Dating a Business Professional is awesome! They tend to have it together, are great communicators, and are going places with their life. If you’re interested in dating a professional or you’ve got a date lined up, you’re probably wondering if there is anything special that you need to do to ensure date success.

(Make sure to check out our Best Dating Sites for Executives if you’re looking to meet a young professional.)

There is! In this guide, we’re going to cover exactly what you need to do when you’re dating a professional. While they aren’t some crazy other species or anything like that, they do operate a little differently from people in other professions. Because of this, you have to approach dating a professional a little differently.

While it does require a few different things, it’s all worth it. So, if you’ve got a date lined up with a Business Professional or an entrepreneur, here is the checklist of must-do things to give yourself the best chance of a successful date and a successful relationship.

Communicate like an adult.

At work, professionals know the importance of good communication. Whether it’s emails, texts, phone calls, or face to face meetings, professionals are required to be on top of their game. They rarely use slang, they use punctuation, and they know the difference between there, their, and they’re. They also are quite clear about what they are trying to say.

Almost all of this bleeds over into a professional’s dating life. You’re not going to get the runaround or be unclear about their intentions. This means that you need to be ready to reciprocate and do the same.

When you talk with a professional that you’re looking to date, be clear about what you’re thinking. Take a little extra time before you send a message to make sure it reads well and do the same with a small pause before you speak in person. Also, don’t be scared to be direct with what you’re feeling, thinking, or what your intentions are. Business professionals respect directness.

Look, we’re not telling you to be an uncomfortable robot around a business professional when you’re getting to know them or on a date. But, you do need to be prepared to communicate like an adult. If you’re incapable of this, they’re going to get frustrated and turned off very quickly.

Respect that their work is important to them.

You don’t get to be a successful business professional by not caring about your work. One of the great things about dating a professional is they’re capable of committing to something and aren’t scared to put in the work to make it happen. This is exactly what they’ll do for your relationship if you get to that point, so it’s definitely something to look forward to.

What this means for you is that you need to be ready to share your time with their work especially early in the relationship. If things start to get more serious, you can and should expect them to relinquish some of that work time to you. But initially, you have to be willing to respect that their work is important to them.

This means there will be times that they probably have to cancel or reschedule dates because of work. It also means there may be times on your dates where they seem a little preoccupied from a tough day in the office. As long as these things aren’t happening all the time, you need to be ready to sacrifice a little if you want the relationship to work.

If they are always canceling and never mentally there, then you may want to talk to them about it because they still have to respect you. Just because they are successful at work does not mean they can ignore you and walk all over you. If this starts to happen, use those adult conversation skills we talked about and let them know how you’re feeling.

Be punctual and reliable.

Business professionals are going to have limited free time thanks to their work commitments and any other life commitments they might have on top of that. This means that you need to be ready to be punctual and reliable for all of your dates. Additionally, professionals know that punctuality and reliability are fantastic ways to demonstrate respect or a lack of respect.

We can assure you that if you’re constantly late to dates or blowing off dates with a business professional, you’re not going to be seeing them for much longer. While that might be okay with some other people that you date, people in this line of work tend to make this a much bigger priority. You’ll get punctuality and reliability from them, but you’re going to need to be ready to give it in return.

Understand a professional’s dating schedule.

Professionals and businessmen and women usually work traditional schedules. They’ll work Monday through Friday and sometimes on the weekends when they need to catch up on things. They usually have to be in the office by 7 or 8 am which means they can’t be going out late partying it up on weeknights.

You have got to understand and respect this. While you can still go out with them on weeknights, be prepared for them to need to call it an early night if they have work the next day in the morning. By showing that you’re cognizant of this, it will show that you care about what is important to them. This is a quick way to score some easy brownie points.

Also, don’t be upset if it’s a little more challenging to schedule dates with them because of their schedule. If you don’t have patience and can’t understand their schedules, then you probably should shy away from dating a young professional. It’s okay if that’s something you don’t want to do, but don’t try and shove the square peg in the round hole.

Expect them to have goals, a plan, and a direction for their dating life.

One of the most awesome things about dating a professional is they have an idea of where they are, where they are going, and where they want to be. You should expect a professional to have dating goals, a dating plan, and a direction for their dating life. Now, before you freak out, we don’t mean they have planned out every second of your future or anything crazy like that. We’re more referring to a general idea of where they want things to go.

If you don’t want to feel out of place and get booted to the curb, we suggest you at least have some sort of a general idea as to the direction you want your dating life to go. You don’t have to know exactly what you want, but at least an idea of do you just want to date casually? Are you looking for something that could be more serious? Is marriage something you’d like to see in the next few years? Etc.…

Regardless of who you are dating, it’s healthy to have a plan like this. You’ll end up sitting still and spinning your wheels forever if you don’t have goals and a plan to get there. There’s still plenty of room for life and love to happen when you have goals.

They don’t need to be rescued. Expect self-sufficiency and confidence.

The last thing that you need to be aware of when dating a professional is that they do not need you to rescue them. For the most part, they’re going to be self-sufficient. They know how to take care of themselves and even though they may seem like work swallows them up from time to time, they are okay. If you come in hot trying to be their savior, it’s going to turn them off and push them away. When you try and save someone who doesn’t need saving, it’s insulting. You’re basically telling them there is something wrong with them that needs to be corrected. How do you feel when someone tells you something is wrong with you and everything is fine?

The Wrap-Up

Not that hard, yea? Dating a business professional is not that much different from dating anyone in any other profession. There are just a few different ways that they tick that you should be aware of. By having awareness and making small adjustments, you set yourself up for a much better and more productive relationship with a business professional.