Miki Heino is a dynamic and pioneering force in the world of Jewish dating, coaching, matchmaking, and mentorship. With over 100 successful matches, Miki has dedicated herself to guiding singles through the often-challenging terrain of Jewish dating. Miki’s innovative approach to matchmaking has made her a sought-after expert, hosting and emceeing numerous Jewish dating and speed-dating events. Her personalized, professional, and down-to-earth style has helped countless singles find their soulmates.
The Foundation Years
Miki completed 15 years of quality Jewish education in the Yeshiva system of learning. During her college years, Miki began her career by working for her uncle, Mr. Jay Heino, at his recruiting firm, Jay Heino and Associates, located in the Helmsley Building in NYC. Concurrently, she also worked at the Geraldo Rivera Show. In her third year of college, Miki started working for her cousin’s firm, SHB Commodities, on the New York Mercantile Exchange in the World Trade Center as an assistant trader. This period was exciting and productive, shaping her ability to work competently in a high-pressure, fast-paced financial environment. Miki graduated with an Honors degree in Television and Radio and a minor in Nutrition and Health Sciences.
Post-graduation, Miki worked as a production assistant at the Montel Williams Show, one of the top-rated shows of its time. She also enrolled at the prestigious NYC-based HB Studios to study theatre and the arts while working as a production assistant at New York Times Television. Here, she contributed to producing the hit reality series “Trauma: Life in the ER.” This experience solidified her desire to continue in television.
Her next role was at the financial firm Merrill-Lynch in the Global Investor Network sub-division, where her background in finance and broadcasting helped her secure a position as a financial broadcast journalist. Concurrently, she was signed by a NYC talent agency, Actors Reps, and appeared as an extra in movies such as Godzilla, Can’t Hardly Wait, and The Rock. Miki landed her first co-starring role in the independent feature film, The Anonymous Benefactor, and appeared as a contestant on the popular game show Cash Cab. Miki was also a member of the Bayswater Players Theatre Group co-starring in live stage performances including Neil Simon’s Rumors. Additionally, she hosted a radio dating show answering listeners’ questions about dating.
Realizing the flaws in the Jewish dating system, Miki felt compelled to initiate reform and began her matchmaking career. Alongside this, she worked in diet, nutrition, and exercise, helping people change their lifestyles. She was then hired as a personal shopper at the exclusive Tiffany & Co.’s flagship store in Manhattan. After leaving Manhattan, Miki was hired at a high-end women’s fashion boutique called Georgina as a personal shopper and stylist. Miki’s clients expressed a strong desire for Miki’s counsel in matters of fashion and health, leading Miki to start her own company, Hand in Hand Health and Fitness with Miki.
Her creativity led to the birth of the first-ever reality Jewish dating television series, Jewish Single Mingle, later renamed Jewish Single Scoop, and then Miki’s Single Files. The show was broadcast regionally and nationally, showcasing what’s “hip, hot, and happening” in the world of Jewish singles. Miki was also hired by Black Box Entertainment to host weekly theatre and art performances and created Jewish speed-dating events. Miki is
known as the Seven Eleven of matchmakers because she is available at all times. Miki formed the Facebook group Miki’s Single Files, which spawned four additional groups catering to various age ranges and demographics. She became the leading matchmaker for Beshert.com and Jomantic.com. Today, Miki is the CEO of Miki’s Single Files and Tanta Miki Productions, offering private matchmaking services and holding a new role as The Head Matching and Dating Agent for a well-known Jewish dating site and app. For the past 25 years, she has provided private matchmaking, consulting, and dating coaching services as Miki the Matchmaker.
Serving with a Vision
Miki’s Single Files is dedicated to creating a welcoming and safe environment for Jewish singles of various backgrounds, ages, and levels of religiosity. The platform offers an engaging space where singles can introduce themselves to the community and seek potential matches. Trust and transparency are the core values of Miki the Matchmaker, distinguishing her from other dating services that often prioritize profit. Miki was the first matchmaker to present her clients publicly (under a descriptive alias). Miki realized that this tactic would be effective in helping Jewish singles find matches for themselves. Nowadays, many matchmaking companies also follow this blueprint.
Miki’s approach is personalized and attentive. She provides white-glove service, actively listening to clients’ needs and tailoring plans to help them overcome dating obstacles and achieve their goals. Her mission is to empower Jewish singles to find their soulmates through top-quality matchmaking and dating coaching services.
After over 20 years of dating, Miki happily married Mr. Isaac Yoselovsky. From this experience, Miki understands the ups and downs of being Jewish and single, and the feelings that accompany being a Jewish single as well as what it feels like to be a Jewish married woman. This extensive experience has honed her perspective, making her well-equipped to assist clients in their pursuit of love. Miki ensures that each client receives a customized plan of action through professional consultations. Miki’s extensive experience has sharpened her skills as a matchmaker. She is knowledgeable in what to do or not do in certain situations that arise in the Jewish singles world.
In her daily operations, Miki is committed to addressing all dating-related queries from current and potential clients. She offers a free 15-minute consultation to new clients to ensure her services meet their needs. Additionally, Miki is available to provide support outside regular office hours via text, video chat, or phone calls, demonstrating her dedication to her client’s success in finding love. Miki’s fluency in English Hebrew and Yiddish also proves helpful when working with worldwide Jewish daters. Through Miki’s Single Files, she strives to create a vibrant, fun, and productive space where Jewish singles can connect and find lasting relationships.
“What can strengthen and encourage Matchmakers is that we are partners with a higher source. Even though in Judaism we believe everything is Divinely orchestrated and guided; there is an extra measure of Divine guidance when it comes to Matchmaking because even before the birth of a person, we are taught that a Heavenly voice proclaims who is predestined to marry. The Matchmaker isn’t reinventing the wheel; the Matchmaker is facilitating the couples predestined destiny. When a Matchmaker feels partnered with Gd it helps them overcome the frustrations and dismay that are par for the course in this line of business. Prayer is also encouraged for all parties involved,” shares Miki.
Rising above Challenges
Miki was an eyewitness to the tragic attack on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, when she was working at the World Financial Center for Merrill-Lynch, which was connected to the South Tower of the World Trade Center. She could not believe what her eyes saw; the devastation was all-encompassing. She was lucky to have survived. The building where she worked was also blown out, and Merrill-Lynch ceased operations for several months. Due to this more than unfortunate occurrence, Miki developed PTSD. A personal friend of hers did not live to see another day. After Merrill-Lynch resumed operations, her team was reunited, and they worked for several months before the team’s sad termination. Miki then stopped dating and matchmaking altogether.
Living in Manhattan at this time only reinforced the trauma, so she decided to move to Florida. During her time in Florida, Miki connected with nature, spending a lot of time reinventing herself. Once her situation improved, she moved back to Manhattan to resume her search for a husband and revived her matchmaking career. Another challenge was having to work through the fact that life sometimes disappoints. In time, she learned to accept this fact and even learned that every situation has a bright side. Now, she was fueled to seek a different path and is proud to say that she will shortly announce a new matchmaking collaboration that will help many Jewish singles find their match.
Built on Trust
For Miki, the key to building relationships with her clients is trust and honesty. Many Jewish singles have been ignored, alone, or taken advantage of in multiple ways by unscrupulous matchmakers or dating companies. To her, it is absurd for anyone to guarantee a Jewish dater, or any dater for that matter, a husband or wife. Miki always ensures that she is honest with her clients and potential clients to the fullest degree. This includes letting them know that although a match is not guaranteed, she will do everything in her power with maximum effort to help them succeed in their relationship goals.
In the same vein, Miki asks her clients and potential clients to trust her process in the hopes that she can find them a match. It is very important that she upholds her policies of trust and honesty since, for some Jewish daters, she is the first matchmaker they hire. Additionally, some Jewish daters have been mishandled and exploited by larger and even individual matchmaking services. Miki is very thoughtful when setting goals for and making plans with her clients and ensures that they will not be exploited or mishandled in any capacity.
“To ensure that my clients are given proper treatment, I must be honest and truthful with them. Just the same, I expect my clients to be honest and truthful with me. I will never judge a client, but that client must be willing to follow my program and be open to professional direction,” emphasizes Miki.
The Tech-Connect
Miki concurs that constantly evolving technology connects the world. Through this connection, potential clients are able to reach her with ease. With technology, she helps Jewish singles from all around the world. Furthermore, due to the development of social media software, such as Facebook and WhatsApp, she is able to collaborate with other matchmakers. In addition, younger Jewish singles tend to gravitate towards dating apps as their gateway into the world of Jewish dating. Miki the Matchmaker makes use of this trend by offering online dating advice to the masses and educating them on dating protocol and etiquette.
At the time of publishing, Miki has distributed a total of 268 dating tips via Facebook and Instagram reels. The feedback she receives from her Jewish Singles communities leads to larger discussions between Miki and her followers and allows her to facilitate more activity within the community. In addition, technology allows Miki’s followers to share her tips freely, which in turn leads to more followers.
“Even married couples and non-Jewish singles enjoy reading or listening to Miki’s dating tips. Using my humor helps balance the serious side of dating, where emotions run high, with the more fun side of dating. What once started out as my private database of Jewish singles’ resumes, profiles, and photos has grown into a diverse community thanks to technology’s advances,” shares Miki.
The Evolving Demands
Clients’ expectations have fluctuated over the years, but lately, clients expect to get married soon and quickly. In addition, Miki has observed that some clients are looking for religious specificities. Finally, there has been a surge of dating activity in older Jewish singles. Miki’s clients come from a wide array of age ranges, backgrounds, and levels of religiosity. She caters to clients as young as 18 and as mature as 80. In order to meet the changes and modern demands, Miki tailors specific events to include certain age brackets while also excluding others. This gives daters more chances at finding their special someone. Some clients have never been married, some are widowed, some have been divorced, and some have been married several times. In many cases of the divorced or widowed Jewish single, there may be a child or children that must be taken into consideration.
“As a matchmaker, blending families is a very tough task to accomplish. Because I have been in matchmaking and dating coaching for over 25 years, I have a special affinity for connecting Jewish daters from all different walks of life. It is a blessing to work with young new daters about 20 years old as well as with older daters.” she says.
Standing out in the Business
Matchmaking companies, in general, are fundamentally different from dating apps since they do not rely on an algorithm to match two people. In addition, having an actual person match people instead of a computer reduces the possibility of catfishing. Being the singular matchmaker of Miki’s Single Files/Miki the Matchmaker, Miki personally ensures that matches are based upon the verbal or written agreement of all parties involved. References are required for her to work with somebody.
When a situation arises in which the daters cannot follow her specific directions, Miki has come to understand over the years that this is not somebody she would like to work with, and she directs them to please look elsewhere for a matchmaker and dating coach. By doing this, she ensures that her clients who do follow her plan will benefit from her caring and sensitive yet encouraging handholding, which she is known for. “I also know how to present my Jewish singles to other Jewish singles in a way that facilitates the dating process. I look out for my singles for what seems like always, and I am grateful and honored to be the one they chose to work with,” she says.
Industry Trends
“The internet continually offers us content. The next big thing is just one click of a button away. However, there is the notion of too much of a good thing. In this age of technology, where we have access to everything all of the time, we see a plethora of dating apps that offer limitless matches. If there are all of these matches, why do some people continually just swipe left? The answer is that there is too much information. This is where the role of the matchmaker comes in,” states Miki.
The matchmaker has the human touch, which, currently, could never be replicated by a machine. Through this human touch and an actual understanding of the client’s wants and needs, Miki can narrow down their search. In other words, she gets rid of meaningless data. Another trend she has observed recently is the rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Although an AI probably makes more matches in a shorter time than a person could, AI does not understand the nuances of human feelings. Rather than asking the individual for their preferences, an AI would compare two dating profiles and match them if they sync. However, a dating profile is limited. With a matchmaker, finding your special someone might take longer, but the quality of the matches will be far greater.
The final trend Miki shares is about courtship: dating to develop a romantic relationship with the intention of getting married (courtship varies from culture to culture and from couple to couple). In recent years, courtship has been in decline, leading to the formation of relationships without any purpose. A key component in courtship is meeting in the physical world. Recently, many “romantic” interactions have been performed via the internet (texting, emojis, memes, VR). While this may sound convenient, there is no substitute for meeting your loved one in the flesh. Therefore, Miki believes that courtship should be more common. More courtship will lead to more purposeful relationships, which will lead to more marriages. When working with her, the daters have an understanding that the goal is to meet in person if they agree. These actions are welcomed by her daters.
Memorable Match
The most gratifying match Miki has helped make is a close relative. Further adding to the joyfulness of this match, the significant other is a close friend of Miki. Watching their relationship unfold into an engagement and then marriage was one of the greatest feelings she had ever known. Both parties help demonstrate and reveal to her what the path to love looks and feels like. Making this match was a wonderful experience and remains a highlight of Miki’s career to this day.
Advice for Young People Looking for a Companion
Miki’s advice is very practical and down to earth, as it is in her matchmaking and dating coaching practice as well. She would encourage young people who are looking to find their companion to have standards yet remain open-minded. Her recommendation is to go into the world of dating when one is prepared to embark on a journey that can be unpredictable. When working with her, she tries to encourage and invigorate her singles when they feel like they will never find someone. Miki tries her best to make dating feel less like a chore and more like a goal worth striving toward.
“Certainly, there is work involved, not only in getting to know someone else but also in getting to know yourself. The process should be enjoyable, and it is usually for the younger daters that the excitement is fresh and new. The possibilities are endless, which makes for a thrilling and dynamic uncertain voyage into finding and keeping love,” she adds.
Furthermore, it is important for younger daters to understand that if they are having difficulties navigating their dating careers and do not know what to do or how to handle certain matters, they should have someone like Miki, a professional dating coach, to turn to so that they can support and work through whatever is troubling either the individual or the couple. There is nothing wrong with asking for or needing help at any age!!
Goals Ahead
Miki would love to see her company, Miki’s Single Files, grow to have the largest concentration of Jewish singles mixing and mingling and meeting and marrying. At the end of the day, regardless of age or life circumstances, most Jewish singles would like to find someone for the purpose of marriage and/or building a family.
Going forward, Miki would like to see her upcoming collaboration with a large Jewish dating site and app generate a large amount of enthusiasm for Jewish dating. She envisions hosting a Jewish dating podcast filled with guests, where she can interact in real-time with the Jewish singles themselves. In addition, Miki would be thrilled if all of her dating tips could be published as a stand-alone anthology, physically, digitally, or both. Finally, Miki would like to see more Jewish singles making their own decisions with the matchmaker, rather than having family or friends interfere with or hinder the single’s ability to choose for themselves.
“I would like to add panache and dating wisdom of my own variety that highlights my gift of matchmaking and dating coaching. I would also like to continue inspiring Jewish singles to never give up and increase activity with current and future colleagues to help bring about matches,” concludes Miki.
