Before you start with your stock market investment, you should know what your investment goals are. You must also figure out what amount you are willing to invest, and at what pace. You need not invest a large lump sum. In fact, you should avoid doing that at the beginning of your investment journey in the stock market. You should instead plan to invest small amounts on a regular basis. Even if you have a large corpus, it is better to invest it over a longer period so that you don't have to worry about timing the market.