Quote from leorc:
I spent the last two years losing money, and have finally developed my own profitable mechanical trading system along with money management methods and rules I follow. Backtesting result is great and doing good in real action.
The problem is I have too little capital to trade with. What do I do from here?
I see that you've spent two years learning to trade. That's how long it took me and that seems to be the magic number for a lot of traders. That said, I don't trust backtesting as being conclusive. Only live trading will show you what you've got, and even that can be misleading at times.
For now, let's assume you're on the path to consistent profitability. Here are my questions for you:
1. Are you a daytrader? Do you need to be in front of the screen or can you support yourself in some other manner while continuing to trade your account?
2. If you work a job and trade your account, how long would it take you to get to the point where you could support yourself trading? Do the math on this one and be honest... it's the way most private traders make the transition. Can you get from here to there in 2 years? Five years?
3. Are you looking to invest other people's money? If so, it will probably have to be family and friends. It is unlikely that anyone else will invest in you until you have a long and strong track record; but you can try the prop-shop approach if that appeals to you.
A word of caution as you think about these questions: If you look at trading as a get-rich-quick proposition, you're going to be seriously dissapointed. Take a long-term view -- at least five years -- as you develop your plan for being a successful private trader.
As a final note, if you want specific advice, you'll need to ask specific questions.