Desperate and this is what I am going to do

If the coupon website already isn't working locally why not do something else? You said little town; maybe you should move to a bigger town instead.

And yes you can get into trouble for giving away coupons that don't work/ the business didn't agree to.

Don't give up just because it's hard. Make a list of your skills and determine what your local buyers what.

You can even sale something as basic as business card printing and go from there. You can use your business cards as a way to mention to people that you have a coupon book also.

Keep moving forward. You can do it!

Depending on how small your small town is, if you do this, you may need to leave town under the cover of darkness. Not a good idea at all

Likely. Hopefully. No offense but what your doing hurts everyone involved. The business owner is screwed b/c someone is making coupons for his service or goods without consent. The customer is screwed b/c they'll try to use a coupon the business owner either can't or won't honor. And you're screwed because you're pissing everyone off.

Identify one or two services that you can provide and do that. Keep it simple and don't limit yourself to your small town. I live in a small town too and if I didn't venture out, I'd starve to death.

Good luck!!

No, don't do this coupon thing. It's bad on so many levels.

You have already created some sort of relationship with all of these people. At least some of them, right? So instead of fixating on this one source of providing value, go back and find out what else you could do for them.

Where are they having the most trouble with their business?

What can you provide/outsource that matches up as a solution?

Ouch....I agree...please do NOT just post deals for them...huge trouble

I also think you should build on this...

go to a wholesale printer, a "promotional items" supplier....get an agreement to work on commission

find a local web designer /seo person who will pay you nicely for work done

consider signing up with some other sorts of offline companies that offer ? to small biz

then go back and see "what can I do for you?"

Seems like you skipped the first step of actually figuring out what problems these business owners have. You should have started by walking into the local businesses and talked to the owners about their pain points and about how much they would pay to solve that problem. Maybe out of the 60 you talked to 20 expressed the same issues with email marketing, social media, their web site, or something else.

Then you could build a service around their problem areas, find a price point that matched their budget, and go back to the 20 or so who had that same particular problem. At this point you already talked to them before and the second contact would be a bit warmer and you'd have a high chance of closing the deal.

Just my opinion.

Your business model is a lot of work. I knew a guy who used to do this. Here is what I would do:

1. If your flyers are advertising the business itself then you must give them a good deal to entice them to buy. Give them some marketing numbers about how beneficial your service would be. Offer to deliver door hangers and put them on the doors yourself or hire a kid to help you.

Best door hanger business are Pizza and Tire/ Oil change stores. Also carpet cleaning can work good too.

2. Make a coupon book and feature businesses in it for a fee. You should pick up some businesses who love coupons. Again pizza, dry cleaning, carpet cleaning, tires, etc etc. You may have to offer something of HIGH value for free at first to get your foot in the door. Make any fees reasonable and then offer upgrades of service.

3. Make a calendar and sell ad spots and deliver around for free. Maps work well to if you can swing it.

Tips:

-Pick up the phone and dial until your finger tips bleed. Call every business you can find but ONLY once you have a good script going to use.

-Use a telemarketing firm and give them a cut. They are pros at phone selling.

-Get a web presence. This is a must in my book.

-Offer to post deals FOR THEM on various coupon sites. Handle all coupon needs you can say.

Hope that helps. Good Luck!

I would get a job..... seriously. Desperate don't sell.

Find an article or short book that has a marketing method for small businesses and then offer to do exactly what is in the article for a fee. You need to build yourself a job before you build yourself a business because you don't have that luxury.

If i couldn't land a job in 6 months time then I wouldn't expect to be able to build a business in less time.

Hi there,

Unfortunately, you've given yourself a time limit that has a ticking bomb at the end. The pressure of making money coupled with the lack of safety funds will kill your enthusiasm and distract you from the task at hand. We see it all the time with salespeople who take commission jobs without a safety net and it's sad.

My advice to you would be get a part-time job no matter how low-paying it is. Get some income rolling in and then test your marketing ideas in your spare time. 60 calls is a joke. 600 calls is effort and will produce results even if those results merely tell you where you went wrong.

You're in a catch-22 right now. You won't have the frame of mind to get busy with something like this while your dwindling funds are at the top of your mind.

All the best,

Sasha.

so you spent 4 months finding a nice niche. It must be a lie man.

You don't know that niche's businesses might already fed up hearing this shit again and again every once in a while.

and btw are you seriously thinking they won't forget to take your flyer paper with them after all the countless hours of work business owners spend at their businesses at night when they go home and then switch on their computers to check your coupon website????

Besides all that I really appreciate that you step out and took action. Believe me you already have more experience then all the big time multi millionaire online marketers who besides having tons of money spend all day trying selling 9$ shortcuts to people.

In the last few weeks I've about severed every good relation I've had on this place, for being too blunt and unwilling to let certain things go unchallenged. My first concern, always, is people getting truthful and realistic advice, rather than pleasing people, and it always will be. Because I've just seen too many people fail based on that advice that is ok, for it's context, but massively limiting and even setting people up for failure beyond that.

But it's futile here try to get beginners properly clued up so they have the basic sales, marketing and business skills to go and meet with success. Too many people are selling pathetic sales and marketing education that excludes any other methods and is a one size fits all. And selling junk is almost honoured. And this has lead to much more frustration and failure than anything else.


The advice works with mass market, simple sell product where any business owner is a potential viable customer. In that case by all means, get on the phone all day, and then scale up if that is your business. You can make a killing with focus and determination. And a business like that is far easier to manage.


If you move beyond that model to the one the OP is attempting to, getting users on one side and businesses on the other, then shunning anything but old school cold calling or walking with no social media awareness campaigns or online branding, and pounding that into people's head as the only viable method, is invariable going to lead to the same outcome as the OP has met with. Months of work and money put in and their dreams shattered with not a hope of real lasting success. Chasing fast, easy 'cash' never leads to real success.


In recent months, I don't know how many of these threads I've seen. Every single person trying to do this model thinks it's an easy cash cow. Chuck a site up or an app, put a logo on, don't bother with online promotion or launching or creating a buzz or getting users on board. Just get out there trying to fleece businesses owners for putting a name and address on a theme.


It's absolutely insane watching it that people think business is that easy. When I first conceived of creating a 'third party site' and generating revenue from ads and stuff, I checked out the Yell.com, the Guardian, and loads of others who do this model properly and know how build audiences. I was elated for days because I knew there was massive revenue potential and it was something I'd be fulfilled with. Then, after wearing myself out, I thought could I really pull of creating something major like that? To be a proper big well known business and brand and had a massive feeling of overwhelm and panic and doubt, because I knew it would take massive amounts of work and stretch me to the limit way out of my comfort zone. That was a couple of years ago when I first conceived of it, and started research and getting serious.


How can so many others here think this model is a walk in the park? You just slap up a site and bingo. Give your flyer to people and they'll flock to your site with their wallets out desperate to pay you.


A model like this, you are taking on massive responsibility. You have to be able to generate massive traffic to a site daily, so you have to be an expert digital, social and content marketer, or have a good system. You have to create a strong compelling reason for businesses to want to post. You have to constantly create major content daily. Advertise.

You have to learn real skills. I spent 500 with themezoom just to learn their seo and social media strategies, yet people here think you don't even need a social presence at all. You don't need traffic.

Something is seriously wrong, with all these people rolling up saying their building local sites, by putting a theme up.

You're going to have a range of people to deal with, so different marketing and sales strategies are needed. You're gonna need good technical support. You're going to need skilled telemarketers to do pure cold calling, business development specialists to work with strategic partners and build JV's and referral relationships, and extensive social media and brand awareness strategy. You're going to need way more than a one man band operation to get it going and be profitable. You need copywriting, design, email marketing and funnel building skills.

There is no money in it if it's not taken seriously. If if you do start earning money, it would mean you have a quite a large number of customers relying on you to produce the goods, and that's why you'll need all of the above. It's not a casual undertaking.

Everyone thinks it's easy. It's not. I posted a site doing this model highly successfully yesterday, and they should be studied as the offer quality to everyone involved and many unique benefits. That got ignored.

OP, you're probably best to go and get a job and learn the skills you need to launch this properly.

I read this article yesterday and it bought it home how many you need a real, live online audience and buzz to get an online brand going. https://hbr.org/2015/04/10-tactics-f...ign=Socialflow

I've been studying how to make something work for years, across 8 sites in whole network, and how to get that to a critical mass of users where it becomes self-sustaining. I have to launch a magazine first and generate revenue. I think I'm going to need to invest around £20,000 in building an enterprise level platform and getting it going. It's no small thing.

But I'll be using a lot of top methods to create buzz for my mag site to begin with, and if you're stick this out, I'll show you how you can quickly build and audience and create traffic to a level where businesses owners will actually want to get involved.

There's way more involved than putting a up a site where people will pay you to put listings on then. Maybe 10 years ago before social media, but not today. People don't need to do it to the scale I aim for, and can do it much smaller with a few people, but they'll still need to do all the things above.

Ok dude,

there is a senior warrior, I have nothing to do with him, I do NOT know the guy and I am Not promoting nobody, but I have read good things about him. He does help people that have an idea about their business and they are missing something !

You can find him by looking up his name (Ewenmack) and what he s got to to say!
Again I do not know the guy but I only read good things from people that tried his consultation!

or you can read what he s got to say yourself here: Go here

I just want to help! GOOD LUCK

http://www.warriorforum.com/warriors...st-2015-a.html

If you are desperate you gotta do something to start getting cash NOW.

When I was unemployed and depressed working was the hardest thing for me to do. I had to work my way up from doing small cash jobs I found on craigslist and gumtree, to part-time, to full time.. to running my own business. If you haven't been working full time for months and you are depressed or anxious, launching a business is absolutely the worst decision you can make.

You need to build momentum slowly.. and get your hands on cash by whatever legal means you can.

Business owners will sense your desperation. You will start making mistakes which will hurt you far more in the long-term.

Put this idea on hold and start looking for any kind of work to cover your basic living expenses. I was so depressed and isolated that I couldn't communicate with people. So I had to work in a terrible data entry job.. which I was fired from for not coming in.. and then eventually working in a cafe washing dishes and cleaning tables. I didn't mind. It gave me money, food and paid my rent. You gotta take care of your basic survival needs first, and a business is not designed to do that. You decide to open a business when you recognize you can make more money LATER ON than working for someone else. A good business is built on a system of leverage, which takes a lot of time for the results to come in. A job satisfies your need for food and shelter right now.

Surely there's SOME kind of job in your small town. Even doing odd jobs around your neighborhood like laboring, mowing lawns? If you a depressed the physical exercise and exposure to the sun will be very good for you. For me, that was enough for my mental illness to vanish. I helped a family friend in their earth moving business, shifting loads of heavy dirt, building fences, riding in excavators. I enjoyed it more than I thought. At the very least it will give you some money in your hand.. and more importantly you start building a macro-momentum in your life where things keep getting better and better.

I sincerely wish you the best. Now go fix your life.

http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...desperate.html

You said you have seven years web and print design experience?
Does this mean you can properly build a site, including coding and on page SEO...?
(If not, you need to learn or find people who can complete the needed work for clients
- assuming you are headed towards eventual self-employment in this field.)

You should get your hands on this by the Warrior who goes by the name of: iamnameless:
http://www.warriorforum.com/warrior-...eb-agency.html

Keep your local coupon listing site. I don't think it will pay the bills immediately,
but will become useful and maybe need to be modified and improved. What is
your town's and counties' Chamber of Commerce or promotions/Tourism bureaus
or boards web presence? Would they be interested in buying your site/hiring you
as a freelancer? As freebiequeen mentioned, an SEO might be interested. Or, you
can keep it as your own project.

One thing to keep in mind is that in small towns, it is usually easy to be found.
So, there is not a lot of interest in coupons and discounts by business owners.
My town has three hotels and 9 restaurants. Local SEO is pretty much a given.
The town itself could use more tourists - hence my suggestion to look at your
town's and county's promotion efforts. (The past two years, my town and county
just redid there tourism websites. My little town spent $8000.00, plus monthly
for a custom Drupal site.)

--------------------------

For right now though, get a job/odd jobs so you can pay bills and keep what savings
you do have for an emergency - like car repair.

Then learn to sell and market.

Of course learn to sell, however you can. And please take responsibility for your own learning and ceaseless research, instead of relying on opinions. Understand the difference between old selling and new selling:


If your leaflet contained the right info, with compelling facts and figures and a value proposition you would have had sign-ups and more interest, even from 60 people.

Again advice as if selling only requires some sales skills on behalf of the sales person and not a strong product and real skills.


People don't seem to understand they could create their social media channels, all branded and on message, and build and audience of thousands. Hundreds of twitter followers, hundreds in your g plus circle. Hundreds of connections on youtube from an audience interested in your content, some facebook fans, pinners.

That then is a live site, not an idea, and you're pitch will capture them if you say you want to introduce to your audience of thousands for free and bring them new business, and they can try out your site for themselves at no risk.

All the sales skills in the world are not going to help sell spots on site that is not a saleable proposition by itself to where you need.

Websites from top start-ups get traction with a business development. That is making mutual beneficial arrangements and cross-promotional agreements. This guy, has a good course on business development and sold his start up for $100 mil to constant contact.

https://www.udemy.com/u/scottbritton/

Learn to sell and perhaps get a job somewhere where you can learn digital marketing, social media and others skills.

And online business is nothing without them, as those skills are the engine for growth.

Growing a business is about more than solely learning in person sales.

I think a lot of us regular posters start from the point that the OPs are offering
valuable solutions, unless they are specifically asking for input on their offer.

An Operational Definition of selling seems to be needed. Everything you do to attract attention to
your offer(s), online, offline, or in person is selling, or pre-selling, your offer. And yes, there many
channels you can use and one should not limit themselves to one avenue in almost all cases.

when you are living in a small town, sorry to say you are just wasting your time on coupon site.
thing anything else you can do in small town and which could full your pockets with cash.

do not desperate, remember, if your path is not EASY. you are on Right way.
keep trying new ideas.

It seems like this is about to become critical. If it were me, I would make a decision about what I am passionate about and find a mentor in that area, to teach me what they know. Just imagine doing what you love and making money at it !!!!!

Try selling to school and colleges

Just posted this if interested in other business ideas...

http://www.warriorforum.com/offline-...-business.html

A guy I know makes decent money finding empty walls where there is a lot of daily visitors. He would go to the local drugstore (aiming for doctors and therapists etc) or the local home depot (carpenters, painters etc), ask to rent part of the entrance wall, share profits and sell adspace. He is doing the same with lunchrestaurants, selling adspace on the foodtrays. Not a supersexy business, but he makes decent money.