Southern Roots, Silver and Black Heart

Home has meant a lot of places for Penny. She was born in New Orleans and left Louisiana as a child to follow her mother to Indiana, where she grew up and graduated from high school in 1988. Later, she packed up her children and went back home to Louisiana.

Then a childhood friend invited her to visit Arizona. "And the rest is history," she says. She has lived in Buckeye for more than 20 years, and now splits her time between Arizona and the store in Las Vegas.

Something of Her Own

Penny has worked in healthcare for almost 35 years, and she still does. She works full time for Banner University while running PostNet at 4012 South Rainbow Boulevard with Perry.

The decision to become an entrepreneur came at a turning point. Her children are grown and raising children of their own. After a lifetime of working for other people, she wanted to know what it felt like to build something that belonged to her.

"I want to know what it's like to be solely responsible for myself," she says. "I want to get up in the morning and know that whatever I do in the course of the day matters, and that it's for me."

What I put into it is what I get out of it.Penny Toro

A One-Stop Shop

Their PostNet is veteran owned, and the plan is bigger than shipping. "We are focusing on turning the store into a one-stop shop for shipping and business solutions," she says. "We offer a variety of services outside of shipping. We're into the printing business as well."

One Band, One Sound

Penny and Perry run the store as a team. "We are one band, one sound," she says.

Each of them plays to their strengths. Perry runs the front of the store and handles most of the face-to-face time with customers. Penny is the marketing engine behind the scenes, making the calls and chasing the exposure that brings people through the door.

If you spend any time in Las Vegas business groups on social media, you have probably already seen her work. She is up at 6 a.m. every day, and everything posted on the store's Facebook page is her doing. "If a post says promote your business," she says, "nine times out of ten, you're going to see Penny's name on it."

The Hardest Part

Running a business while working full time came with a surprise. "I didn't know it was going to be so hard to find that work-life balance," she says.

With the business in Las Vegas and much of the family in Arizona, finding time together takes planning. She and Perry work hard to make sure they can still show up for their grandchildren, whether it is a doctor's appointment or any moment when the kids want their grandparents there.

A Helper at Heart

Ask Penny what she loves most about owning a business, and she answers right away: talking to people. "I've always been a helper," she says. "If you come to me with a problem, I'm always the person looking for a resolution. If I can make your life just a little bit easier, just a little bit better, that's joy for me."

The story that stays with her most has nothing to do with business. A man who was near and dear to her had been living on the street and finally found housing, but did not know how to start over on his own. Penny stepped in. She helped furnish his apartment, gave him clothing, and gave him money for a haircut so he could go to a job interview.

He got the interview. "He was able to sit down at the table that I gave him," she says, "fix himself a meal with the pots that I provided for him, and eat off the plates that I gave him in his own apartment. That was the highlight for me."

For Penny, helping does not have to be dramatic. People have told her she was the first person to smile at them all day, and that her smile made their day.

It doesn't have to be something big. It could be something as simple as a smile.Penny Toro

What She'd Change About Las Vegas

If she had a magic wand, Penny would start with homelessness. "There is so much money coming in and out of this city," she says. "There should not be the homeless population that I see."

She wants places where people can eat, bathe, and sleep, along with help applying for the income and resources many of them likely already qualify for. Some of them are probably veterans, she adds, and they need to be connected to veteran resources.

"Don't get me started," she says. "This is my bandwagon, and I can stay here all day." It is a concern this magazine has heard from more than one guest. As Penny puts it, people put blinders on when a problem is not affecting them. "It's not affecting me either, but it's still a problem."

Where She Eats

Penny is a Southern girl, and she eats like one. Her pick is Tastebudz Creole Kitchen, and Perry knows exactly how to get her there.

She usually orders the oxtails with gravy and rice, along with yams, macaroni and cheese, greens, and cornbread. "I know that sounds like I'm being greedy," she says.

Editor's notePenny Toro has spent nearly 35 years in healthcare, and helping people is still at the center of everything she does. Whether she is promoting local businesses at 6 a.m., helping someone start over, or cheering beside Perry at Allegiant Stadium, she shows up all the way. Stop by PostNet on South Rainbow Boulevard, say hello to Penny and Perry, and see what this team is building.