The primary benefit of investing in small businesses is getting in on the ground floor of a potentially lucrative investment opportunity. The biggest risk is losing money on your investment because either the business failed or didn’t meet financial expectations. The fact is, small companies may never grow to become big businesses due to myriad reasons, like lack of funds, poor management, and/or an inability to keep abreast of or ahead of the competition. Start your small business investment journey by joining crowdfunding lists and investing small bits of money to gain some experience. There are a number of online platforms that specialize in small business investments, such as Indiegogo and StartEngine. Other small business crowdfunding platforms include Mainvest, Honeycomb Credit, and Fundable. Outside of the crowdfunding space, the most common companies that invest in small businesses are banks and credit unions.