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Founder@ Interview
Interview with Michelle Begy
“Set your goals and stick to them. From the moment I decided to launch my own matchmaking agency, I knew what I wanted to achieve, and I had an idea on how to get there. I set myself one rule, always listen to my clients and develop a personalised service that meets their needs, and it has been the foundation of the success that we have achieved so far..” – Michelle Begy
Today we feature Michelle Begy, the founder at Ignite Dating. We hear their story in their own words, their successes, their challenges and their insights.
Let’s start by getting to know you. Can you please tell us a little bit about you and what you do?
My name is Michelle Begy, and I am the Managing Director and Founder of Ignite Dating. I am a professional matchmaker and have been working in the dating industry for over 10 years, helping busy and successful professionals find love with carefully selected, headhunted introductions.
A great introduction and start to this interview. Can you please tell us, how did you start, from what age, and what made you decide to change direction and start?
Thanks to the era of online dating, the dating industry has undergone some major changes over the last ten years and, after working with one of the UK’s largest introduction agencies, I realised that the dating world was ripe for a different way of doing business.
Educated and successful people did not have time for the labour-intensive scrolling of online dating, were growing bored of the ineffectiveness of database matching, and did not want to have their profile all over the internet. Instead, they were looking for a more personalised service that took away the effort and stress and allowed them to be more prescriptive as to what they wanted in a partner. And so, Ignite Dating was launched.
Thank you for that insight. So can you tell us…What does your business do and where is your company based?
Ignite Dating is an elite matchmaking and introductions agency that is here to change the way our clients date. Specialising in hand-selected introductions, our matchmaking service combines a unique mix of Myers Briggs personality profiling, experienced matchmakers, intuition and an extensive private network.
We work closely with our network of highly successful and affluent clients to help them find a life partner that shares their values, lifestyle and aspirations to achieve that ultimate goal of a long-term committed relationship.
We have two offices – a Head Office in London and a regional office in Oakham, Rutland, as well franchisees in six territories across the country, allowing us to offer our elite service to clients throughout the whole of the UK.
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What’s the story behind your success? What led to your aha moment? how did you get to where you are now?
When I set up Ignite Dating, I had no idea what was to come in just a few short months. Ten weeks after launching Ignite Dating, the whole country went into lockdown. For an industry that thrives on personal contact and building relationships, there was no way of knowing the true impact that this situation was going to have on not only Ignite Dating but the industry as a whole and everyone seemed to have a bleak outlook on the future.
Faced with a situation where we could not meet face-to-face to interview clients, and they in turn would not be able to meet up to date, I was concerned with the impact this would have on the new business. However, rather than give up at the first hurdle we took a “push harder, work longer and build faster” approach.
The success of the company over the last 18 months has been based upon offering a completely different perspective on virtual dating, providing clients with support and advice throughout their journey and taking advantage of the changes forced upon society rather than seeing them as impossible obstacles.
Instead of waiting to see what happened as the pandemic unfolded, we increased our marketing and PR, achieving a vast number of published articles and comments in national press publications, numerous broadcast interviews and a huge drive in our Google campaigns.
In the process, Ignite Dating has become one of the most respected names in the industry and has received accreditation from the Matchmaking Institute (MMI) – the world’s only organisation to authorise certification in the field of matchmaking.
This determination to stay positive and swim against the tide allowed us to come out of lockdown stronger and in a better position than ever – something which looks set to continue.
Thank you for sharing that. What’s been your life’s biggest lesson so far?
Despite the unprecedented situation of the pandemic, lockdown brought with it a lot of challenges but also some lessons. The biggest lesson that I have learnt during this time is to never give up, no matter how tough things appear. I wouldn’t be human if I didn’t admit that when the national lockdown first hit, I didn’t reconsider everything that I had planned. After all, our industry relies on people meeting up in person so having that taken away so early on sent me into a bit of a meltdown.
However, rather than give up at the first hurdle I figured I had nothing to lose so I took the push harder approach, and I am so glad that I did!
The idea of Ignite Dating had been formed 18 months prior to launching the business and despite the encouragement from my business mentor, I was hesitant to follow through with it. Had I known just how capable I was and what a huge success it would be, I would have made the jump much sooner.
If you were to go back in time, what piece of advice would you give to your younger self?
Never underestimate the value of the team around you.
Not every day in a new business is going to be a good one – that is just reality. But with a strong team around you keeping you connected, focused and healthy you can face anything – no matter what life throws at you. This is something that is very important to me and part of the key building blocks behind the Ignite Dating brand.
To drive the team and keep morale boosted, we have implemented strategies to ensure that all Ignite Dating Angels maintain a happy and healthy work life. From a compassionate workplace to flexible hours, promotion of a good work-life balance to team building activities and small gestures on birthdays or when they achieve their first sale, these strategies make the world of difference to morale and encourages both employees and franchisees alike to achieve a happy and healthy work-life balance.
We’re nearly halfway through our interview so it’s a great time to ask how does your business run. What three tools make your business run better?
Ignite Dating is very efficient and coordinated in the way that it is run. We have processes in place for every aspect of the client journey to ensure that it runs seamlessly and that every client receives the same exceptional customer service that we pride ourselves on.
That said, there are three apps that I couldn’t live without for my business and they are:
• LNER (train booking app)
• Smart Match App (database for matching)
• LinkedIn
What do you know now that you wished you had known before?
The idea of Ignite Dating had been formed 18 months prior to launching the business and despite the encouragement from my business mentor, I was hesitant to follow through with it. Had I known just how capable I was and what a huge success it would be, I would have made the jump much sooner.
What has been your greatest or proudest achievement or moment?
When I look back to 18 months ago when I first launched Ignite Dating, I never could have imagined just how successful it would be after just one year. Despite the fact that we now have two offices – a head office in central London and a regional office in Rutland, a team of nine and accreditation from the Matchmaking Institute under my belt I still have to pinch myself as I can’t believe that this is real.
As I reflect on all that I have achieved so far and continue to achieve, I feel so lucky that despite the challenges that have seen many industries and businesses suffer the Ignite Dating brand continues to go from strength to strength.
What future life goals do you want to achieve and why?
Having massively surpassed the original financial projections, as restrictions in the UK we are on track to achieve almost £0.5m revenue this year and are looking to roll out our proven franchise model further.
I have invested heavily in the business and technology infrastructure required to support this level of growth and we are now targeting both domestic and international expansion in the next 18 months, with a target of 15 franchises, entry into the Australian market and £1m turnover. Achieving these goals would put Ignite Dating into the top 3 dating agencies in the UK after only 3 years.
To finish our inspire questions…”We believe that sharing inspiring words can inspire others.” If there was one positive thing you would say to someone to inspire and empower them what would it be and why?
Set your goals and stick to them.
From the moment I decided to launch my own matchmaking agency, I knew what I wanted to achieve, and I had an idea on how to get there. I set myself one rule, always listen to my clients and develop a personalised service that meets their needs, and it has been the foundation of the success that we have achieved so far.
However, if the pandemic taught me anything, it’s that not everything goes to plan. You can never fully know what is going to happen in the future, so it is important to remember that if the plan doesn’t work, change the plan but never change the goal – after all that is your why for doing this in the first place!
“Thank you it has been great learning more about your founder story and Ignite Dating”
To learn more about Ignite Dating Visit www.ignitedating.co.uk
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