There are dating sites and dating apps, dating events and dating coaches. Yes, dating is a business these days, but it doesn’t mean you have to spend copious amounts of time and money trying every dating product out there until you find one that works for you. The basics are still the basics – get to know the person but don’t rely on their dating profile to help your cause. Just think of how much you’ve bluffed on yours. Everyone does. So how do you get to know a person who is practically a stranger? Well, definitely not by stalking them. We’re blessed to live in the age of social media and a little poking around on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook will give you enough sneak-peek into the real person behind that dating profile. You can also do a background check on them, but for this one, I’ll assume we’re not dating criminals and we can leave it at social media. If they don’t have an online presence, call them before arranging a first date – people used to hide their dating profiles from family and friends and it was very hard to confirm the existence of such a person so early in the relationship; nowadays it’s common for us to introduce each other to our parents by week 2. If there is no phone number associated with their dating profile, then it means they are hiding something (have criminal record or divorced/separated) or simply don’t want to make dating easy for you. Don’t waste your time with this one. The dating journey now has no clear beginning and end, unlike the traditional dating system where people met, courted and committed (for better or worse). We now have dating sites that help us meet new people daily; apps that let you swipe right or left ‘looking for love’; dating coaches who will take your money by promising to find you the perfect match in 60 days/nights. If dating was a business before it is even more of one now – we pay for everything from dating site subscriptions to boot camps worth thousands of dollars to find our soul mate. So while we can save on dating tips and dating advice, dating coaches I do not advocate. From what I’ve heard and read, dating coaches exist to take your money and offer you nothing but wasted time, which brings us back to square one – we must know the person we are dating if we want a shot at love because no matter how handsome/pretty he is or how much she makes, you can’t build a relationship on lies. I suggest dating as openly as possible – share your dating history (the good and bad), photos of past relationships or ex-partners, favourite holiday spots with each other early in the dating process so you both know where you stand. Ask difficult questions too – ones that make you anxious or uneasy – about dating and past relationships. If they dodge the questions or change the topic, it either means they’re hiding something (for example – dating a married person) or simply not worth dating. There isn’t much room for dating around here since I have already stated dating is a business these days, but if you are still looking to save dating advice, dating tips - my best suggestion would be to quit searching now because trust me when I say this – there are no shortcuts in love. No dating sites, apps or dating coaches will save you from sitting on many dates just to find one that clicks. The golden rule of dating is – grow with each other rather than expecting them to change for us. If someone really loves you, dating tips will not help him/her adjust or change to be more romantic – it’s about showing us who they are from day one and trusting that we love them enough to overcome our dating fears - dating is scary but dating a stranger feels a lot worse. So put your dating profile on hold for now – delete Tinder, Bumble and all those other dating apps – stop looking for dating advice online – have the guts to date someone you barely know without stalking them on social media first. I promise you this works better than any dating app ever could. Do us both a favour, quit looking for dating tips and dating advice already because those of us out here who want to change how we meet people aren’t looking for dating advice or dating tips online – we want a dating system that’s fair to everyone involved and dating coaches aren’t going to help us do that. Just read this dating fear, dating tips for men, dating fear, dating tips for women and try not to laugh at how ridiculous I sound. It is possible to find love without needing dating advice from strangers but you have get rid of your dating fears first. This might be difficult if you've been single for a while because let's face it - it's human nature to feel afraid when we are faced with the unknown. We all know how hard it is to deal with rejection so in order not to fail again in future relationships we lie about our likes, dislikes and dating past. We’ve all done it – dating site surveys to prove we’re a good catch, dating profiles full of lies because let's face dating sites are extremely competitive too. So, if you don’t want to date a liar – please quit looking for dating tips online because dating coaches only have one agenda – to take your money and give you nothing in return. How do I know? Because I wasted a lot of time and money on them before I found the courage to quit dating sites and stop dating other people’s boyfriends/girlfriends forever. In search of dating advice or dating tips? Stop looking because those who need it won't find it online any