I'm on the east coast, there's a lot of construction here. How does
one "sell" aerial photos or rides? How does one develop this
business?

I wouldn't waste my time trying to develop business selling rides.

But selling aerial photos is another story.

Set aside about 6 months to a year and enough money to pay for, oh, maybe 25-50
hours of flying time and a decent camera, then spend a lot of time shooting
sites you believe might be salable (usually the bigger the better).

After you've produced some decent images, identify the general contractor, call
them, find out who the project manager (other players may be the decision
maker, however), contact them (good luck), ask if they're using aerial
photographs for construction progress documentation (usually shot monthly), and
hope you can get your foot in the door...

The aerial photography business is about running a small business and SELLING,
not about airplanes or photography. Not everybody likes SELLING.

But then again, we're all 'selling' something, huh?