It pays to play. Six months ago, I made the most important decision of my life: I went from working for other people to working for myself. This step required a leap of faith, I’ll admit. But nothing has built my self-confidence more in my entire life than believing in my abilities and leaving behind a job that I hated. In order to become a full time trader, I had to do a great deal of research and make some serious mistakes. That’s why I’ve compiled this list of the 3 essential things I had to do to make it as a professional stock trader from home. This post exists so you don’t make the same mistakes I did. Trust me, you’ll thank me in the future. Always Be Learning Whether you’re a stock market genius or an absolute beginner, it’s essential to stay up to date with all of the freshest information. Investing is literally a nonstop challenge, which means you have to find ways to consistently learn more about where the market is and where it’s heading. If you’re not learning, you’re falling behind, simple as that. To stay on top of the constantly-changing information, I used a few sources. The first were obvious: I liked to balance different perspectives from news outlets. I like to see what’s going on at CNBC and then compare and contrast with what Business Insider and The Wall Street Journal. (If you’re a big reader, The Economist is fantastic, if a bit more dense than the others. My primary go to, which helps save me time when I need it, is Chaikin Analytics. It’s a one-stop-shop and offers everything from high-tech analytics to clean and concise articles to help you keep in the know. But even when I don’t have time to read in depth, I can turn to their PowerGauge system, which tells you in under 3 seconds which way a stock is trending. But learning extends beyond just what editorials and pros have to say. It was important for me to find a community of traders that are real people, not big wigs. That’s why I was excited to find Score Priority Club. It’s a social media site without all the clutter, for people who want to talk about the economy and the markets. It has some serious characters on it, which makes for fun reading and the occasional great debate (particularly about Tesla.) And, through Score Priority Club, I heard about the next step: 2) Trade With Other People’s Money I’d never considered that this was a possibility. If you’re not involved in the stock market, it’s simply not widely publicized enough. But you can use institution’s money instead of your own savings. It’s called prop trading, and it allowed me to get my start. After doing a lot of research, the best split I could find with various prop traders was at Try2BFunded. They offered my 60% of profits, much higher than others, and I didn’t have to put down any money until I had moved past the qualifying rounds, which made sure I was earning enough to go ahead on my own. The process was informative and educational, and took about 6 weeks. Then I started cashing out. 3) Find Your Sectors, Build an Ecosystem With the money you’ve saved or the money you’ve earned with a prop trader like Try2BFunded, it’s time to start trading on your own. A big step for me was learning what kind of stocks I wanted to focus on. Personally, I used to work in tech, so I felt most comfortable focusing on tech stocks. Once I’d used the knowledge gained from all the aforementioned resources, I looked for the best trading options out there. One way to go is through your bank. If you’re already locked in to a bank with a brokerage firm, it’s an easy connect. Personally, I wanted to feel separated from the financial institutions that already have a grip on my funds. But I still wanted to feel integrated. That’s why I went with Score Priority. I was able to stay connected with my Try2BFunded account and connected with my Score Priority Club community. If you’re serious about trading, it’s good to build an ecosystem like this. Interconnectivity helped me see trends on the market I wouldn’t have otherwise. All in all, it took me about 8 months to get to a place where I was able to do this full time. But the good news? I’m still growing my portfolio, and the future is bright. Source