Hi Friends, Let Us Tell You Who Dahlia House Is!

We are, Valentina and TC Smith and have had the joy of working 15+ years within the customer service world. We love the world of fine wine and cigars and have been labeled as wine enthusiasts and cigar aficionados, hence our driving force to create a unique establishment between the two.

Just like the flower itself, it blooms in a multitude of varietals ranging in a cascade of colors, shapes, sizes and scents. With this in mind, Dahlia House aims to provide a similar experience in its eclectic selection of wines and cigars. We aren’t here to give you the run of the mill choices. We want to tantalize your senses to bring out the ultimate experience that feels unique and allows yourself to make roots within, like home. 

Why Dahlia House?

Our campaign is so important to us, because the industries of wine and cigars have been so male dominated for ages that we want to bring awareness that both wine and cigars are for all. Especially being women of minority we want to show the world that there is room for us to break into these industries as visionaries in what we do. We also want this campaign to bring a neighborhood wine and cigar lounge to our community, where everyone who walks through the doors feel like they are family.

Your contributions are important in helping us secure a location and with the build out of the Dahlia House establishment. We have been trying to obtain funding since prior to the pandemic and unfortunately went through many hardships both personally and financially. So funding has not been easy; we have tried multiple times to apply for loans through private sectors and multiple banks. We have been denied solely on the grounds of not having either personal bank statements that show a certain amount of savings or income, or having a business that has been running for two years with a substantial income flow. As a start up it is puzzling and discouraging that these would be the main criteria to be approved. Your contributions are key building blocks to making Dahlia House a reality and creating a new and exciting speakeasy lounge to an area that is still developing in their nightlife businesses.

What We Need & What You Get

We are looking to obtain a total of $300,000 to start up Dahlia House. This would cover securing the location, build out, licenses/permits, working capital, equipment and inventory. We are asking for assistance with $150,000 at this time so we may be able to start the process of getting Dahlia House established and setup in Glendale, CA.  The unique perk that we are offering for your generosity and help is for every $1,000 donated we will donate $50, after establishment of Dahlia House, to be donated to help other minority women become business owners or to go to college for a degree within the field. And for those who donate $5,000+ the same $50 per $1,000 will be applied, but a plaque will be created to be displayed within Dahlia House to acknowledge the big donors and building blocks to opening our business. When it is announced of when and to whom we will be making our donation to, we will be sending out certificates with the information along with a special piece of swag. So please provide your information so we may send you a special thank you note!

If we are unable to reach our initial goal of $150,000 through this campaign we will use the funds towards building the website and Dahlia House’s online presence. 

Our Impact and Value

​Your contributions are not only important to us in opening our business but will be the gateway for us to create, after establishment, a fund to pay the kindness forward. Because you all felt the value in helping us with our dream, we too want to help others, like us, who aspire to become more! It is important to us to pay the generosity forward by helping others, especially minority women, because without all of your help we wouldn’t be able to make this business come to fruition.

Giving back to the community is not something that we are foreign to, as we have a mentorship where we work with children of all ages in both sports and academics. Although the focus is in sports it has a high influence in creating a balance and respect for being great athletes and strong academic leaders. We work with kids from all backgrounds and all types of personalities, and we are proud to say that we have helped all of them gain more confidence in themselves and all high school graduates have gone to college to strive for higher education. So as you see, it is extremely important to us to give back to society and our community, because we understand the importance of helping others. For it sometimes takes a village to help make things happen and become successful. We understand that we could just send everyone swag baskets and other material goods, but to us the importance of giving back is the most valuable commodity that one can give and receive in today’s world. 

Risks & Challenges

Hurdles and risks we may face are going to be around us being new to Glendale, the location within the city and customer service. New businesses in Glendale, CA sometimes have a hard time breaking through if they are not on a main street or aren’t connected to another business that has the capital behind it. To maneuver around this we will be marketing and advertising tremendously, especially through social media. Using yelp and google will be a part of that plan, but using the more newer streams of marketing such as Instagram, Facebook and TikTok are going to be key to reaching more of the masses in a more creative manner.

Providing excellent customer service will be an easier challenge due to the many years and it being a specialty for us. We pride ourselves in giving the best service no matter what field of work we have been in. We also are particular in who we hire and work with so ensuring that training and personalities that we bring in to help serve our community will be key. 

Other Ways You Can Help

We understand that not everyone will have the monies to help us financially, but all support is appreciated. We welcome shoutouts to offered services that could help us establish ourselves and the business. We do ask everyone that helps and supports us is that you use the hash tags:

#theDahliaHouseMovement

#DahliaHouse

#womeninwine

#womenincigars

#womenbusinessowners

#wineandcigarlounge

Thank you once again for taking the time to listen and read about our dream of bringing Dahlia House to the world of reality! We know that there are many other businesses and ventures that you could contribute and support, and for you all to choose us we are beyond thankful for your humanitarianism!