Meet Yatziri & Simon Lopez | Small Business Owners

We had the good fortune of connecting with Yatziri & Simon Lopez and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Yatziri & Simon, what role has risk played in your life or career?
In our opinion, risks are a must. Growing up I remember my mom saying “Si no arriesgas, no ganas” which translates to, if you don’t take risks, you won’t win. Some risks hold a higher value than others whether it is monetary, emotional, physical, or time. In our business, we have experienced all four, but we have tried to make the best out of it. The most common one is costs and where should we reinvest, how much, and how. Our constant question is “Can we recover our initial cost if this idea does not work out?” We are constantly looking at our cost and benefit of new projects and activities. I remember when my husband asked me if we could start doing propagation stations to begin selling. For these items we quickly realized that it would be a slower return than we had anticipated, but we were okay with it because it was giving us a bigger benefit by being able to provide our customers with variety and options with good quality. Another experience we’ve had is investing in a small business pop-up, where the turnout was not what we had hoped for, but I have met some incredible entrepreneurs because we had a little extra time to have a conversation. In short, take the risk be smart about it, and if it doesn’t work out see if you can make the best out of it.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Our business focuses on indoor tropical plants and pots. We have our green thumbs on certain plants and killed certain types too. This is beneficial because we can make recommendations to customers on which plant is best for them. This could be based on where they plan to keep it, the care they are willing to provide for them, and if there are any pets around them. Owning a plant shop was a steep learning curve for both of us. The biggest thing we keep having to overcome is keeping the plants alive. With it being our first year, we needed to learn how to maintain the plants in the summer with severe heat and then in the winter with the cold. Each season has its challenges and we need to quickly learn to adapt to them. With this, we tell people that we’ve been in their shoes and know they can be plant parents. We want people to leave our place with confidence instead of worriedness. What gets us most excited and keeps a smile on our face is being able to make that connection with our customers and seeing them leave our booth with an even bigger smile.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
The best part about LA is that there’s always something new to see, something new to experience. We would spend one day in the city visiting the iconic Griffith Observatory to enjoy the vast bird’s eye view of LA and enjoy the science inside. Travel down to Leo’s Tacos and order some of their carne asada and adobada tacos. Finally going to downtown LA for some cocktails. The next day we would enjoy Long Beach making sure to visit Open Sesame and ordering their mouth-watering lemon potatoes and garlic sauce. On the third day visit, some nature spots like Eaton Canyon Falls for a short 1.9-mile hike that is full of nature and waterfalls, or if you’re a nature and hiking enthusiast there’s always the option for a longer route. Then visiting some botanical gardens nearby like Descanso Gardens. On the 4th day, we would visit Santa Monica Pier and make a day out of it. On the final days, we would visit one of the best Mexican restaurants in the area Gloria’s Cocina Mexicana in Downey for handmade tortillas, molcajetes, and a margarita borracha, and enjoy the live mariachi. For the rest of the trip, there’s always a new art exhibit to check out in the city so make sure you look ahead to reserve your tickets.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Throughout our journey this past year we have been honored to meet so many wonderful people. Those who have shared their stories with us, given us advised, and quite simply reinforced us that we are not alone when things get hard. Just to name a few businesses; El PawPit, Pura Tierra Inka Blends, and Mi Tribu Wellness. And Of course, we can’t forget about our family and friends, they have been our number one supporters by referring us to other people, lending us tables and canopies, and purchasing from us.

Website: https://www.monsterashine.com

Instagram: Monstera.shine

Other: Tiktok: @monstera.shine