I have to say right up front that I’ve never really been into coupon sites, shopping sites, or any other website on the web that is set up primarily to sell something. I really only resort to shopping online during Christmas to avoid the crowds. I rarely really find any deals that I would consider “amazing” online. Sure, you can save a bit if you purchase a computer or even a car through the Internet, but usually those discounts are no different or more than you’re offered in-store.
With that said, my entire attitude toward online deals changed when someone recently pointed me toward Groupon. Groupon is a site that is really difficult to describe, because it’s different than most other sites devoted to selling you something. Groupon stands apart because it offers different things to different people, so I’ve decided to go over the 5 coolest ways that you can make use of Groupon.
Sign In & Instantly Earn Cash
The entire point of Groupon is more of a “group” deal than just a discount site. It actually reminds me a little bit of eBay because each deal is only up for a limited time. Once the set minimum number of buyers purchase the deal, everyone receives the discount.
Once you sign up with your email, you can start adding friends. While I really hate referring my friends to any sort of sales website, Groupon really is worth it. It takes me a lot to admit that, but after watching a few of the discounts show up – I was really surprised by how steep many of them are. Most of them are 40 to 70 percent off of things like local dining, spa treatments, store discounts and a lot more.
For every friend you refer and that signs up, you get ten bucks in Groupon coupons. Now, if you think about that, that means every ten friends you convince to sign up with you, that’s a hundred dollars just to get started buying deals on Groupon.
Save Money At Local Businesses
The part that sets Groupon above the rest in my opinion is the fact that the deals are tailored to your geographic location. Of course, add in the excitement of a limited time offer (right down to the ticking clock) and the need to get at least the minimum number of buyers, and it can get kind of exciting.
This means that you’re not going to see discounts to just national brands or major store chains, these are impressive deals that local businesses are offering.
Save Money On Gifts
Once you sign up and start buying “Groupons”, you can organize those in your account under “My Groupons“. You can also purchase Groupon coupons as gifts and send them to your friends. The cool thing about this is that you can purchase some pretty impressive gifts but you don’t have to spend a fortune.
Now, if you really want to offer your friends an awesome gift, then pass on the savings to them. At the bottom of the main Groupon page, you’ll see a link for “Give the Gift of Groupon.” Click on that link, fill out the details and the amount you’d like to give and send your friends a Groupon credit.
Why are Groupon coupons better than cash? Because it goes further. Your friend will be able to stretch that $25 gift certificate into a purchase worth $50 to $100. And don’t be fooled by my choice of currency – Groupon is available in 35 countries across the world.
Use Groupon For Your Business
I think the magic that will make Groupon even more popular moving forward is the fact that it makes everyone happy. Obviously, customers that can save over fifty percent off the cost of anything are usually pretty happy, but the business model of Groupon is pretty impressive as well. Basically, businesses don’t pay until they get paid. When you sign up to advertise, Groupon simply takes a commission of the sale and gives you the rest.
Getting featured on Groupon is as easy as clicking the “Groupon for your Business” link at the bottom of the main page.
Fill out the form and you’re good to go. If you don’t have anything to sell, but you wouldn’t mind making money by referring folks to Groupon, then you’ll be interested in their affiliate plan.
You can even have the color format of the ad match the theme of your own site. This is what the ad will look like on your site.
What makes it unique and useful to your website visitors is that the ads will automatically check for the location of your visitor, and then try to deliver deals from their local area.
Access Your Groupons On Your Mobile Device
Using Groupons becomes a lot more useful when you can use “paperless redemption” to cash in your purchased Groupon using your mobile device. All of the deals you purchased are stored on your phone where you can access them quickly without printing.
While you’re on the go and looking for local deals, just search for nearby deals using the built-in GPS feature – it’s a cool, fast way to save money while you’re on the road.
Have you ever used Groupon? Which feature do you use the most and did you find any impressive deals through the service? Share your experience in the comments section below.
When I turned 40 I was in a state of panic. I had been reading “the Summer of 49” by David Halberstam about the 1949 Yankees.
In the book he comments about how the Yankees team was going to have problems because of its aging players. For instance, “Dimaggio’s body was breaking down.” You would think Dimaggio was 90 years old. He was 34. So I put that book down and opened up Chess Life Magazine.
I remember back from hanging out at the Manhattan Chess Club as a kid – the old men stroking their beards, pondering moves for hours. So in Chess Life I turn to an article about the top 20 chess players in the world. The article mentions there are only two “oldtimers” on the list. Viswanathan Anand, age 38. And Boris Gelfand, age 37. Great. I guess I’m too old for that also.
So I did the only smart thing – I called someone up who was double my age.
John Pappajohn is exactly 40 years older than me and is one of the most successful investors in the world. He has started, sold, brought public, over 50 different companies in the healthcare space. He’s averaged over 60% a year on his investing since the early 1970s. He’s given over one hundred million dollars to charity just in the past few years. He started his career as a venture capitalist at the healthy age of 41 in 1969.
“You’re calling for what reason? What!?” he asked and then laughed.
(John and Mary Pappajohn)
“Listen, it only gets better,” he said, “I have seven financings going on, a company I’m involved in that might go public soon, and we just did a reverse merger with another company. Things are better than ever.”
But, John, when you started your first venture deal at the age of 41, were you a little scared?
“Oh sure, you’re always apprehensive. That’s normal. And heck, this was 1969, hardly anybody was in venture capital back then and I decided to go into it. I called up another investor, Warren Buffett, and he told me, ‘John, you’re making a big mistake’. He told me he was getting out of the business and going into operating a company. And you know what, James, he was right. Interest rates went to 16%, the economy went into a horrible recession, the venture business was dead. I was doing little M&A deals to make a living but that’s it.”
“I started my venture business with $100,000. That’s all. My wife and I drove around in old cars, we lived within our means, but I always kept a PMA – positive mental attitude. I always held onto that. And then I started a company, Kay Laboratories, which eventually merged into Baxter. I started Caremark which grew much bigger, I started Medical Imaging Laboratories. Altogether I’ve been involved in 50 companies that eventually got bought or went public, all in the medical space.
“And I’ll tell you why it gets better. Everyone always calls me now when they have a deal. I’ve been around so you get to know everybody. Keep your nose clean, build good relationships over the years, and people will keep showing you good deals.
One more thing he said: “Giving money away is a prerequisite to making more money. When you get older,” he told me “you have to keep thinking of new ways to create value. That’s important.”
(making friends)
So a few days ago, the night before I was to leave for India for a two week yoga vacation, John called me to see if I wanted to grab dinner. Of course I dropped all my other plans and said yes. We met at E.A.T, a small diner-ish place on the upper east side. John showed me a page from his notebook. It had a list of about eight deals he was working on right then. “I’m interviewing a CFO for one company,” he told me, “meeting a bank about taking another company public, meeting with some IP lawyers about a tech company I’m invested in, and reviewing the ongoing trial of another company I’m invested in. Its all good, James.”
And I was relieved. Because over the past three years I had basically invested in every company John was involved in, both the public and the private ones. I was glad to hear he was confident in all of our investments together.
And so it occurs to me while I’m writing this: I’m sitting here in India celebrating my 43rd birthday. Three hours ago I touched my toes without bending my knees for the first time in my life in a yoga class. Now I’m writing with a nice breeze coming into my room. Outside its about 70 degrees and sunny.
Meanwhile, an 83 year old man is in his suit, traipsing through the blizzard of Manhattan, making deals, negotiating contracts, trying to get IPOs going for investments he (and I) have made. He’ll put in 15 hour days every day next week in five different states and three different plane rides. He’ll use his rolodex built over 50 years in order to, ultimately, generate money for me while I’m enjoying myself in India.
I’m feeling a little guilty now as I write this. But I’m sure right at this moment, John’s probably the happiest man alive.
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