Hey Commonstock, I have been considering starting a small portfolio of dividend-paying companies outside of my primary portfolio (which is mostly indexes). I plan to stick to names that I know reasonably well. As I am not the most experienced in stock picking, I view this as an opportunity to learn with skin in the game, but with lower volatility.

So, for anyone who has experience investing in this space, what are some of the lessons you wished you had known on day 1?