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Kay Bradford, 63, has been in the franchising industry for 35 years, and was instantly impressed when she discovered the Treasure Tower business opportunity which offers a children’s reward/incentive program utilized primarily by dental and medical offices as well as schools. “Several aspects of the business appealed to me. Treasure Towers work for you even when you are not there and I liked that it was a home-based business I could easily incorporate into my lifestyle. It wasn’t a huge investment…it looked like a win-win situation,” Bradford said of her decision to become a Treasure Tower business owner. “It’s grown into a nice business for me since I first started six years ago,” she said of her Washington D.C.-metro area business, Virginia Rewards. “This has been the perfect business for my husband and me to work together to supplement our retirement. It works around our schedules so we still have the freedom to travel and visit our children and grandchildren.”
Unlike Bradford, Dawn Ciraky, mother of four, hadn’t anticipated owning her own business when she learned of the Treasure Tower concept. “I wanted to contribute financially to my family, but I didn’t want a full-time job that would take me away from them…I wasn’t necessarily looking to own a business because I thought it would be too much of a time commitment and I still wanted to be there for my family,” Ciraky said. “After finding the Treasure Tower concept online, I talked with the company’s founder, Kathy Ruggiero, for hours and the information that she provided me with helped me realize that the business was right for us.” Ciraky started her business, Triumphant Treasures, LLC, in mid-2006 and it has grown to include 43 accounts.
A Personally and Professionally Satisfying Business
“This business offers me much more balance than a traditional job. I don’t have to go into an office at 8am every morning. I can bring my children to school and be there for them when they get home. One day a week I visit clients, so on those days I can drop my children off at school at 8:15am and then visit clients from 8:30am until 2:30pm,” Ciraky said.
“I also like that it’s a business that helps kids when they are scared at the dentist or doctor’s office. The toys in the Treasure Towers serve as rewards and incentives that really calm children down. They know that they can go select a toy when they are done with their appointment,” Ciraky explained.
The Treasure Tower system is also often placed in schools. “It’s a unique rewards program for children. We’re not just vending toys. Anyone can vend toys but this is a totally different concept. There is no competition. No other business does what we do...Customers love us…and children love us,” Bradford noted.
The Beauty of a Flexible Business
“One of the major reasons I was interested in this opportunity was flexibility, flexibility, flexibility,” said Bradford who typically visits clients from 10am to 2pm on weekdays. “I have to plan ahead, but if I want to go out of town for a week, I can go out of town for a week.”
Ciraky agrees, “The business is extremely flexible…it fits around my schedule so I can be there for my children’s activities… I can be the room mom, go to award ceremonies, special events… and take part in activities during the day because I can schedule the business around it. That’s the beauty of this business.”
Ciraky loves the fact that she’s been able to involve her entire family in the business and because of the flexibility of the business model, it continues to work for her family even as her children get older; “Initially, we’d set aside a half-hour every afternoon for the kids to help with prepping things for the business,” she recalled. “But now that they are a little older- 14, 12, 10 and seven years old- and participating in soccer, horseback riding and gymnastics, that doesn’t work anymore. So now I give them a deadline for when I need them to complete a particular task. It still works, it still gets done and I’m not doing it all by myself, everybody takes part."
Stellar Support
“This is such a great business to be in because so much has already been done for you…it’s amazing,” Ciraky said. “The website has all of the forms and letters already written and you just download them and customize them with your company name and contact information…The support is terrific too. Anytime I need to talk to Kathy, she is there for me…She gives personalized support that I don’t think you find with many businesses.”
Bradford concurs, “Kathy and her husband, Joe, are fantastic as far as support…they bend over backwards to help you be successful…I definitely recommend this concept to other women; it’s very straightforward and ideal for outgoing people who have the desire to help others. Plus, it’s not a franchise, which is great because I’m in total control of my business.” |
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