Hi,
I have a good idea for a blog side business. First I'll give it a few years to build up steam, and then I'll monetize it by selling ad space. Does anyone have a suggestion on a blog platform that I should use, given my goals of eventually selling ad space on it? Should I have someone build me a custom platform?

Sincerely,
Brian

I always prefer wordpress for blogs.

Try the blogging for moolah. If you are maintaining website, having a blog can add to and enhance your existing web presence. Blogging is also a great way for small business owners, with little web design knowledge, and small budgets to establish a professional, attractive, web presence.

Search it on google for more information.. Thanks.

Blogging is need of the day. It is not only gives a high rank in SERP but also a way to communicate and get live feedback of the reader. It is also a way to optimize automatically in the search engine.

You may go for Wordpress or Tumblr.