My name is Erika Ettin, and I started my business, A Little Nudge, in April of 2011. Prior to starting the business, I graduated with a B.A. in Economics from Cornell, an M.B.A. from Georgetown, and worked in the finance industry as an economist for over seven years.
I have been in D.C. for eight years, and I always knew that the man of my dreams was out there. But sometimes you just need a little nudge to find him. So, I decided to join JDate, and I wasn’t going to quit until I had found what I was looking for. I perfected my profile and both my initial e-mails and e-mail responses to a point that my “hit rate,” or percent of guys who responded to my initial e-mail (I kept a spreadsheet tracking my results – I’m an economist by training), was well over 60%, almost unheard of in the online dating world. (OkCupid even calls a 36% response rate ”nicely above average.”) And then finally, after over 120 dates, on December 4th, 2009, I did it. I walked into the bar and met Jeremy – my last Jdate. We have been happy together ever since.
BDD: What was your inspiration for starting A Little Nudge?
After all of this education and a career in finance, I still didn’t know that I was destined to start my own business. But, then the reasons started adding up:
- My friends love coming to me with not only online dating advice but dating advice in general.
- I love setting people up, and I’m quickly able to assess who might hit it off.
- I have the drive to encourage people to put themselves out there and not stop until they find what they are looking for.
- I have excellent creative writing skills.
- I want to share the secrets to my success at online dating so that others can find happiness… online.
After working in the finance industry for over seven years, I was ready to take the leap, so I quit my job in March 2011 and have never looked back. It genuinely makes me happy to see others find happiness.
BDD: How do you help your clients, what’s unique about your approach?
The reason many people don’t join or succeed at online dating is because 1) it is very time-consuming and 2) it’s hard to write about yourself. I solve that problem by offering three packages, all targeted to address one or both of these issues. My first package – A Little Nudge – is all about having a great online dating profile. The next package – A Little Nudge Plus – works on searching and e-mailing matches. And the final package – The Platinum Nudge – is for people who truly want to outsource their dating.
I meet with all of my clients one-on-one (either in person or over the phone) and tailor their profile, search, and coaching to fit their unique needs. And I am amazingly fast at responding to e-mails from my clients!
BDD: Can you give us an example of a success story?
I love answering this question. I had a client in her late 30s who was so quick to give up on online dating. She called me after a week of working together to say she wanted to quit. But I didn’t let her. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Two months later, I got an e-mail from her saying that she had met someone online. She said, “Things are really going well with [him]. We’ve decided to date exclusively and see where things go. I want to thank you for your awesome profile writing. My profile is what he said caught his attention. He said it was well written and he could see what I was like and what I liked.”
BDD: What does it take to be a coach?
The most important thing about being a coach (in my case an online dating coach) is passion. I couldn’t succeed if I didn’t love what I do. I truly want everyone to find happiness.
Erika Ettin is the Founder of A Little Nudge, helping people find success in online dating and getting them excited about its possibilities. “Like” A Little Nudge on Facebook, or read her blog for fun and useful dating tips.