The Urban Jewish Monthly
Vol.2, Issue 3 March 2002 Adar-Nissan 5762

THE WORKPLACE
Workplace Profile
By Brianne Korn

For one Manhattanite, love may be elusive, but it is proving to be lucrative.

Shoshanna Rikon, 28, is taking her dating acumen, culled from years of personal experience, and marketing it for the benefit of single Jews throughout greater New York.

"It's a little strange that a matchmaker is single." says Rikon, "but it's everything that I know." And her expertise has so far yielded ten long-term relationships.

Shoshanna's Matches, Rikon's Manhattan-based matchmaking service now entering its second year in business, seeks to pair single Jews of all ages and religious denominations. Rikon's familiarity with the dating arena, along with her previous business experience, makes her perfectly suited for the job, she says.

A former headhunter with her own firm, the Upper East Side resident is no stranger to uniting people based on personality and aptitude."Looking for a husband is like looking for a job," says Rikon, comparing a date to the interview process that precedes an offer for employment. "Except dating is more enjoyable," she adds. "or it's supposed to be."

Rikon, an advertising major who graduated from the New York Institute of Technology, says she knew from the outset of her career that she was destined for a service related field. "I need to interact with people at all times," she says.

Accordingly, Rikon bills herself as an old-fashioned matchmaker who meets all of her clients in person, instead of basing matches on computer generated profiles. During the initial consultation, clients complete a questionnaire detailing their personality, physical appearance and desired characteristics in a potential mate.

"The people who come to me are agitated, aggravated and upset," says Rikon, "they've done it all." Rikon, who says she would not date any of her clients, has a current database of approximately 450 people, with men enrolling more freely than women. The most recent influx of clients, Rikon believes, is a direct consequence of the Sept. 11 tragedy. "People don't want to be alone during these times," she says.

Working as a matchmaker in New york, specifically, presents a unique dilemma for those people searching for their soul mates, Rikon says. She relates a personal story in which she was traveling though the city by subway and made eye contact with a good-looking man. "But did he come up to me?" she facetiously asks. "That's New York--it's not that kind of city."

Rikon is optimistic for future growth and cites her thorough research of the field as a solid foundation for future achievement. "I learned how the business worked because I was the client," she says, explaining that she enrolled in numerous matchmaking services to discover the intricacies of the trade.

Rikon admits she is probably one of the younger matchmakers in her discipline, but the entrepreneur does not view her youth as an obstacle to her success. Moreover, she accords it premier status as the secret to her success. "People usually run from matchmakers," she says, "but I'm young and I can relate to them."

To contact Shoshanna's Matches, please call (212) 292-4403.

Brianne Korn is a graduate student working towards a masters degree in speech-language pathology.