You will of course learn as much about the investment as possible, and you would want to see how past investors have done as well. Once you learn from other investors, you will be in a position to make right decisions.

As a potential investor, you should read anything you can get your hands on about investingbut start with the beginning investment books and websites first. Otherwise, you will quickly find that you are lost.

The risk tolerance

If you plan to retire in ten years, and you've not saved a single penny towards that end, you need to have a high risk tolerance - because you will need to do some aggressive - risky - investing in order to reach your financial goal.

On the other side of the coin, if you are in your early twenties and you want to start investing for your retirement, your risk tolerance will be low. You can afford to watch your money grow slowly over time.

A good financial planner or stock broker should help you determine the level of risk that you are comfortable with, and help you choose your investments accordingly.

Along the way, you may make a few investing mistakes, however there are big mistakes that you absolutely must avoid if you are to be a successful investor. For instance, the biggest investing mistake that you could ever make is to not invest at all, or to put off investing until later. Make your money work for you - even if all you can spare is $20 a week to invest!

Never invest money without having a goal and a strategy for reaching that goal! This is essential. Nobody hands their money over to anyone without knowing what that money is being used for and when they will get it back! If you don't have a goal, a plan, or a strategy, that is essentially what you are doing! Always start with a goal and a strategy for reaching that goal!