Matchmaker, Matchmaker....

Finding love can be a full time job, and not everyone has the time, so some people are bringing in professionals to help them find a love connection.

Professionals as in -- matchmakers, consumer correspondent Susan Koeppen reported Wednesday in the weeklong Early Show series, "How To Date in 2008."

Forget Old World-type matchmakers, she says.

Matchmaking is alive and well in the 21st century, with more than 1,000 professional matchmakers in the United States alone.

They make big bucks helping clients find lasting love.

Samantha Daniels, who started Samantha's Table, observed to Koeppen, "Love, it's the most important thing. Focus on it, find your love, find your person, and get married!"

Modern-day matchmaker Daniels says she has nearly 100 marriages to her credit.

"The reason people are coming to me is that they are busy," she explains. "And they are successful and they don't have time to get out there and find the right person."

People such as Dana Matthow, a 52-year-old divorced theater producer with a teenage daughter.

"I haven't found that one, that true, meaningful relationship," he told Koeppen. "I'm not lonely during the week. ... I get a little upset on the weekend when, you know, you should be doing something and what are you doing? You're not doing anything."

The Early Show asked Daniels to try to work some of her magic for Matthow.

"I am going to talk to you about who you've dated in the past, why it hasn't worked, and what you are looking for going forward," she began.

"I like someone with a good sense of humor," Matthow responded. ... Easy-going. Attractive. Just a nice person. Very attractive. Sexy."

His dislikes?

"I am not into sports."

Age requirements and deal-breakers?

"I'm willing to date anyone from 25, up." He says he doesn't want any more children.

After meeting with Matthow, Daniels went to work, seeking a match using her database of more than 10,000 singles.

"Dana was a really great guy,' Daniels says. "First of all, he is a very handsome guy. He's well built. He has a full head of hair."

What are some of the obstacles she faces in finding a woman for Matthow?

Says Daniels, "I need to focus on the fact that he is, at his core, attracted to very young women, but at the same time, he is 52-years-old. And then, there is the additional wrinkle that he doesn't want to have any more children. ... So, my challenge is to come up with the girl who already has grown kids or who maybe doesn't have any children, but who looks like a 32-year-old but is actually 42."

Less than a week later, Daniels found Matthow a match, a woman named Kim, in her 40s, no kids.

"It's really just about chemistry -- that connection," Daniels says, "and, when you feel that connection, then all your other must-haves on your list -- they go away, because you have a connection."

Matthow says he had a very nice time on his first date with Kim, and they have another one set up.

Does he think Daniels will find him his one true love?

"She's got a database miles long. I think that's the key!" he said.

Koeppen points out that using a matchmaker can cost thousands of dollars.

"Worth every penny!" Matthow says.

FOR SOME OF DANIELS' DATING POINTERS, click here.