Stock Trading Tips for Business Owners

Meta Description: Learn how to trade stocks for business owners. Learn what you need to know, including how to get started and where to invest.

If you’re a business owner or an investor with a company on the side, you probably don’t have time to study technical analysis or chart patterns all day.

You don’t have the time to analyze hundreds of stocks and ETFs in order to find the best stock for your portfolio.

After all, you have a business to run! So what can you do if you want to learn how to trade? How can you become a better trader while balancing work?

In this article, I’ll show you how to get started trading stocks without taking a lot of time out of your day.

I’ll also talk about a few stock trading tips that can help you become a better trader in less time.

Are you ready? Let’s jump right into it!

Identify Your Trading Goals

If you’ve never taken the time to clearly define your goals for your trading career, then now is the time to ask yourself this question: Why am I doing this?

From my experience, most traders fail because they don’t have a clear trading goal, and they don’t know how to execute it.

If you want to learn how to trade like a professional trader, then you have to accept that it’s not easy. It takes a lot of discipline, hard work, and perseverance to master the craft.

Otherwise, you will continue to lose money until you finally decide to get serious about your trading strategy.

Trading is a journey and you must decide which path you want to take to reach your end destination.

Do you want to make a million dollars from trading?

Do you want to quit your day job and trade for a living?

Do you want to make your lifestyle better by earning more money?

Do you want to learn a new skill?

Do you want to increase your free time to dedicate to your loved ones?

Do you want to become financially independent?

Whatever your goal may be, you must develop the right mindset and plan to reach that goal.

Remember, trading will not happen overnight so be patient and keep setting realistic goals for yourself.

Learn to Read Chart Patterns

Are you new to trading? Or perhaps you’re a seasoned veteran who has been trading for years but feels stuck?

Either way, you have probably struggled with price patterns.

After all, chart patterns can tell us a lot about future price movements and trends.

But how can you tell if a pattern will form?

And once a chart pattern has formed – How do you know if it’s a bull pennant formation or a bull flag?

Or an ascending wedge or a descending triangle?

There are so many different patterns and each one looks different. So how can you read these patterns?

Well, it may be a bit overwhelming at first but don’t worry, you’re not alone.

Chart patterns are a powerful tool that you can use to identify market trends and your entry and exit points.

There are hundreds of different types of chart patterns, but some of the more popular patterns are head and shoulders, double tops and bottoms, wedges, triangles, flags, and pennants.

When you learn to identify these patterns, you will be able to use them to your advantage in your trades.

Choose Your Stock Broker Wisely

Choosing a stock broker can be very confusing – with so many options to choose from!

But at the end of the day, it all comes down to personal preference. So it really comes down to the features that you want most and the fees that you’re willing to pay.

That being said, there are some brokers that consistently come out on top with traders such as Interactive Brokers (IB) and Charles Schwab.

I know what you’re thinking – “What does a stock broker have to do with trading?” But the question is, would you rather spend your time researching stocks or learning how to trade?

The broker you choose will affect your trading experience, for better or worse. It’s best to find one that has low commissions and a user-friendly platform.

But at the end of the day, what it really comes down to is customer service.

If your account has been hacked, and you need to speak to someone to get it resolved quickly, then customer service is going to make a huge difference.

The broker you choose should be experienced and reputable with years of experience behind it.

Look for a broker that has an easy-to-navigate platform, excellent customer service, and a low commission percentage.

So take your time and choose a broker that is right for you.

Protect Your Money and Accounts

Let’s face it – trading is a risky business. No matter how good you are at technical analysis, you can never completely eliminate the risk.

But you can reduce your risk exposure as much as possible. And that’s what I’m going to teach you in this article.

Every trader is vulnerable to losing their money at some point in time. And if you’re a retail trader, then the chances of this happening are even higher.

That’s why you’ll need all the tools to protect your money, and accounts from any kind of financial disaster.

That being said, trading is a tough business. You may win some and you may lose some. But your most important assets are your money and accounts.

If you lose any of them, it can mean the end of your trading career. Make sure that you protect both of them at all times.

Always keep a trading journal and keep track of all your trades.

When you have to stop trading and close the trading accounts, make sure you do it the correct way.

It’s best to close all positions first and close out all open positions second. That way you’re only closing open trades and not losing any profits.

For tax reasons, it’s best to close out all open positions first, then close all positions. That way you avoid paying taxes on previous profits.

So make sure you learn how to protect your money in the first place before even thinking about taking the first trade.

Don’t Overtrade or Undertrade Your Account

Overtrading and under trading are both harmful to your trading career. They can ruin your confidence, drain your account, and cause you to miss opportunities.

So how can you trade the market with confidence? How can you manage your risk effectively? How can you trade like a pro?

You need to learn to become a confident, productive, and profitable trader.

You’ll need to develop a system that works for you and not against you – a system that you can follow again and again without getting discouraged or frustrated.

Trading is a profession that requires a lot of discipline. You need to understand when to risk more and when not to risk anything.

Some traders get too greedy and risk too much thinking that they will make more and more money if they risk more. This usually leads to them losing their entire account.

Other traders are too afraid of losing their account and risk too little thinking that if they only risk a little money they will lose less money. This usually leads to them losing their entire account as well.

If you have a small trading account, it’s essential that you learn how to trade well and risk the proper amount per trade.

Also, don’t try to trade too many different setups or strategies at once. Pick one setup or strategy that is proven to work and master it. Then move on to another proven setup/system.

So, the moral of the story is – don’t let your ego interfere with your trading!

Don’t Listen to Others’ Opinions

Trading and Investing can be VERY confusing at times. With all the different trading styles, indicators, and strategies to choose from – it can be overwhelming!

In this age of information overload, it’s easy to get sucked into the hype and start following the crowd.

Some traders post their trades on social media, and some traders share trading networks. They all want you to follow them because they make more money when they’re right than when they’re wrong.

However, just because someone else is doing something doesn’t mean you should too.

For example, just because Warren Buffet and Elon Musk are buying Bitcoin doesn’t mean that you should too!

The truth is that most of the trading advice out there is garbage, and you should never follow it blindly. Instead, you should test it for yourself until you’ve proven to yourself that it works.

So… now it’s your turn.

Don’t listen to others’ opinions, whether it’s from your friends, family members, or random people I find on the internet.

If you listen to other’s opinions, you’re opening yourself up to potential bad trading habits.

If you follow someone’s advice blindly, they will only make money off of you.

A good trader needs to develop their own trading system and stick to it.

If you listen to other’s opinions, you will constantly be running from one system to another, never truly mastering any of them.

Trading is a very personal thing and once you develop a system that works for you, stick with it.

Diversify Your Investments

I’ve been telling my friends to diversify their investments for years. It’s an effective way to mitigate risk.

But a lot of investors don’t listen. They’d rather play it safe by only holding one stock at a time.

But here’s the thing – the stock market has been unpredictable lately, and you never know what the next market correction will bring.

So if you’re going to invest, you need to be prepared!

And this is exactly why you need to learn how to pick the right investments, as well as how to avoid common investment mistakes.

Diversification is the act of spreading your investment capital over a variety of assets to minimize risk.

Diversifying your investments is important because it allows an investor to hedge against downside losses in one particular asset class and capitalize on upside gains from another asset class.

Diversification allows an investor to reduce overall risk, improve returns, and increase investment capital.

The benefits of diversification apply to both individual investors and institutional investors.

This is because a diversified portfolio can help manage risk and enhance returns by providing exposure to different asset classes and investment styles (growth vs. value).

So make sure that you’re diversifying your investments and don’t try to put all eggs into one basket.

Key Takeaways

When you are learning how to trade, developing the right mindset is just as important a skill as learning how to place trades.

When you know the right mindset to use, and when you’re in the right mindset when you trade, you’ll experience greater success.

It’s as simple as that.

But how do you develop the right mindset?

Most people try to trade without a clear strategy. They rely on gut feelings, random thoughts, and “what ifs” to guide their decision. Unfortunately, this doesn’t lead to consistent results.

Instead, you need to sit down and write down your game plan. You need to list out the rules you’re willing to follow, and the rules you’re not willing to follow.

You should also write down your psychological approach to trading. What is your strategy when things don’t go your way? What’s your exit strategy?

No one ever said trading was easy – And nothing could be further from the truth. Trading is challenging, demanding, frustrating, stressful, and exhilarating all at the same time.

But with the right approach, you’ll experience more wins than losses – And that’s how you build a successful trading business.