We recently connected with Scott Stevens and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Scott, really happy you were able to join us today and we’re looking forward to sharing your story and insights with our readers. Let’s start with the heart of it all – purpose. How did you find your purpose?
I’ve always enjoyed playing Tabletop Role Playing Games. I think my enjoyment of TTRPGs came from my enjoyment of reading when I was young, I had consumed all of the content available to me (this is before the internet!), and TTRPGs offered a way for me to create content as I was imagining the scenes in the story. A never-ending story generating machine powered by me and my friends!
So when I started running games for my son and his friends, it really began as a way for me to get to be a part of that story generating process again, and to share it with my kid. As interest grew, I was happy to have more opportunities to play my favorite game, Dungeons and Dragons. I thought we were just having fun making up stories, and we were, but something more than that was going on that I didn’t realize until the darkest days of the pandemic, when we were all quarantining at home.
It only took The Hero Workshop about a week to move all of our games online, and we quickly started up again using Zoom and other online tools to run our games. A few months after, we were actually growing.
The real shift for me came when I started hearing from parents how much impact our fun imaginary adventures were having on their kids during a real life scary time. It started with a few happy parents letting me know that their two hour appointment with adventure was “the highlight of their week”, or I would hear things like “this game of Dungeons and Dragons is the only thing he has to look forward to all week these days.” During the pandemic, having a break from the stay at home drudgery where you get a chance to slay monsters with your friends meant a lot to a lot of the people in our community.
We made it through the quarantine, and came back to playing in person outside and masked. It was so nice to hear dice hit the table again! And the exultations of the kids when someone rolled that natural “20” that made the difference between success and failure for the whole party. Shortly after, I got an email from a grateful parent that illuminated for me the importance of what we were doing, and the positive impact that we could have on our community.
I’m going to use false names for the story, so we’ll call the mother “Jen” and her daughter “Sarah”. Jen emailed me and told me that her daughter Sarah suffered from a condition called “selective mutism”, where she often finds it actually impossible to speak – especially when emotions are running high. Jen went on to tell me how excitedly Sarah would explain to her and her husband everything that happened during her adventures with The Hero Workshop when the game session ended. She appreciated how kind the other kids were, who often gave Sarah all the time she needed to master her emotions and declare what her hero would like to do in the given game scenario. Our Game Master for that game, Jane (now our Program Director), is incredible at building a safe emotional place for kids to operate within. Jen said that Sarah has built upon her successes at The Hero Workshop, and is out in the world making friends and socializing with other kids her age unlike she has ever done before. She even took a part in a local theater production!
After hearing this from Jen, I realized that we have a chance to actually do some good, and have fun while we’re doing it. We have always wanted to incorporate a bit of education into our games, and after this experience with Sarah we are noticing that the heroes that play at our tables are building friendships that will last them for a long, long time. They are building communication skills that will help them as they grow into adults – all of those “soft skills” you hear about. And they’re doing it all while stretching their imaginations within their own never ending story generating machine powered by friends.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
Well, I am the Founder of The Hero Workshop.
The Hero Workshop is a non-profit organization located in Culver City, CA (in the LA area). We specialize in organizing and running table top role playing games for kids and teens.
Our Mission Statement says it all:
“The Hero Workshop is here to provide youth with a safe, fun place to gather together to play tabletop role playing games.
We believe that the benefits of playing tabletop games are manifold. We are excited to introduce new heroes to the hobby and provide high quality narrative experiences for newcomers and veteran players alike.
The Hero Workshop is dedicated to creating an inclusive and engaged community around our shared hobby.”
We are currently running about 40 games a week, serving over 200 kids, out of a tiny 468 sq ft former storage area behind a cafe. We actually have an opportunity to expand The Hero Workshop into a nearby office space that was recently vacated. This new space is over 3,000 sq ft, and would include enough space to expand on our food program with the “There and Back Again” cafe, give us the ability to run 5 games simultaneously, and we’ll have an event space where we can host product launches for our corporate sponsors and one time events such as Pokémon tournaments and “DnD TED Talks”. We are calling this new community center the Guild Hall.
To make the Guild Hall a reality, we are currently running a fundraiser through the end of the year. Our goal is to raise $100,000 through corporate sponsorships and an additional $50,000 through individual donations.
To get involved, please visit our website (www.heroworkshop.org) and navigate to our Fundraiser page. We would really appreciate any support we can get!
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Patience. I continually want things to happen faster than they happen. Sometimes, this impatience fuels my ambitions and can be an asset, but oftentimes I am left feeling like I’m not doing enough or that things are stagnating. Learning to take a step back, reflect on where you began vs. where you are, and taking a moment to appreciate the good things happening in your life and with your business has been very important for my personal mental health!
Resilience.
One thing that I’ve learned is that whatever you think the worst case scenario is, is not truly your worst case scenario. It always gets worse than you thought you can bear! Find a way to hang in there, for me this meant taking on a higher workload than I thought I could manage for a time until finances were stable enough for me to hire help. Dig deep – starting a business is hard work!
Optimism.
I am an optimist to a fault. On top of that, I rely on being creative and flexible in my thinking to a degree that I carry a confidence that “a solution will present itself.” Having a cheery outlook in the face of challenges not only provides you with the spiritual fortitude to find a way, it also helps to inspire the confidence of those working with you – be they employees, investors or donors, or vendors even. Knowing that you will find a way, down to your core, is something that makes those around you feel comfortable doing business with you even when you’re internally freaking out!
All the wisdom you’ve shared today is sincerely appreciated. Before we go, can you tell us about the main challenge you are currently facing?
What great timing for this question!
Right now, The Hero Workshop is for the first time extending our operations beyond what we can support with membership fees alone. We are currently in the process of moving into a larger space, which will allow us to expand upon our program offerings and offer our program to more kids. So the overwhelming challenge of the moment is coming up with the funding we need to renovate this new space and make it a safe and awesome place for kids and teens to hang out and play tabletop role playing games like Dungeons and Dragons.
What we’re doing to rise to this occasion is we are hosting our first big fundraiser. Our goal is to raise $100,000 through corporate donations, and an additional $50,000 through individual donations. We’ve been in touch with some of the biggest names in tabletop role playing games seeking sponsorships, and our community has come together and grown and is really showing their support for what we’re providing. The Guild Hall, the community center that we’re building, will truly be a community effort!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.heroworkshop.org
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heroworkshopkids/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/heroworkshopkids
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-hero-workshop/?viewAsMember=true
- Other: Our Fundraiser page from our website: https://www.heroworkshop.org/fundraiser
Image Credits
All images credited to The Hero Workshop
