My e-business tanked--how can I cut my losses?

A website business I started tanked due to lack of business capital and profit. I thought of looking for angels but the customer base is not there to provide their return. I think the idea and site could be used by others interested nationally but I don't know where to start. Others with more advertising funding could probably make a go of this site. I'm tapped on advertising dollars. Should I see an attorney or copyright the site myself first, sell the sight outright, or sell the source code and programming over to interested buyers much like a franchise? I'd like to try and get back some if not all of my investment. I had professionals build the front and back-end for me and anyone with a programming team could tailor the back-end to meet their specifications.