business plan on trading

“To trade the UK stock market on a full-time basis I realistically need to spend at least 8-10 hours per day in order to take advantage of intraday opportunities and manage open positions in real time”.

It’s important to set realistic targets in trading. Once you have a target, you can reverse engineer how to achieve it.

For example: A target of increasing a trading account by 20% is an achievable target. To do that, we need to look at our trading capital and work out which trading strategies we’ll use.

Using breakouts to trend follow is a strategy I have had much success with, and I explain how I do this in my guide to breakouts.

There are several trading styles:

Your risk tolerance and risk management rules

Risk management is the most important part of trading. Position sizing is the first and last line of defence in our trading accounts.

If you take position sizes with 20% of your account, then that means you are risking 100% of that position every time it is risked in the market. Even if the chances are 99%, then eventually that 1 in 100 chance of the stock going to 0p and losing 100% of the position will happen.

Whilst a 20% drawdown on the trading account isn’t fatal, the law of compounding means that we will now need to gain 25% of our account just to get back to where we started.

Never underestimate the numbers here – a 33% drawdown requires a near 50% gain just to get back to where we started.

It’s important to put in place risk management rules that will protect the account and prevent us from taking on too much risk.

Only you will know how much risk you’re willing to take, but if you put yourself in a position where you could do yourself material damage, then eventually that outcome will be presented.

If taking a loss hurts, then it means you are trading too large. Most traders blow their accounts due to overexposure. I’ve never heard of a single trader who blew their account due to continuously taking small losses. Position sizing and risk management is covered in detail in my trading handbook.

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Enter your email to receive my free UK stock trading handbook, packed with professional techniques to manage risk and consistently profit on AIM stocks.

Traders should always be clear about what money should be used for trading and what money should stay in their bank accounts.

Far too many traders have drawdowns in their trading accounts and decide to top up their account with a bank transfer.

Unfortunately, they end up putting far too much money into their account and do not keep track of their losses.

You should never trade with money you can’t afford to lose. I’ve had emails from people asking me what to do because they’ve lost the deposit for their house and they haven’t told their partner. Sadly, there is little that can be done at that point because the money is already lost.

In your trading plan you should be clear about how much is going into your trading account and how much you will top this up each month if that is going to be your strategy to grow your account further.

However, the best way of growing your trading account is by making money trading successfully in the market. Once you can consistently do this, then it makes sense to increase your funds and scale up.

A trading plan should also include the specific markets you wish to trade. Do you plan on trading UK stocks, US stocks, foreign exchange (forex), or cryptocurrencies? Once you’ve picked a market, you still need to drill deeper.

For example: If you pick UK stocks will you trade all of these, or just AIM, or just the Main Market? Will you trade only small cap stocks? Will you trade both SETS and the SETSqx platforms ?

In my case, I trade all UK stocks, and don’t discriminate between any of them. However, my focus is on smaller stocks under £500 million market cap.

Your trading strategies are the ways you are going to make money. This part of the trading plan is important because by defining your strategies it will be clear to follow.

For example: I want to trade small-cap stocks that have momentum behind them, and I will find this momentum through technical breakouts and positive RNS announcements.

I will trade gaps and also place orders into the auctions in order to get better fills. I will use various brokers for different types of execution. I will take secondary raises that have news catalysts that can potentially drive the shares higher.

What is your why? What are your goals, and what is your motivation? Trading is hard and there are ups and downs – it’s easy to motivate yourself when the going is good and you’re making lots of money. But it can be harder when you’re suffered several losses in a row, and you keep seeing your account grind lower or flat for weeks on end.

Writing down your why will make it easier to stay focused and commit to the long-term process and improvement.

For example:

Trading plan example

How to create your own trading plan

1. Know your trading playbook

You should have a playbook of trades that you know how to execute in the market. A playbook is a list of trades, each with step-by-step instructions on how to trade the pattern.

If you don’t know what you should trade in your trading plan then building a playbook of trades is a good place to start.

2. Manage your risk

Risk management is a crucial skill for any trader. I’ve written an in-depth article on trading risk management for further information.

The reason risk management is so important is that without it we would blow up our accounts. Nobody would think about driving a car with no brakes because it would obviously crash – risk management is the brakes and safety system for our trading accounts.

Everyone has different risk profiles. Some are happy to take on high amounts of risk accepting that they may take hefty losses in order for the possibility of excess return.

Full-time traders like myself tend to be more cautious knowing that if they lose too much capital, they may have to go back to work.

You should include in your trading plan how much you’re prepared to risk on particular trades in your playbook and how much in your account overall.

3. Have a realistic profit target

Having an idea of a profit target will mean that you don’t end up falling into the trap of never selling. Far too many traders watch a stock rise, see it pullback, then immediately regret not nailing down profit into strength.

By setting out clear take profit targets this avoids indecisiveness and will ensure you execute ruthlessly.

Bonus tip: Trade the stocks in play

Trading is about being in stocks that are moving. Volatility is the lifeblood of a trader, and a dead stock means dead money.

The stocks ‘in play’ are the stocks that have moved or are moving in recent sessions, and the stocks we should be immediately keeping tabs on. Stocks can cycle in and out being in play, and so we need to keep track of those that offer the greatest volatility to trade.

Download my free one-page trading plan template

My opening plan trading template has everything you need to begin the trading day. It forces you to check and review your open positions, so you’re always knowing what to do.

It also suggests to list the current stocks in play, and how you can trade them, and in what size. Additionally, it asks “What can happen?” so a trader using this template will never be caught out.

By thinking ahead about potential scenarios and how to trade them, this gives the trader an advantage over others who do not put the work in. Traders who punt around their money without a clue or a plan are commonly referred to as “liquidity”.

To download the free template, click the button below and follow the instructions.

About The Author

Michael taylor.

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How to create a Trading business plan:

Topic covered

What is a trading business plan?

A trading business plan is just like another business plan. is a document that mentions everything you need to know to run your trading business.

It includes your trading goals and objectives, how you achieve those objectives, how you make money, what your ROI is, what instrument you will trade and why, and how you will expand your trading business.

It should also include details about the trading systems you will use, capital management, psychological management, and Risk management, and how you will prepare, execute those systems, and then evaluate the trades you placed.

A trading plan, in essence, holds all of the information, rules, and practices you will employ.

Why do you need a Trading business plan?

What trading business plan includes?

Let’s start one by one this trading business plan,

1. Trading goals:

Make your trading goals because you cannot find A until you get B. your trading goals includes,

2. Capital to trade:

How much capital you should put into a trade? Put the capital that you afford. Don’t bet your entire farm, use 50% of your farm. I hope you understand, what I mean.

The more you have capital, the better you can manage your risk.

3. Which market to trade?

Identify which market you trade comfortably. Which market has the potential to fulfill your financial goals? Some traders feel comfortable trading futures and options. So, identify your beliefs and choose the market that you want to trade.

4. What do the expenses cost?

• How much will spread and commission cost you for each trade?

• What is the cost of your trading software?

• What is the cost of your data feeds?

• How much do you spend each month on electricity bills and internet bills?

• How much do you pay per month to rent your desk or office space? Or what is your mortgage or rent?

• Are taxes required to be paid? How much, if at all? Does hiring an accountant cost money?

You need to list every single expenditure that you have

4. What trading systems will you use?

First identify yourself, what type of trader you are? Are you a momentum trader, volatility trader, or trend-following trader?

Make your trading systems on the basis of your trading style.

5. Money management rule:

The success of your money management strategy will decide whether you can continue following a drawdown period or in challenging market conditions. In essence, good money management will keep you in operation.

What would the average size of your positions be?

What will you risk per transaction, and which trade types will you risk more on?

How many trades do you hope to execute each day?

How will you trade when there are winning and losing streaks?

Will you reduce the amount of your stake, for instance, if you are losing? When you succeed, will you raise it?

6. Daily routine:

The strategy you’ll employ every day to improve your mental state should be included as part of your daily routine. This strategy should be used before, after, and during your trading day.

It will consist of:

What you’ll do in terms of daily rituals or preparations before trading.

How frequently you will pause?

The techniques you’re going to utilize to assess your trading day.

How do you plan to make the most of your end-of-day routine to get ready and organized for the next trading day?

7. Mind management:

Makeup your mind is an essential part of the trading business plan. Identify how you manage your emotions while you trade.

You must manage these emotions while trading,

If you want to control above emotional problem, then you must read: trading-psychology-to-make-money-in-the-stock-market/

Trading As A Business – My Step By Step Guide

You have all probably heard that you need to treat trading as a business if you want to be successful. But what does this actually mean? Instead of letting it be just another meaningless phrase, let’s take a deeper look to fully understand it.

The ideas behind “treating trading like a business” are very important to get you on the right track and after we have taken a look at the different aspects, I am sure you will get some ideas on how to take your trading to the next level and treat it more like a business.

Your setups are your products and services

Every business has either physical/virtual products or services to sell in order to generate profits. The business, hopefully, knows everything there is to know about their products, where it is from, how it is built, what the benefits are, what the potential struggles are, how to keep improving their product, what their customers want, and how to use it in the best possible way. The business must be the #1 expert in what they are offering. Obviously.

As a trader, your setups and your strategies are your products. Your setups are a set of rules and triggers to help you find potentially profitable trades. Whether your setups consist of classic patterns, indicators, pure price action or a combination doesn’t matter here.

What is important is that YOU must be the expert in your setups and patterns. You must know every little detail, when the setup works best, during which market conditions it doesn’t work, in which markets and timeframes to use it, how to improve the odds, how to set stops and pick targets, when to move stops and how to manage trades, when to add to a position or take some off the table, when to stay out, etc.

Most traders lack consistency and are far from being experts because they always change their approach. Do you think a business can be profitable if they’d change what they are selling every week? No!

So, really commit. In my trading, for example, I trade very specific patterns and most of my trades look very similar. This comes from years of specializing in only those setup types. For years I have been looking for the same things, patterns and price clue every single day, without deviation.

Losses are costs and a part of doing business

We have all heard this phrase and I hate it. Why? Because it has lost its meaning.

Every business has costs and you need to buy material, build plants, hire workers and invest in research and marketing. But for a business, it only makes sense to spend money if you’d expect to get a return on your investment. If you hire someone without skills, blow your marketing money for the wrong target audience, buy over-priced and useless material or purchase a private jet although your company is barely profitable, should you really look at those costs as a part of doing business`?Well, obviously not.

Yes, losses are part of trading but there are losses and then there are losses .

Losses are only good if you have followed your rules and most people lose because they don’t have an approach or break their rules. Those losses are not part of trading and your trading business.

Thus, always ask yourself: was this loss my own fault (breaking rules, etc) or did I fully respect my rules and the trade just didn’t work out?

Only if you can rule out the possibility that you messed up, then a loss becomes tolerable and part of doing business.

Selling your business and retirement

I keep saying it:

Most people want to be full-time traders and trade for a living but then trade like they have to retire tomorrow.

A businessman usually opens his business because he believes in what he is doing, he has a long-term vision for his operation and he is following a self-determined lifestyle. Only very few businesses start with the goal to close down operations in 6 months and sell everything for millions of Dollars and then sit on the beach all day long and sip a cold beer. Those people are driven by the wrong motives and the failure rate is then absurdly high.

Traders must also understand that they are in it for the long term. But even more important, they have to understand the implications that come with such a vision and a long-term approach:

What would the pro do?

Professionals and the ones at the top do things differently and approach the area of expertise disciplined, organized and with conscientiousness. The next time you are about to do something, ask yourself “what would the pro do in my situation?” Would he really add to a losing trade, or widen his stop loss, or chase price, or listen to a random guy in a trading forum to bet his money, or buy into an ICO of something he doesn’t understand because he can 10x his money tomorrow? You can see where I am going with this…

Stop doing those things you know you should not be doing and start living in the pro mindset.

I know from experience that it won’t be easy and you won’t succeed all the time, but get into a habit of consciously looking at your decisions and actions and ask “what would the pro do now?” It will get you into a different mindset where you move in a better direction step by step.

Your office

Maybe it’s my German nature but I am a big proponent of having a clean and organized work environment. It will not only improve your productivity but it also signals to yourself that trading is something you take seriously. If you can, dedicate a part of your home as your “trading office” where the only purpose is trading and doing trading-related things. No Facebook and no Youtube – just trading.

I find that when I keep my office, my desk and my computer clean and organized, I work better and I enjoy it more as well. Avoid distractions and prove to yourself that trading is important to you. I don’t have my phone in my office, I block social media sites during work and I don’t watch Netflix in the background.

Have a plan for your business

How do you start your trading day? Do you just fire up your trading platform and start hunting trades across all timeframes?

A business usually always has a plan, businessmen know what their goal is, what their objectives are, they are prepared, they analyze costs and opportunities and they also analyze past projects and keep accurate numbers of everything that goes on.

A trader must have a plan before he starts his trading to avoid being just reactive. I sit down every weekend and every morning and I analyze all my Forex pairs, I look at the timeframes that I trade and then I create my trading ideas. I know when I want to get in, when I stay out of a market, what the price action has to look like for me to get interested and what a no-trade scenario is. For that, I use my trading plan and I also use price alerts to stay on top of things.

This is only possible, though, if you know your products and services a.k.a. your setups and strategies. It all ties together.

Have you ever seen a business that operates without a real plan and without analyzing how their projects worked out? No, such businesses quickly fail because you don’t have any idea where the money is coming from, where it is going and how to fix things.

Your ‘ Why ‘ and company statement

Every business has a mission and they usually know exactly why they are in business. Under Armour wants to do great sports apparel, Steve Jobs believed in Apple and a design-driven tech company, the IKEA founder loved building things, Mark Zuckerberg wanted to create a network for people, Thomas Edison was a passionate inventor, Elon Musk wants to take humanity to the next level etc.

And whereas there is nothing wrong with those things in general, it just doesn’t go deep enough and once you hit your first brick wall, just being driven by money will not motivate you to push through.

Instead, think about ‘why’ you want money in the first place. Do you want to stay close to your family, see your kids grow up and work from home, work less but on more fun projects, start another business based on your passion and have trading as a side income, or are you just fascinated by the financial markets and money isn’t the objective at all?

Whatever it is, be clear about it and see how trading fits into your overall lifestyle choices. You are more likely to succeed if you really understand why you are doing things.

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Dec 6, 2021

How To Start A Stock Trading Business: Here’s What You need To Know in 2022

Stock trading isn’t always what you get to see on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. The stock market is probably the most vital part of the free market economy, supporting democratized access to capital trading and exchange. There’s an arguably fair chance for individuals to get into the depth of knowing how to start a stock trading business.

This article is for all the enthusiasts who are aiming to start a trading business from home. Keep a careful eye on things that are crucial to the success of your stock trading business.

What Is Stock Trading?

It may be risky to dive into knowing how to start a stock trading business without knowing what you’re doing. Stock trading implies buying and selling of shares in a certain company. You own a piece of the firm if you hold certain stocks and shares of a company.

Stock traders buy and sell stocks on a regular basis and make profits from price fluctuations. Generally, they conduct intensive research by devoting several hours a day to market analysis.

Did you know?

Stocks may resemble their performance in 2010 i.e., year two of the bull market that started in 2009. Source

You need to follow a few steps before you take a step forward to learn how to start a Forex trading company.

A) Determine Your Investment Goals

B) Why do you want to invest?

This is the first question you must ask before deciding the kind of trading you’ll do. Decide what you want to do with your investments and devise a plan to achieve your goals.

Whether your goal is to save money for retirement, make a down payment on a house, or send kids to college, you’ll probably look forward to saving your money while earning a higher interest rate.

Read Investment Techniques

Investing at the right time and in the right thing is the secret mantra to having a successful trading business. Do not forget, before investing, to read the investment policy. You can also read a few books to get a deeper understanding of investment strategies.

2. Determine Your Timeline

You can invest for short-term or long-term. It all depends on you to choose between both. Once you are on the track to learn how to start a stock trading business from home, you need to make the right choice.

Short-term investing is when a stock trader holds a security for less than three months and the risk involved is generally higher than long-term investing. On the other hand, long-term investments yield higher returns because securities rebound from short-term losses with time.

3. Know Your Risk Tolerance

The stock trading business is subject to market risk and you can expect ups and downs. Young investors, in most cases, have a higher tolerance power and tend to wait for riskier investments to pay off. On the other side, older investors do not possess high tolerance potential and do not invest in stocks that are riskier.

You must know the amount of money you are ready to spend, duration, and reason. Devising a plan based upon the three aspects will help you achieve your investment objectives. New investors must abstain from forecasting daily fluctuations in stock prices.

5. Do Your Research Work

Research stocks to trade. The best place to start trading might be foreign currencies ( ETFs ). With ETFs, investors can purchase a package of shares, which will help you when you are not sure of which business you want.

6. Form A Legal Corporate Body

Choose among the types of business structure- sole ownership, partnership, LLC, and corporation. You can avoid being held directly liable by forming a legal entity.

7. File For Taxes

You will have to register for various state and federal taxes by applying for an EIN.

8. Open A Bank Account

Open a bank account for your company that will separate your company’s assets from the personal assets.

9. Get A Credit Card

Draw a line to separate your personal and business expenses. Attract investment in the future by getting a credit card for your business and building its credit history.

10. Maintain Accounts

Keep track of different expenditures and incomes by maintaining proper accounts with precise records to make tax filing easy.

11. Obtain Licenses

Obtain the required permits and licenses to enable your company’s smooth functioning.

12. Get Insurance

Insurance, including licenses and permits, is critical for your company’s safety of work and legality. Business insurance protects the company against an insured loss. There are multiple insurance policies designed for various sorts of companies with various risks.

Unsure what sorts of risks your company could face? Start with General insurance. This is often the most popular sort of coverage required by small businesses. Workers’ Compensation Insurance is another important insurance scheme that the majority of companies need.

13. Purchase Securities

Begin purchasing securities after you are done with the research work. Analyze how much each security costs and how many you are likely to purchase.

Tip: Start with a small amount and invest the amount gradually.

14. Conduct A Trade

It’s time to conduct a trade after you have completed the research work and chosen the plan. Go for choosing a broker who holds the capability to execute the best plan possible.

15. Look For Improvement

Never stop trying a fresh investment strategy or hiring a new broker if you find that you are losing money. Learn from your mistakes and apply the learnings to your future plans.

Starting Trading Business With A Powerful Trading App

Trading apps refer to the trading of stocks and exchange trading funds at free cost with real-time data. For both professionals and non-professionals, launching a Robinhood like app is a great idea. They can consider creating trading apps to make lives easier for those looking to enrich their business efficiency. And with a robust trading app, it becomes easy to bring the entire stock exchange business under control. With a trading platform in place, both traders and investors can get their hands on executing all kinds of transactions in the stock market from anywhere and anytime they desire. This says that it is best to go with the stock trading platform if you are a beginner and interested in stock trading.

Reasons To Start A Trading Business With A Trading App

A Rise In Number Of Investors: The foremost reason behind the trading app development is the rising number of traders and investors worldwide. Around 90% of the audience around the USA makes trades via an online method.

Security of Higher-level: Most of the investors are doubtful about investing their hard money through advisors. They are not sure whether their financial data is safe in those hands or not. But when using a trading app, there is no chance to experience any security issues.

Transparency Factors: There are many times when advisors don’t offer optimal solutions to the traders. Whereas with an app, it is easy to gain transparency in terms of data, making trading effective for traders.

Apps are Simple-to-use: Trading can be done seamlessly with the help of an app. By building a trading app, you can start trading right from a smartphone in clicks with ease.

Conclusion:

How to start a Forex trading business? If this is the question that is occupying your mind, you can always start with doing your homework of researching things at your own level. You’ll understand what works best for you and your goals over time if you get into knowing to start forex trading business dedicatedly.

We hope you have got a clear idea on how to start a small trading business. Look for the ultra-modern solutions to give the perfect start to your online trading business by seeking assistance from a reliable stock trading app development.

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A powerful enough platform for hedgefunds, built for the “average-joe” trader

Trading Plan: 6 Steps to Create One + Examples

Trading Plan: Key Takeaways

See this BEFORE the market opens tomorrow!

It can be hard to navigate the markets in today’s crazy world. Constructing a bullet-proof trading plan that will carry you through is a must … It can be the difference between surviving and fading out of the market.

How do you do that? Let me show you…

Table of Contents

What Is a Trading Plan?

It’s your outline of a given trade. It defines why you’re making the trade and how you’ll execute it.

A good plan takes into account your trading style, risk management , and expectations. It lays out your entire approach to trade, from the ticker to your entry, exit, goals, stops, and more.

Traders who build thorough plans and follow them are more likely to keep a level head — and less likely to make big mistakes…

Do You Need a Trading Plan?

Trading plans aren’t sexy. Many traders are quick to dismiss them as unnecessary. They’d rather focus on the more exciting aspects of trading … like hot stocks, chart spikes, or catalysts.

Big mistake! While those things can help you choose stocks to trade, you need to combine them with a plan to get the best results.

Technically, no, you don’t need a plan to make a trade … But if you want to follow the trajectory of consistent traders before you, you’d be smart to use one.

A good way to build a trading plan to fit your account is to use an all-in-one trading platform like StocksToTrade . It has the essential trading tools and features that can help you formulate a game plan for each day. Try StocksToTrade today — start your 14-day trial now!

Planning: The Key to Long-Term Trading Success

A trading plan gives you a clear-cut plan of attack for entering and exiting a trade.

It’s the difference between a calculated trade and the ‘hold and hope’ mentality that causes so many traders to lose money .

You know how I feel about bag-holding (DON’T DO IT)…

Without a plan, you’re pretty much gambling. You might win here and there, but your progress won’t be as reliable as it would be with a plan in place.

Many traders who don’t use plans begin to see their losses exceed their gains, and they ultimately give up on day trading.

Don’t become a cautionary tale … Make a plan every time!

Trading Plan Essentials

Your plan for a trade should cover essentials such as an entry/exit plan, risk management, and trading goals.

Each trader’s plan is unique. There’s no one plan to fit all. Build one that best suits your trading needs and goals.

6 Tips for Creating a Useful Trading Plan

Now that you understand the benefits of building plans for your trades, here are some tips on how to do it…

#1. Set Goals

What do you hope to gain from this trade? Do you want a 10%, 20% gain? Set realistic profit goals.

And if you’re new, it can help to start small. Then increase your goals as you become consistent. Focus on gaining practice and experience.

Some of the best stock traders recommend starting small . You can size up once you learn and find some consistency.

#2. Focus on Risk

What’s your risk tolerance? Only YOU can answer that.

Before you enter a trade, consider how much of your portfolio you’re willing to risk on a given trade. Many traders stick to a rule of risking no more than 1% or 2% of their account.

If you have a small account, you may decide to risk a little more to gain a bigger position…

Or you may decide to risk less to try to nail down your process and avoid blowing through your account. Either way, only trade with money you can afford to lose. Trading is risky!

#3. Do Your Research

Before you enter any trade, do your research. Seek out the big gainers , study the stock charts, and research potential catalysts.

Be diligent! Research can help you determine how a stock might perform. You can never be 100% sure, but you want to be able to say you did all you could.

I find a lot of the big potential plays within 60 seconds of the market opening … But I wouldn’t know which ones I feel comfortable trading if I didn’t do my due diligence beforehand.

#4. Plan Your Entry and Exit

Make a specific plan about when you’ll enter and exit a trade.

Decide which buy signals will be your green light to enter a trade and only enter when you see them. StocksToTrade’s Oracle Scanner does a wonderful job of showing good entry and exit points.

The exit is just as important as the entry, if not more … Consider what you’ll do if a trade starts going south.

What’s your stop loss? When will you get out if things don’t go your way? Resolve to get out at this point, and don’t take it personally. Never trade on your emotions.

Using easily identifiable chart markers like the low of the day can be a good point of support to set risk. And certain resistance levels, like the high of day, can act as good points of entry.

Know your profit target, too. Get out once the trade hits your goal. Don’t get greedy.

#5. Write It Down

Write down your plan. Literally.

There’s a sense of accountability that comes with physically writing down your plan. And keep it where you’ll see it.

It’s another way to hold yourself accountable. And you have that information to review for future trading…

Trading is a game of lessons. Knowing what works and what doesn’t helps guide your future trading.

#6. Review the Trade Afterward

After you make a trade, take time to consider how things went.

Keep your notes from your plans and on how your trades play out in a trading journal or log. That can give you insight into what went right or wrong. And again, you can use that knowledge in future trades.

You’ll get an idea of where you need to be more diligent.

Trading Plan Examples

Here are a few examples of a potential trading plan with some recent runners…

EZFL 2-day chart (Source: StocksToTrade)

EZFill Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: EZFL) was a great example of one of my favorite patterns to trade — the dip and rip . It checked off a lot of boxes:

EZFL dipped before the market open and continued up. Your plan could have been to set your entry at an appealing premarket level and your exit close to that premarket high.

I personally would wait for it to reclaim premarket highs. But my plan doesn’t work for everyone. Some like to buy off the initial bounce.

EZFL tried that level a few times and failed, showing why it’s important to stick to your plan and not get greedy.

Another good example is ChemoCentryx, Inc. (NASDAQ: CCXI).

CCXI 5-day chart (Source: StocksToTrade)

This was a swing trade idea as a weak open red-to-green …

It ran in previous days and was holding up despite a weak open. This showed it had the buyers to support its current level despite the huge gap-up days before.

It ended up running the next morning before finally seeing a sell-off…

You could have used a current day or prior day level of support as your risk and that well-defined top as your exit point.

Remember, write down all of these decisions as well as WHY you make them.

Trading Plan and Trading System: What’s the Difference?

Trading systems don’t rely on individual decision-making whatsoever … It relies on algorithms to determine everything.

This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. A lot of traders use this style.

A trading plan is more personalized. Also, algorithms can’t account for traders’ emotions.

Doing research and understanding how the market might react to a stock can give you a huge edge. It’s not just indicators and trading signals like a trading system.

How to Combine Your Goals With Your Trading Style

Every trader has different goals. Some want to day trade. Others want to hold long term. You may have to tinker around to find what suits you.

Do you know what kind of trader you are and what your goals are?

How often do you want to trade? What kinds of stocks do you want to trade? What’s your risk tolerance?

These are all important questions to ask yourself before you begin trading.

If you hold a 9-to-5 job, day trading may not work for you. You may want to swing trade or even hold stocks longer term.

The type of trading you choose should play a big role in your plans.

Long-Term Benefits of Trading Plans

Trading plans can change your relationship with trading. They can help you stop chasing ‘bright and shiny’ stocks and start making calculated trades.

So much in trading is beyond your control. But you can control when you exit and enter of trades.

Learning how to create a plan is essential to your trading education.

Frequently Asked Questions About Trading Plans

Here are some common questions about trading plans…

Who Uses a Trading Plan?

Any trader can and should make plans — new traders, long-time traders, day traders, swing traders. It’s a key step. If you want to be a smarter trader, consider using one.

Can I Alter My Trading Plan Any Time?

Of course! Don’t set your plans in stone. They’re something you’ll work on and improve throughout your trading career. That said, stick to your plan once you’re in a trade. Remember your entry/exit and risk management.

What Key Elements Should Be in a Trading Plan?

At a minimum, set your entry and exit, risk management, and trading goals. Those are the key elements of any plan. You can include as much detail as needed for your research. Remember, the details you track for every trade can help your analysis down the road.

What’s Next?

Using the tips I just gave you, take the time to learn how to craft your trading plan. Test strategies to find what works best for your trading goals.

And if you’re looking to take your trading to the next level, consider joining the SteadyTrade Team. It’s a community of dedicated traders from around the world, run by seasoned pros.

Our SteadyTrade Team mentorship program is all about helping traders learn to navigate today’s volatile markets. Sign up for the SteadyTrade Team today!

Adaptation is a key to surviving the markets. Building a trading plan around the ever-changing market can help you find your edge.

That’s why it’s important to study up and continue to learn.

Adapting doesn’t have to mean changing your risk levels or goals. Keeping those in mind will help you stay true to yourself while finding your way forward.

Now, time to get your trading plans in order!

How do you plan your trades? What’s essential for your plans? Let me know with a comment below!

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Starting a Trading Business

Learning to trade stocks is no different than learning any other profession. You must develop the same level of skill and expertise as a doctor or lawyer, and apply a high degree of commitment and attention to detail for every aspect of the job. Starting a trading business is a similar process to launching any business.

If you want to trade on your own, with your own money, then you need to look at your trading business like any other business. So many traders come in looking at trading as a hobby or a side project, rather than looking at it as if they are the CEO of their own business.

Side projects & hobbies cost you money; the sole goal of trading as a business is TO MAKE MONEY! So many of the unsuccessful traders I have met over the years have treated their trading like a hobby.

It’s fun for them and gives them a rush of excitement so they keep doing it, but that’s not what leads to consistent profits. Here’s what you need to do to start your trading business.

1. Get Educated .

Just like in any other profession, you have to understand every piece of the job down to the microscopic details. Think about everything a doctor learns and goes through before their first surgery. Just because you watched a few videos and read some books doesn’t make you a trader.

Having a specific method that you know from A to Z and have practiced over and over is necessary before a dollar is ever risked. That’s why in our trading courses where I teach my students every single thing I know about trading, we put our students on trading simulators where they go out and practice what they learned. Our students only go live and trade with real money once they have shown that they can go out and make money every single day.

2. Build a Trading Business Plan .

Would you go into a bank and ask for a loan to start a restaurant with no business plan? Probably not! Your trading needs to be the same way. Before they start the simulator, my Bootcamp students all complete a business plan. I want them to really take what they learned in Bootcamp and start to think about how it applies to them.

What style of trading will you do? Day or swing?

What is your system for risk management?

What tools/software will you utilize?

What setups will you focus on?

Putting together a comprehensive plan will give you areas to focus on when you’re trading on the simulator, as simulating without focus is not real practice. When you practice, it needs to be deliberate and mimic real life conditions.

3. Test it Out!

After your have learned and focused your education on a specific business plan, you need to go test it all out. Either hop on a real time trading simulator like TC2000, ToS, etc., or put a small amount of capital to work! As you know, what looks good on paper often doesn’t make sense in real life conditions, so take meticulous notes on what needs to change in your business plan as you are simulating your strategy.

It will answer some questions for you: does your strategy mix well with your work schedule? Does it make money? Does it suit your personality, etc. What it will also do– this is important– is keep a log of your trades to give you an idea of your tendencies. What are your strengths and weaknesses? What are your best setups?

To be a consistently profitable trader, you will need a toolbox of go-to setups that are your own and that you can use every single day. Identifying what you’re good at and then practicing it over and over will help you build expertise in these setups. You need thousands of repetitions to really start to see all the angles as a trader and to build that expertise that starts here!

4. Structure your Trading Business .

Tax status . Will you trade in an LLC, INC? Will you pursue the trader tax status through the IRS? It is best to talk to an accountant about these things. This is a very small part of trading as you only pay taxes if you win! Making money should be your major focus, as the rest is easy if you can do that!

Brokers. Your broker will change depending on your style. If you’re day trading vs swing trading , the type of commission structure you need will vary. As a day trader, if you pay a flat rate like Ameritrade or Etrade charge, it’s nearly an impossibility to make money unless your account is 500k or more.

Day trading requires often scaling in and out of trades, so a flat fee of $9.99 will cost you hundreds of dollars a day in fees. This makes the cost of doing business so high that the probabilities of covering your fees as a new trader are small. Some brokers like Interactive Brokers charge per share vs per trade.

That means you just pay for the shares you trade, not a flat fee. 100 shares is 27 cents. 200 shares 54 cents etc. You can take hundreds of trades, but you still just pay for the shares you trade! For a swing trader, this means much less as you may only make 5-10 trades a week, so the fees make less of an impact. My swing trades and IRA’s are through Ameritrade .

Tools. Often traders need a supplement to the tools their brokers offer. Additional charting or scanning capabilities are needed in some cases. Also, once you have the Go-to setups that you are going to be trading, being able to find them is key! Developing scans to find and alert yourself to opportunities is very important!

I use Trade-Ideas and TC2000 for my scanning and charting. Now when I’m trading intraday, I do very little scanning as the homework I do at night gives me more than enough ideas, my goal is to now just execute my plan vs sit there sifting through data during the day, which just throws my focus off.

5. GO TRADE!

All it will take is everything you got! Your passion and energy for this will help determine your success. Trading is a lifelong pursuit, so focus on the process each day and learn how to eliminate mistakes and accentuate your strengths. This means keeping a journal of your trades, but also your emotions, so you can see where the screw ups happen and pinpoint them.

PROCESS PROCESS PROCESS . Don’t focus on results or dollars – if you do, it will end you. Think about all the things you need to do leading up to that! It’s the little things that lead to a great day! And keep hammering at it! Reducing and finding ways to minimize slumps are key, as 1 slump can end you. Remember, your number 1 job is to manage risk at all times. You’re a professional risk manager.

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3 thoughts on “Starting a Trading Business”

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Stock Trading Consultant Business Plan (Why You Need One & How to Write It)

Starting a stock trading consultant may sound like an easy thing to do. However, it's not the case since starting such a business involves a lot of things to settle. In general, there's so much more to starting a stock trading consultant that you need to have a business plan to be successful. Otherwise, you will end up being overwhelmed with so many things.

Now, if you're wondering about a business plan and how it's essential as you start your stock trading consultant, you've come to the right place!

A business plan for a stock trading consultant generally illustrates your goals, financial strategies, research, and everything else involved with your business. It contains the strategy for guiding and helping you start and run your business.

In this article, we'll talk more about the business plan for a stock trading consultant and every concern you may ask about, mainly how to write one.

Without further ado, let's get into it!

What is a stock trading consultant business plan?

A stock trading consultant business plan is a document that defines (in detail) a stock trading consultant' objectives and how it plans to achieve its goals.

For instance, a stock trading consultant typically needs an initial investment. As such, you need to include the said amount in your plan and how you can acquire such, either from your pocket or through a business loan or any other financing option (learn more about a stock trading consultant financing .

Profit and goal are other examples. It is also included in your business plan as a goal to achieve within a set period, usually within months.

Overall, the business plan is the document that lays out a written road map for the stock trading consultant from a marketing, financial, and operational standpoint. You should also have a basic idea about a stock trading consultant profitability .

Business plans are essential for startups and established businesses, and the stock trading consultant is no exception. Every business, regardless of the type, should have one.

Further, business plans are critical documents for internal and external audiences. For instance, you may use these plans to attract investors before establishing a track record. It can also help you secure loans from financial institutions.

Business plans can also help keep your stock trading consultant' leadership team on track for meeting established goals and on track with strategic action items.

Overall, business plans are particularly helpful for new businesses, including the stock trading consultant. Ideally, goals should be reviewed and updated periodically to reflect achievements or changes. When an established business changes direction, a new business plan is created.

Why do you need a stock trading consultant business plan?

You need a stock trading consultant business plan for several reasons. However, the main reasons are to help you establish your company, set the goals you want to achieve, and evaluate your stock trading consultant’ status after a specific timeframe.

As a general rule, your business plan serves as a guide. Revising and adjusting this plan may also be necessary as circumstances change throughout your actions.

You should know that if you plan to apply for a business loan (which any knowledgeable entrepreneur should do), lenders want to see a business plan.

For your stock trading consultant to succeed and meet your goals, you need a precise and robust business plan.

Learn more about starting a stock trading consultant :

Where to start?

-> How to finance a stock trading consultant? -> How much does it cost to start a stock trading consultant? -> Pros and cons of a stock trading consultant -> How to get clients for a stock trading consultant?

Need inspiration?

-> Other stock trading consultant success stories -> Examples of established stock trading consultant -> Marketing ideas for a stock trading consultant

Other resources

-> Profitability of a stock trading consultant -> Stock trading consultant tips

How to write a stock trading consultant business plan?

When creating a business plan, you need to include more than just the steps on how you start. It also includes how you will sustain it and how you can develop it even further as you move forward. Simply put, it should include everything related to your stock trading consultant.

If you’re wondering how to write a business plan for your stock trading consultant, here are the things you need to include:

1. Executive summary

The executive summary in a business plan includes a gist of your entire stock trading consultant. Further, it includes the general reason why it will turn out successful.

2. Company description

The company description details every information about your stock trading consultant. As such, it includes your advantages over your potential competitors and the things that make your business stand out above other similar companies.

3. Organization and management

The organization and management are the part of your business plan that states the structure of your stock trading consultant.

It includes the entire staff, especially the ones who will run your stock trading consultant, whether you’re solo, with a partner, or with a group of people. Simply put, it shows what type of business you run and who is responsible for it.

4. Market analysis

The market analysis is the part of your business plan that shows your perspective on the industry where your stock trading consultant belongs.

Since it’s about marketing, it includes your target market or customers. Further, it includes your potential competitors since they can take away your potential customers.

5. Financial plan

The financial plan is the part that concerns everything related to your stock trading consultant finances. This document consists of a detailed financial statement and an analysis of your finances and the required funds .

6. Marketing strategy

The marketing strategy outlines the concerns about reaching out to potential customers . Moreover, it demonstrates how to expose the products and services your stock trading consultant offers.

Besides attracting customers, it also includes strategies for gaining new customers and keeping the regular ones from leaving. Finally, it outlines strategies for increasing sales for your stock trading consultant to grow.

What makes a good stock trading consultant business plan?

A good stock trading consultant business plan serves as a roadmap that outlines the strategies and actions required to achieve the goals and objectives of a business. It typically includes information about the business's products or services, target market, competition, marketing and sales strategies, operations, financial projections, and management team.

Here are some key elements that make up a good business plan:

Overall, a good stock trading consultant business plan should be well-researched, realistic, and focused on achieving specific goals and objectives. It should also be adaptable and able to evolve as the business grows and changes over time.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can i write a stock trading consultant business plan myself.

Yes, you can write a stock trading consultant business plan yourself. It requires a clear understanding of your goals, target audience, competition, financial projections, and marketing strategy. Research successful plans and use templates. Ensure it's comprehensive, realistic and seek help if needed. Ultimately, a good business plan sets you up for success.

How long should a stock trading consultant business plan be?

There is no standard length for a stock trading consultant business plan. It can range from a one-page summary to a comprehensive document of 50+ pages. The length depends on the complexity of the business, audience, and purpose. A concise plan that covers key elements is often more effective than a lengthy one.

In a nutshell, creating a business plan for a stock trading consultant is a bit complicated, but you still need to do it.

Overall, a business plan will help you make the right calls, obtain the funding you need, and strongly start your new stock trading consultant. As such, you must make a robust and precise one.

The six parts we included above should be handy throughout this process. With this information, you can begin writing your business plan and see what it takes to become a professional entrepreneur.

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How to Create a Business Plan for Your Trading

September 23, 2009 by Austin Passamonte

“Plan your trade and trade your plan” “Treat trading as a serious business” “Bulls win, Bears win, Hogs lose”

How many times have we heard/read those words, or something to their effect? Trading can be as unstructured and wide-open a venture or a structured and quantified approach as we dictate conditions and parameters for.

There are two general schools of thought when it comes to operating a trading method or approach. One side believes we should trade every minute of every day, trying to maximize all potential profit opportunity without missing a beat. Another side believes it is prudent to target specific goals and if hit, bridle back or shut down for the duration until next period arrives. In other words for intraday traders, trade all day every day or trade for x-dollar profit and call it a day until next session.

That’s a two-side discussion which will never find everyone in agreement. Common logic (coupled with human greed) points to the fact that some sessions or periods offer outsized profit potential. It’d be foolish to quit early and pass up large gains when presented. The competitive nature ingrained in most gamblers (gamers = game) who are likewise successful traders scoff at the notion of walking away while cards remain on the proverbial table. Anyone who has traded through periods of high volatility and extreme price action for days or weeks at a time can attest how easy it is to amass weeks’ or months’ worth of gross profit in rapid fashion there. Then there is the aspect of judging trader performance based on potential profit opportunity. If a session or stretch of time offers x-percent profit potential, a trader would be successful only if he/she realized y-booked gains.

All true to various extents. But no trading career is ever based on extreme market conditions. High volatility and large-range sessions are a welcome gift when presented. A brief, welcomed gift. Unfortunately, that end of the bell-curve measuring “normal” price action is no more common than dull periods with tight-range choppy price action as well. Results realized through any extended periods of time include brief blips of wild markets and huge profit potential, what we’d consider normal market movement as the bulk of time and likewise dull market action to offset the wild times before.

What if we opted to construct a business plan based on steady, consistent performance objectives that are reasonable to meet on a regular basis? Instead of grading our performance relative to max potential gains every day, what if we graded performance on achieving reasonable goals averaged consistently over extended periods of time?

As an example, here’s a business-plan objective created for one trading application of my own. Let’s look at that and see if any benefits exist:

ES Trading Business Plan

Description:

Trading S&P 500 futures (ES) based on (your choice) method approach with management objective of realizing (your choice) gross profit per session. Trader’s option to continue trade efforts that day if conditions warrant OR shut down with profit objective goals successfully met. Regardless of how or why, cease all trading efforts if/when max loss intraday of (your choice) is hit.

+4pts ES gross gains (example) targeted daily. -8pts ES gross loss (example) max loss shutdown.

$5,000 beginning balance = two ES contracts per full-trade size position 1/2 size = one ES contract full size = two ES contracts 2x size = four contracts

Projections: 100% Objective Attained

ES +4pts daily x 21 trading sessions (on average) per month | +84pts ES per month +4pts x two contracts full position | +$400 daily gross gain +$400 daily gross gain x 21 trading sessions | +$8,400 monthly gross gain (+168% monthly = +2,016% annualized r.o.i)

50% Objective Attained

ES +2pts daily x 21 trading sessions (on average) per month | +42pts ES per month +2pts x two contracts full position | +$200 daily gross gain +$200 daily gross gain x 21 trading sessions | +$4,200 monthly gross gain (+84% monthly = +1,008% annualized r.o.i.)

25% Objective Attained

ES +1pt daily x 21 trading sessions (on average) per month | +21pts ES per month (+42% monthly = +504% annualized r.o.i.) +1pt x two contracts full position | +$100 daily gross gain +$100 daily gross gain x 21 trading sessions | +$2,100 monthly gross gain

Realistically Speaking

In my opinion it’s unrealistic to think that anyone can frequently and consistently capture large percentages of intraday potential profits. Needless to say, just about everyone has toyed with a progressive table at one time or another and pondered possibilities. Start with a few dollars, compound that for awhile and sooner than later we’re talking gazillionaire. How much fun that would be. But that isn’t the true strengths of a progressive table as demonstrated above.

What if we held ourselves accountable to the concept of steady, consistent performance unattached to market behavior? In other words, if we manage to accomplish even 25% of that stated objective on a yearly basis, would that alone be considered a success? If so, would it make sense to judge our individual performance against any other measure? Too many times a trader will be their own worst boss when it comes to judging performance. Holding oneself accountable to unreasonable standards only leads to one end: mental self-destruction. You’ll literally drive yourself insane trying to achieve goals set outside of reasonable reach.

On the other hand, if we can visually see that small to modest incremental growth does lead to potential results acceptable enough in the end, that can serve as a guideline of measure to keep us grounded. Considering the very top-rated futures CTAs manage to attain roughly 200% annual returns, is it reasonable to believe anything similar regardless of initial start-up capital is equally admirable? Retail traders who begin with $5,000 and end with $25,000 total without compounding at year’s end accomplished the exact-same mathematical feat as professional CTAs who began with $500,000 and ended with $2.5 million. The sole difference is perception… aka “spendable” dollars in the end. There may be slight to vast differences when in comes to emotional management with small accounts versus large, but the science or math goes unchanged.

Traders need some sort of measuring stick to follow as a guide for measuring performance and production. It cannot be ridiculously low or unreasonably high to achieve. The term “reasonable” always returns to mind. Basing some type of table on personal ability, potential from market(s) traded and other known variables are pulled together for comparative measure. That type of baseline gives us permission to target realistic goals rather than unrealistic or even unstructured goals of performance. Many traders desire while others eschew such business plans. In the end we’ll all end up somewhere. How we get there and why is up to each of us along the way.

Austin Passamonte is a full-time professional trader who specializes in all commodity markets. Mr. Passamonte’s trading approach uses proprietary chart patterns found on an intraday basis. Austin trades privately in the Finger Lakes region of New York. Click here to visit CoiledMarkets

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About Austin Passamonte

Austin Passamonte is a full-time professional trader who specializes in E-mini stock index futures and commodity markets. Mr. Passamonte’s trading approach uses proprietary chart patterns found on an intraday basis. Austin trades privately in the Finger Lakes region of New York. You can find more of Austin's work at his website CoiledMarkets .

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Trading Plan Template for Any Trading Asset

Needless to say that having a plan before you start trading is essential to your success as a trader. Every experienced traders will tell you that when you enter the markets, you risk your money and, more importantly, your ego and confidence in yourself.

Ironically, some people have special trading skills , but they cannot develop and build a successful trading plan. Luckily, in today’s day and age, you can browse online and get a built-in PDF, Google Sheets doc, or Word document with a trading plans forex template.

This article will help you with everything you need to know about developing a trading plan . We’ll also include a forex trading journal that you can download and use in your trading journey.

1. Set Your Goals – Financially and Emotionally

2. get familiar with trading jargon and analysis methods, 3. develop a trading strategy, 4. set a risk reward ratio, 5. always learn and grow, 6. make an organized trading track record, trading plan infographic.

Trading Plan Template Downloads

What is a Trading Plan Template?

As the name implies, a trading plan is a set of rules and guidelines that a trader follows to execute a trade. Besides that, a trading plan might include suggestions for a healthy trading daily routine and tasks, hence a trading checklist, that will help you manage your account and control your emotions .

For example, with a trading plan, you can define your trading goals, strengths and weaknesses, risk management strategy, trading strategy, entry rules, exit rules, daily routine, etc.

“Plan your trade and then trade your plan.”

How to Build Your Own Trading Plan Template – Trading Plan Outline

So, now that you understand what a forex trading plan is, you need to create your own specific plan that matches your style and personality. Personally, while working as a trader in a proprietary trading firm , I remember every trader had a different method, routine, tasks, and rules.

For example, some traders like adding sticky notes on their desktops while others prefer a clean table. Or, some traders enter hundreds of trades in one trading day while others enter one or two trades in a day. So, it’s up to you to define your own plan and trading strategies .

Nonetheless, based on my knowledge and experience, there are some must-have steps you need to consider to develop a successful trading plan .

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First and foremost, you must define your goals. In other words, you will need to know what you plan to achieve from your trading experience.

To help yourself, ask these questions :

In that aspect, you’d be surprised to know that many people who become professional successful traders do not necessarily do it to make money.

Instead, some traders do it for fun, a hobby, or a competitive game. So consider these factors as well. If this is the case for you, then you need to know it before you start trading. Maybe it can give you an advantage over other participants in the forex market .

Before you make your first trade in the forex market, you first must understand the trading jargon and the different analysis methods.

If needed, take a quick trading course to learn how the forex or the stock market works, read articles, books, financial sites, etc. Additionally, you better explore the two methods to analyze financial assets – technical analysis and fundamental analysis .

Then, find the best way for you to analyze the markets and read forex charts. It’s up to you to decide whether you want to use line, bar, or candlestick charts and, more importantly, what technical indicators you want to use.

Additionally, you can learn how to read popular chart patterns and use them to find trading opportunities. Once again, you have to try before you know it… go ahead and try.

No one is born a great Trader, one gets great by learning

There are no two traders that are precisely the same. Therefore, you must find your own trading strategy and trading style. And this is a result of trial and error. It might take weeks or months until you get to the point where you have established a successful trading strategy, and there’s no way to escape this step.

When you make your first step in the trading world, you’ll get familiar with the different trading strategies – position trading, swing trading , day trading , and scalping trading . Moreover, you can try different strategies such as the naked trading strategy or the 5-3-1 forex trading strategy.

Keep in mind that there are many trading strategies to choose from, but you’ll have to find your unique trading style and strategy within time. For that matter, you need to use a trading plan at the beginning of your journey to find the right strategy that matches your personality.

Trading risk management is a predefined strategy to minimize losses and maximize profits. There are lots of tools and risk management rules a trader can use to protect themselves from losses and effectively manage their trading account.

Having said that, there’s one tool used by many traders, which is the most basic and the most effective of all – That is the risk-reward ratio .

In simple terms, a risk-reward ratio is a method to calculate the potential profit of a trade/day/week/month to a potential loss. In other words, it is a method to define your trade risk, that is how much risk you are willing in a trader, or in a day (the method is particularly for day trading).

For example, if you decide to use a risk-reward of 2:1, you are essentially willing to risk $1 for each trade for the purpose of earning $2.

Trading is not like most professions. The markets always change, the technology evolves, and even the dynamic of the markets is constantly changing. Trust me, financial markets are not the same as they used to be fifteen years ago, and most likely, they will change again in the future.

I mean, the cryptocurrency market is one good example of the unpredictable nature of the trading world and financial markets.

This way or the other, you must read trading books and articles, watch movies , listen to podcasts – everything you can do to increase your knowledge. Yes, knowledge is power, but in trading, knowledge is essential.

“An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest.” Ben Franklin

In the final step, make sure you analyze your trading past performance and keep track of your winning and losing trades. Yes, it’s an annoying task, especially when you have a losing day.

Writing down your losing trades is a punch to your ago, but it will help you improve your performance and trading decisions in the future. By doing so, you can learn your worst-performing days of the week, hours, financial instruments, etc.

Luckily, in most retail investor accounts, you can enter your trading platform and extract your daily/weekly/monthly performance. So, in the words of Forrest Gump: “one less thing to worry about”.

I’m not better than the next trader, just quicker at admitting my mistakes and moving on to the next opportunity. George Soros

Here is an infographic with 6 action steps for your trading plan.

HowToTrade Trading Plan Template Download

To sum up, we have created a trading business plan template that you can use for free in the format of your preference.

“Amateurs think about how much money they can make. Professionals think about how much money they could lose.” Jack Schwager

In a nutshell, every trader must have a well-defined solid trading plan . Developing an organized trading system is the first step in becoming a professional and successful forex trader and will increase your chances of success over the short and long term.

For now, you can use our free forex trading plan template to start with. Then, add notes, tasks, or any other inspirational quotes you think will help you to trade better.

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Disclaimer: The information on the HowToTrade.com website and inside our Trading Room platform is intended for educational purposes and is not to be construed as investment advice. Trading the financial markets carries a high level of risk and may not be suitable for all investors. Before trading, you should carefully consider your investment objectives, experience, and risk appetite. Only trade with money you are prepared to lose. Like any investment, there is a possibility that you could sustain losses of some or all of your investment whilst trading. You should seek independent advice before trading if you have any doubts. Past performance in the markets is not a reliable indicator of future performance.

HowToTrade.com takes no responsibility for loss incurred as a result of the content provided inside our Trading Room. By signing up as a member you acknowledge that we are not providing financial advice and that you are making the decision on the trades you place in the markets. We have no knowledge of the level of money you are trading with or the level of risk you are taking with each trade.

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Back to All Business Ideas

How to Start a Sports Trading Card Business

Written by: Carolyn Young

Edited by: David Lepeska

Updated on March 2, 2023

How to Start a Sports Trading Card Business

Investment range

$3,050 - $7,100

Revenue potential

$73,000 - $183,000 p.a.

Time to build

0 – 3 months

Profit potential

$51,000 - $130,000 p.a.

Industry trend

The sports trading card market is taking off like a rocket ship, expected to grow more than 700% from 2019 to 2028. If you have your own collection, you could leverage that into a huge business opportunity with your own sports trading card business. Even if you don’t have a collection, you could start from scratch and ride the trend to make some good money.

In addition to having a knack for choosing the right cards, you’ll need to develop a knack for business. Luckily, you can find everything you need to know about starting a business in this handy step-by-step guide, designed to put you on a path to sports card success.

Looking to form an LLC? Check out the Best LLC Formation Services .

Step 1: Decide if the Business Is Right for You

Pros and cons.

Starting a sports trading card business has pros and cons to consider before deciding if it’s right for you.

Sports trading cards industry trends

Industry size and growth.

Trends and challenges

Trends in the sports trading card industry include:

Challenges in the sports trading card industry include:

sports trading card Trends and Challenges

How much does it cost to start a sports trading card business?

Startup costs for a sports trading card business range from $3,000 to $7,000. The bulk of the costs are for a website and a trading card inventory.

How much can you earn from a sports trading card business?

Prices for sports trading cards vary greatly. In the current market, if you find good cards, generally older cards, you can probably earn a profit margin of about 70%. These calculations will assume an average per-card sales price of $50.

In your first year or two, you might sell four cards a day, bringing in $73,000 in annual revenue. This would mean $51,000 in profit, assuming that 70% margin. As you acquire more valuable cards, your average prices could climb to $100 and sales to five cards a day. With annual revenue of $183,000, you’d make a tidy profit of $130,000.

sports trading card business earnings forecast

What barriers to entry are there?

There are a few barriers to entry for a sports trading card business. Your biggest challenges will be:

Related Business Ideas

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How to Start a Photo Booth Business

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Step 2: hone your idea.

Now that you know what’s involved in starting a sports trading card business, it’s a good idea to hone your concept in preparation to enter a competitive market.

Why? Identify an opportunity

Research sports card businesses in your area and online to examine their products, price points, and what sells best. You’re looking for a market gap to fill. For instance, maybe the local market is missing a business that specializes in rare basketball sports cards like Kobe Bryant or Lebron James.

You might consider targeting a niche market by specializing in a certain aspect of your industry, such as baseball cards or football cards.

This could jumpstart your word-of-mouth marketing and attract clients right away.

What? Determine your products or services

You need to determine if you want to specialize in a certain type of cards, or if you want to offer a variety. In addition to sports cards, you could sell game cards like Pokemon cards. You could also sell sports memorabilia.

How much should you charge for sports trading cards?

Prices for sports trading cards vary greatly. You’ll need to check market prices for each card. You should aim for a profit margin of about 70%.

Once you know your costs, you can use this Step By Step profit margin calculator to determine your mark-up and final price points. Remember, the prices you use at launch should be subject to change if warranted by the market.

Who? Identify your target market

Your target market will be sports fans and collectors, which is very broad. You should spread out your marketing to include sites like TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook.

Where? Choose your business premises

You can probably always run your business from home, but if you do ever need an office, you can find commercial space to rent in your area on sites such as Craigslist , Crexi , and Instant Offices .

When choosing a commercial space, you may want to follow these rules of thumb:

Step 3: Brainstorm a Business Name

Your business name is your business identity, so choose one that encapsulates your objectives, services, and mission in just a few words. You probably want a name that’s short and easy to remember, since much of your business, and your initial business in particular, will come from word-of-mouth referrals.

Here are some ideas for brainstorming your business name:

Once you’ve got a list of potential names, visit the website of the US Patent and Trademark Office to make sure they are available for registration and check the availability of related domain names using our Domain Name Search tool. Using “.com” or “.org” sharply increases credibility, so it’s best to focus on these.

Find a Domain

Finally, make your choice among the names that pass this screening and go ahead with domain registration and social media account creation. Your business name is one of the key differentiators that sets your business apart. Once you pick your company name, and start with the branding, it is hard to change the business name. Therefore, it’s important to carefully consider your choice before you start a business entity.

Step 4: Create a Business Plan

Every business needs a plan. This will function as a guidebook to take your startup through the launch process and maintain focus on your key goals. A business plan also enables potential partners and investors to better understand your company and its vision:

If you’ve never created a business plan, it can be an intimidating task. You might consider hiring a business plan specialist to create a top-notch business plan for you.

Step 5: Register Your Business

Registering your business is an absolutely crucial step — it’s the prerequisite to paying taxes, raising capital, opening a bank account, and other guideposts on the road to getting a business up and running.

Plus, registration is exciting because it makes the entire process official. Once it’s complete, you’ll have your own business!

Choose where to register your company

Your business location is important because it can affect taxes, legal requirements, and revenue. Most people will register their business in the state where they live, but if you’re planning to expand, you might consider looking elsewhere, as some states could offer real advantages when it comes to sports card trading businesses.

If you’re willing to move, you could really maximize your business! Keep in mind, it’s relatively easy to transfer your business to another state.

Choose your business structure

Business entities come in several varieties, each with its pros and cons. The legal structure you choose for your sports card trading business will shape your taxes, personal liability, and business registration requirements, so choose wisely.

Here are the main options:

We recommend that new business owners choose LLC as it offers liability protection and pass-through taxation while being simpler to form than a corporation. You can form an LLC in as little as five minutes using Northwest Registered Agent’s online LLC formation service . They will check that your business name is available before filing, submit your articles of organization , and answer any questions you might have.

Form Your LLC

Choose Your State

We recommend ZenBusiness as the Best LLC Service for 2023

Step 6: Register for Taxes

The final step before you’re able to pay taxes is getting an Employer Identification Number , or EIN. You can file for your EIN online or by mail or fax: visit the IRS website to learn more. Keep in mind, if you’ve chosen to be a sole proprietorship you can simply use your social security number as your EIN.

Once you have your EIN, you’ll need to choose your tax year. Financially speaking, your business will operate in a calendar year (January–December) or a fiscal year, a 12-month period that can start in any month. This will determine your tax cycle, while your business structure will determine which taxes you’ll pay.

The IRS website also offers a tax-payers checklist , and taxes can be filed online.

It is important to consult an accountant or other professional to help you with your taxes to ensure you’re completing them correctly.

Step 7: Fund your Business

Securing financing is your next step and there are plenty of ways to raise capital:

Bank and SBA loans are probably the best option, other than friends and family, for funding a sports card trading business. You might also try crowdfunding if you have an innovative concept.

Step 8: Apply for Licenses/Permits

Starting a sports card trading business requires obtaining a number of licenses and permits from local, state, and federal governments.

Federal regulations, licenses, and permits associated with starting your business include doing business as (DBA), health licenses and permits from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration ( OSHA ), trademarks, copyrights, patents, and other intellectual properties, as well as industry-specific licenses and permits.

You may also need state-level and local county or city-based licenses and permits. The license requirements and how to obtain them vary, so check the websites of your state, city, and county governments or contact the appropriate person to learn more.

You could also check this SBA guide for your state’s requirements, but we recommend using MyCorporation’s Business License Compliance Package . They will research the exact forms you need for your business and state and provide them to ensure you’re fully compliant.

This is not a step to be taken lightly, as failing to comply with legal requirements can result in hefty penalties.

If you feel overwhelmed by this step or don’t know how to begin, it might be a good idea to hire a professional to help you check all the legal boxes.

Step 9: Open a Business Bank Account

Before you start making money, you’ll need a place to keep it, and that requires opening a bank account .

Keeping your business finances separate from your personal account makes it easy to file taxes and track your company’s income, so it’s worth doing even if you’re running your sports card trading business as a sole proprietorship. Opening a business bank account is quite simple, and similar to opening a personal one. Most major banks offer accounts tailored for businesses — just inquire at your preferred bank to learn about their rates and features.

Banks vary in terms of offerings, so it’s a good idea to examine your options and select the best plan for you. Once you choose your bank, bring in your EIN (or Social Security Number if you decide on a sole proprietorship), articles of incorporation, and other legal documents and open your new account.

Step 10: Get Business Insurance

Business insurance is an area that often gets overlooked yet it can be vital to your success as an entrepreneur. Insurance protects you from unexpected events that can have a devastating impact on your business.

Here are some types of insurance to consider:

Step 11: Prepare to Launch

As opening day nears, prepare for launch by reviewing and improving some key elements of your business.

Essential software and tools

Being an entrepreneur often means wearing many hats, from marketing to sales to accounting, which can be overwhelming. Fortunately, many websites and digital tools are available to help simplify many business tasks.

You may want to use industry-specific software, such as Cardgeniepro or Cardbase , to manage your inventory, values, and pricing.

Some of your business will come from the casual online visitors, but you should still invest in digital marketing! Getting the word out is especially important for new businesses, as it’ll boost customer and brand awareness.

Once your website is up and running, link it to your social media accounts and vice versa. Social media is a great tool for promoting your business because you can create engaging posts that advertise your products:

Kickstart Marketing

Take advantage of your website, social media presence and real-life activities to increase awareness of your offerings and build your brand. Some suggestions include:

Develop your website

Website development is crucial because your site is your online presence and needs to convince prospective clients of your expertise and professionalism. They are unlikely to find your website, however, unless you follow Search Engine Optimization ( SEO ) practices. These are steps that help pages rank higher in the results of top search engines like Google.

You can create your own website using services like WordPress , Wix , or Squarespace . This route is very affordable, but figuring out how to build a website can be time-consuming. If you lack tech-savvy, you can hire a web designer or developer to create a custom website for your business.

Focus on USPs

Unique selling propositions, or USPs, are the characteristics of a product or service that sets it apart from the competition. Customers today are inundated with buying options, so you’ll have a real advantage if they are able to quickly grasp how your sports card trading business meets their needs or wishes. It’s wise to do all you can to ensure your USPs stand out on your website and in your marketing and promotional materials, stimulating buyer desire.

Global pizza chain Domino’s is renowned for its USP: “Hot pizza in 30 minutes or less, guaranteed.” Signature USPs for your sports card trading business could be:

You may not like to network or use personal connections for business gain. But your personal and professional networks likely offer considerable untapped business potential. Maybe that Facebook friend you met in college is now running a sports trading card business, or a LinkedIn contact of yours is connected to dozens of potential clients. Maybe your cousin or neighbor has been working in sports trading cards for years and can offer invaluable insight and industry connections.

The possibilities are endless, so it’s a good idea to review your personal and professional networks and reach out to those with possible links to or interest in sports trading cards. You’ll probably generate new customers or find companies with which you could establish a partnership.

Step 12: Build Your Team

If you’re starting out small from a home office, you may not need any employees. But as your business grows, you will likely need workers to fill various roles. Potential positions for a sports trading card business include:

At some point, you may need to hire all of these positions or simply a few, depending on the size and needs of your business. You might also hire multiple workers for a single role or a single worker for multiple roles, again depending on need.

Free-of-charge methods to recruit employees include posting ads on popular platforms such as LinkedIn, Facebook, or Jobs.com. You might also consider a premium recruitment option, such as advertising on Indeed , Glassdoor , or ZipRecruiter . Further, if you have the resources, you could consider hiring a recruitment agency to help you find talent.

Step 13: Start Making Money!

It’s time to get in on a booming market! The sports trading card industry is poised to grow to almost $100 billion in the coming years. You just need to be able to choose cards with real value, and you’re off to the races. You can run your business from home and earn high-profit margins. You might even find that one special card that will make you hundreds of thousands of dollars.

You’ve got the business know-how under your belt now, so go ahead and start building your sports trading card empire.

Sports Trading Card Business FAQs

Red hot! Sports trading cards are trending, and the industry is expected to grow to more than 7 times its 2019 value and hit $100 billion.

You can check local marketplace advertisements, go to garage sales or estate sales, or look for cards online that may have future appreciation value. It may take some searching, but your work could have a huge payoff.

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Fabulous at 40: WTI Futures Trading Challenge

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Course Overview

"He who fails to plan is planning to fail" -Winston Churchill

Traders who win consistently treat trading as a business. While there is no guarantee that you will make money, developing a trading plan is crucial if you want to become consistently successful and thrive in the trading game. Every trader—no matter your experience—needs a plan.

Why are you here?

You’re in the right place for any those objectives. At the end of this course, you’ll understand why you need a trading plan and how to build one to support your success as a futures trader.

What is a trading plan?

A trading plan is a business plan for your trading career. Like any business plan, a trading plan is a working document in which you make assumptions about projected costs, revenues, and business conditions. Some of your assumptions may be right, some will surely be wrong. You wouldn't start a business without a business plan, so why would you start trading without a trading plan?

The real value in writing a trading plan is that it forces you to think about every part of your trading business, including confronting your strengths and weaknesses, and formulating reasonable expectations.

Any solid trading plan consists of the following five components. There are no shortcuts to developing a trading plan that will support your objectives. Take the time now to think about each of these components thoroughly and you will thank yourself later.

Forex Trading Business Plan and Risk Analysis

One of the best things you can do as a forex trader to assure your long term survival in the business is develop a sound and objective forex trading business plan and the discipline to stick to it.

Going through this important process will help you overcome the emotional responses to trading that have been the downfall of so many novice traders.

Once you have developed a good trading plan that you think you can trade in a disciplined way, another good idea is to put all of your trading-related plans and ideas together into an overall trading business plan.

Benefits of a Forex Trading Business Plan

Even if you have been trading for a while, but have not yet written down a forex trading business plan, you can still derive considerable benefits from doing so even now.

Producing a business plan will help you review and solidify your personal trading business activities and goals.

Another major advantage of having a business plan is that if your trading business plan still looks good after its initial testing and trading period, you might even be able to use it to find new investors to put money into your trading business.

Having more funds to trade with can help you access better trading spreads, information, customer service and ultimately, better and more profitable trading opportunities.

Components of a forex Trading Business Plan

Your forex trading business plan does not need to be complex. At a minimum, it should contain your forex trading plan, how you intend to manage any money invested, and a risk assessment of your engagement in the business.

Additional components of a trading business plan might include:

(1) What the competition is doing.

(2) Necessary start up and running costs of your trading business.

(3) The equipment necessary for your business to start operating.

(4) How you plan on running your trading activities in detail.

(5) How invested money will be held and managed within your trading business.

(6) What you plan on achieving with your trading business in terms of profits and meeting other goals.

(7) An overall risk/reward analysis showing that your trading business makes sense.

Most of the above forex trading business plan items are relatively self-explanatory; however the risk/reward analysis mentioned in item #(7) will be covered in greater detail in the following section.

Assessing the Risks of Your Trading Business

If you honestly believe that your trading business is worth pursuing, then it really cannot hurt to take a closer look at it from a risk/reward perspective. You can do this by assessing as objectively as possible what risks the business might face and what rewards you can reasonably expect to gain from pursuing it.

Furthermore, since some risks might occur with a greater probability than others, they can be weighted in a risk analysis according to their probability of happening. You can then multiply that weight by the potential size of risk involved to get a probability weighted risk exposure.

To get the overall risk/reward profile of your business, you would then sum up all of the risks and compare them to the rewards to see if your business makes sense.

Not only is such a business risk/reward analysis well worth doing, but it makes up an important part of your trading business plan that would ideally be created before you even make your first trade.

Many potential investors will want to see this risk/reward analysis information to help them assess whether your trading business stands a good chance of success for the risk you will be taking.

We also recommend you to read about the basic forex trading plan and why you should have it.

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Risk Statement: Trading Foreign Exchange on margin carries a high level of risk and may not be suitable for all investors. The possibility exists that you could lose more than your initial deposit. The high degree of leverage can work against you as well as for you.

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What do I do if my trade is in the money, i.e., profitable?

How much should i risk on any given trade, what are the key elements to a trading plan, how much money should i commit to a single trade, the bottom line.

Trading Skills

Top 10 Rules For Successful Trading

Anyone who wants to become a profitable stock trader need only spend a few minutes online to find such phrases as "plan your trade; trade your plan" and "keep your losses to a minimum." For new traders, these tidbits can seem more like a distraction than actionable advice. If you're new to trading, you probably just want to know how to hurry up and make money.

Each of the rules below is important, but when they work together the effects are strong. Keeping them in mind can greatly increase your odds of succeeding in the markets.

Key Takeaways

Rule 1: Always Use a Trading Plan

A trading plan is a written set of rules that specifies a trader's entry, exit, and money management criteria for every purchase.

With today's technology, it is easy to test a trading idea before risking real money. Known as backtesting , this practice allows you to apply your trading idea using historical data and determine if it is viable. Once a plan has been developed and backtesting shows good results, the plan can be used in real trading.

Sometimes your trading plan won't work. Bail out of it and start over.

The key here is to stick to the plan. Taking trades outside of the trading plan, even if they turn out to be winners, is considered poor strategy.

Jack Schwager: Investopedia Profile

Rule 2: treat trading like a business.

To be successful, you must approach trading as a full- or part-time business, not as a hobby or a job.

If it's approached as a hobby, there is no real commitment to learning. If it's a job, it can be frustrating because there is no regular paycheck.

Trading is a business and incurs expenses, losses, taxes, uncertainty, stress, and risk. As a trader, you are essentially a small business owner and you must research and strategize to maximize your business's potential.

Rule 3: Use Technology to Your Advantage

Trading is a competitive business. It's safe to assume that the person sitting on the other side of a trade is taking full advantage of all the available technology.

Charting platforms give traders an infinite variety of ways to view and analyze the markets. Backtesting an idea using historical data prevents costly missteps. Getting market updates via smartphone allows us to monitor trades anywhere. Technology that we take for granted, like a high-speed internet connection, can greatly increase trading performance.

Using technology to your advantage, and keeping current with new products, can be fun and rewarding in trading.

Rule 4: Protect Your Trading Capital

Saving enough money to fund a trading account takes a great deal of time and effort. It can be even more difficult if you have to do it twice.

It is important to note that protecting your trading capital is not synonymous with never experiencing a losing trade. All traders have losing trades. Protecting capital entails not taking unnecessary risks and doing everything you can to preserve your trading business.

Rule 5: Become a Student of the Markets

Think of it as continuing education. Traders need to remain focused on learning more each day. It is important to remember that understanding the markets, and all of their intricacies, is an ongoing, lifelong process.

Hard research allows traders to understand the facts, like what the different economic reports mean. Focus and observation allow traders to sharpen their instincts and learn the nuances.

World politics, news events, economic trends—even the weather—all have an impact on the markets. The market environment is dynamic. The more traders understand the past and current markets, the better prepared they are to face the future.

Rule 6: Risk Only What You Can Afford to Lose

Before you start using real cash, make sure that all of the money in that trading account is truly expendable. If it's not, the trader should keep saving until it is.

Money in a trading account should not be allocated for the kids' college tuition or paying the mortgage. Traders must never allow themselves to think they are simply borrowing money from these other important obligations.

Losing money is traumatic enough. It is even more so if it is capital that should have never been risked in the first place.

Rule 7: Develop a Methodology Based on Facts

Taking the time to develop a sound trading methodology is worth the effort. It may be tempting to believe in the "so easy, it's like printing money" trading scams that are prevalent on the internet. But facts, not emotions or hope, should be the inspiration behind developing a trading plan.

Traders who are not in a hurry to learn typically have an easier time sifting through all of the information available on the internet. Consider this: if you were to start a new career, more than likely you would need to study at a college or university for at least a year or two before you were qualified to even apply for a position in the new field. Learning how to trade demands at least the same amount of time and fact-driven research and study.

Rule 8: Always Use a Stop Loss

A stop loss is a predetermined amount of risk that a trader is willing to accept with each trade. The stop loss can be a dollar amount or percentage, but either way, it limits the trader's exposure during a trade. Using a stop loss can take some of the stress out of trading since we know that we will only lose X amount on any given trade.

Not having a stop loss is bad practice, even if it leads to a winning trade. Exiting with a stop loss, and therefore having a losing trade, is still good trading if it falls within the trading plan's rules.

The ideal is to exit all trades with a profit, but that is not realistic. Using a protective stop loss helps ensure that losses and risks are limited, and that you have preserved enough capital to trade another day.

Rule 9: Know When to Stop Trading

There are two reasons to stop trading: an ineffective trading plan, and an ineffective trader.

An ineffective trading plan shows much greater losses than were anticipated in historical testing. That happens. Markets may have changed, or volatility may have lessened. For whatever reason, the trading plan simply is not performing as expected.

Stay unemotional and businesslike. It's time to reevaluate the trading plan and make a few changes or to start over with a new trading plan.

An unsuccessful trading plan is a problem that needs to be solved. It is not necessarily the end of the trading business.

An ineffective trader is one who makes a trading plan but is unable to follow it. External stress, poor habits, and lack of physical activity can all contribute to this problem. A trader who is not in peak condition for trading should consider taking a break. After any difficulties and challenges have been dealt with, the trader can return to business.

Rule 10: Keep Trading in Perspective

Stay focused on the big picture when trading. A losing trade should not surprise us; It's a part of trading. A winning trade is just one step along the path to a profitable business. It is the cumulative profits that make a difference.

Once a trader accepts wins and losses as part of the business, emotions will have less of an effect on trading performance. That is not to say that we cannot be excited about a particularly fruitful trade, but we must keep in mind that a losing trade is never far off.

Setting realistic goals is an essential part of keeping trading in perspective. Your business should earn a reasonable return in a reasonable amount of time. If you expect to be a multi-millionaire by next Tuesday, you're setting yourself up for failure.

In bull markets, it can be easy to make money in the market. Knowing when to take profits takes practice. One way to take the emotion out of closing a profitable position is to use trailing stops .

First off, the answer to that question should already be part of your trading plan in the form of a stop loss. As a stop loss, you can use a financial stop, e.g., $500 or go with a technical stop price, such as if the 50 day moving average is broken, or new highs are made. The key is to remember that you always need a stop loss as part of your trading plan.

The starting point is the impetus for the trade. If it's from a fundamental development, such as an economic data report or a comment by a Fed official, your trade is based on those fundamental factors, and your trading plan should reflect that. If your trading plan relies on technical analysis, such as remaining above the 50 day moving average, again your strategy should rely on that. The key is to adjust your position size so that you give yourself enough room to stay within the stop loss and not risk everything on a single position.

Position size is the primary determinant of the outcome of any trading strategy. You want to be sure your stop loss can tolerate a minor loss relative to your trading capital. If your stop is $1.50 away from the current market, for instance, you'll want a position size relative to your stop loss that does not consume too much of your trading capital.

For example, say you're only willing to risk $500 on the trade and your stop is $1.50 away (let's say based on a technical price level) from the $20 current market price. That dictates a position size of approximately 333 shares (20-$18.5=1.50/$500= 333.33 shares) to fit your trade strategy, which would require $6,600 in tradeable capital (333 shares x $20 current market level).

Note that a smaller position will use up less of your trading capital, while still allowing you to pursue a specific strategy.

The vast majority of the rules outlined above have one thing in common: attention to risk, or losing money. That's because you're in the business of making money in the markets. Losses will inevitably occur. The trick is to keep the losses small enough so that you can keep trading until you find more winning trades.

Experienced traders know when it's time to take a loss and they have incorporated that into their trading strategy. Experienced traders also know when it's time to take profit, so they may move their stop loss in the direction of the trade to lock in some profit or simply take profit at the current market price. Either way, rest assured there will always be another trade set-up coming down the road.

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Lavoro Limited Begins Trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market

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Lavoro ordinary shares and warrants begin trading on Nasdaq on March 1, 2023 under ticker symbols "LVRO" and "LVROW", respectively

Trading follows the successful completion of the business combination with TPB Acquisition Corporation I

Gross proceeds of approximately $134.4 million expected to fund Lavoro’s investment activities and growth initiatives

Lavoro is officially the first US-listed pure-play Latin American agricultural inputs retailer

SÃO PAULO, March 01, 2023 --( BUSINESS WIRE )--Lavoro Limited ("Lavoro" or the "Company"), the largest agricultural inputs retailer in Brazil, began trading today on the Nasdaq Stock Market ("Nasdaq") following the completion of its business combination with TPB Acquisition Corporation I ("TPB Acquisition Corp." or "TPBA"), a special purpose acquisition company sponsored by The Production Board.

"We are immensely excited to transition into the next phase of our company’s development as we begin trading on Nasdaq," said Ruy Cunha, Chief Executive Officer of Lavoro. "We believe that the gross proceeds provided by this transaction put the Company in a prime position to drive shareholder value as we execute against our growth strategy to enhance penetration of agricultural technologies across Latin America, which is reinforced by our ongoing focus on expanding our footprint both organically and through market consolidation. Within this backdrop, we are also bolstering our mission to address food insecurity and empowering farmers by creating greater access to innovative agricultural solutions."

Latin America’s Leading Independent Agricultural Inputs Retailer – a Scaled, Profitable, and Growing Business

Through the acquisition of over 20 small- and medium-sized companies, São Paulo-based Lavoro has quickly become Brazil’s largest agricultural inputs retailer by revenue and market share. Lavoro’s geographical presence also extends to Colombia, Peru, Chile and Uruguay.

The Company offers farmers a comprehensive portfolio of agriculture input products including seed, fertilizer, crop protection, emerging biologics and other specialty products. Lavoro’s 924 technical sales representatives have met with more than 60,000 customers on farms and at 193 retail locations multiple times per year to help them plan, purchase the right inputs, and manage their farming operations to optimize outcomes.

Lavoro’s vertically-integrated crop inputs business, "Crop Care," is a major supplier of biologics and specialty fertilizers in Brazil. Operating at the forefront of agriculture technology, we believe the Company’s portfolio of proprietary biologics helps to enable farmers to protect their crops from disease, pests, and weeds without the carbon and environmental persistence of traditional synthetic crop chemistry – while helping to improve soil health and productivity, lowering the need for synthetic fertilizers.

Demonstrating the strength of its acquisitions and organic growth playbook, Lavoro successfully acquired and integrated 24 businesses, and generated R$8.2 billion in pro forma revenue in the fiscal year ended June 30, 2022 alone and R$151.3 million in pro forma net income in the same period. Lavoro grew its revenue by a CAGR of 69% between fiscal year 2020 to fiscal year 2022, including a 23% and 14% year-over-year organic growth in fiscal year 2021 and fiscal year 2022, respectively. At the same time, Lavoro believes it has also achieved robust organic growth through retail and product portfolio expansion, as well as operational improvements.

The Urgent Need to Boost Food Security, Sustainably

Thanks to its strategic position as a key player across the world’s largest agricultural exporting region, Lavoro has the ability to transform Latin American agriculture and strengthen global food security at a time when global food supply chains have become increasingly unstable.

Over 750 million people in 2021 were living with under 1,200 calories a day, according to the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO), an increase of nearly 200 million in the last four years. To feed a growing population, the amount of calories produced must increase by 56% by 2050, according to the FAO.

Proven technologies to increase yields are already available but need to scale up in every region – particularly among small and mid-sized farmers in Latin America. The key to reaching these farmers and empowering them with the best technology is the agricultural retailer.

65% of Brazilian farmland is managed by farmers with 250 to 25,000 acres under production, clearly indicating that small farmer productivity in Brazil, and Latin America more widely, is a key part of the solution. Thanks to Lavoro’s business model focused on direct collaboration with farmers to drive technology adoption, Lavoro can play a key role in increasing the agricultural sector’s productivity sustainably.

About Lavoro

Lavoro is Brazil’s largest agricultural inputs retailer and a leading provider of agriculture biologics inputs. Through a comprehensive portfolio, we believe Lavoro empowers farmers to adopt breakthrough technology and boost productivity. Founded in 2017, Lavoro has a broad geographical presence, with distribution operations in Brazil and Colombia, and an emergent agricultural input trading company in Uruguay. Lavoro’s 924 technical sales representatives have met with more than 60,000 customers on farms and at 193 retail locations multiple times per year to help them plan, purchase the right inputs, and manage their farming operations to optimize outcomes. Learn more about Lavoro at www.lavoroagro.com.br .

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities, or a solicitation of any vote or approval, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. The contents of any website mentioned or hyperlinked in this press release are for informational purposes and the contents thereof are not part of or incorporated into this press release.

Certain statements made in this press release are "forward looking statements" within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of words such as "aims," "estimate," "plan," "project," "forecast," "intend," "will," "expect," "anticipate," "believe," "seek," "target" or other similar expressions that predict or indicate future events or trends or that are not statements of historical matters. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the expectations regarding the growth of Lavoro’s business and its ability to realize expected results, grow revenue from existing customers, and consummate acquisitions; opportunities, trends and developments in the agricultural input industry, including with respect to future financial performance in the industry. These forward-looking statements are provided for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to serve as, and must not be relied on by any investor as, a guarantee, an assurance, a prediction or a definitive statement of fact or probability. Actual events and circumstances are difficult or impossible to predict and will differ from assumptions. Many actual events and circumstances are beyond the control of Lavoro and TPB Acquisition Corp.

These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to, the outcome of any legal proceedings that may be instituted against Lavoro, TPB Acquisition Corp. or the combined company related to the business combination agreement or the transaction; the ability to maintain the listing of Lavoro’s securities on Nasdaq; the price of Lavoro’s securities may be volatile due to a variety of factors, including changes in the competitive and regulated industries in which Lavoro operates, variations in operating performance across competitors, changes in laws and regulations affecting Lavoro’s business; Lavoro’s inability to meet or exceed its financial projections and changes in the combined capital structure; changes in general economic conditions, including as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic; the ability to implement business plans, forecasts, and other expectations, changes in domestic and foreign business, market, financial, political and legal conditions; the outcome of any potential litigation, government and regulatory proceedings, investigations and inquiries; costs related to the business combination and being a public company and other risks and uncertainties indicated from time to time in the proxy statement/prospectus filed by Lavoro relating to the business combination or in the future, including those under "Risk Factors" therein, and in TPB Acquisition Corp.’s or Lavoro’s other filings with the SEC. If any of these risks materialize or our assumptions prove incorrect, actual results could differ materially from the results implied by these forward-looking statements. There may be additional risks that neither TPB Acquisition Corp. nor Lavoro presently know or that TPB Acquisition Corp. nor Lavoro currently believe are immaterial that could also cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements.

In addition, forward-looking statements reflect TPB Acquisition Corp.’s and Lavoro’s expectations, plans or forecasts of future events and views as of the date of this press release. TPB Acquisition Corp. and Lavoro anticipate that subsequent events and developments will cause TPB Acquisition Corp.’s or Lavoro’s assessments to change. However, while TPB Acquisition Corp. and the TPB Acquisition Corp. may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, TPB Acquisition Corp. and Lavoro specifically disclaim any obligation to do so. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing TPB Acquisition Corp.’s or Lavoro’s assessments as of any date subsequent to the date of this press release. Accordingly, undue reliance should not be placed upon the forward-looking statements.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230301005425/en/

Guilherme Nascimento [email protected] +55 66 9 9911-3093

Fernanda Rosa [email protected] +55 41 9 9911-2712

Starting a business checklist

Last Updated: 28 February 2023

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1 Make key decisions

Get help to start.

When starting a business, there is a range of advice and support available from government and other organisations.

Decide on a business structure

When starting a business you must decide on a business structure. Your business structure identifies how you operate as a trading business and can affect your legal and tax obligations. There are a number of business structures you can select from, including:

Learn more about different business structures and how to choose one.

Choose a business name

Once you have decided on a name, you should understand what is required to ensure you have exclusive use of your name throughout Australia.

Find out what you'll need to consider when choosing a name for your business and how to protect it.

Consider registering your domain name to create your online identity and brand.

Know what registrations, licenses and permits you need

When you’re ready to start your business, it’s important to know what registrations you need. These registrations will depend on your chosen business structure, location, industry, whether you employ staff and the type of business you’re operating.

If your business doesn't have the right registrations it can affect your tax rate or result in penalties or fines.

Select a business premises

Choosing the right location for your business can be vital to your success. Each business has different priorities and needs. Understand what to consider when looking for the right business location - external site - external site and premises.

If you are running a home-based business, there are specific tax obligations you need to know. Learn about your tax, insurance and license obligations - external site - external site and where you can go to find support if you are running a business from home.

Look before you lease

Understand the difference between an employee and contractor.

It’s important to determine if you’re considered a contractor or an employee.

If you have been engaged as a contractor but believe you’re an employee, you may be in a sham contracting arrangement - external site . A sham contracting arrangement is when an employer attempts to disguise an employment relationship as a contractor relationship. They may do this to avoid certain taxes and their responsibility for employee entitlements.

Contractors run their own business, sell a service to others, and can work for more than one client at a time. The taxation and super obligations of a contractor will be different to an employee.

Employees work in someone else’s business, are paid a wage and their work is controlled by an employer.

Read the Fair Work Ombudsman’s independent contracting - external site page to understand the different entitlements of employees and contractor.

Employee or contractor decision tool

Check the differences between employees and contractors - external site on the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) website. The tool can help you to work out your tax and superannuation obligations. - external site

2 Plan your business

Develop your business plan.

Developing a business plan can help you set yourself up for success when starting your business. Having a business plan can:

Business plan template

Research your market.

Researching your market can help you to get a better understanding of your customers and their needs. It can also help you identify your competitors.

By researching your market, you will be able to better focus your marketing efforts and make well informed decisions about business opportunities.

Learn how to research your market, including goods and services, customers and your competitors.

Develop your marketing plan

Writing a marketing plan can help you define your marketing strategy and identify the best activities and channels to market your products or services. Having a marketing plan can help you to:

Marketing plan template

Learn how to develop a marketing plan with our marketing plan template.

Set up your digital presence

An online business, or simply selling your products or services online, can help you reach a much wider customer base. An online shopfront can also help you tie in your online presence with your sales system.

You should consider:

The Digital Solutions program works with small businesses to make the most of digital tools and offers broader advice specific to your business needs. Learn how the Digital Solutions program can help you or find out more about doing business online .

Protect your business

If you operate online, it's important to have good IT practices to protect your systems and information. Back up your data regularly and store a copy at an external location. It is also important to protect your business from cyber threats .

3 Set up your business finances

Get resources to help with business finances.

Grants and other funding programs are available from Australian, state and territory governments and in some cases from local councils. However, there are generally no grants available for starting a business.

Knowing who to approach for finance can help you find the best finance option for your business. Learn about different resources to help with your business finances such as financial professionals, counsellors or advisors.

Forecast your cash flow

Cash flow statement template.

Use our cash flow statement template to help forecast your businesses finances.

Understand your tax

Understanding taxes and meeting your taxation obligations can save you time and money. By paying the right amount of tax, you can also avoid late payment penalties. Make sure you understand the different types of tax that could apply to your business. Some of the taxes you may need to pay include:

Small businesses can access tax breaks and small business concessions. Visit the ATO to work out if you’re a small business entity .

Tax deductions

Find more information about the tax requirements for your business.

4 Protect your business

Meet work health and safety requirements.

You must manage the risks to the health and safety of your employees, customers, visitors and suppliers. Each state and territory has its own workplace health and safety (WHS) laws and a regulator to enforce them.

Learn more about WHS and the requirements in your state or territory.

Protect your intellectual property

Most businesses have some form of intellectual property (IP). IP is the property of your mind or exclusive knowledge, it can be anything from a name, creation or idea.

It’s important to understand how to protect your IP. Some forms of IP rights require formal application and examination before you can claim a right to ownership. Other forms of IP protection such as copyright do not need to be registered.

Understand the types of IP and how to protect your business.

Prepare for the unexpected

During an emergency, your main aim is to ensure your business continues operating. It’s important to prepare your business for an emergency situation before it happens.

Choose your insurance policies

Having the right insurance protects your business, customers and income. Insurance needs can vary and will depend on your business. Some forms of insurance are required for Australian businesses.

Understand the different types of insurance and which ones your business needs.

5 Know the law

Know the legal essentials.

When you start a business, there are many laws your business may need to comply with.

There are legal requirements for:

You should consider consulting with a legal expert or business adviser to understand which laws you will need to follow.

Find out the most common laws your business may need to comply with.

Understand fair trading

Fair trading laws ensure that trading is fair for your business and your customers.

It is important to understand what fair trading laws there are and how Australian federal and state laws can protect you, your business and your customers from unfair trading practices.

Understand what fair trading laws your business needs to comply with to protect your business and customers.

Meet standards and codes

Product standards.

You must ensure your products (or product related services) comply with mandatory safety and information standards. These differ between industries. Learn about product safety rules and standards and check for those that apply to your business.

If you operate in the food industry, you may need to comply with standards in the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code .

Codes of conduct

Industry codes set out standards of conduct for your industry, including how to deal with customers and other businesses. Some codes of conduct are mandatory and others are voluntary to help your business to meet best practice – improving your operations and service, and ultimately becoming more competitive.

Learn more about codes of conduct .

6 Hiring people

Hire an employee, hiring an employee checklist.

We have an entire checklist dedicated to helping you understand what you need to do when you hire an employee . The checklist helps small business owners meet Australian laws and hiring requirements. The checklist covers information about:

It also includes tips that might help you throughout the hiring process.

Manage tax and super for employees

If you employ people, each quarter you’ll need to:

You must collect pay as you go (PAYG) tax from employee payments. Work out the amount to withhold from payments to your employee using the ATO's tax withheld calculator or tax tables .

If the total amount of wages you pay exceeds a certain amount, you may have to pay payroll tax .

Hire a contractor

Employee vs contractor.

You may need to treat your contractors differently to your employees for insurance, tax and superannuation purposes.

Read the Fair Work Ombudsman’s independent contracting page - external site to understand the different entitlements of employees and contractors and why you need to get this right.

Hire an apprentice

Australian apprenticeships and traineeships are formal on-the-job training arrangements between an employer and an employee that can lead to a nationally recognised qualification.

Apprenticeships combine training and paid employment and can be full-time, part-time or school based. Apprentices and trainees are employees, and employers must withhold the correct amount of pay as you go (PAYG) withholding and make superannuation contributions for them.

No matter what industry you’re in, investing in training through an Australian Apprenticeship can benefit your business and contribute to your bottom line.

7 Keep required records

Set up record keeping systems.

Keeping your records organised can help you understand how your business is tracking, manage your cash flow and meet your tax and superannuation obligations.

Though you can keep records electronically or as hard copies, the ATO recommends electronic record keeping if possible. Digital business or accounting software can make record keeping easier. If you decide to use it, make sure it complies with Standard Business Reporting .

You should store your records in a secure place and keep them backed up in case of a computer failure.

Use the ATO’s Record keeping evaluation tool to understand what records you will need to keep.

Keep tax and superannuation records

You must keep records of all transactions related to your business’s tax and superannuation affairs, including records that support the information you include in your tax returns and reports. In general, you need to keep most records for 5 years starting from when you prepared or obtained the records, or completed the transactions.

The records you need to keep depend on the tax and superannuation obligations of your business and the structure of your business (sole trader, partnership, company or trust).

Visit the ATO to learn more about the tax and super records you need to keep .

Keep employee records

You need to make and keep employee records for 7 years, including records about their:

hours of work

Employee record templates

You can find handy templates to help manage your employee records on the Fair Work Ombudsman website.

Save your progress

Save your checklist and get a link to it – you’ll be able to continue on from where you were.

You have saved your checklist progress

Download the checklist.

Download the word version of this checklist to print and tick off as you complete the steps.

Use our starting a business guide for more resources.

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https://www.wsj.com/articles/sec-alleges-healthcare-executive-made-illicit-stock-sales-through-prearranged-trades-b6347873

Healthcare CEO Faces Charges of Making Illicit Stock Sales in Prearranged Trades

Insider-trading case is first to allege criminal misuse of a 10b5-1 trading plan.

Listen to article

(2 minutes)

The founder of telehealth provider Ontrak Inc. was charged in a first-of-its-kind criminal insider-trading case, with prosecutors alleging he sold millions of dollars worth of stock while misusing a trading plan that executives normally deploy to shield themselves from such suspicions.

Ontrak Chief Executive Terren Peizer set up the prearranged trading plans in May and August 2021, just before his company disclosed the loss of health insurer Cigna Corp. as a major customer, according to a federal grand-jury indictment unsealed Wednesday. Mr. Peizer sold about 641,000 shares of Ontrak stock when he was aware of the undisclosed bad news, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission, which also sued him. When Ontrak revealed on Aug. 19, 2021—three days after he began trading—that Cigna cut ties with Ontrak, the stock dropped 45%.

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Dow Jones Surges; Bitcoin Slides As Crypto Firm Bites The Dust; AI Stock On Deck

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added to early gains at 1:30 p.m. ET and was up 0.7% thanks in large part to Salesforce 's ( CRM ) post-earnings rally. However, the blue chip index remains below its 50-day line.

The S&P 500 pared morning losses and traded 0.4% higher in the afternoon. The index fell below its 50-day moving average on Tuesday and now tests the 200-day line.

The Nasdaq also pared early losses and also added 3% in gains; the small-cap Russell 2000 trimmed its own loss and was up fractionally.

Volume on the NYSE ran lower and on the Nasdaq higher compared with the same time on Wednesday.

The Innovator IBD 50 ETF ( FFTY ) lagged with a 1% decline.

Crude oil rose less than 0.5% to $77.91 a barrel.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note continued to rise, adding 7 basis points to reach 4.07%. Initial jobless claims fell to 190,000 from 192,000 the previous week. Any sign of strength in the labor market tends to raise the odds of higher interest rates for longer.

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Besides Salesforce, banking behemoth JPMorgan Chase ( JPM ) and networking leader Cisco Systems ( CSCO ) are on watch near buy points . JPM is in a buy zone above a buy point of 138.76, while Cisco is testing its 50-day line and continues to fall from its 50.81 entry.

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Tesla shares fell as much as 8% in early trading Thursday as a lukewarm investor reception to Elon Musk’s “Master Plan 3” presentation added a fresh headache for the electric vehicle maker.

Musk and other executives teased a cheaper “next gen” electric vehicle during Wednesday’s “investor day” event at the company’s headquarters in Austin, Texas – but the announcement was light on details about the car’s performance specs, vehicle models or a potential release date.

Investor skepticism over the event contributed to a $50 billion plunge in Tesla’s market value Thursday. Shares of the world’s top EV maker fell to $189.60, down $13.17, in midday trading.

“I’d love to really show you what I mean and unveil the next-gen car, but you’re going to have to trust me on that until a later date,” Tesla design chief Franz von Holzhausen said, according to Bloomberg . “We’ll always be delivering exciting, compelling and desirable vehicles, as we always have.”

When pressed for more details about the next-gen vehicle, Musk said Tesla would eventually hold a “proper sort of product event” about the highly anticipated launch.

The stock plunge occurred even as Tesla reiterated a plan to annually manufacture 20 million vehicles by 2030.

Executives also confirmed plans to build a new production plan in Monterrey, Mexico and spoke extensively about the company’s other initiatives, including a global shift toward sustainable energy and advances in artificial intelligence technology.

The Tesla event “was heavy on discussion relative to clean energy transition and on the company’s approach to designing and developing vehicles generally, but short on specifics or measurable metrics to track its progress,” JPMorgan analyst Ryan Brinkman said in a client note.

Tesla also addressed concerns about its business in China and whether its key Shanghai production plant could be impacted by rising friction between the US and Beijing.

Earlier this week, Musk was reprimanded by the Global Times, a state-run media outlet that serves as a mouthpiece for the Chinese Communist Party.

The Tesla boss had tweeted about the US Energy Department’s determination that a lab leak in China was the mostly likely explanation for the COVID-19 pandemic’s origins.

The Global Times warned Musk that he risked “breaking the pot of China” – a phrase equivalent to “biting the hand that feeds you” – if he continued to discuss the theory, CNBC reported .

Tom Zhu, Tesla’s head of global production, downplayed the risk posed by the carmaker’s potentially fraught relations with China.

“We created a lot of jobs with the factory and our suppliers, and contribute a lot to the local community,” Zhu said at the investor day event.

“As long as we are needed in the country, I don’t see there’s much of the risk,” Zhu added.

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COMMENTS

Trading Business Plan Template & How-To Guide [Updated 2023]
Your business plan is a living document that should be updated annually as your company grows and changes. Sources of Funding for Trading Companies With regards to funding, the main sources of funding for a trading company are personal savings, credit cards, bank loans, and angel investors.
Setup a Trading Business: The Complete Guide
Trading as a business involves trading stocks and other financial instruments under a legal business structure, such as a sole proprietor, partnership, or limited liability company (LLC). Everyone wants to make money, and everyone wants to be free. You can accomplish both if you're a successful trader.
NOT_SET
A trading business plan, just like a normal business plan, is a document that details everything that you need to know in order to run your trading business. It includes your goals and objectives, how you intend to make money, what your edge is, what you will trade and why, and how you will grow your trading business. ...
Having a Trading Plan: Treat Your Trading Like It's a Business
Make a plan for exiting profitable and losing trades, write it down, and automate an exit point. You could include the following: Stop orders. Sometimes markets can move against you by quite a bit. Placing a stop order at the time you place your entry can help protect your positions.
Trading Business Plan
Trading Business Plan A custom business plan for a trading firm will communicate what products will be traded, how they will be procured, and the process of importation. Some trading companies work with distributors, whereas others sell directory to customers or wholesale to retail buyer.
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The 5 Steps to Starting a Trading Business
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Trading Plan Template for Any Trading Asset for 2022. Needless to say that having a plan before you start trading is essential to your success as a trader. After all, when you enter the markets, you risk your money and, more importantly, your ego and confidence in yourself. Ironically, some people have special trading skills, but they cannot ...
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