This is the second post in a series of seven inspired by the third episode of the current series of The Apprentice on BBC. These business ideas are aimed at anyone wanting to start a business on a budget of £200 or less.

There are thousands of aspiring writers out there desperately looking for a publisher, some could be the next Dan Brown or J.K. Rowling or they might have a specialty book that interest only a very specific niche. For many of these writers there is little hope of a traditional big publishing firm publishing their book. However if you have the desire, passion and £200 you could start your own specialist publishing business and publish whatever books take your fancy - even your own if you're an aspiring writer.

I did this myself a few years ago when I published my own book to support the marketing activities of Crickett Software Limited.

All you need to do is decide what sort of book you would like to publish then check there is a market for it. To get a feel for the market one useful idea is to find similar books on Amazon and check their Amazon sales rank. Also make a note of the prices charged for the books so you'll have an idea what you can sell yours for. Keep in mind however that most bookshops will expect to buy the book from you for at least a 50% discount of the cover price.

Your next step is to find some authors, and commission a book (or write it yourself). While that's happening you can be registering with the UK ISBN Agency to get your first ten ISBN numbers (that'll use £98.70 of your budget). Once the book reaches a finished draft get friends and family to review it.

Once you have a finished manuscript you can find a print on demand printer who can add the book to their system (you'll use the remainder of your budget on this), I used Antony Rowe who can also make your book available through Gardners meaning it can be ordered and fulfilled directly without your intervention. This has the side effect of getting your book listed on Amazon.co.uk.

Once the book is finished you'll need to market it to your target audience, which is much easier with the advent of the Internet, simply search Google for forums, blogs or websites that are on topics related to the book and contact them with a polite introduction to your company and your books. You'll also benefit from sending review copies to any newspapers or magazines that cover the niche.

Crickett, John; Start a Book Publishing Business For Under £200 from http://www.businessopportunitiesandideas.co.uk, April 2007.