We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Todd Lucero. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Todd below.

Todd, appreciate you joining us today. Too often the media represents innovation as something magical that only high-flying tech billionaires and upstarts engage in – but the truth is almost every business owner has to regularly innovate in small and big ways in order for their businesses to survive and thrive. Can you share a story that highlights something innovative you’ve done over the course of your career?

I believe that many people would assume that just because here at The Bronze Petal we sell plants, that we must be a plant shop. Anything could be further from the truth, We are more of a community center that is focus driven on education and conservation.Yes, we sell rare and exotic plants. We also sell many common and uncommon varieties as well. But our empahisis has always been in education. We teach classes from Substrate Composition and Soil Science to Introduction to Indoor Gardening. We have a total of 10 educational classes that we are introducing here at The Petal. We also have a huge interest in the health and wellbeing of our guests so we are offering classes such as yoga and meditation to help drive and navigate the human spirit in these uncertain times. I believe that our innovation has been the key to our success and many other plant shops are watching us and taking notes…that alone feels good,

Todd, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

The Bronze Petal, Ltd. is a rare and exotic sanctuary for distinctive Aroids. We grow, collect, sell, and educate on the hobby surrounding plants that fall under the Aroid/Araceae umbrella. While rare plants are our purpose, we don’t strictly just carry rare and exotic houseplants. We have many common and uncommon ones that are for sale as well…..and these are just as beautiful. We really wanted to ramp up the supply of plants offered to our Mile High guests. We really have a passion in seeing how altitude and Aroids mix. I think what makes us stand out the most is our ability to connect with our guests and clients. I always tell my staff that we are in the business of people and that plants will take care of the rest. The people that grace our storefront doors have a desire for education and we want to be there for that. Anyone can sell a plant, but very few have follow through once that plant leaves the door. We have a program set in place that keeps our guests and clients involved and allows them the room to ask questions without it feeling taxing or surgical. We really want their experience to transform their exceptions of the hobby and the industry. I think the most thing we’re proud of here at The Petal is our ability to address each individuals level in the hobby. I have a very well vetted staff in place that have education either in Horticulture and biology, or have spent years in the industry where I felt their knowledge could be of use in the industry. We have two main level III horticulturists on board, including myself, and one Interior Gardening Specialist level I, and we are now looking at hiring more. I firmly believe that with the combination of my detailed staff and classes we offer, we are sure that everyone can find their place here at The Petal with ease.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

To be honest, we relied on word of mouth and social media to drive the image of The Bronze Petal. Our mantra wasn’t just to be nice to people…anyone can do that for the sake of money. We had to drive ourselves deeper into what it meant to just, “Be Kind”. Our whole image is to be kind to one another; to have a very altruistic concern for the well-being of others. There seems, to me, to be a very strong connection to plants and people. We often have people that come into the shop claiming they have a “black thumb” and I just sit back and laugh…Not at them, but at the statement itself. In my class to Introduction to Indoor Gardening, I have to remind people that we are all inhertently connected to this hobby and when we are unplugged, when we are not connected with ourselves, everything around us fails to recognize us. It’s when we’re drawn to spend time with ourselves by taking care of the needs of our plants, that we are alone with our thoughts…and that’s where healing begins. It’s what we call, The Language of Silence.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

I remember so vividly the first time the lock on the front door of my shop clicked to open. Its’ a very distinctive sound the door makes when the deadbolt allows me access to the storefront. It was scary for me. Here I was, coming into what some in this industry would call a saturated market. The ideas of failure resonated for months and it’s still at the forefront of my mind from time to time. I had other plant shops attempt to muscle me around and bully me. I would go into our wholesale greenhouses to a nightmare of a select few bullies in the industry that tried so hard to through their meaningless weight around. But there were always a few amazing supporters that didn’t see me as competition rather a human being trying his best to live out a dream. For the first few months my mind was consumed by those who were trying to drive down my value as a newbie so they could remain on top. Then, one day, it snapped and I told myself, “If I’m going to worry about what these people are doing and saying, I’m going to lose sight of my mission and ultimately lose my shop.” So, I stopped and I don’t even know who my competition is anymore or who they even are. They just melted to the noise of the background and ever since then, we have been growing.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.thebronzepetal.com
• Instagram: thebronzepetal
• Facebook: thebronzepetal
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-bronze-petal-denver?utm_campaign=www_business_share_popup&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_source=(direct)
• Other: Google: The Bronze Petal

Image Credits
Photo credits: The Bronze Petal, Ltd.