In a singles-and-dating industry that spans everything from eHarmony to personal matchmakers for hire to the dubious depths of pay-per-minute chat lines like Livelinks, Tammy Maddrey thinks she has a new idea: an event club that’s as much human-resources management as meet-up venue for singles.
Maddrey is an MBA from Georgetown who’s spent part of her career with Chicago-based Managing Work and Family, a work-life balance firm that helps companies develop benefits like flextime hours, job sharing, and on-site daycare.
“Initially, most work-life offerings were for people with families, because they had the biggest need,” Maddrey says. “But then companies started realizing there was a huge backlash from single people,” who felt they not only were overlooked by the HR department, but had to “pick up the slack” when parents got flextime or other schedule accommodations.
Maddrey relocated to the Twin Cities a few years ago when her husband joined UnitedHealth Group. This winter, with that singles backlash still in mind, she launched her new business.
Single Outings (singleoutings.com) is a low-cost membership club that hosts 10 events a month for singles who want more chances to socialize—trips to sporting events, museums, arts and entertainment venues, and chances to volunteer or to learn something new. Members pay a monthly fee of $20 if they join on a month-to-month basis or $10 if they pay annually, and then have unlimited access to events at no additional cost.
Local businesses can showcase themselves by hosting events, but the big connection Maddrey wants to make is with HR managers. She sees her company as “just another option, and a really inexpensive one, that companies can put out there and say, ‘We haven’t forgotten about you, single people.’”
