Singapore's Chinese newspaper Lianhe Zaobao 联合早报 had approached me for an interviewed on the Dating Industry in Singapore. The article was published on 24 Aug 2012, ZB Now section, Page 1 and 3.
This comprehensive article mentioned that Dating Agencies are offering niche services to create unique selling proposition, add value to the singles and increase sustainability in the market. Besides interest-based activities, my company Clique Wise is offering age, income, religion and profession specific events.
Clique Wise's Paintball Gokart social event is catered for sporty, outdoorsy and fun singles.
Since I started online information portal Wow-her.com in 2004, I have been talking to singles during courses, events and coaching sessions. I hear their thoughts, feelings and feedback. Everyone is different and after most singles expressed the wish to meet people of similar background, values or lifestyle, I reckoned the need for facilitated group events. These social events gathers people of same interest together so that they could build lasting relationships from there. Hence I started Clique Wise in 2006.
"Dating agencies offer more personalised services, eg: during the dating events, Lydia would facilitate men to get to know other ladies appropriately. In addition, I've known Lydia for years, she has become a good friend; she will offer suggestions, encouragement and identify suitable ladies to me." Ben, a successful business owner who has tried online dating before switching to dating events. He met his current girl friend in Clique Wise's social event.
During the face to face interview, the humble, fair and wise reporter also asked me on the challenges that singles (who wish to settle down) face, I replied, "Singapore's society focus on meritocracy and materialism. Thus, we focus our energy on building our career to earn money, in hope of achieving success. If we have not attained the perceived success, we will not have the confidence and mood to consider dating, marriage or have offspring."
Relationships are a free and evolving thing and not a forced matter. The one that wows and woo their partner to marriage is the individual. The one who pays the bills and taxes during the courtship and after the marriage are ultimately the individual couples. Thus having a healthy mindset towards commitment and a conducive environment to explore relationship is essential. Especially in today's fast paced world, these have been and are the challenges of courtship, marriage and child bearing in a free and open society. It is good that government recognizes the marriage and kids issues, but ultimately, it is a matter between singles tying the knot, not the government.
Clique Wise's seminar on social networking skills.
Besides running courses on self-improvement, dating and relationship, Clique Wise, also try to provide as conducive an environment that people need to build relationships and hopefully ending up in a marriage, within our limited means. We try to cater to diversity by trying to provide interactions between common interests as much as possible. It is unlikely people of conflicting interests, lifestyle and values on every level can find a compatible relationship.
Mr & Mrs Ong met through Clique Wise's Christian Singles social event.
We try to provide the avenue for people with some areas of commonhood to share, hopefully in depth and constructivity. In fact, our multiple genre approach (Religion, age, professional, income and interest groups) allows for greater interaction between ethnicity due to arranging common areas of interest. Over the years, people of same age group, hobbies and faith had met their spouse through our enriching events and tied the knot.
Clique Wise will continue to organise variety of interactive, original and fun lifestyle events to provide a platform for people to meet like-minded new friends and foster great relationships!
