Blaine Anderson is a dating coach for men and the founder of Dating By Blaine. Blaine’s mission is to curb the increasing isolation single men are experiencing globally, and she’s helped 1,500+ men build confidence, learn to market themselves, and land awesome partners since diving into coaching full-time in 2020. Blaine’s free advice is consumed by millions of men each month on her Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube, and she has been featured in the New York Times, Forbes, and Psychology Today.
Blaine is a native Arizonan and University of Arizona graduate and now lives in Austin, Texas. When she’s not coaching, Blaine loves spending time with her pets (she has a dog named Dee Dee and a one-eyed cat named Cedar), going to group fitness classes (she met her husband at Barry’s Bootcamp), and reading fiction novels (The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho is her favorite).
Here we sit down with Blaine, to know a bit more about her journey as an entrepreneur.
Q. What inspired you to become an entrepreneur?
Blaine: Necessity inspired me to become an entrepreneur! Prior to the pandemic, I worked full-time in the travel industry, which ground to an indefinite halt when COVID hit in March of 2020. I was suddenly not just out of a job, I was out of a career.
I’d been informally advising my male friends on dating since I was a student at the University of Arizona, and that had led to helping my friends, and friends of friends, with their dating troubles and app profiles post-college. I decided to give coaching a shot full-time during the summer of 2020 because I enjoyed it, I knew guys found value in it, and I didn’t have anything to lose.
Q. How did you get started?
Blaine: Around the time I was mulling making a go of coaching men professionally, my now-husband and I were discussing one of his acquaintances from San Francisco who was running a very successful business teaching people to start online courses. This was something of an “aha” moment — it made me realize that my opportunity as a dating coach wouldn’t be limited to referrals from my existing social circles, that I could reach guys around the world online, and an online course would give me leverage on my time.
Q. What was your biggest startup challenge? What steps did you take to overcome it? What did you learn?
Blaine: My biggest challenge was finding customers! My service is the opposite of viral — even my happiest clients can be reticent to discuss working with me publicly because it’s awkward for men to say, “I needed help dating.”
I found my first customers literally on dating apps. I created a Tinder profile where I was transparent about the fact that I was a dating coach (and not looking to date!) and marketed a free COVID-19 dating guide to guys who matched with me.
This obviously ruffled some feathers, and I eventually got sick of the cat-and-mouse game of getting kicked off dating apps for soliciting my coaching services, but enough guys reacted positively to the offer that I felt confident that I could find another, more-sustainable way to find clients online.
Q. What is the most memorable thing you’ve done since you started your business?
Blaine: My favorite memory of my business was when I was on a ski trip in Colorado in December of 2021, and I’d just announced my next Dating Masterclass (my online course for men — I teach live a few times a year) to my email list. Sales started to pour in like never before — I kept receiving these email alerts that someone new had purchased each time I got on the ski lift and looked at my phone — and I had this surreal feeling that was like, “this is what I dreamed of.” For context, 12 months earlier, I was on my parents’ couch — I had some traction, but it wasn’t clear that things would work out. A lot can change in 12 months.
Q. What is one book you recommend, and why?
Blaine: The book I recommend most often to clients is called “The Courage To Be Disliked” by Fumitake Koga and Ichiro Kishimi. The title is quite evocative — if it piques your curiosity, you should purchase and read it immediately. It’s a fun and moving overview of Adlerian psychology, which forms the backbone of a large chunk of what I teach.
Q. What are your top 3 favourite online apps, tools or resources and what do you love about them?
Blaine: It only feels fair to give a shoutout to Instagram here — Reels have given me the opportunity of a lifetime to help people, and support myself.
Q. In terms of legacy, what is the mark you’d like to leave on the world?
Blaine: My mission is to help men feel less alone. I’m so thrilled that I’ve been able to fulfil that at least to a small amount through my coaching practice — I’m starting to get invites to client weddings for example — and I hope that I can continue to have that impact on the world.
Q. In one sentence, what’s the best advice you’d give to someone just starting out on their entrepreneurial journey?
Blaine: Have faith in your vision, and be willing to stick your neck out to achieve it. Anything worth accomplishing will require you to feel silly or embarrassed at first (e.g. posting videos of yourself online).
You can either accept it, and push forward; or reject it, and give up. It’s your choice!
To keep up to date with Blaine and her journey, connect with her on Instagram.
