A stock is the number of shares of a company. This means if you buy a share of the stock, then you are the part owner of the company and all its net assets. You are entitled to part of the profits generated by the company which when paid to you is called dividend. The stock market is the place from where you buy such stocks. These days due to the power of internet you can buy part ownership in companies from home itself. The main advantage of investing in stocks of companies is that you can grow your money and become financially wealthy. If you are a beginner, then you should get the requisite training so that you feel secure, knowledge wise, about investing in stocks. If you have heard your friends or office colleagues saying that they lost a lot of money in the stock market, then you must also understand that this is because of lack of knowledge. When you know what you are doing and you are able to analyze your potential investments thoroughly before taking a decision, then your risk factor has considerably minimized.

The long term average annual return calculated for a period of 75 years has been found to be 11% when you invest your money in the stock market. If this return is achieved when you invest $500 in a portfolio of stocks and you do not tinker with it, then you will have $1,000,000 in your account after 28 years. This is also known as the power of compounding. If you earn of return of 15% annually for five years, then you can double your money invested. This is certainly not a bad way to earn money. This of course requires discipline from you and you should be able to take rational and logical decisions and not let emotions enter your though process. You should be able to justify your purchase of a particular stock yourself. This is the level of understanding you require before venturing to invest.

There are types of investment processes people practise. These are value investing, income investing and growth investing. In value investing, investors look for stocks that are selling at a price which is lesser than the value of the business. In income investing, investors look for regular dividends which are high as well. All the companies do not pay high dividends. Some companies, that have a lot of cash in its books, do not find great investment opportunities. These companies return the excess cash to the shareholders in the form of high dividends. These are the type of companies that income investors look for. Then there are the growth investors who look for companies that are growing at an incredible pace. These are typically new businesses whose products show a lot of potential and are gaining popularity amongst the consumers.

Stock market is lucrative and there are several types of players in it. If you have a regular job, then you can invest part of your savings in the market and work towards growing your wealth. You should put in effort to learn all about the stock market and it's working.