Today we’d like to introduce you to Jessica Rene.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Jessica. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I started out as a professional matchmaker for a large matchmaking firm in Houston in 2005. I had an amazing career for over eleven years. The only downside to working for Houston Singles was the absorbent cost involved in order to become a member. The cost ranged from $5,000 to $20,000, and the majority of Houstonians couldn’t justify that kind of investment in their social life. My clientele was elite, but I wanted to cater to everyone which wasn’t possible.
In 2008, I befriended a young woman named Diane who had recently lost her mother. She shared her story with me, and little did I know, her story would help me to create the first dating site with safety as its platform. Diane told me her mother had met her stepfather through Eharmony. They had been married for two years and from what Diane could tell, they had a great marriage.
On the 4th of July weekend, two weeks after Diane graduated from high school, her mother was found dead in a murder-suicide. Diane’s step-father shot her mother twice and then himself. Diane was devastated, to say the least.
Investigators informed Diane her step-father had a felony conviction and a serious criminal history. Diane’s mother never completed a background check on her husband.
After hearing Diane’s story, I had an epiphany that would change the course of my entire life. I decided to start a dating site that incorporated the same values and safety precautions as a matchmaking service with the ease and affordability of a dating site.
America’s Singles was finally created in 2017 with the help of my business partner. After months and months of testing, America’s Singles launch in February of 2018. My goal in creating this dating site was to give people a safer, more affordable way to date online.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Creating America’s Singles is still the most challenging task I have ever taken on. The largest obstacle is marketing. My business partner and I have hired three different marketing companies. None of which have worked out. Being a niche market, finding a marketing company who understands the clientele we are catering to is difficult.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into America’s Singles story. Tell us more about the business.
Online dating sites are full of scammers, game players, and catfish. When I tried online dating sites in the past, my inbox was full of scammers living in Africa asking me for money and gift cards. Other times it would be men sending inappropriate photos of themselves and asking to hook up for the night. It was disgusting, to say the least. Most of all it was discouraging. When I ask people their opinion of online dating most people use the word “crapshoot” to describe their experience.
For all these reasons and more, I created the safest dating site in America. America’s Singles is the first dating site to validate every single profile as a real person living in the United States. I used a state of the art app through Onfido.com to validate everyone’s identity as a U.S. resident. The second layer of security is the confidential background check. Each member is able to run a background check on themselves, keeping all information found completely confidential. I only flag profiles with felony convictions. If no felony convictions were found, the member’s profile photo will return with a green border around it. I strongly encourage all of our members to only communicate with members who have a green border around their profile photo.
The final element I added was my specialty: matchmaking. I offer professional matchmaking for free. Members will occasionally receive a message from me regarding a hand-selected match. My dating philosophy is opposites attract but they don’t stay together. I believe apples go with apples and oranges with oranges. I aim to match people with someone they can be real friends with. Friendship is the foundation on which you can build a lasting relationship.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
I traveled for 7 years in the matchmaking business. It has taken me to New Jersey, Florida, and Alabama. Each time I moved it was an emotional challenge. Moving to different states without knowing anyone can be difficult. However, I feel like I was led there to bring me right back to my hometown of Houston where I would meet my business partner. He is a private person and would like to remain that way, but without his help, I wouldn’t be where I am today.
Contact Info:
- Website: americassingles.com
- Email: jessica@americas-singles.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/americassingles/
- Facebook: https://business.facebook.com/americasingles/
- Twitter: twitter.com/americassingles
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