By David Adams
E-mini trading draws a wide variety of individuals who have differing motives for entering the trading business. On the other hand, most individuals enter the business seeking added income and financial security. To be sure, many individuals consider e-mini trading a “get rich quick” type of business and plunge headlong into trading with gusto, and usually disappointment.
I want to make the thesis of this article clear from the start; if you want to make a living in the e-mini business you must treat your trading as a full-time job. Over the years, I have watched hundreds of traders employ a variety of unusual approaches to succeeding in the e-mini trading business, usually unsuccessfully. For example:
• Waking up at 11 o’clock ready to trade until the session close. I start trading at 6 AM CST ready to trade. I do take an extended lunch during the “stand down period” from 11:30 AM CST to 12:45 PM CST; during these times the action can be sluggish and unproductive.
• Some traders have days when they just don’t feel like trading. I hear this often. Of course, if a trader had a normal job they would not take a couple of days off every week cause they just didn’t feel like working.
• Many traders enter the e-mini trading arena with little or no training and hope for positive results. This can happen on a regular basis, even when the students are enrolled in and organized course to learn to trade the e-mini contracts. In lieu of reading the material and mastering some of the trading techniques, they come to the trading room in hopes of “picking up” trading techniques from the instructor or other students. It doesn’t work that way.
• One great way to fail is to perform only the minimum requirements. Don’t do any additional reading on e-mini contracts, don’t subscribe to trading publications, don’t keep abreast of current economic and trading news; just show up and hope for the best.
• I find many traders schedule personal appointments during prime trading hours without consideration of the effect their absence will have on their business. When possible, I schedule doctor’s appointments and other similar unavoidable appointments during the lunch hour or after 3 PM CST so that I can avoid trading interruptions.
There are a plethora of other reasons why brand-new e-mini traders fail, but failing to put forth a maximum effort in your fledgling business is a tragic mistake. My point is a simple one, if you open any sort of business, you would keep regular hours and keep your shelves fully stocked and go the extra mile to please your customers and suppliers. For whatever reason, this level of dedication is sorely lacking in the e-mini trading business. In my estimation, the majority of entry-level e-mini traders give it the “old college try” in hopes of success.
Successful businessman carefully plan their marketing strategy, work long hours, and go the extra mile to assure their success. I can’t imagine a new businessman starting a business with a halfhearted attitude and coming to work when it seems convenient to do so. I want to reiterate my point; treat your e-mini trading business as a full-time job and devote the effort one would expect from an individual starting a new career. Notice I use the word career, not job. Trading can never be considered a run-of-the-mill job because of the extraordinary amount of effort it takes to attain success and continue that success; when you start an e-mini trading career, you have embarked on a career path, not a dalliance to fritter away a few meaningless years.
In summary, I have stressed the importance of treating the e-mini trading business has a full-time career and stressed the importance of devoting a solid effort into your success. Because you are essentially your own boss in this business, it is easy to schedule unproductive activities during periods of time when you should be actively trading. In short, nothing less than a maximum effort in both time and workload can lead you to profitability. Keep this in mind next time you cancel an afternoon trading session to play golf or run errands.
About the Author
Real Live Trading Doesn’t Lie. Spend several days in my trading room and see if you can benefit from a fresh and unique view on trading e-mini contracts. Sign up for your free trading experience by clicking here
