The basics of any investment starts with financial education. One must be financially literate to embark on any business venture. This is the minimum entry requirement even before we begin to talk about the other key principles that have already been mentioned, like risk awareness, diversification, patience, strategic withdrawal, and others.

On the other end of being financially literate is patience. Patience will keep you in the game for the long term and guard you against falling for scams because you want to get an ROI of 120% in a short time.

My top recommended book on investment is this: The Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham