Growing & Sustaining DFW Young & Social
Alexi and I have poured so much love, time, and effort into this community. From the very beginning, we’ve always believed in creating a space where people can connect, share, and be themselves without the heavy burden of high costs. We wanted it to be a place where friendships flourish, where people could step away from the stress of their daily lives and just...be.
I’m proud of what we’ve built together, but behind the scenes, things aren’t always easy.
Community vs. Business
Running DFW Young & Social has been one of the most fulfilling experiences of my life, but it’s also one of the most challenging. Recently, I’ve found myself at a bit of a crossroads. There’s a tension I feel deeply, between wanting to keep everything accessible and affordable, and the financial realities of running a growing organization. As you know, ee have a dedicated club space that is 4,720 sq ft. The rental rate, utilities, and fixed expenses are quite sizable due to its size. That’s before we even add in the costs for instructors, decor, materials for classes, the list goes on.
I won’t sugarcoat it—it’s been hard. Don’t get me wrong, we are doing well to ensure we’re sustainable and keeping costs to a minimum by front-loading current gains for future expenses. However, for months now, I’ve been grappling with the following questions:
How do we continue to grow and offer different events and experiences without losing the heart and soul of what makes this community special?
How do we sustain this while ensuring we can keep the lights on, quite literally?
How do we continue to grow when Alexi and I only have so much time for outreach?
I want to be transparent with all of you because this community isn’t just mine or Alexi’s, it’s yours too. As we move forward, we’re going to have to make decisions to ensure the future sustainability of the community. Please know that every step we take, we’re taking with the community in mind.
Potential Changes
Over the last few months, we’ve been brainstorming ways to keep DFW Young & Social thriving. I want to be clear that nothing is set in stone yet, these are just ideas we’re exploring. But I want to share them with you because your feedback is incredibly important to us.
Opening Events to the Broader Community: One idea we’re exploring is opening certain events to the broader public. Instead of keeping everything behind closed doors or solely for our members, we’ll have events that welcome new faces and introduce more people to DFW Young & Social. This helps fund our community while allowing more people to experience what makes this space special.
Selling Concessions: To further help with sustainability, we’ve decided to begin selling concessions at specific events and have them available for purchase anytime the club space is open. This won’t be a huge change, but it’s a simple way to offer convenience for our guests and provide an additional stream of income to help cover our costs.
Soliciting Organizers and Volunteers: Volunteers and organizers will be crucial in helping us expand our offerings where Alexi and I are unable to. We are considering calling on members of our community to help with logistics at certain events and classes, or even run entire events on their own. You’ve seen a variation of this during member-instructor-led classes and the Murder Mystery Party led by April.
Partnering with Local Small/Micro Businesses: We’re also thinking about collaborating with small/micro local businesses for workshops and classes. These partnerships would offer higher-end experiences, ones that might be priced higher than our usual DFWYAS-run classes and managed directly by them. This brings added value in terms of expertise and unique offerings. It’s a way to diversify what we can offer while supporting local entrepreneurs.
Vendors at Specific Events: At some of our larger events, we will be inviting local vendors where there is mutual value. These vendors could add an extra layer to our events, giving attendees a chance to shop or interact with local businesses while enhancing the overall experience.
Plus Other Ideas in Progress: Of course, there are plenty of other ideas we haven’t even thought of yet. As always, your input is welcome as we continue to explore new possibilities.
Why Am I Telling You All This?
Transparency is important to me, even if it is to my detriment. I don’t want any of you to feel blindsided by any changes we might make. I also want you to be part of the process and help shape this community’s future. Take this as a formal invitation for you to be part of this next chapter with us. If you’ve ever had ideas on how we could improve or if there are ways you think we could grow without compromising what makes this place special, I’m all ears. Maybe you have ideas for events or classes we haven’t thought of, or maybe there’s a way you’d like to get more involved. Whatever it is, we want to hear from you. Your voice matters.
At the end of the day, we’re still committed to what we started—a community that feels like home, where everyone can find a sense of belonging. To keep that dream alive, DFW Young & Social must evolve, and we would prefer we do it together. Thank you for being part of this journey with me, for showing up, for contributing, for sharing your stories, and for allowing me to be a part of your lives.
