Today we’d like to introduce you to Chelsea Grayson.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Chelsea. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
A little about me as of today. My name is Chelsea Grayson (Business-wise….I like to be called GRAY). I am the proud founder and owner of Dallas Social. I am a five-year professional photographer and ten-year graphic designer. I also teach graphic design, Audio/Video Production and Social Media marketing. I am 30 years old and still feel like I am figuring out my life and how to grow up!
Wow….ok. Let’s do this. Where to begin? It’s a very long story so I am going to try to get it all out as best as I can. This WHOLE THING began in 2012. The year Facebook bought Instagram. I was in my senior year at the University of North Texas. I broke my foot dancing (in my apartment). Snapped the bone completely in half the week before final exams. I had to have two surgeries and A LOT of physical therapy. It was 1-1.5 years of SERIOUS downtime. Not to mention I lived by myself in a single bedroom apt in Plano. One night I was frustrated with yelp. I wanted to find a cozy bar with couches, happy hour, and live music not specific at all (haha). Instagram was new at the time. There were no “INFLUENCERS”…there were no impressions or stats….. followings were not a thing. I loved Instagram for the picture and graphic stimulation. I decided I could deliver more genuine information than yelp (oh the ambitious young me). So I started posting. I started posting anonymously (“xoxo Dallas Social”) about hidden gems in Dallas. (I loved the idea of being this secret, anonymous “gossip girl”, releasing the latest and greatest things to do) Things to do places to see, food to try, you name it, if I thought it was unique I posted it.
Being from Houston I hated when people would roll their eyes at Dallas’ “pretentious reputation”. Whenever someone would come up to me and say, “Dallas just wasn’t THEIR SCENE”…..my response was always, well what do you like? Have you been to Fort Worth? Denton? Bishop arts? Celina? Downtown Plano? Let’s find “your scene” which I genuinely believe you can find in most all cities.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
NOPE. Like I said earlier. I worked for free for a VERY long time (like four years). So I always had to have a full-time job along with running Dallas Social. I never put 100% into my full-time job because I was always 100% into Dallas Social. Dallas Social was my passion. I didn’t want to charge money. I was worried that if someone didn’t pay, does that mean I don’t post the event? If so, that would be a disservice to my followers. Holding information back because it isn’t a paid post but for Dallas Social to live on, it had to make money. So I started charging and people started paying…. More than I thought they would. Figuring out the best pricing is still something we are always evolving.
The hardest part for me is letting go of control. Not doing EVERYTHING myself. I am OCD about communication design, graphics and the way things are posted. The past year I have let go of A LOT of creative control in order to expand the company as well as myself. I have allowed other people to make graphics (even when I may or may not have fully approved of some of them). This has allowed others to grow which was a HUGE learning curve for me.
In 2013 I became pregnant. Her Dad and I decided to co-parent off the bat. I became a single mom. I was not ready to have kids at the moment. I was 25 years old. I thought the next big step in my life was to move downtown Dallas. Boy was I wrong. I packed up my stuff, quit my full-time job and moved back in with my parents in Houston. I had to figure out how to be a Mom. Over the next two years, I focused on two things. Being a mom and Dallas Social. I focused on where I wanted Dallas Social to grow. I focused on figuring out how to become more than just an Instagram account. Something we are still working on till this day. Nobody (not even Facebook) has fully tapped into the event promotion market. It is not easy but that discussion is for another long conversation.
Also, I do not own the Instagram platform. So like other businesses running an Instagram business account we are always working around the algorithm. I am always having to adjust our plan in order for people to see our content.
Please tell us about Dallas Social. What should we know?
Dallas Social is an Instagram account that tells people about the hidden gems of the city…… Events, Places, local artists you name it. Everything is current. Once an event takes place, it is archived and put into circulation. Unlike other social media influencers (all of which I am a HUGE fan of), I don’t view Dallas Social as a blog. We custom graphics for every event we post. I have made over 3,000 graphics and videos. I CANNOT STAND BAD GRAPHICS (too much information on a graphic, inappropriate typography, inappropriate color schemes).
We spend a lot of time finding the perfect image, typography and appropriate coloring to get someone to stop scrolling. I have been told by SEVERAL people (investor wise) that it hurts our stats to remove posts after they are over. True, but it is something that I am firm about keeping at the moment. I am most proud of the branding I have built for Dallas Social. Keeping it anonymous made it grow into what it is today. Even though I am behind the scenes on everything, nobody knows “who Dallas Social is” because it is not a person.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
Omar Aridi. Omar has been by my side from day one even if it was just bringing me coffee and sitting with me watching Shameless for my sanity. I have let Omar have creative control over the past two years and he has grown more than ever because of this. Omar has helped make graphics, post events, and develop business relations. He has also attended several events as a Dallas Social representative. He still has a long way to go but he understands me and my passion more than anyone.
Evan Hanson. Evan came on as a programmer in 2013. He contacted me wanting to be a part of Dallas Social and I fell in love with his work. He has been a major part of the “behind the scenes” and developing Dallas Social further past Instagram. I think 100% with passion and Evan always thinks with reason, which is the balance I need. He is the first person I met who’s vision paralleled mine.
And the entire DFW COMMUNITY. Only here because of this amazing town!
Contact Info:
- Email: dallas@socials.life
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/dallassocial
- Other: @dallassocial
Suggest a story: VoyageDallas is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
