Archive for September, 2009

Title: Guys And Girls Next Door Opens Its Doors to Public

 Location: Seattle, Washington

Press Release: http://www.prweb.com/releases/MeetPeople/NotTheirProfiles/prweb2976074.htm

Company Link: Click here

Short Description: 

Seattle, WA (PRWEB) October 1, 2009 — Despite Seattle’s recent accolades as a top dating hotspot, single men and women still have limited options when searching for a serious commitment. Traditional matchmaking services typically are expensive, online dating can seem impersonal or isolating, and speed dating focuses on brevity and quantity. Additionally, opportunities for feedback can be very limited, as are the tools for singles to help increase their chances of a successful long-term relationship.

Guys And Girls Next Door

Launching today, Seattle-based Guys And Girls Next Door (GND) has created a new kind of service — Social Matchmaking Dating™ – to meet the needs of singles seeking a different experience. The new membership-based service combines the elements of traditional dating and matchmaking with personality assessment insights, feedback, coaching and numerous resources to help members increase their dating success.

Date: 2009-10-01

- I focus my attention or get my energy;

- I perceive or take in information;

- I prefer to make decisions; and

- I prefer to orient myself to the external world.

Sounds interesting? Remember… I love psychology.  Broken down, I am one of 16 personality types and my natural preference is an INTJ.

If you look at external research, I can be described as: Analytical

Like INTPs, they are most comfortable working alone and tend to be less sociable than other types. Nevertheless, INTJs are prepared to lead if no one else seems up to the task, or if they see a major weakness in the current leadership. They tend to be pragmatic, logical, and creative. They have a low tolerance for spin or rampant emotionalism. They are not generally susceptible to catchphrases and do not recognize authority based on tradition, rank, or title.

I first learned about the Myers-Briggs as a sophomore at Brighton High School in Salt Lake City, Utah.  A mother-daughter team developed the instrument to help women enter the workforce for the first time during World War II, and secondly, as I would come to learn later, to help the world peace effort by helping people understand others.   Not a sexy topic, but it planted a seed that I would later revisit eight years later.

Later in my academic career, groaning and grumbling…  I completed a career-counseling course, (not exactly a course of riveting interest for me)  but one that  required me to take the MBTI.  I sat in a grey isolated room in a back room of Gonzaga University  with the attention span of a flea and took the assessment  for the very first time.

Last week, I sat down for an entire week and attended an MBTI Credentialing program.  I didn’t have to take it as my graduate degree in Psychology allowed me to interpret the MBTI in my new social matchmaking role, but I wanted to make an investment of time and energy to better understand what this tool was all about and why it has earned such a prominant place in the psychological field,  from marriage counseling to the corporate world.

MBTI

I was the only matchmaker in the room with seven participants coming to Portland, Oregon from all over the world.  I couldn’t believe how different organizations use this assessment – from Federal Government to Spiritual Direction to HR Executives at Regional Bank.  We entered as strangers, but left with incredible insight into each other’s lives. The MBTI has a compelling way of providing insight at work, at home, in our personal lives, and in our relationships.

Looking back, I don’t think I really became intrigued about the MBTI until Angel and I talked about it.  When he found out about my psychology background in our second conversation, he asked me if I knew my type. I dismissed him.  What does an HR guy know about psychology? I said to myself.  Looking back, Angel was sizing me up to see if we were compatible with each other.  Interesting.

As an INTJ, I learned that at times I have been over-reliant on certain preferences and have been known to get lost in my head, inner thinking is a trait of an INTJ profile. If left unbalanced with other preferences, aloof, uninterested, even self absorbed as my mind is internally processing things logically and in minute detail.

Last week I learned something called “best fit type.” This connected the dots for me. I left with a deeper understanding of my family, my relationships, my relationship with my work colleagues and past and present romantic relationships.

Through my self-assessment I could see my introversion and thinking preferences were evident early on. As a young child I collected bugs in jars in solitude and put numerous holes in my bedroom rug from mixing reactive chemicals in test tubs over an open flame.

My dogged pursuit of knowledge for my own curiosity will never stop. If not kept in check, I could obsessively and haphazardly pursue degrees of all kinds, driven by my own curiosity.

The INTJ description resonated with me on a deep level and I connected with others who had similar experiences.  It was a tough decision to defer my doctorate  in psychology to help start Guys And Girls Next Door.  My experiences have been both amazing and uncomfortable, but I have zero regrets.  My decision has made me learn more about myself and helped me grow in life changing ways.  When I explained this to my classroom colleagues, the guy next to me said: “even that is an INTJ answer, you are logically processing your decision.

How do my personality type preferences show up in relationships?  As some of you already know, Angel is an ENFP.  He is my opposing personality and “natural partner” on the MBTI. Many of his dominant preferences that are front and center for him are underused in me and some are even below my awareness level.  In other words, he is my complement.  I learned a lot about myself.  I learned how aspects of my personality type have shown up in me neglecting relationships and self-expression.  Every personality type has strengths and areas of development.  I now have strong awareness of my type and better insight into myself and others.

At Guys And Girls Next Door we will help our members look at themselves objectively using a personality assessment prior to setting them up on Group Dates or Traditional Dates.  If you have an interest in breaking your personality type code, please visit our website on October 1st as we promote the launch of our innovative Social Matchmaking Dating company.

Mary Starks

My personality type preference is “INTJ” in the Myer-Briggs Type Indicator® (MBTI).

 INTJ is an acronym for Introvert iNtuitive Thinking Judging.  The MBTI preferences indicate the differences in how:

Why Social Matchmaking Dating?  NOW THAT is a very good question.  You are probably saying:  “Oh My God.  Another online matchmaking company?”  Let me answer that fast and hard.  Guys And Girls Next Door (GND) is NOT an online matchmaking company.  Nope. You can’t go online, complete a profile and then send winks, e-mails, and instant messages.  No emoticons.  No LOL  |  No  |  No    |   No :-p | No WTF!  Nope.  Nada.  Zilch.  If you know someone with an online profile, I am willing to bet that they don’t use their first and last name.   Hmm.  Do you see where I’m going? 

Before I tell you why Social Matchmaking Dating will change things up in the Bellevue, Kirkland, and Seattle metropolitan areas, I want to share with you my thoughts.

Let’s talk about online matchmaking.  Let’s face it, online matchmaking can be lonely and isolating, but it works.  It doesn’t work for everyone, but for some people it truly works.  I have met a lot of people that have been married as a result of online matchmaking companies. The problem is: which service do you pick?  Do you sign up with one online matchmaking company or all the online matchmaking companies available?  Cost ranges from $0.00/month  to ~$50.00/month. Here is the problem.

Meet People. Not Their Profiles.

Let’s move this conversation to matchmaking companies.  Some matchmaking companies provide a lunch, dinner, or cocktail service to busy professionals at a contract cost of $1,000+ or a fixed number of dates (whichever comes first). Other companies create events for their members to attend on a weekly/weekend basis at a contract cost of $1,500+ (not including the event itself).  This is cost prohibitive.  We are in a recession.  I am sure these services work for some people as they do all of the planning, but what options are available out there if you don’t want to write a check for $1,000+?  The reputation of these companies vary.  Don’t believe me?  Check for yourself. Do a google search if you know them by name with the word “feedback” and/or “complaint.” 

This is now where we come in.  Guys And Girls Next Door is a new Social Matchmaking Dating company based in Seattle, Washington that combines face-to-face events, coaching and feedback. That’s right.  No winks.  No e-mails.  No instant messages.  We don’t do contracts.  We will earn your business every month.

Angel and Mary

When Mary and I sat down and discussed the options that were available to Seattlelites, we got pretty upset.  Actually, we were mad as hell.  We were lucky to find each other through a BEAN event, but our situation was quite unique.  So, we put pencil to paper, paper to computer, and computer to internet in June and started a company by the people… for the people.  A social matchmaking company where singles will meet people…. not their profiles. 

How Does It Work? How Is This Even Remotely Possible?  We first help our members look at themselves objectively using a personality assessment.  We then proceed to match them on Traditional Dates and/or Group Dates based on their interests, personality types, and membership profiles.

Let’s face it, online dating can be lonely and isolating — you don’t get to see the person behind the profile and you don’t receive feedback on why things didn’t work.  GND resolves these issues by:

• Helping to introduce members to each other that want to be in a committed relationship;
• Helping members learn about themselves and how they relate to others;
• Providing the option for individualized coaching to track members’ progress; and
• Providing facilitated feedback in a safe and comfortable group setting.

Mary and I are open, honest, and transparent with each other and will be so with our members.  We are excited about Social Matchmaking Dating.  It’s real.  It’s happening.  We BETA launch on October 1.  If you know someone who is single (friends, family, and/or business colleagues), please refer them to us.  Of course, we encourage you and your friends to track our fast progress and become our Fan on Facebook, Twitter with us, or just write a comment about your online matchmaking or matchmaking experience. 

Thank you for reading and THANK YOU for helping us take online dating offline.

Angel

Angel Cruzado

We will change lives at Guys And Girls Next Door by ensuring that all of our members are open, honest, and transparent with each other and themselves.  Is this even remotely possible?  I truly believe that most people wake up every day wanting to be open, honest, and transparent with each other and themselves.  However, when you introduce judgment into the equation, things change.  People change.  It changes everything.

How did I get to this point?  I had a great human resources career at Microsoft making a six digit salary.  I lived in an updated 1930s condominium in an awesome neighborhood, I have an eclectic group of friends from around the world, and a great education from the University of Wisconsin – Madison and Bentley University.

I came across these three words – open, honest, and transparent – when I realized in the summer of 2008 that I was in an on and off committed relationship and I was not being open, honest, and transparent with myself.  If I could not be open, honest, and transparent with myself, then how could I possibly be open, honest and transparent in a committed relationship?

My path to be in a loving committed relationship today was not an easy path. Let me explain.  In reviewing my new year’s resolutions for 2008, I realized that I wanted to do something completely different.  I wanted to step outside of my comfort zone. How would I accomplish this?  This was the reoccurring question I would ask my friends in Seattle and around the world.  Would I change jobs?  Move to a new city?  Travel the world?  Or could I accomplish this in Seattle by simply doing something completely new?

On February 29, 2008, a leap year, I showed up to Gas Works to run with Team in Training.  I signed up to run my first marathon.  At that point, I had never even run a half marathon, let alone a 26.2 mile full marathon.  I became part of a team a Team in Training tasked to raise $1,200 to help stop leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin lymphoma and myeloma from taking more lives.  I signed up for an event in honor of all individuals who were battling blood cancers.  That was how I stepped outside of my comfort zone.

Fast forward four months later after training daily in sun, rain, snow, sleet, rain, and hail… yes, I said hail, and learning the difference that socks, vaseline, good running shorts – ouch , iPod with comedy, and sneakers can make when training… I started to step outside of my comfort zone. I had no choice. This was tough, but it was only the beginning. I was making adjustments weekly on my training regimen. I was choosing what to give up and not to give up. Saturdays were our long distance run days.  As such, giving up some of my Friday evenings was especially difficult to me as I was beginning to enjoy the social aspect of developing unique friendships with my eclectic friends.  I learned to give up my favorite drink:  Jack Daniels and Diet Coke.

Seattle Seafair 2008 Marathon

Marathon

The marathon was scheduled for Sunday, June 29. I was sleep deprived. I must have slept maybe 6 -7 hours since Friday night because of the excitement of running my first marathon – a long and demanding undertaking. On Sunday morning I woke up at 3:45 a.m. and prepared myself emotionally, mentally, and physically for the challenge ahead. I met my team at 5 a.m. at Bellevue Park where we chatted, compared notes, wrote our names on our shirts so people could yell our names, safety pinned gels to our shorts, and boarded buses with people from all walks of life who have been preparing for their long and demand undertaking – their marathon.

We arrived on Husky Stadium at 6 a.m. where there people similar to myself were preparing to run a ½ marathon or a full marathon. The lines to each of the bathrooms were 25 – 30 people deep. As such, I waited in line for 20 minutes, went to the bathroom, and then went back in line and waited another 25 minutes to go to the bathroom again… just in case. This was great advise as I saw people in bushes, going to gas stations, or just (you can imagine) trying to go anywhere they can throughout the race.

At 7:15 a.m. the horn blows and it took me about 5 minutes to get to the start line. It was purely amazing to see walkers, joggers, and runners

from all walks of life running together in a sea of people over the 520 bridge. The first 12 miles I ran at a very comfortable pace. I was not looking to break records and ran a 12 minute mile or so. I was mentally literally ‘stopping to smell the roses.’ I ran with my teammates, but lost them in the first water station when we crossed the 520 bridge. I felt extremely comfortable for the first 12 miles of the race. I would mirror my experience to everyday life… getting a cup of coffee, going to work, hanging out with friends, etc. On the 12 mile marker something happened that I was not expecting, 90 percent of the people around me were either running a ½ mile or not running a marathon because of the weather conditions (85 – 91 degrees) throughout the course with no cloud in site. This made the marathon a bigger challenge as the odds were against us as the best conditions to run a marathon is in cooler fall type of climate (in the 60s).

On the 12 mile marker I veered right while all the other 90% of the runners ran to the ½ marathon finish line. I had maybe 3 or 4 runners in front of me and behind me. I was alone. The feeling is similar to coming to a new city and not knowing anyone. At this point I started to become vulnerable. I was looking for support. I was attempting to make a connection with myself as I could no longer connect with people around me. I remember saying ‘hello’ to everyone I saw just like when I first moved to Seattle. At this point I turned on my iPod looking to connect to music, but knew that the battle had just begun. The longest distance I have ever run competitively was a 5K or 3.2 miles.

At the 13.15 mile mark I was emotionally lifted because I completed, technically speaking of course, my first ½ marathon. It was an important achievement that marked the halfway mark of my first marathon. Between miles 13 – 20 I was confident that I would complete my first marathon, but my experience was being shaped by experience in now, finally, reflecting on my life. I was reaching a pivotal point as this is what I was looking for, an opportunity to explore my life as I see it today under sleep deprivation, exhaustion, and a harsh sun under hilly road conditions. I began to explore my life in layers – friends, family, relationships, work, etc. It was overwhelming. I can describe the experience as pure, uninhibited, and learning that all limitations in life are self-imposed.

On mile 20 – 23 I ran from Bellevue through Kirkland. I could feel leg cramps coming on when I slowed down. As such, it was important to stay at the pace that I was running. It was almost like my body was telling my mind that you are not done exploring your life — to continue to explore at your most vulnerable point in time in the race my life. I had no choice. I thought a lot about my life, about work, about my friends, but to be extremely candid my ability to be open, honest, and transparent with myself and my history in committed relationships.  I thought about the choices I made when we were together, how I reacted to conflicts, and my ability to be vulnerable. My feelings and experience were completely focused on what is it that I can do to be a better person in my life, at work, with my friends, and in a committed relationship.

At mile 23 my manager came out to meet me. I was beat. I was in another world. Work has always been an important part of my life and the main reason why I have relocated every three years or so. I was glad that a part of my work, finally, was supporting my self-discovery. As I passed the 23 mile marker I began to think about what I can do differently. The feeling is described as being in a near death experience, but knowing you were going to make it. If I could re-live my life, what would I do differently? What choices have I made? Where am I today? Where am I going? And so on?

Between miles 23 – 25 I was starting to rewire myself mentally and emotionally. My mind and body were in sync. I was digging deep. I was forgiving people and family members so I could again love and connect. Throughout this process I began to recall people that have shaped my life experiences and began to look forward to explore my life with those who care about me and those who I really care about. I began to reflect on the friendships I have developed and the people I have dated. Throughout the race I was supported with people who used their lawn sprinklers to cool down the runners, and volunteers who provided us with water and glucose power gels. This feeling was equivalent to the friends that I have and how we support each other on a regular basis.

On mile 25 I was an emotional wreck… my body had taken the biggest beating under the worst conditions possible. I was jogging, but felt like I was not going anywhere. It was like being on a treadmill. On mile 25.5 mile mark I could see the finish line, I knew I was going to make it. As I got closer to the finish line I saw a close friend pull up next to me and start to run on the sidelines. At the 26.2 mile mark I saw my friends at the finish line – Hilaria, Claudia and Regina.  Not sure how long they were they where there, but it took me 5 hours and 30 minutes to complete the race.

Marathon After Effects

I turned inward, reconciled previous friendships, relationships, and included people that I excluded for self preservation purposes.  I was now vulnerable.  I made a personal commitment to be open, honest, and transparent with myself.  Instead of focusing on others, I focused on myself.  I allowed others in.  I reprioritized work, family, friends, and my interest in being in a committed relationship.  It was not easy as I learned that my Amazing Race to Change Lives had only begun.  On October 1, 2009 I will start a new social matchmaking company that will take online dating offline and help people Meet People… Not Their Profiles.

Thank you for reading and for your trust in the referral of your single family, friends, and business colleagues as we work together to make each other great and keep ourselves open, honest, and transparent.

It’s Tuesday evening and everyone is heading home, Angel, however, is just getting warmed up. The topic for the evening: Group Dates. What type of Group Dates should we offer? What kind of Group Dates would our members want?

We discussed the differences between men and women, which gender has the higher sense of smell, are guys really visual, what does the research tell us, the pros/cons of speed dating, blind dates, etc. We discussed operations. How long should Group Dates last, where should we have them, why is it an important product, and how do we provide an amazing level of service to our members? We discussed how we want to make sure we offer a variety of date types, from ‘outdoors’ to ‘romantic’ to ‘adventure,’ and all combinations in between…

 My name is Eric Franzen. I was a summer intern with Guys And Girls Next Door (GND). I am 20 years old and a junior at Kenyon College, a small liberal arts school in Gambier, Ohio, currently studying abroad for a semester in Lima Peru.

Not many people spent their summers like I spent mine, talking group dates, moving furniture, advertising, studying laws of attraction, or identifying pricing structures at a new boutique social matchmaking dating company. As soon-to-be juniors in college, my friends and I were all hoping for career-oriented internships, but with the recession still hitting hard, most of us found ourselves exploring options that we would not have explored in a great economy. I was doing part-time construction work when I stumbled across GND’s Craigslist ad, a plea, or an ‘all hands on deck needed’ e-mail for any and all interns.

Within 24 hours of sending GND an email, I was heading to Madison Park to interview with GND on a beautiful Saturday morning. The thought of skipping the interview and going to the beach in 85 degree Seattle weather did cross my mind. But I needed experience and this was a unique ad. I signed up with GND.

When I joined, they had just leased office space.  A handful of us became interns, spending our summer building on the foundations laid by Angel and Mary. And over the last few months, it was hard not to be impressed with the progress: the website went from an empty shell to the functioning, polished online face of GND. In just a few short weeks, our office underwent the same transformation, with new paint, décor and atmosphere. The brand and concept grew into a triple-digit waiting list for new members with very limited advertisement.

What most amazed me was the efficiency with which Angel was able to accomplish these radical transformations. Interns, furniture, designers, photographers, and consultants were all found on sites like Craigslist, 99designs, Dibspace, and oDesk for hundreds, if not thousands of dollars below market. When I was ready to bite the bullet on costly radio advertising, Angel was on Facebook, buying ad space for fractions of a cent. Every dollar counts. Now this is how to start a business, I quickly learned. Angel and Mary have created an entire company for what most businesses spend on a website.

As an aspiring entrepreneur myself, I now know firsthand that it is now possible to take an idea and make it into a reality. I have seen Mary and Angel take an idea they had in April and work together to make it into a reality today.

Much of what I learned over the summer has stuck with me. We are in a global economy. We are interdependent and doing business overseas is incredibly easy to do if you have a relationship built on mutual trust and respect.

My summer internship provided me advice, innovation, and insight into labor markets and how social technologies work. I am happy to say that I had a great summer and the experience I had in this new social matchmaking company will last me a lifetime.

Eric

Angel Luis Cruzado

My first job was picking strawberries at Sunshine Farms in Sherborn, Massachusetts. If you’re thinking this was some cruel child labor, you are probably correct, but it’s what I did.  I was only 13 years old, but my father was feeding a family of six.  He was a Machine Operator for Denison, prior to it merging with Avery and becoming Avery Denison in the fall of 1990.  My mom was a homemaker and, at times, a housecleaner.

Since child labor laws prevented companies from employing me more than 12 hours a week at a time, I usually held two to three jobs at a time to get around the labor laws. As such, over the course of my high school education, I worked as a Movie Usher, Gas Station Attendant, Stock Clerk, Car Wash Attendant, Busboy, Food Runner, and a Waiter.

Focusing on one thing at a time was pretty much impossible because of time limitations.  I was never a straight A student as I was pretty much involved with a lot of things, but never involved enough to do anything perfectly. During my senior year, I became the Vice President of Student Government and Co-Captain of the Track and Field team.   I missed a lot of meetings and practices and should have shared that I had a full time job with my teammates, but never got around to sharing that data point.

I knew that I wanted to go to college, but had no idea how to get there as my folks didn’t go nor encouraged a college education.  Guidance was not as easy as it is today.  We didn’t have e-mail, instant messages, text messages, use the internet, or write blogs.  We had the town library.  Unfortunately, getting to the library with my schedule was pretty much impossible.

In high school I became very inquisitive. Not sure this was because my classes seemed below par to my track and field classmates or me trying to understand if I was being treated differently because I was Latino as most Latinos at the time didn’t go to college and didn’t really understand why.

To go to college I had to ask good questions to better understand my environment. My track and field schoolmates, after all, were going to college, but my schoolmates in the housing project where I grew up, for the most part, didn’t have the same aspirations.  By learning from others, making a commitment to myself, and not allowing my socioeconomic status to prevent me to reach my goals, I learned what steps I needed to take to attend college from others.

A lot has happened since high school. Since graduating from high school, I have had an amazing education with Bentley University; I worked as an Inroads Intern with the Otis Elevator Company; worked in Sales with Automatic Data Processing in New York City; recruited college seniors for the Federal Reserve Bank of New York; went to the school of business at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, worked in human resources with Hewlett Packard in San Francisco, Sun Microsystems in Boston, Medtronic in Los Angeles, and Microsoft in Seattle.

I have worked with non-exempt and exempt employees across all fields and professions (e.g. marketing, finance, sales, engineering, research and development, etc.) and with people from all socioeconomic statuses and ethnicities across the United States.  After all, my job required me to work with different people to achieve the organization’s mission and vision.

In writing this blog tonight, I realize that the experiences I have had have shaped me. More so, these experiences have allowed me to learn greatly from others.  Learning in and outside the roles I have had with different companies, I will apply what I have learned to Guys And Girls Next Door.

I continue to be inquisitive and ask a lot of questions. My goals today are different, but in a weird kind of way, the same.  As I evolve and continue to learn how to start a social matchmaking company from the ground up, I will use my education and experience and collaboration with others to set our members up on Traditional and/or Group Dates.  Every member will have a resume, personality trait, resume/cv, and membership profile.

We will learn a lot about about our members before we send them on Traditional and/or Group Dates.  We are excited to launch the company on October 1st, to learn more about our new members, and to set up our members on amazing dates.

Mary Starks, MA, LMHC

My name is Mary Starks and I am responsible for the psychology and science behind Guys And Girls Next Door. This is a dream job… who can say on their resume that they were a matchmaker?

I love Psychology… which also means that I love it so much that I have an undergraduate and master’s degree in Psychology. I deferred admission to my doctoral program to start Guys And Girls Next Door. I felt that this project would give me an opportunity to be part of a start up company that has the potential to develop a unique social matchmaking concept that can be duplicated around the world.

WOW! Did I just say around the world? Well, we have high aspirations. What can I say?   

When not working my full time job at Sound Mental Health, I am responsible for the: 1) social matchmaking process behind the Group Dates; 2) the curriculum and content for GND University (GND U); 3) and the GND Bi-weekly Meet Ups.

GND U, Meet Ups, Social Matchmaking… what does this all mean? Well, let me explain it to you in a Q&A format:

What is social matchmaking?
We first help our members look at themselves objectively using the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® (MBTI). We then proceed to match them on Traditional Dates or Group Dates based on their resume, interests, personality type, and membership profiles. Social Matchmaking is the process of providing coaching and feedback for constructive self-development and relational improvement.

What is the social matchmaking process behind the Group Dates?
There is no magic formula that will produce your perfect partner in minutes, but we have found through research that people have, what are known, natural partners who are often similar on core beliefs and values and different on personality traits. But this isn’t all we look at to select who will be present on the Group Dates. In our selection process we take in a wealth of collateral information, but as a starting point we capture from all our members their resume, membership profile, personality type (using MBTI) and interests.

What classes do we expect to host at GND U?
To be completely honest, it depends. It depends on which subject matter experts we partner and collaborate with and where the interest lies.  We will work closely with local learning and development consultants who have an interest in helping our members step outside their comfort zone and expand their knowledge base.

We want to help our members gain self awareness and understand the impact they have on others so they can happily explore a long-term relationship. In short, help our members become the best version of themselves. As such, we will partner with local authors, psychologists, professors, and well known image consultants who can enlighten our members in their area of interest.

What happens in the GND Meet-Ups?
It depends on the membership level they select.  We offer two membership levels:
          1)  Individual and Group Membership
          2)  Group Membership

If members select the Individual and Group Membership, they will meet one on one with me twice a month for a highly individualized and collaborative session. Our first two sessions will identify measureable objectives that will help them achieve their goals.

This is a powerful aspect of the GND experience; I am passionate about results and witnessing the transformation that can be key in leading to their future mate.

If a member selects the Group Membership, we will host GND Group Meet Ups weekly where our members can drop in to discuss feedback in a group setting.  Feedback that our members have received directly or indirectly. The Group Meet Ups are confidential to the people that are attending the meet up.  Group Meets Up will be fun and we believe this is a good way to make new friends and develop a support system.  At Guys And Girls Next Door, we encourage openness, honesty, and transparency and believe that there is value in sharing experience and knowledge with others.

We have been working around the clock to start a social matchmaking company that makes sense. Our objective for our member is quite simple: Meet People. Not Their Profiles.

If you have a single friend, family member, or business associate who wants to be in a long term relationship and is ready to step outside their comfort zone, please have them sign up to our waiting list at www.GuysAndGirlsNextDoor.com

If you have any questions or feedback for me or our new socialmatchmaking company, please feel free to e-mail me at Mary [at] GND-Seattle.com

Mary