The 2 most important rules when starting your own business or investing your money are
- Don’t lose your money
- Don’t forget rule number 1
Shrewd investors and entrepreneurs are not concerned with dreams of how much money they might make with the business or investment. Not at first.
First, they look around and ask themselves the question, “how can I lose my money here?”
In other words, they look at the downside, not the upside in the first instance. If they can ensure they don’t lose their initial ‘pot’ of capital they can then let the upside, the growth, take care of itself.
But the first question will be, “how can I lose my money on this venture?” If you cannot figure this out early and quickly then perhaps the investment is one that should be avoided.