotion in in social networks. In addition, some popular dating communities, such as VKontakte, offer advertising posts, and this will be an effective way to announce your undertaking.

Requires a small staff to operate initial stage an entrepreneur can take on the main tasks by hiring only one or two assistants. Their task is to communicate with customers by phone or on the Internet, because they will probably have a lot of questions. Business does not entail complex accounting calculations, voluminous tax reporting, payment of utility bills and security. Employees are offered to work not for a salary, but for a percentage of income, thereby motivating them to attract more visitors.

The leader is also responsible. His duties are to show attention to the guests, create the appropriate mood, here no one should feel embarrassed, because many came for the first time. It is necessary to help guests, as their attitude increases the chances of pairing, and the higher the percentage of those, the more good reviews the organization will receive.

Budget and payback calculations

The entrance ticket costs 1,000 rubles - this is the average price in Moscow and St. Petersburg, in the regions it is a little cheaper. In pre-sale, you can attract a price of about 700 rubles. It is quite realistic to recruit at least 10 men and the same number of women, then 20 thousand rubles will remain at the box office of the event. By doubling the number of people who came, you can collect 40 thousand and so on.

Expenses:

• Hall rental;
• meeting advertisement;
• leader's work;
• coffee, tea, soft drinks or champagne;
• badges, paper, pens.

After paying the entrance fee, guests should be comfortable without having to pay for anything else. Usually, everything is limited to providing each participant with a free drink.

The rental price is determined by the level of the institution and its area. A good minimum for speed dates is 20 people, so it's a good idea to look for roomy venues. If the participation of a small number of people is expected, it may take from 2 thousand rubles to pay rent in a medium-sized club or restaurant for each hour of rent. To meet with on a large scale you need to count on 5-10 thousand rubles / hour.

As a result, investments in the organization of one evening will cost an average of 5 to 50 thousand rubles depending on its scale. Excluding expenses, as a result of attracting 20 participants, at least 10 thousand rubles or more will remain on hand net profit. For daily earnings, this is quite worthy even for big city. Income will grow due to the introduction of our own unique developments into the business, which will make events more diverse and attractive to a large audience.