As someone who will be losing his job (company downsizing) in the very near future, I will be attempting to trade full time. From what I have learned and observed, trading is perhaps the toughest business on earth. But, just as in retail or the restaurant business or any other entrepreneurial venture, there are winners. It's a small percentage that are willing to work hard, learn from mistakes and have the mental makeup to succeed. I would argue that those characteristics are no different than that of other successful entrepreneurs. Making it on your own is tough. I have no dillustions about the struggle I am in for. Ask any person in business for themselves in any type of business and they will tell you they are working longer and harder than ever. Most people are doomed from the beginning by thinking that trading is somehow different. That's it's easy and you'll be able to reap maximum profits with minimal effort. I will not make such a mistake. As with any other start up, the road will be long and hard but in the end, determining your own destiny and not answering to the call of others is well worth the effort. Good luck in the markets today.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% dfuang; Good work points & may want to research full time & occasionaly trade/invest rather than trade full time at first; except dont think luck has anything to do with it anymore than Michigan was ''lucky'' a a manufacturing region. In all labor there is profit. Solomon,trader king
Was there an implied question in your post, or are you just making an announcement that you'll be trading full time soon? I ran a business for several years before trading fulltime, and it definitely helps to have a business attitude to trade successfully. You analyze your trading like any other business. How can you cut overhead, how can you grow revenues and margins, how can you expand, how can you increase productivity? The best part is you can take time off whenever you want, you have no customers, you don't have to advertise, you don't carry inventory, no deadlines, no one is counting on you for anything, basically no crap to deal with. It's a tough business to succeed in, but if you do, it's the best business you could be in.
since you haven't lost your job yet, try to learn more about trading. search in the fourm with regards to some literature that you can start reading & put yourself in the right state of mine. check out the price/vol thread started by db. great stuff. increasing productivity in trading can be a disaster. ex. when you had a string of losses & want to trade more to make up the difference. as you know, the law of compounding applies on the other side of the hill too, in reverse. you always hear people talking about buying & selling. but taking no position is also a position. that's some what contrary to a business model.
I started trading stocks with my present methodology about a year ago. I am trading MUCH better now than then, but I was making more money then. A quick glance at charts of the major indices, then and now, explains why. I'm not sure I would have made it if I had started a year later. I believe that I have skill, but I also believe luck has been a huge part of my success. I would have preferred to call it "brilliance".
Unfortunately that isn't true. 'Good luck' is much more of a factor in trading 'success' than it is in ('normal') business. Of course, that's not to say luck tells the whole story, I certainly don't believe that. To the opening poster, how much capital will you be beginning with?
I don't call that increased productivity, I call that churning and poor money management. I was thinking of situations where you'd hire an assistant or have an automated program created to trade certain proven strategies so that you can move on to other ideas.
I have to agree with lescor on this: He runs his trading as a business and does it very well. Many traders have been able to successfully increase their productivity through the use of automated systems, and/or hiring/training assistants. For me, it has increased my results dramatically. Mike
I will have between 25 and 30k. My wife will be working and basically able to cover our bills. What do you think of that amount? Some say it's plenty and some say it's suicide.