Trading Story: Trading Interviews, Tips & Inspiration For Newer Traders

In Episode 20, we explored the other needs of a trader. Number 3 on that list was goals. Recently, something happened on my end that will affect my personal trading. More on that later in the podcast. But it drove home the point that I needed to assess some things in my life. So I started to think about goals again. Not the whole ‘what am I supposed to do with my life’ question (though that’s pretty important). But more the ‘what I am I supposed to do right now’ question. I think that’s a helpful topic for a trading podcast too.

I had the opportunity to speak with Akil Stokes. When Akil is not trading forex as the chief currency analyst at Trade Empowered he's coaching track at Millersville University. We talked sports, forex, and trading - a helpful conversation whether or not you want to trade FX. 

Options trading one of those less popular forms of trading. Compared to stocks, forex, and even futures, options seem to be the ‘lesser-loved’ financial instruments  for most traders. But it does not mean there’s not money to be made there. By no means! I have some experience paper trading some stock options. I even went through an extensive options trading class, so I know something about it. For those of you who are interested in options, I thought it would be good to provide a brief overview.

Tim Biggam has been trading in Chicago since 1985. He earned his stripes in the Crash of '87 when he had the cash to stay in and keep trading. And he continues to do it to this day. I learned a lot from this veteran trader and I think you guys will as well.

In this episode, we focus on the most popular of the markets to trade: the stock market. We review some of the ways that traders tackle these markets - and things to consider if you use any of those methods.

When most newer trader think about trading, they think about stock trading. That's why I'm excited to bring to you a conversation with Jason Leavitt. Jason is our first stock trader on the program and it was a good one. He's been trading for almost two decades through bear and bull markets and he has a great plug for trend trading.

Virtual trading rooms have become a staple for the trading education space over the past so many years. And there’s a lot to like about them. Here’s a brief introduction to trading rooms and how they may be beneficial to newer traders.

Mike Bellafiore is a New York City trader. Mike co-founded SMB Capital with a some trading buddies. SMB is a proprietary trading firm focused on helping newer traders become successful traders trading their system. In fact, some of his traders now make $600,000/year after trading three short years. If you're interested in learning more about proprietary trading or prop trading, this episode for you.

Consistently profitable trading is hard. If anyone tells you differently, they probably haven’t done it very long (if at all) or they’re lying. And forget about taking advice from someone like that. In my own trading I’ve had streaks of winners and streaks of losers. The winners can lull you into thinking you’ve got this thing figured out just before the next trade wipes out all the wins (or more) of those winning trades. That gives me a lot of respect for anyone who can turn in 20+% returns every year. It’s a tough business. So why is it important to stress the difficulty in trading?  Because it’s worth the effort to overcome the difficulties. Not only do I think it’s worth it, but if you’re listening to these podcasts, you probably think it’s worth it too. You have this unexplainable drive to trade consistently: you’re staying up late looking at charts, buying trading books, attending conferences, or hiring coaches. The goal is worth the price paid for in time, energy, and dollars. Dollars spent both in los

Hunt Holladay is not a trading coach, a blogger, a StockTwit, or a YouTuber trying to promote his trading channel. He's just a trader. And a fairly new full-time trader to boot. He turned on his full-time account in January this year - about 6 months ago. At the time of this interview, Hunt had already booked 20% gains on the year, and was trending to have a year that most fund managers would kill to have. I think newer traders out there will get a lot of value from Hunt's story traveling the trading road to where he is now.

In this episode, I outline four reasons you should consider demo trading, also known as paper trading. Those reasons are practice, testing, learning a new platform, and building confidence. In addition, there’s also a couple of related things to consider as you’re demo trading.  

In this episode, I chat with Sebastian Kuhnert. Sebastian is the co-founder and managing director at Tradimo Interactive, a free trading school based in Denmark. Sebastian interacts with hundreds of traders in the Tradimo community so it was great to get his perspective on strategy, trader mistakes, and trading psychology. Plus, he reveals an easy Fibonacci strategy that any new forex trader can use.

In this episode, I catch you guys up on my trading journey. I’m getting closer to putting on some real trades and wanted to let you know where I’m at. Plus, I give you guys some of my takeaways so far in the podcast that should be helpful to you guys as well, especially if you haven’t had the chance to listen to all the podcasts. 

Larry Gaines has the coolest last name for a trader. In his 30+ year trading career, the markets have taken him from his  home state to places like Bermuda and Singapore, until he finally settled down again in Austin, Texas. Larry is also a good teacher. I think you guys are going to like his story and his options strategy that newer traders can use.

In this episode, I talk through why I chose to specialize in the forex. Three reasons why I think it’s a great market to trade. But I also take the flip side and discuss why you may not want to trade it – three reasons to avoid the forex. 

Dominic ‘D’ , or ‘Dom’ for short is a smart and dedicated, part-time trader. He has a finance background and even traded professionally for a time. But now he’s focused on trading just his personal account on the side. He’s grown his account from a modest sum and now has a net worth of over $200,000 – and he’s only in his 20’s. Dom’s story is encouraging to some of the younger traders among us – he even targets a younger audience at his very active and entertaining blog, GenYFinanceGuy.com. It was a fun and practical conversation.

In this episode, we talk about things that all traders need. Things that I need, and things that you need as a solo-trader: time, energy, and goals. It’s a bit more personal, but hopefully helpful as you and I take on the markets. 

In this episode, I speak with Jeffrey Kennedy. Just because you're a good trader does not make you a good teacher. But Jeff Kennedy happens to be both. A natural teacher and a consistently profitable trader for over a decade, he walks us through the Elliott Wave for newer traders. He also provides some practical tips if you never use Elliott Wave. He is the co-author of Visual Guide to Elliott Wave Trading and has a host of industry designations you'll hear about in the introduction. I personally got some great tips for my trading and I think you will as well.

Tips to finding a good trading coach, mentor, or trading service. Six simple steps for shopping for trading help. But before we get into that, something happened in Houston a few years ago...

I had a fascinating conversation with Jarratt Davis. Jarrett is a London-based forex trader. He's been trading for about a decade, for his personal account and clients at SMILe Global Management. He also teaches other forex traders. Jarratt specializes in news-based forex trading and he's making it available to forex traders interested in that style. He's a quoteable guy and succinctly guides us through some the pitfalls of the markets.