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

Danny, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. How do you feel about asking friends and family to support your business? What’s appropriate, what’s not? Where do you draw the line?

I think as a small business owner asking friends and family to support is one of the key elements to getting the business off of the ground. When I first opened Dark Rose Club (barbershop) my friends were the first to know about it and to come in to support. They then tell their friends and acquaintances and that just adds to the list of people who are trying to support your endeavor. One of the things that made me venture into the retail world with apropos, was knowing that I had a ton of support from my long time clients and friends for any business I went forth with. I try not to over due it to friends and family. I don’t constantly ask them to come visit or to come support because I feel anyone no matter how close you are if you are constantly bugging someone to do something the might in turn start to resent the idea or concept. I have always had the vision of just letting the space and ambience create an environment where people do want to come and support you.

Danny, 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?

My name is Danny Matthews and I am the owner of apropos and co-owner of Dark Rose Club. I started Dark Rose Club, which is an upscale barbershop with my friend Ryan almost 4 years ago. I started my work career working in the hospitality industry working in management for upscale boutique and resort hotels. I found a passion for hospitality and realized I was really good at that type of industry. I gained a lot of experience from all perspectives of business as I was apart of a management team that helped re-open two new branded and remodeled hotels. I was however hiding a secret and that was that I was a fully functioning alcoholic. It finally caught up with me and I decided that the best route to stay sober was to get away from that industry. At the age of 28 I got sober and now had to figure out a new career path. That is how I stumbled upon barbering. I found similar correlations to the hospitality industry. You have your regulars, you work on your feet, and you provide a service for someone. After barber school I started to work for a local barbershop in Denver, CO. I knew I wanted something more and have a bigger role than just showing up and cutting hair. That is where the idea of opening our own barbershop came into play.

When we started Dark Rose Club we faced many issues. Where we initially were going to have the barbershop located the real estate company decided to just end the project and basically left us with no space for our concept. We ended up finding a space in back of a warehouse that housed several other creative companies and pitched them on the idea of having a barbershop in the back of the building. Things were going pretty well given the situation and location but 7 months later Covid came. After we were allowed to open back up the area we were in was a ghost town and there was no foot traffic. We decided to find a new location, which we did on a busy historic street in Denver. Was the best move and decision we ever made. Since then we have added an extra barber chair which we are now at 5 chairs and currently have 8 barbers on staff, open 7 days a week. My biggest thing about what sets us apart from any other barbershop is our hospitality and atmosphere. From working in the hospitality industry for awhile I want our place to be a place that is remembered from our service to the music being played to the design of the shop. I think we have done a great job of creating a space that anyone would want to come hang out, get their haircut and enjoy the time the spend in the shop.

I’m not the type of person who can just sit and relax and enjoy being busy in my business I am always thinking of new things and new ideas for a business or some creative outlet. I started to sell houseplants out of the barbershop as I have the space decorated with many plants. People always asked where I got the plants then decided I might as well start selling them to people. But the barbershop is busy and we cut hair there, I didn’t have space to keep storing all these excess plants or have the room for people to come in and shop for them. This is where the idea of starting a store front for a boutique was born. It started at as a plant/furniture store which I have a friend who makes custom furniture. But he was just to busy as he is a one man operation to make things for a store and his custom orders he already had. So I adapted and decided that instead of a plant store I am going to create a lifestyle boutique as I have always been interested in fashion, art and interior design. I felt like there aren’t many stores in Denver who combine all aspects into one concept. The idea has grown over the past 8 months and am still currently changing things as I am always finding new brands and new art here locally but also worldwide. I try to only carry small brands and makers from anywhere. As a small business I want to return and support only small companies and makers. I try to keep a constant rotation of clothing, coffee table books, art, and plants coming in through the store. Most items once I sell out of that item I don’t bring it back but bring in something else new which I hope draws people in more to keep checking out what is new.

By having the barbershop established and having a full list of clients in the shop it has helped my side business which has become a full time business get some traffic right away instead of not having anyone to support right from the beginning. I feel that the two go hand in hand because clients see the set up and vibe of the barbershop and then go to the boutique and get the same sense that I am a part of both from the style to the hospitality side of things. I want to make the boutique as welcoming as the barbershop. I don’t expect someone to buy something every time they are in but I hope when they leave they will have had a good overall experience that they will want to come back even if it is just to hang out as I feel the space/store is a spot you can come and get inspired by an item I have and you will take that idea or creation back to your personal life.

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

The best source for me so far has been word of mouth for the barbershop. By having friends and clients spread the word to their group of people helps to bring in new people all the time. We don’t ask anyone to go out there and review us on any of the channels but that has always helped as well for people out their searching for a barbershop. Google has been the best for us as we currently have a 5 star rating which brings in a lot of people. Also, surprisingly Reddit has been a source lately. Have had a lot of people come in because they saw us mentioned on their multiple times.

For the boutique, getting new clients isn’t as easy because unlike the barbershop where we offer a service, we are a retail store. But by having a long list of clients and supporters of the barbershop it has made being able to get clients into the boutique easier. I know I can’t just rely on word of mouth for the boutique. I currently have running a google ad on days that I am open. Also, have gone out and talked to business around the neighborhood. Social media plays a big part I believe in retail. Social media has been hard to stay on top of as most days I am working non-stop at the barbershop and currently trying to do both jobs. I know with retail it will take some time but staying persistent and sticking to the vision I believe that I will keep gaining more and more new people who come in to shop.

How do you keep in touch with clients and foster brand loyalty?

I try to be as open and transparent as possible with clients about both of my brands. I let them know anytime there is something changing or an event happening. Using email campaigns and email marketing has been a great tool to get in touch with everyone quick. But also I try to make each interaction as personable as possible. For example, today at the boutique a girl came in and wanted one of the clothing items but wasn’t sure on it. I let her know that I would be having some more colors and styles coming in next week and even showed her the order on my computer so she could get an idea. I got her size and told her that I would hold some of the items for her and I would reach out to her once they arrived so that she could come by to try them on. I think by being personable with each interaction that goes a long way and people feel that and will always support and stay loyal to the brand.

Contact Info:

• Website: aproposthestore.com & darkroseclub.com
• Instagram: @apropos.co , @darkroseclub , @hair.plants.coffee
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-matthews-40315aa4

Image Credits
Jack Ludlam- Photo of me All other photos done by me