If you haven't heard the latest business news, Groupon is laying off approximately 1,100 employees in customer service and international sales. But that's not all. The company recently exited operations in Greece and Turkey, and will be doing the same in six more countries.

"We believe that in order for our geographic footprint to be an even bigger advantage, we need to focus our energy and dollars on fewer countries," CEO Rich Williams stated in a Sept. 22 blog post. "Just as our business has evolved from a largely hand-managed daily deal site to a true ecommerce technology platform, our operational model has to evolve."

Williams insists the recent layoffs and closing of operations are strictly due to restructuring for efficiency and "we are stronger than ever." Though that may be the case, it's clear that Groupon's business model had some issues.

The daily deals website started in 2008 and created a large following of fans. Groupon went public in 2011, which was considered to be the largest IPO by a U.S. Internet company since Google. So what happened?

Groupon became extremely popular when they launched and grew incredibly fast — too fast, in fact. Their business model completely crumbled, and Groupon became the one-hit wonder of the social-coupon world.

This failure can be a blessing in disguise for you and your company. Take Groupon's mistakes, learn and grow from them. Every failure can create success within your company. These two Groupon scenarios should be able to start you on the right foot.

Groupon mistake 1: In 2012, sales for Groupon started lagging, which led to investors dropping out, ultimately plummeting the stock. Keep in mind that Groupon became public in 2011. That's one year. The company reportedly had a total net loss of more than $820 million between 2009 and 2013.

Because it cost so much in manpower and marketing to gain all of the deals for customers, that didn't leave much room for profit when they immediately turned around to sell the products/services for significantly less than retail.

Lesson learned: It's a marathon, not a sprint. Don't grow your company as fast as you can without stepping back to look around. Groupon could have had less manpower by not expanding so quickly, which would have allowed them to learn their efficiencies and how quickly they could expand into different territories.

Groupon mistake 2: With the one-time purchases Groupon was offering, they weren't adding brand loyalty to the customer or the small business offered. With customers purchasing a specific deal — for a steal — they were able to frequent the venue listed, but was it worth it?

The customers would go into the venue and spend the Groupon deal and nothing more, therefore leaving the venue with not much profit afterward. On the small business side, a flock of customers would show up at once and then never return once the deal was over. According to a 2010 study of small businesses from Rice University, 66 percent found that their deal was profitable, while 32 percent said it was unprofitable. And a whopping 40 percent said they would not use Groupon again.

Lesson learned: Don't let the fire burn too quickly. If you are increasing your business with customers and partners, keep them happy. Make sure you're putting as much effort into your customers and partners, so they're there with you in the long run, not a flame that burns out quickly.

From both scenarios, we learn one common theme. That slow and steady wins the race. Yes, I'm referring to the tortoise and the hare here. But in all honestly, it's the truth.

Just because your company is growing with great potential doesn't mean you want to reach the maximum potential as quickly as possible. Be able to see the bigger picture for the future, all while focusing on the smaller ones as you go. Make a plan and stick to it.

Although one-hit wonders are popular to some, you don't want to become one. Help your company have multiple hits that continuously go viral.