Meet Leah Tatina:
The world doesn’t know what a girl or woman should be!
Tell us about your entrepreneurial journey. How did you come to own a business?
I’ve had a deep concern for girls and women probably since my first job as a middle school teacher. Everyday, I witnessed girls struggling to discover who they are in this very challenging culture, taking their cues from the world. But the problem is, the world doesn’t know what a girl or woman should be! One minute we’re told “Be who you are…” and the next moment told, “… just don’t be like this.” It’s confusing and frustrating, to say the least.
As the years have passed and I now have my own daughter, I see it’s only getting more difficult for girls and women to embrace who God created us to be. As a Christian, this moves my heart because I believe God has created each girl and woman for a very specific purpose and for great, lasting, and supernatural impact. God doesn’t make “manufacturer defects”. But the lies from the world just keep coming. So what could I do? Well, I began praying, “God, take who you made me to be and do what you want. Maximize me.” He answered. About two years ago, I felt a very strong calling to create resources for girls and women that would help them embrace who they are in Jesus Christ: made uniquely, cherished deeply so they can be maximized completely. That’s the purpose of my business, Made Matchless. Today, I create meaningful resources & products, lead mother-daughter events, and am developing a girls curriculum, all with that vision in mind.
Have you ever found yourself “in over your head”? How did you get through that? How did you grow?
I’m pretty sure I feel like this everyday. I home school my daughter and son, so working, teaching, and living at home frequently blurs together. It’s difficult to keep everything straight and to stay focused. I also teach a Made Matchless class for girls once a week. On top of that, I like to feel in-control and feel like I’m moving forward, but life in this season frequently challenges
that. But I’ve discovered that feeling “in over my head” forces me to turn to God and ask him to give me what I need for today. I have to remind myself this season is exactly where I’m supposed to be and all the things I’d love to accomplish with Made Matchless ultimately need to pass through the hands of God first. I have to trust he’ll allow me to accomplish today only what he desires. He sees my longings and will bless them in his time.
The picture in many people’s mind is that business ownership is smooth sailing, lavish vacation homes, big expense accounts and more. Am I describing your life?
No! We are actually in a season of sacrifice. Homeschooling children means my work with Made Matchless is part time. It’s hard when you see a vision, but know you can only do so much with the time you have. But I’m encouraged because every week, I hear moms and women say to me, “What you’re doing is so needed.” They all use that same exact phrase: “so needed”. One day, I realized something: I can’t expect Made Matchless to be all I dreamed today. I’m building something new, creating fresh, relevant, and meaningful resources and curriculum, so that girls and women can go out and be who God made them to be. That isn’t done overnight. It’s done intentionally, carefully, and in my case, slowly. It’s tempting to compare myself to other women in business, but I know that the work I’m doing is so much greater a treasure than lavish houses and nice vacations. I’m doing the work for God’s treasures: girls and women.
Business ownership can be a lonely road. Who do you go to for guidance and help in your business and life?
I regularly go to my Christian Advisory Board at Christian Business Fellowship for guidance in business matters. They’ve been so helpful and have given me so many fantastic insights and encouragement! I’m a visionary and a creative, so there are lots of business management practices that simply aren’t in my God-given toolbox. I’m so thankful for my CAB to run business concerns and questions by. I also have a very supportive husband who encourages me when I want to give up!
What advice would you have for business owners out there or those who would like to be a business owner someday?
Don’t look to be the next, better version of someone else or some other company. Bring yourself, your unique perspective and experiences, your unique passions and who God created you to be. Then create something uniquely YOU. Listen to what others are saying, what others are needing, what they wish was available to make life more rich and rewarding. Then bring it!
Give yourself the grace and patience to learn. Most of my business is what it is today because I sought out to learn everything I could. I still have a long way to go and, someday, I’d love to hire a team of people to do what I’m simply not designed to do. But in the meantime, embrace this season, learn and apply all you can, and just take one more step forward in faith each day.
What motivates you every day to do what you do?
My vision for Made Matchless is to help girls and women, in a very challenging and confusing culture, to find their value, identity, and power in Jesus Christ so they can live with supernatural purpose and impact, just as God made them.
The girls I teach each week are the next generation of women. They motivate me. My daughter is in the next generation of women. She motivates me. The women I talk to tell me that they still struggle to believe the truths that I teach to girls. They motivate me. My vision to see all these precious girls and women make a supernatural impact is what keeps me going. I can’t wait to see what God is going to do through Made Matchless in the years to come.
connect@madematchless.com • 815-260-1144 • MadeMatchless.com