Today we’d like to introduce you to Monica Goodson.
Hi Monica, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
Birthdays are important to children and the traditions and events established around their day create childhood memories that last a lifetime. For children, their birthday is their favorite holiday of the year and is highly anticipated. My son’s enthusiasm on his eighth birthday as well as his love for birthday celebrations and the traditions honoring him on his special day is what sparked the idea for Happy the Birthday Bird, a tradition-building keepsake book and plush toy set. Happy is a magical character who visits each year to help with the birthday countdown and celebration. His accompanying storybook also serves as a memory album where families can record birthday memories and store photos and cards. When we created the idea for Happy the Birthday Bird, we thought children would find it exciting to have a magical birthday friend visit each year in preparation for their birthday. We searched to find out if a tradition similar to Elf on the Shelf® existed for birthdays; however, we did not find what we were seeking. This led to the creation of Happy the Birthday Bird®, a positive, magical tradition, one that we hope will become a timeless birthday tradition.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
February 22-25, 2020, I was in New York City at the Toy Fair excitedly sharing the good news about Happy the Birthday Bird and our plans to fully launch in March after we received our first product shipment. We were very happy about this moment because we could finally share with the world our good news. We had no idea that a few days after we received our product in early March that the country would start locking down due to the pandemic. All of our grand plans to have a big kickoff launch party were no longer an option. Also, our plans to attend consumer expos/festivals and industry trade shows to introduce the world to Happy were scrapped. Considering we had yet to launch, we could have taken the easy way out and waited until life returned to “normal”; however, we decided we were too far along and needed to push forward in a manner differently than we had originally planned. It has been challenging building brand awareness during the pandemic; however, we believe things are turning around. For numerous months, the media, understandably, was inundated with coverage about the pandemic which made it difficult to get press coverage. Eventually, we were able to secure some press coverage after the media started covering non-COVID news stories and that continues to grow. In the toy industry, the product must appeal to both children and parents. It’s been easier to get to the parents with ads and social media but more difficult to reach the children. Word of mouth among young children regarding their favorite toys and books still occurs at daycare/preschool and school but none of that has occurred due to school closures and canceled birthday celebrations. Also, most of the daycares and preschools that have reopened no longer allow children to bring toys from home which is preventing our product from getting in front of the youth. As the country returns to normal, we see more opportunities allowing us to get more exposure to the younger audience.
We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
I believe in calculated risk taking. As an entrepreneur, I believe it’s important to take chances in order to drive business forward. I believe the two biggest risks I have taken in my life are both associated with Happy the Birthday Bird. I used a large portion of my savings and investments to produce and manufacture Happy the Birthday Bird. Using these funds to start a business in an industry that I had no experience in was an even greater risk. My professional background is in information technology. In order to offset some of the risks, my partner and I hired a team of toy industry experts to assist with the creation and product development in order to offset some of the risk associated with this massive undertaking.
Pricing:
- $29.99
Contact Info:
- Email: info@happythebirthdaybird.com
- Website: happythebirthdaybird.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/happythebirthdaybird/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/happythebirthdaybird/
- Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/happy_thebird
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCN-x_6V8x_5YSqDMEHJJPlg
Image Credits
Angela Coppola – Coppola Studios
