The Bright Idea Handbook: Which? essential guides, £10.99

By Michael Gardner

This is definitely a book worth getting hold of before you enter the proverbial Dragons’ Den with a half-baked bakery business idea.

Very much geared towards the budding entrepreneur, The Bright Idea Handbook offers a step-by-step guide to getting a product, brand or business idea from conception to market.

In setting up a new business, Gardner stresses the value of gathering market information by conducting research, suggesting the best ways to brief a market research agency, getting the lowdown on your competitors and knowing how to target your audience through advertising, sponsorships, PR and the web.

There are simple explanations of how to cost your product, the options available for manufacturing, financing the whole thing and legally protecting your venture.

Also contained within are useful snippets - such as the difference between cost pricing and value pricing - and how marketing and pricing are inextricably linked to a product’s success.