Business Opportunities Weblog

July 7, 2008 by Angela Shupe | 6 Comments

When that time comes around and you’re about to be another year older, did you know that many establishments will actually give you a discount or offer a free birthday promotion? Most people don’t know that, but one mom is taking the time to change that perception with her new website, Free Birthday Treats.

With over 2000 listings for a variety of birthday bonuses, there is bound to be something you can enjoy. They also have your pets and children covered with a variety of birthday discounts or free treats as well. Julie Northrop was kind enough to spend some time sharing with us some of what she has listed, as well as what inspired her website startup.

How did you come up with the idea for your website, Free Birthday Treats, and what do you offer?

I was sharing with friends what I did for my birthday and how I had saved money by using some birthday coupons. They started asking where they could sign up so I offered to send them emails with the links to join. I knew that if my friends and family wanted to know how to get these deals then so would millions of others. From there spawned the website, Free Birthday Treats.com which is a nationwide directory of businesses offering birthday freebies and discounts for all ages and even includes treats for pets. The site also provides other birthday related resources such as gift ideas, birthday services and birthday supplies.

When did you launch your website? What kind of growth has your website seen since then?

FreeBirthdayTreats.com was launched in January, 2007 with just over 500 nationwide birthday freebie listings. The site now has over 4,000 unique visitors a month and over 2,000 nationwide listings for birthday freebies and discounts. A new blog was established as well at the end of May which offers frugal birthday tips, featured businesses and weekly product reviews/giveaways.

How does your website work?

Free Birthday Treats is a free, easy to use resource with no registration required for visitors. Merely select the preferred demographic of either adults, kids or pets, then select the preferred state and optional business category to view available birthday offers provided by businesses. If required, visitors sign up directly with the business so they are on their mailing list.

Businesses that offer a free or discounted birthday treat receive a free basic listing for every state with a location. However, I also offer advertising opportunities so businesses can differentiate themselves from the competition…although the advertising is not limited to just businesses that offer birthday freebies and discounts.

What are some of the important steps you had to take to become the website you are today?

First, have confidence in myself and my idea, plus research…lots of it. I knew what I wanted to present to the public, but if it was already out there then no sense in reinventing the wheel.

Second was learning how to create a website from scratch. I purchased some training DVD’s and read through a lot of forums to help me with the design aspect, as well as getting started on the database.

Third, hired a web programmer to get everything connected and online. I found an excellent web programmer on Craigslist by searching through the small business ads.

Fourth, get the word out and build my network. I joined LinkedIn, FaceBook, Twitter, StumbleUpon as well as some other very helpful forums like MompreneursOnline.com.

What are some of your long term goals?

a) By the end of 2008, provide over 5,000 nationwide listings and partner with at least one other site to provide additional free resources
b) Provide a high traffic platform for small business owners to showcase their products/services
c) Partner with a foundation that helps kids in need celebrate their birthdays
d) Sustainable income driven from advertising on website and blog

How do you get the free ‘treats’ that are given out? What are some examples?

Visitors, if required, sign up directly with the businesses through the hyperlink provided. Usually within two weeks of the person’s or pet’s birthday, they will start receiving either email coupons or birthday cards/postcards from these businesses enticing them to celebrate their birthday with them. This can range from free meals to a free round of golf and the offers are generally valid for the birthday week or even the birthday month.

The standard “free birthday treat” is a dessert from a dining establishment, however, this has changed significantly over the last four years. We now have businesses offering free birthday appetizers, kid’s meals, dinners or drinks, a free round of golf, free day of skiing, free tanning session, free movie rental, free bowling game, free rock climbing, free manicures…and so much more. That’s just the free stuff, then you have the discounted birthday treats from all kinds of retailers.

What are some of the positives (and negatives) you’ve seen by working from home?

There are many positives to working at home: being your own boss, not being limited to what a company thinks you can and can’t do, helping the environment and saving gas by not having to commute to an “office”, but most importantly to me is flexibility. I have a son has Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis and just knowing that I can work around his appointments makes my life much less stressful. In fact, just being here for either of my kids is a huge blessing.

Of course the negatives would be: being my own boss…there is no one to prod or poke me when I’m not staying on task, it’s easy to get distracted by items at home that need to be taken care of and with the kids home for the summer, there are more interruptions to work around.

How have you been able to manage your time between family and Free Birthday Treats?

I attempt to keep to a schedule during the week. I have planned breaks so I can spend time with my kids (during the summer), but I do tend to work in the evenings after everyone has gone to bed. I try to leave the weekends open for family time, but this is a new business that requires alot of time right now so weekend hours usually creep in. The time I do spend with my family is either doing something active, watching movies or playing games.

My family has been very supportive and my teen daughter actually helps me from time to time. In fact, both kids promote the website when they are out and about and seem to have the entrepreneurial bug themselves.

What are some of the things you’ve learned since you launched?

I can’t do this all by myself, it’s ok to seek out help and there is a lot of free and discounted birthday treats just waiting to be doled out! I’ve also learned that it’s extremely important to find a few support networks and get connected with like-minded individuals.

If you could go back and change one thing, what would it be and why?

Wow this is a tough one because I believe that things happen for a reason and you learn so much along the way that benefits you later, but if I had to pick something I would say I would have sought out help sooner because it would have saved me hours of frustration.

In Free, Internet, Interviews, Women, Work at Home | 6 Comments