Get started with the Stock Market
by Andrew on 19/07/07 at 9:37 am
3 comments
I sometimes take a bit of flack when I tell small business owners to spread their risk beyond their own companies by investing in other companies. Of course you believe that your own venture is going to make it really big, but it’s foolish to think that failure is impossible. Investing some of your income in the stock market is an easy way of diversifying your business interests. Some people perceive the stock market as a type of gambling or lottery, but it’s exactly the same as buying a piece (albeit a very small one) in a well established business. Over the long term the price of the share is directly related to the value of the company, rather than some process of luck or random rises and crashes.
Instead of thinking of myself as a web developer or online retailer, I prefer to take the title of a well-rounded businessman – ie I have a 50% share in a small e-commerce company called Live Alchemy (Shane has the other 50%), and I have a 0,000001% share in companies like Anglo Gold, Standard Bank and PPC Cement.
Fin24 has an introductory article called "Keen on the JSE?" by Warwick Lucas. It describes what you need to consider before investing in the stock market, and part 2 takes you a step further.
If you would prefer to outsource the whole decision making process, take a look at my previous post on using Satrix as an investment vehicle.
Andrew Smith is the pedantic systems guy behind Live Alchemy, a SA e-commerce company. Andrew writes for Ideate in an attempt to make the world a more efficient place. View more articles by Andrew.
Jim Norton
Jul 19th, 2007
Your comment on spreading the risk through stock ownership is excellent. See my post at http://www.smallbusinessboomers.com on how the venture pros spread their risk.
Johan
Sep 3rd, 2007
Out of so many websites providing information a very informative site for SA is http://www.besharewise.co.za This site provide some interesting information concerning forex and provide live stats on Forex. I say this is a must visit if you are interested in trading
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[...] project we choose will provide us an advantage with respect to financial status or quality of life. When we buy shares in the stock market, we are placing our faith on the belief that our chosen company will do well. However, when most [...]