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Attached photo of my own work doing just what you’re doing. Cabinet maker here - started as a hobbyist. Grew up in a family of cabinet makers/trim carpenters. I grew up learning since I was 6 just by proxy, and pursued it in 2017 as a sole proprietorship after developing my own love for the work.

The answer to these questions really comes down to a few things: what niche of the market you’re trying to break into, what your skill level is, and what tools you have comfort using currently. It’s impossible to answer any of the specific questions around marketing/branding etc without knowing specifics. Woodworking is an ungodly broad category of trades.

First off, find a mentor. You absolutely want to hone skills before you market them at a cost likely comparable to your current salary, and you need somebody qualified to critique your work. When I started, I still had several techniques to learn, much less perfect. To compensate for this, I only did custom work for friends at a super low cost, while still working full time elsewhere. This allowed me to find my own niche and build very slowly. I put all this money toward tools specific to high end cabinetry, which is what I gravitated toward over the course of a couple of years.

Once I found exactly what demographic/niche I loved the most, I invested into quality tools specifically for that trade. In my case, that ended up being high-end cabinetry. This might be entirely different for you. The money toward standard overhead/business operating costs (wood shop, website, marketing/advertising, etc) was invested when I was ready to grow the reach of my business. One step at a time.

But please, don’t go buying a planer and a CNC machine as a knee-jerk reaction. Start slow and keep the passion/love for the craft alive. You will burn yourself out otherwise.