Can you make a living out of trading?

As we come to the end of 2013, there are many who may be closing their trading accounts, giving up on the markets as a losing cause and there would be the wannabe youngsters or those who dont have any other alternatives to look at trading for a living.. Many of the traders who come and trade with me also give up and go away, but there are several who continue and make money. Now this post is not about whether they are doing right or wrong. Its the underlying assumption. Is trading profitable?


I have been in the markets as a serious trader for the last 3 years and make my living out of it. Its not that I have lost money at times, but on balance, this activity funds my living expenses, month on month for all of this period. What has made this possible? Here are some of the positive factors that anyone who wants to consider trading as a business proposition must consider - I am not going to talk about what they should do - there are enough soothsayers and advisors around who will tell you more about that :). I will summarise what I did :


- Made trading my business with its objectives, targets and goals.
- Defined a capital base that would be deployed with the assumption that it was 100% risk capital.
- Identified (in this case developed) a trading system that gives a consistent win ratio.
- Developed a structured trade entry and exit plan.
- Developed a risk management plan suitable for my trading style.
- Developed a money management plan for achieving the desired revenues.
- Reviewed the progress month on month based on the business objectives and applied course corrections where-ever needed.


Now you may wonder, that this may just be simple common sense. Well, adapt and use a similar plan, if you want trading to be your main source of livelihood. Good luck, Happy Christmas and a wonderful New Year ahead. And if you havent yet seen Robin Sharma's video in the last post, I urge you strongly to do so.