Katie: Welcome back to the BusinessMakers Overtime Show heard here and online at theBusinessMakers.com. I'm Katie Laird with one of the most unique Chapter 2 BusinessMaker breakdown segments that I think we have ever recorded and I really could not be more excited. Well, you might be familiar with corporate headhunters making professional matches in the workplace. Today's Overtime Show guest is all about taking matchmaking to the next level and I'm totally not kidding. I'd like to give a big Overtime Show salute to today's guest, Nina Friedman, Founder of Yenta Girl, who's an actual real true-to-life matchmaker, but of the love variety. Nina, welcome to the Overtime Show.

Nina: Thank you very much for having me.

Katie: Oh, I'm so excited to really dig into what it is that you do and I know that you're a fiery, passionate woman. So let's jump in. First of all, a yenta. What is a yenta?

Nina: A yenta is the Yiddish word for matchmaker. I know you've heard, "Yenta, yenta, make me a match." It's just a word that means - the actual definition is kind of "busy-body", you know, "gossipy big mouth". Obviously, if you're gonna be a matchmaker you have to have a lot of guts, so you know, someone who's - you know, I'm pretty nosy and I'm always in people's business and I'm always asking, you know, "What's going on? Who are you dating? Who do you wanna date?" That kind of thing. So I think it's just somebody who's kind of way out there.

Katie: Okay! I like it. And every time I hear yenta, you know, I hear, "Find me a find, catch me a catch," you know like it's -

Nina: I think it's a really positive word -

Katie: I do too.

Nina: - but some people look at me like I'm a witch doctor when I tell them I'm a matchmaker -

Katie: Oh Lord.

Nina: - and some people are like, "Wow, that's awesome," you know.

Katie: Exactly, yeah, yeah. Everyone has a different experience with love I suppose. (Laughter)

Nina: Absolutely.

Katie: So where did this all start? I mean has this just been in you from Day 1 or did you just fall into it?

Nina: No, I'm Jewish. I always say that it's my calling and you know, when you do all those tests in high school that tell you what you need to be, they really didn't tell me matchmaker. But I always felt like it was - you know, I've been fixing people up since high school. When kids pass notes in class I kind of followed 'em across the room or called the boy at night and said, "Okay, Cindy really likes you. What do you think about Cindy?" And you know, just really put myself in the middle of everything. So I grew up in Michigan and I moved down here and worked for a dating service at the Jewish Community Center that I actually recruited by a woman who was a very, very successful, had a million-dollar business in recruiting for business, and she recruited me and said, "Let's start our own matchmaking business," in the late '80s -

Katie: Wow.

Nina: - and she was charging a really large price tag back then. It was like $10,000.00 -

Katie: Oooooo!

Nina: I know - which is a lot money back then -

Katie: Yow-zah.

Nina: - and I wasn't really comfortable with it, but you know, she gave me this business and said the way we go. And she really just wanted a husband and I actually found her somebody, and then she tired of the business and I wasn't super-comfortable with it anyway, so I went on to work at different dating services. And I worked at the Houston Press which was a lot of fun fixing people up there. And there's just a huge need. People always ask me, "Why are there so many people that are single in this town?" Well, it's such a huge city and people work, and they workout and they have their little schedule, and they don't take time. You know, everybody use to get married in high school and they don't do that anymore. I shutter when people tell me they're getting married in their '20s -

Katie: Oh gosh.

Nina: - because I just think you have so much time and you change and your life changes and what you're looking for. My husband always says, "I wish we would have met ten years earlier, we would have had more time." I was like, "There's no way I would have dated you ten years ago," you know. Because what you're looking for changes so much.

Katie: Exactly.

Nina: I dated like an animal. I was on every dating website. I really wanted to marry the right person and I was engaged three times, so I knew the logistics of every website on the Internet -

Katie: Awesome.

Nina: - every dating site there was and I knew all about it and people use to say, "It's like you're interviewing me when we talk on the phone." And I was like, "Well I sort of am because I don't wanna waste your time and I don't wanna waste my time," you know.

Katie: Exactly.

Nina: I think everybody would rather be out with a good friend or at home with a book or seeing a movie than be on a crummy date, you know.

Katie: Exactly.

Nina: So I think you really have to dig into what people are looking for to really set 'em up on the right path.

Katie: Absolutely. So when did Yenta Girl actually come into existence? The company.

Nina: Well, I have been fixing up people like I said. Really just come home and I'd have several messages on my machine. "I haven't had a date in six months; help me," you know, so I've been doing it unofficially for 20 years, but I've been doing it -Yenta Girl started in probably about 2003. I was single and decided to adopt a little girl and then I got laid-off and I was unemployed for the first time since I was 15 years old, and I decided that it was kick in the pants to really do something. I'm fixing people up for free forever and then I just thought, "Okay, what I'm doing is really valuable" -

Katie: It is.

Nina: - "and I've had a lot of successes and I should actually charge people for it 'cause it's what I'm passionate about."

Katie: Exactly. Monetize that passion. (Laughter) That's wonderful.

Nina: It's hard to pay the bills if you don't charge people.

Katie: Yeah kinda, you know. (Laughter)

Nina: But I mean I work with counterparts in other cities and they charge. I don't know if you've ever been on an airline where you've seen the magazine ad for - there's matchmakers that charge $100,000.00 -

Katie: Oh my gosh.

Nina: - so I work with people that charge anywhere between $5.00 and $50,000.00 realistically.

Katie: Wow.

Nina: Sadly, I'll never be rich, but I charge - I kind of am the matchmaker for the common folk, you know.

Katie: Okay. Hey!

Nina: I don't charge, you know. I'm not in their league, but I've gotten nine marriages and people have walked down the aisle and into a lifetime of happiness. I don't chart my divorces but I don't think I have any.

Katie: That is hugely impressive actually. Goodness. So, you probably get asked this all the time, but seeing shows on television like The Millionaire Matchmaker, how - has that boosted your business?

Nina: Yeah, I think it's kind of trend these days. I think obviously in early 2000 I think is when people really started using the Internet for dating. And, you know, it works for a lot of people. I think there's tons of success stories that come off the Internet. I'm an advocate of "do anything and everything" because I feel like it's a numbers game. My husband dies when I say I went on 1,000 Internet dates, but I think you have to meet a lot of people to meet your right person.

Katie: Sure.

Nina: And there's a lot of people who still subscribe to the, "Oh, when it's right it will happen." And I just don't believe in that. I mean I was about ready to take out a billboard on I-10 before I found my husband (Laughter) and my family was like, "Yeah, you can't do that or we will not be your family anymore." But I mean, you know, people have done stuff like that -

Katie: Absolutely.

Nina: - because they really wanna find the right person, so you have to think up creative ways to increase the numbers. So yeah, I think there's been a few different matchmaking shows and dating shows, and you know, people are so interested. It's a fun topic. I know so many people that watch The Matchmaker Show and she actually called me to help somebody in Dallas. And then I've been on reality TV shows. They're really, you know, very contrived. But everything that runs through her head is the same stuff that runs through my head and people are so, you know - you have to be happy with yourself, you have to be in the right place to meet someone. But if you've seen her show, people will get crazy when they get in the mindset of, "Oh my God, I'm 40. I gotta meet somebody." You know, "It'd be easier to get hit by lightening than meet somebody," you know. Everything in the media tells you you're done, you know.

Katie: Yeah.

Nina: I adopted a little girl when I was 41. I got her when she was 18 days old and I had people in my circle who said, "Oh yeah, you're done. Nobody's gonna date a 41-year-old with an infant." And I felt like it made me a better package.

Katie: Hey, yeah.

Nina: So, you know, I always tell people, "Don't wait around," you know. "Don't wait for your Prince Charming to buy the nice house that you've always wanted. Don't wait to have children. Do what you want and hopefully, you know, still keep doing things to meet people. But you have to make your life happen," you know.

Katie: Exactly, and stay true to yourself and in what you need to be happy. That's a wonderful message. So I mean given that you're in the business of connecting people for all eternity - you know, no pressure there at all - I'm sure that networking is just an absolutely huge part of your life. How are you meeting these people? How are you connecting and really diving into somebody?

Nina: I go to every singles party in town and I'm actually gonna my first big singles event next month, and I go to - you know, I'm active in different organizations and charities, and my husband works at Texas Children's Hospital, so I'm always trying to tap into him for doctors. I mean I really just put it out there. I've always been somebody who has a huge, huge friend-base and, you know, I think it's a great resource.

Katie: Totally.

Nina: So I just have always put it out there. I tell everybody what I do, you know, and always tell people that it's free for them to go onto my website and give me their information. Even if they don't wanna hire me, they can still be part of my database. And I mean you never know. I always tell people, "When you go to a party, you know, talk to friend's friends. I mean you never know who you're gonna meet and to me, you can never know too many people."

Katie: That is wonderful. So can I pick your brain for a minute on maybe a tip that you could give for our small business owners or entrepreneurs out there. Whenever you're networking and you're meeting people, you're sizing 'em up, what are some tips that you have about really learning who a person is or learning if they would be reliable, whether it's for a dating relationship or a business relationship, how do you know?

Nina: You know, I've always felt like I can tell whether somebody's a good egger about eggs just from the first few minutes of conversation. People always ask me, "How do you spot a player?" Well, if they're a good player they're gonna be hard to spot, you know.

Katie: Exactly. (Laughter)

Nina: You're not gonna know initially. But integrity is such a big thing in business and in dating, you know. Nobody wants to be involved with somebody that doesn't have a high level of integrity. So I sort of ask questions, you know, like for dating if someone has a child I always ask them what's their relationship with their ex or are they a good father, because that speaks about what kind of person they are, you know.

Katie: Exactly

Nina: With business, people always ask me how do you gauge your success. Well I gauge it by the fact that no one's ever file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau; I've never taken anybody's money. If I can't help somebody I don't take their money. If I have somebody that comes to me and they have unrealistic expectations, then I just tell them I'm not the right fit for them, you know.

Katie: Yeah.

Nina: You have to look for people. I don't do intense background investigations and people do credit checks now. I've had people go on dates and find out that the person did a background and a credit check on them, which is invasive -

Katie: Oh yeah.

Nina: - on their first date, so that's not appropriate, you know.

Katie: Yeah.

Nina: But I'm pretty good at interviewing people. I have to get more information than you would get if you were on Match.com, you know.

Katie: Okay. Sure.

Nina: So, you know, I know whether they've filed bankruptcy, whether they have a million dollars in debt, if they're able to keep a job. So I just really kind of ask very direct. People always say, "Wow, you don't hold anything back," but you know, if they don't wanna answer you then that's an indication, you know.

Katie: That's an answer too, yeah.

Nina: And you know, now everybody, like if you Google me, find 500 things. So now it's just really - unless they're living under a rock, you can really find out so much public information.

Katie: Absolutely, absolutely.

Nina: So I think the tip would be just to really pay attention and be aware. You know, so many people just don't have any sense of awareness, you know.

Katie: Okay. That's excellent advice. Well Nina, thank you so much for talking about an absolutely phenomenal profession. Like this is such a cool industry to be in and I'm sure very satisfying as well to be able to see the change that you're affecting in people's lives.

Nina: Well, everybody wants to meet the right person, they just have to figure out how to make it happen.

Katie: It's true, and one great way to make it happen is to go to YentaGirl.com. I'm just sayin'. (Laughter)

Nina: Well, thank you so much for sayin' it.

Katie: Ah Nina, thank you very much. (Laughter)

Nina: Thank you.

Katie: And now it's time for another business survival tip with Carl Kleimann of Odyssey One Source.

Carl: Hello business owners this is Carl Kleimann with another Business Survival Tip from Odyssey One Source. Many employers are under the impression that the recent healthcare reforms will somehow mandate them to offer healthcare coverage. Some also believe that these reforms will dictate policy terms such as deductibles and annual and lifetime coverage limits. That is simply not true. Even after January 2014 when the coverage mandates go into effect, employers may still decline to offer healthcare coverage to their employees. And by the same token, they can still chose to offer coverage that fails to meet the coverage guidelines set by the government. The catch is that someone will be penalized for that decision.

For organizations with 50 or fewer full-time employees, those penalties will fall solely on their employees. As of January 2014, most individuals that are not covered by a healthcare plan will face a penalty equal to the higher of $695 annually or 2.5 percent of their annual income. This will be assessed based on the number of months that they were without "qualified coverage" during the year.

It is only firms with 51 or more full-time employees that will be subject to federal penalties for failing to provide "qualified coverage." That means that whether these firms fail to provide coverage at all, or provide coverage that fails to meet the standards set by the government, they will be subject to a penalty. That penalty is $2,000 annually for each employee in excess of 30 employees (the first 30 are exempt) and only applies in the event that at least 1 employee receives a tax credit in order to purchase coverage through an exchange. That means that a company with 60 employees would be subject to a $60,000 penalty, which is still far less than the cost of providing healthcare. Of course the employees may not be very happy since they will face a penalty unless they obtain coverage elsewhere.

In all likelihood, only the smallest businesses with relatively low wage earners will find it feasible to pay the penalty in lieu of providing healthcare. Larger businesses with 51 or more employees and those that compete for skilled workers will likely find it more beneficial to offer "qualified coverage." The good news is that the reforms promise to make coverage more accessible to everyone.

I am Carl Kleimann and this has been another Business Survival Tip by Odyssey One Source, ranked as the number one Professional Employer Organization three years running by the Black Book of Outsourcing. For more information on this and other issues affecting employers, please visit www.odysseyonesource.com.

Katie: You're listening to the BusinessMakers Overtime Show heard here and online at theBusinessMakers.com. Can't wait to see you for another great segment in Chapter 3.