What to Consider If You Want to Become a Full-Time Trader

I always like to start with this sentence — … “Let’s adapt our brain first” …

Being a full-time trader is an exciting thought, but there are several factors to consider before taking the plunge.

Realities and Myths

Becoming a full-time trader offers the advantage of being your own boss, working your own hours, while also  trying to stay productive and profitable. Sure, it’s an exciting thought, but trading full time is a job and should be considered as such.

In the end, success in any endeavor ultimately comes from hard work, perseverance, and dedication to what you are passionate about – right? Well, the financial market does not escape this reality.

Once you dedicate yourself full time to this area you realize that it is quite unique. You start realizing you spend time alone analyzing your charts, recording your positions, waiting for entry confirmation, creating content, waiting – did I mention? – Yes, but I repeat it again, wait, wait and wait for confirmation.

In my case, I tend to be a little lazy when it comes to leaving the house… I really like it!

Another important thing is practice. Practice, practice and more practice. Test your strategy (backtesting), do your analysis and record each of your entries in your journal, it is a full-time job. If you thought that life is tastier in finance, the truth is it is not. 

But like everything else, a successful business is one that is managed well and that commitment and care are put into it.

Becoming a successful full time trader is not a common practice; in fact, it is extremely difficult to become a full-time trader over the long term. Let’s be honest, if it was that easy, everyone would be doing it. But it’s not impossible!

Lastly, before you decide to drop everything and go full-time trading, make sure you validate that you are, in fact, consistently profitable (you need at least a year of data to see your profitability).

Consider the fact that if you are profitable trading part time – why would you change something that works? Trading full time comes with the added responsibility of feeling pressured to trade and managing your own time, which requires a unique discipline. And here is the next point, our mind.

Balance and mindfulness — where do I get it?

Trading full time requires a special kind of mental toughness. You should keep in mind that not every day will be good. You have to accept losses as part of the business. In every business venture there are losses — right? Well here too.

Knowing how to handle those losses psychologically is the first step to becoming a professional trader and thus, little by little, you will be closer to dedicating yourself full time to this area.

Remember that the market will always be right. Do not quarrel with him, do not get upset, do not lose your balance and inner peace. The professional trader already recognizes this and facilitates his day to day. The market is so noble that it will always give you a new day so that you can recover, but it is only up to you to do so. The market is an inert entity, which will not hit you in the back when you feel down, when you feel that “you are screwing up”, or that you are doing very well. So don’t expect it.

This is why learning to get tools that help you cope with losses, and that you will not always be right, are extremely important on this path.

Personally, I learned to meditate, it has worked for me, it doesn’t work for everyone. But, in the end, getting what you feel helps you maintain that emotional balance is super important in this area. Exercise regularly. Simple walks help a lot to clear your mind, eat healthy and always be thankful to life, and lastly, never stop laughing. Laughter releases certain hormones that help relax the body and thus free the mind.

The Bad and Ugly

Trading full time sounds great — are you ready to put your full time into it? — Wait!… There is still a super fundamental part that I leave for last — EL CAPITAL

Social networks sell you a super glamorous world of the trader, daily profits of thousands of dollars “yuju”. However, to make money, you need money. If you think that with $1,000 you are ready to be a full time trader, let me be as honest as possible, you are not going to make it.

First, you’ll need a reasonable amount of risk capital; you won’t be profitable every month. You will also need an emergency fund to help you cover your basic needs. Otherwise, you will not be mentally calm, which may impair your critical thinking process, which is required for trading.

How much do you need? — This question is very complicated, it will depend on your lifestyle, the country where you live, the commitments you have made and many factors that only you know about. 

Let’s say you’re able to close profits of 20% in a good month, 5% in a normal month, and -3% on occasion. So, let’s say you need at least $3,000 per month to cover your expenses. In this case, you’ll need about $25,000 in your account.

People and social networks say that trading full time is easy and that you can earn $1,000 a day. However, the important thing is to know what percentage that profit represents on your balance sheet. 

If you have a $2,000 account that is 50% profit on one trade. But if you have a $100,000 account, a balance of $1,000 is 1%. That gain is more reasonable.

All learning takes time. Hard work and dedication always pays off.

I’ll leave it there, hoping that this delivery has provided more clarity on the subject.

Recommendations to be a professional trader – Behave like one.

• A professional has a strategy — He is not switching from one strategy to another. Learn a method and become an expert in it.
• A professional does not bet — Rather has very good risk control. We professionals know what we can risk.
• A professional has a routine — He doesn’t go from drum to drum changing here and there.
• A professional plans his entries. 
• A professional keeps a journal of all his positions for review of results. If you don’t record your entries — how do you expect to learn from your mistakes?
• A professional knows that losses exist and has the same emotion when he loses and when he wins. This is why a professional does not change his strategy after several losing entries, he simply accepts them as part of the game.

Become a full-time trader with Tradeview Markets! Open a Real Account and start trading or open a DEMO account to practice your trades!

Author: Oliver Garcia 

Market Analyst

e-mail: ogarcia@tvmarkets.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/garciaojc/?originalSubdomain=hk