CHECKING IN WITH ... Svetlana Novikova:

You’ve tried online dating. You’re tired of the bar scene — where do these night-clubbers come from anyway? Mars? No, wait, Venus. Never mind. If you have a date for Saturday, lucky you. Count your blessings. If you struck out, don’t despair. Have you ever thought of a matchmaker? This week we check in with Svetlana Novikova, owner of Svetlana International matchmaking service in Newport Beach.

Valentine’s Day is coming up and since you run a matchmaking service we’ve got you pegged as an expert in all things romantic. A lot of people are hurting because of the economy. How can someone on a tight budget romance their sweetie without looking like a cheapskate?

You don’t have to use a lot of money on it. You could, for example, make a sweet picnic basket, some flowers and a bottle of wine in a quite romantic place. Feb. 14 happens on Saturday this time. Just use your imagination. Everybody loves attention and creativity. Just create a day for your partner instead of thinking of yourself. Valentine’s Day is not about presents, it’s about romance, love and appreciation of each other. Be sincere and not selfish. If your girlfriend demands expensive gifts — she doesn’t love you. If your boyfriend is ignoring romancing you on Valentine — dump him, he is just not in to you.

Tell us about how you found your way from Russia to California and got into the matchmaking business.

If you want your business to become really successful you should start with an office in California. It is a big metropolitan area with a great variety of people, many of them worldly, successful and selective, which makes matchmaking very exciting, because you are dealing with such unique individuals, and we all know that the more you have to offer the harder it is to find your equivalent. That’s why the first city I started in California was in Newport Beach, and now I also have an office in Beverly Hills. When I first opened my office in Newport Beach 10 years ago I immediately got a lot of publicity and recognition from the locals, and successfully matched a lot of people since then.

What are some of the services you provide?

I match people based on their compatibility, which should be in many things, such as core values, lifestyles, physical attraction, interests, energies and communication styles. I begin with knowing my clients on a personal base. That’s how I can match people based on my personal knowledge of them. It is the same idea as being introduced by a friend, Except that I know many more people who are eligible than all your friends together. I’m offering one-year membership services, and besides that I offer to adjust my services to the client’s needs and lifestyles to make sure that my clients will meet as many pre-qualified candidates as it takes, until they will meet that special one. Although I save a lot of my clients’ time because I introduce them to those who fit into their requirements and standards, I never limit them with the number of introductions. Because I spend a lot of time with my clients and socialize with them on many different occasions, I get to see how they interact with other people and what is important for them in life. That is why I understand even better than themselves who will be the best match for them, and that eliminates a lot of drama in their life and dating experience.

Svetlana International appears to cater to a very high-profile clientele: doctors, businessmen and women, lawyers, and people from the entertainment industry. Why do such successful people like this need help in the love department?

Because they are smart, they understand that to be successful in life, they have to work with professionals. You can paint a house yourself, but what kind of quality will it be and how long will it take you? You can write a legal contract yourself but you could end up in trouble.

Likewise you can make a wrong choice with your life partner and end up with divorce, going through nightmares and losing lots of money. I pre-qualify dates for my clients, I learn about their backgrounds, and weed out to get the most nice real people. I expand the horizons of my clients by giving them many more choices and opportunities for them to meet people out of their existing social circle.

Tell us a little bit about the weekly radio show you host on CBS.

It is a great opportunity to educate the public about relationships, dating and matchmaking. People don’t learn these things in school or college, nobody really teaches them. It is assumed that everybody knows it, and that is why so many people constantly choose wrong partners and are so unsuccessful and unhappy in their relationships. I bring a variety of relationship experts to my show, my clients and successful people from all walks of life to share and discuss relationships from different angles. So many people are telling me, “Svetlana, thank you for having your show, I’ve learned a lot, and thanks to that I will be able to have a successful relationship when I meet the right person.”

Whatever happened to the traditional boy-meets- girl routine? Do you think the commercial element of matchmaking takes away the spontaneity and excitement of meeting someone?

Time is very precious. Life goes by very fast. You are having much more excitement with people who are compatible with you, who are on the same page in life as you, who complement you and your sense of humor, instead of trying to meet strangers who have nothing in common with you and wasting your time with someone who is wrong for you. It takes you a lot of time to get to know someone, and your matchmaker does that for you. You should find a matchmaker who makes you feel very comfortable, who has a great understanding of human nature. My parties, which are a part of the membership program, bring a great deal of spontaneity to my clients’ dating life. They are meeting pre-screened and pre-qualified eligible singles in a very relaxed, fun and private environment. I always throw my parties in beautiful homes, people come dressed up, great music is playing, great dinner is served!

Tell us one of your success stories, something that makes you feel good about yourself and your profession.

One of my clients is very selective, worldly, successful, and in his late 50s. He could never find the right woman with whom he would settle down. He is now engaged to a woman he met through me, and in his words she has every quality that he desires in a woman. When people come to me, their minds are set that they want to be in a relationship, and when I introduce them to same- minded eligible singles who fit into their requirements, attraction and chemistry naturally happens.

— Saneyee Purandare contributed to this report.