Our Philosophy

From Peoplebrokers

What motivated Chris Kaine to set up and successfully develop her people broking services?

She started with the premise that "The world's richest man is not the one who still has the first dollar he ever earned but the one who still has his first friend."

Chris Kaine, when a woman in her late thirties, was still single and wanted to continue sharing her home with others. She realised that there were many others like her who were single by choice or circumstance and entering the "fussy" age group. People who cared about their lifestyle, cared about their quality of life, and although enjoying their own company, preferred not to live in isolation. They often realise that a new lifestyle can be created by sharing a home - a self-chosen family.

What kept the ball rolling in the early stages of the business was positive feedback. People kept saying; what a good idea, we need help. One of the first people to register with us in Melbourne paid her money and said that she realised her requests were difficult and that we may not be able to help her but she wanted to show her support for a much needed service. From this we developed our "fees in credit" policy - even today our members are using fees that they paid 10 years ago (because there was no match available at the time).

Late 1998 statistics indicated that 40 percent of people will never marry. Large cities create divisions. Single people are getting older, they are often career oriented and need a professional service which can introduce them to the right people. 

A central register is much more efficient; people can register their requests and can be selectively referred to the right people. It is much better than approaching strangers who advertise in the press or even contacting friends of friends because matching requests requires a certain amount of objectivity. People are more mobile. They leave their traditional family or community network behind and find they have to work hard to make new friends or business contacts. They may have been taught that they would grow up, get married and have babies but they weren't told what to do if they didn't, or what to do if the marriage didn't last.

Unless you are extremely outgoing you find yourself locked into a work environment or a small circle of friends who aren't always available when you need someone to:

Share your home: When there is no-one available in your immediate environment - or you don't want to ruin a good friendship. Using classified advertisements is becoming alarmingly risky.

Mind your home. When you go away on holidays etc. and don't have family to call on to mind your home and pets - or your family network is busy and independent.

Mind someone's home: The perfect opportunity for the single person, perhaps living with family, to have some independence. Couples, renovators, interstate visitors, those returning to study; these are the types of people who mind.

Share Activities: When you develop a new leisure interest or miss an old one and can't find anyone who enjoys it as much.

Share the ownership of a home as property prices continually soar. Become a Business Partner: Family members and friends are often not able or not qualified too join our business ventures.

As the pace of life increases, as we develop new skills to deal with the often unsettling circumstances that modern society brings, we need the company of other like-minded people to reassure us that we are not alone, to support our ideas and boost our confidence.

People do need people. Isolation is rarely by choice, yet many prefer isolation to being with people they don't have a lot in common with. There is no need for life to be like that when professional services can put people in touch with each other very selectively, offering a club to access new people whenever they need them. Chris Kaine & Associates Pty Ltd will always maintain the ideal that we are a huge club where members can connect with like-minded people anywhere in Australia.

Chris Kaine said, "In any one week I may meet a lawyer, a stock broker, a film maker or actor, a builder, a chef. This gives us a dynamic and comprehensive database of people. I know that everyone loves to meet someone they click with. I think it is one of the most pleasurable things life has to offer. It gives a new dimension and means you can share your life rather than spending parts of it alone". A more detailed look at the philosophies behind each of the services.

House Sharing

House sharing has been the domain of the student or young working person who could only afford to live in the city, close to their place of study or work, if they got together with others and rented a house. These "student" households were often full of borrowed or second-hand furniture, a far cry from the middle class homes these young people lived in while they grew up.

It was expected that everyone would do their study, or work for a few years, before getting married. In just a few decades we have seen great social changes. In 1986 42% of people between 20 and 32 had never married - 15 years prior to that it was 26%. Marriage was a ticket to freedom in the 50's and 60's - independence from parents etc. Now people are more concerned with personal freedom. To be an individual able to make their own choices.

As we entered the 1990s the single population continues to grow and they have different needs. Single people are now buying their own homes. Sharing can give them, not only security (and especially for women) and friendship but can also help with mortgage repayments and give tax relief through negative gearing.

Others prefer to live in the inner city, in the best suburbs, where they could not afford to buy. This is often only possible if two or more people pool their resources and rent such places. Some buy small flats but feel claustrophobic after awhile and chose to live in more spacious surroundings. They have the security of being a property owner and the freedom to live where they choose.

The ideal behind our house sharing service is to provide a select referral service so that these people can live with the best possible person. Because they are a member of this service they can easily change who they live with as they themselves change. In other words share with a person for a year or two and then share with a different person, maintaining the friendship with the first one. That person, in turn, lives with a new person and the process actually increases their network of contacts at the same time.

In the past people have remained with co-sharers for too long until the situation has become tense. Now they can call us and make changes before the situation becomes unmanageable.

Please read our sharing advice Advice page.

Register here now for sharing

House Minding

Again, as people become more independent, and more mobile, they often have no one to call on when they want to leave their home for holidays or business. Parents often say they don't want to ask their children to mind the home because they now have a life of their own. Or perhaps people have moved interstate away from their family network.

The minders are often single people living at home or with relatives, or needing a break from their current situation. Perhaps some peace and quiet to study. Or to save to buy a home of their own or to travel. Safe as Houses is designed to carefully match people so that the home owner feels comfortable leaving their 'inner sanctum' with a 'stranger'. And in turn the minder likes the home owner so much that they feel 'at home' minding the house.

If there are pets involved, which is usually the case, we will choose an animal lover. We are the service to turn to when your network of friends and family are not available. The service we provide is like a friend of a friend referral system. Except it is often better to use safe as houses because people say that friends can take advantage of a situation and may not be as conscientious as a minder who greatly appreciates the opportunity for rent-free accommodation because they are renovating or living with relatives etc.

The service is designed to refer people of the same ilk to each other, we do not mind the house. The arrangements are made between the two parties. We can co-ordinate and advise, and can intervene and replace a minder if the nominated third party feels the house isn't being cared for appropriately. In many cases the minder and the home owner enjoy each other so much that they continue to see each other after the minding assignment is over.

The key issues for having a home minded through us are:

Pets are happier at home, missing their owners is traumatic enough. One just needs to look at the majority of pet boarding places to know that the pet will be more comfortable at home. Of course, if it is a dog it can continue it's guarding duties.

A lived-in home is a deterrent to intruders. It is also nicer for the home owner to return to a lived in house rather than a cold, dusty one.

Gardens will benefit from daily attention to watering and maintenance weeding so that the home owner does not have to spend hours restoring the garden to order on their return.

Register here now minding

Activities

As a company which specialises in referring like-minded people to each other for home sharing or home minding it is only natural that we offer to refer people to each other to widen their network of friends and business contacts in a highly professional manner.

Our experience shows that people love to meet new people they really like. The ideal way in most people's minds is for it to happen by chance, and there is a certain amount of fear and trepidation in paying a service to refer them to others. Yet they will happily meet new people if they want to share houses together or mind someone's house. In fact that is how Peoplebrokers activities was born: people meeting to share houses, not liking the house but arranging to see the people socially!

It is accepted that people like to communicate on more than just a superficial level. Most, if not all people, need friends who will share their experiences, with whom they can have a rich a full relationship, who have similar values and dreams, as well as an understanding of where they are at. For many people in the past the family or community provided the total social environment. This was fulfilling in the sense that our horizons were narrower. Today many feel that they do not "fit the mould" in some ways, for the range of options, the mobility of people, and the changes that constantly occur have created a society that is not grounded in an external solidity. People have a strong sense that the grounding or solidity needs to come from within them. However, we are not islands and it is not beneficial for us to seek for inner fulfilment in isolation. It is in the active participation in our busy life that produces growth. We are communicative creatures and need rich and rewarding contacts to assist us to become more fully ourselves. Peoplebrokers activities was created out of such a real need. It is not as easy for people to meet like-minded companions as it was. Our members come to us with this awareness, they are ready to take positive steps to expand and enrich their experiences and circle of friends.

Chris Kaine & Associates Pty Ltd has been responsible for many friendships which will last a life time. There are so many terrific people to meet in this world, we can speed up the process by providing a central register and referral base. If people want a golf or tennis partner we will refer them to someone they will really like who plays at the same level. An avid movie or opera buff can have a string of people to accompany them whenever they want to go.

The basic modus operandi is that when they register they attend the various activities to which they are invited. They can take a friend if that makes them feel more comfortable and each time they meet a person they really click with they exchange telephone numbers so that they can contact each other directly to share their leisure time or organise a larger function. This way they form a close network of friends as well as continually meet new peoplebrokers members.

Peoplebrokers is not just for social networking. It can be business related. For instance, someone wishing to computerise their business or hobby can meet others who know a lot about computers. Or writers could meet publishers and so on. People could even get together and buy property.

Peoplebrokers is one of the best ways to meet new friends quickly, easily and selectively.