Pursuit 365 Day 42: Carmelia Ray

In twenty-eight years of servicing the dating industry, Celebrity Matchmaker, TV Host, and Online Dating Expert Carmelia Ray has worked with over 8,000 matchmaking clients and has had more than 65,000+ conversations with singles worldwide about love and relationships. Carmelia is one of the most successful matchmakers working with the world’s leading entrepreneurs, corporate executives, notable celebrities, and massive influencers. In 2018, Carmelia was a finalist for “Best Dating Coach” at the annual iDate Conference, and is the current “2020 Best Dating Coach.”

What makes an opportunity exciting to you – in business or life?

I embrace opportunities to create win-win collaborations with other like-minded entrepreneurs. I seek ways to work in my genius, like creating video and TV content, brainstorming new ideas, and mentoring other coaches and business owners. My Love Language is quality time and acts of service, and in my personal life, I appreciate spending time with my family.

What has been the most significant shift in your career or life, and how did you navigate through it?

The most significant shift in my career is when I resigned from my full-time salaried job at a Matchmaking company and decided to become an entrepreneur in 2010. I made sure I had enough of a runway to build my business, and within that time, I was able to fully replace my income and got my TV show called Mom vs Matchmaker. The show was broadcast in 85 countries for four seasons and won several reality tv shows. It was one of the best learning experiences to be a tv host and associate producer.

What has been your favourite experience you love to share?

In the most recent years, my favourite experience was taking my family on vacation to Exuma Beach Bahamas, where we swam with the pigs and stayed at a friend’s home with a private beach. We had so much fun and were able to spend quality time with all of the kids. So many of my favourite experiences involve travel. I took my eldest daughter Mikayla to Paris, France, for her 21st birthday in 2019 pre-pandemic with one of her friends, and it was an incredible “Girl’s Trip.”

What are you up to right now that people should know about?

I am involved in many collaborations I am passionate about and Matchmaking clients is my favourite! I have a weekly relationship podcast called The Better Love Podcast where I discuss hot topics on dating, love, relationships, and entrepreneurship. I launched a digital Matchmaking Academy to certify new matchmakers and dating coaches who would like to become a matchmaker. I am launching my video and Livestream production studio called MXL Live Loft in Toronto. Our studio helps entrepreneurs, influencers, and business owners create professionally produced video content and live streams to showcase their business and passions.

Carmelia is the host and associate producer of her reality dating show produced by GoButtonMedia and has appeared on hundreds of major media platforms. “Mom vs Matchmaker” is an award-winning Reality TV show, with four seasons distributed in over 85 countries. She has worked alongside dozens of matchmaking agencies, top dating coaches, and major online dating sites like Match.com, CDFF (Christian Dating For Free) Lavalife, POF, and eHarmony to give singles the tools they need to navigate the dating scene. Carmelia is the Chief Matchmaker and partner of Censio, a premiere AI Matchmaking App based in LA. She is a leading consultant to multiple dating platforms and start-ups across North America including SmartDate, Instant Chemistry, e-Dating For Free, and WooYouApp. Carmelia recently launched a digital Matchmaking Academy in October of 2020 with her business partners to train new and existing matchmakers in the industry. The academy will focus on the entire business cycle of matchmaking and date coaching. The curriculum and training will provide modern marketing strategies, PR tools, business development, and sales tools for this community to thrive and serve more singles worldwide.

You’ll find Carmelia’s advice on CNN/HLN, The Washington Post, Global News, The National News, USA Today, Elle, Cosmopolitan, YourTango, Huffington Post, The Refinery, OK Magazine, Hollywood Reporter, Netflix, Discovery, OUTTV, OWN Network and so much more.