Before I became a full-time day trader and entrepreneur, I worked at a recruitment company. I made decent money and loved my coworkers, but trading was my passion. I would trade during work hours and study charts after work. I started my first trading chatroom while I was still working at my desk job.
Becoming a full-time trader and entrepreneur was important to me, but it took me awhile to make the decision to do it. It’s easy to get comfortable making a paycheck and putting your goals on hold while you’re spending your hard-earned money and keeping up with your friends. However, if you really want to work for yourself, make your own hours, take vacations when you want, and live out your passion, then you will eventually need to make the switch.
Here’s how to go full-time and set yourself up for success.
Make The Decision
Before you do anything, you need to make the decision and follow through no matter what. This doesn’t mean to quit on the spot but it means that you realize you’re different than your coworkers and you’re ready to make the change.
Set A Date
There is no better way to follow through than to set a date and write it down on your calendar. Have you ever heard the theory of “figuring out where you want to be and then work backwards?” Well, this is very similar to that. Setting a date will allow you to start planning for your big move. Writing it down on your calendar will forge your goal in your head and help it manifest into reality.
Cut Out All Debt
Once you make the switch, you will not be getting the steady paycheck every week. You will no longer be able to rely on consistent cash flow to pay your expenses, so you need to trim your expenses down to as little as possible. You will need to pay off all debt, stop your car payments and any other unnecessary monthly payments. Trim your expenses down to only your bare necessities. This will make entrepreneurial life much easier.
Create A Plan
All of our Bulls Bootcamp students are required to create their own trading plan. This details the trading setups they will focus on, daily routines, risk management, and everything else they need to do during a trading day. A plan is crucial to setting yourself up for success.
When the day comes and you finally make the change to go full-time, you will need to know what your next steps are. The last thing you want to do is make a huge decision and not know what to do when the big day comes. Your plan doesn’t need to be a traditional business plan. Create your morning routine and set of daily habits.
Follow the 80/20 rule and figure out what will make 80% of your income and focus on those things every day. Write down the vision of your business so you know where you’re going. Start to build relationships with key people in the industry and include how they will help you in your plan. Once the day comes you should know exactly what you’re going to do next.
Going full-time can be a scary thing, but the longer you wait, the more of a mystique you will build around it. Make the decision today, set a date, and begin your plan to execute on your promise to yourself.
Kunal is an active speaker and has spoken at many events including the Trader and Investor Summit, Traders4ACause gala event, Trading Mastery Summit, and been featured in numerous podcasts, and covered in the Huffington Post, BroBible, and Inc.com. He also has his own section on TheStreet. In 2015, he spoke alongside market luminaries such as Peter Brandt, Jack Schwager, and James Dalton.