Local shopping discount card launched

Justin Boucher, a graduate of the University of Nevada, Reno, is putting his marketing degree to work with a discount card program he created to hook up consumers with kickbacks at local businesses.

The My City Card, which sells online for $30 and is good for a year, offers discounts at more than 100 local businesses. The card features two-for-ones and discounts at dozens of Reno-Sparks restaurants, as well as 10 to 20 percent discounts at garages, salons and similar businesses. About 40 percent of the retailers are in food service, Boucher says.

Boucher hopes to add an additional 50 to 100 businesses by the end of the year and sell 600 to 800 cards per year. The idea for the My City Card came from popular coupon books sold about town, he says, but having an Internet presence allows him to add as many businesses as he can sign up.

"The idea was to take a coupon book and make it more convenient," says Boucher, 23.

Boucher has been approaching businesses in person since August, as well as cold calling and attending networking events. Startup costs for the My City Card program included a $2,200 card printer and fees for web services. He's also been working with local high school groups to sell the card, offering a third of proceeds to the organization.

Cards can be found at http://mycitycardsavings.com/index.html.