My good friend Robert Foulkes operates White Oak Timber Frames. For years he has been producing precision joint-in-tenon oak beams in his small factory with a team of craftsmen in Suttons Bay, MI.

Much of his production is produced for luxury homes. Robert cuts his timber frame components, which are much like precision versions of Lincoln Logs, after harvesting trees selectively and responsibly from private forests.

To give you an idea of the type of work he had been thriving on, I've included a recent boathouse project he worked on with his wife, architect Robin Jhonson, in Empire, MI.

When new construction commissions like this one, the bulk of Robert's work, were greatly diminished with the housing crash, Robert moved White Oak Timber Frames into a new area: wood barn restoration. How did he do it?

Lots of property owners in his area, still principally rural, have holdings with traditional wood barns on them. These barns aren't generally in productive use; prefabricated metal buildings, better suited to contemporary agricultural practices, have replaced the wood barns.

Anyone who drives through rural roads will see dozens of these well-built structures, some centuries old, often crumbling into picturesque piles of decayed wood for lack of maintenance and repair.

Many owners would prefer to preserve the barns, and, it turns out, were looking for someone to help with the project. They weren't really sure who would have the capabilities to handle such work.

Robert Foulkes did his first restoration project by request from a local resident. He realized during the process that he could handle such work with the tools and experience he'd applied to new construction timber frame work . .sames skills, new market.

To rustle up more work, Robert called the local newspaper and asked if they'd like to write a story about how someone in the decimated new housing construction market had survived. The paper followed up and published his story, delivering the message to key prospects in his areas. Within a week Robert says he had six inquiries about similar barn restoration projects.

Robert's experience is a classic example of spreading word of mouth in a market area. As a way to grow business for woodshops and woodcrafters, it's the way to go.

Some of the techniques and practices that can effectively drive new business your way will be addressed in a free webcast on Sept. 28 by Woodworking Network's Rick Hill.

Rick will talk about where custom woodworking companies find new customers, and how, like Robert Foulkes, they use word of mouth to build sales, especially in local markets. I invite you to join me and Rick Hill, as he leads you through steps develop new business, make the sale and create new selling opportunities for your woodworking shop.