What is the best way to start and advertise a new business?

My uncle is a very talented wood worker. He can make custom cabinets, tables, chairs, entertainment centers, you name it, he can make it. He has worked at a cabinet shop for years and has practically made his boss man rich. Well, now his boss man is talking about retiring in a couple of years and my unc will be out of a job. He wants to go into business for himself but is unsure how. Any suggestions? Should we start a website? Please help.

For small businesses like you're describing, the whole marketing strategy should be focused on supporting personal selling, repeat sales and referral-based (a.k.a. "word of mouth") sales. Think about it: if you wanted new cabinets for your kitchen, would you go to the Yellow Pages or the Internet first? Probably not - you'd probably ask your friends who they've used or heard of that has a good reputation. It's a happy coincidence that personal selling is one of the least costly ways of advertising as well.

You can support personal selling several ways:

1. Quality business cards, brochures and possibly a simple, static web site. Use the brochures and web site to show a "portfolio" of the work he's done and to list customer testimonials.

2. A press release to all area media outlets announcing the new business and trying to tie it in with bigger stories of the day. Are people fixing up their houses to improve their resale value in this tough real estate market? Tie in the cabinet work to that story.

3. Provide in-kind donations to local charity and nonprofit events that reach your target audience. Your uncle can make a beautiful adirondack chair for next to nothing, but it might fetch $200 in a raffle or auction for the Relay for Life, for instance. This raises his profile in the community and puts his products front and center, cheaply.

4. Motivate your happy customers to spread the word about your business. Offer them a gift certificate to a local restaraunt, a discount on future services, etc. in exchange for them providing a paying referal.

One last thing: spring for a professional graphic designer to create your company logo, business card, brochure, etc. Really small operations like you're describing need to appear as professional, polished and established as possible; quality marketing materials go a long way toward that.

start a website and make sure your business is in a good location.