Help with my situation please!

[WezCLS]

Hello,

Before i go in to detail about my situation i just want to thank this forum in general it has helped me out with alot while i am starting out my first business.

Ok first i will explain i am Wesley Woakes i am 23 my business is Central Leaflet Solutions and we basically deal with leaflet distribution within central england (Mainly West Midlands). After 6 weeks of trading we have completed a few jobs with various companies including our local printers who print mini directories for the local area (around 2000 per week) but now i have hit a stalemate. I have been sending out my business card around the local area and i am not getting many hits to my site CentralLS.co.uk i am registered with most directories maybe there is not much demand for my business at the moment i just dont know.

I am currently working very hard to make this work and my partner is not convinced it will work but i have the passion and work ethic to make it succeed im just a bit stuck to where to go now my bank wont give me a business account due to adverse credit history (From 5 years ago!) and i need more hits to my site and in general just more business (dont we all ;)).

I am looking into the possibility of going around the businesses myself and discussing with them but i am not confident enough to do this yet. Would a mailshot be more useful if so how do i go about doing this??

Sorry to sound like a complete ameteur i have started this business with no prior knowledge to business and little or no money (stupid i know) with the current climate i just didnt know what else to do but to work for myself.

Any help or advice will be apreciated thanks in advance.

[fisicx]

Do you know how many business cards, leaflets, flyers and other advertising detritus companies get every day?

If they already have a distributor they are unlikely to drop everything and give you a call on just because you have given them a busienss card. You need to get out there and tout for business.

And you do need to move away from moonfruit ASAP. Google is never going to find you because you use frames and all that flash is pointless. You would be much better off using good old HTML/CSS and not the moonfruit sitemaker.

[Deliberator]

I think you need a reality check here.

For a fledgling business to work, you need to understand that hard work, hard work and more hard work should be the order of the day. You cannot expect to set up a business, create a website and then sit back and let the orders roll in, it just won't happen !

You have to go out into the cold dark world and get business in. Yourself ! You have to pick up the phone and call people, you have to knock on doors and open them, you have to do all of this, yourself, all the time and then in the meantime, find the time to run the business. That's what makes a business grow, or even start to make a profit. If you cannot / will not do this, then I would suggest you call it quits now before you end up owing lots n lots of money.

It is a daunting prospect at first, but once you start doing it, it becomes easier. Once you start to get more business in, the more confident you become, the more confident you become, then the easier it becomes and the more successful you also become. But you have to take the first step and any successful business has followed the very same steps.

Go for it and good luck

[WezCLS]

Everything i have done upto this point has been taken from advice! the moonfruit thing was supposed to be just a point of contact for people to see my details and i just got carried away with it lol and as i dont know nothing about building websites HTML or otherwise and just found it easier using moonfruit once i have the funds i definatly will be investing it into buidling a better webpage.

As far as setting up a business a website and waiting for the orders to roll in i havent been doing that i have been working hard doing everything myself i just dont think im going about these things in the right way i am building confidence step by step and will get out there i just feel i need to gain a bit more experience before i can cold call businesses.

Thanks for the advice

[BusinessIdeas]

I think that the only way you are going to make this work is by cold calling, or employing someone to do it for you, Sending out business cards is unlikely to produce results, you need to go out and present them yourself. Tell them you are doing research about business advertising locally if you like, and assert that you are not selling anything, but just seeing if they think that there would be a need for the seevice, then hand them your card. If you get immediate interest then sign them up there and then. You need to sell yourself before selling your service.