I absolutely agree. Reselling is a good way to start a business. Personally I resell Supreme clothes with the help of a bot https://supremehotbot.com/ that allows to purchase all items I want and need (it is not easy to do because of great demand). Of course, I started not long ago, but I can see the results, and I'm sure I'll have a starting capital for my own business soon.
Why waste your time?
- Thread starter Euler09
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Your gatekeeping is a bit arbitrary. Success is whatever one calls it. If just "beating the market" is success, if simply outperforming the major indices is success, then I will hazard to say that there are a lot more than 5% of traders in the "successful" category. If successful means they can quit their "day job", then I think the statistics are probably still a bit higher than 5%, if you only count those who set out to be full time traders. And are you talking about swing traders, or day traders, or both?
And it is okay to TRY to do something with a low expectation of success. I buy my powerball ticket twice a week without fail. Yeah it is a bad bet. The actual payout is way less than the odds would have it in a fair game. I play anyway, for the dream. One thing is certain: You can't win if you don't play. Let me say that again. YOU CAN'T WIN IF YOU DON'T PLAY.
Not all rewards are strictly monetary. Myself, I get a great deal of enjoyment out of day trading. I enjoy testing my acumen against the thundering herd. I enjoy the interplay between risk and reward. I have often compared trading to Poker, and for me it is a similar rush, with less hassle. Plus I can see now that my trading will be profitable, and a welcome addition to my income, possibly making up the majority of it before long. As much fun as a hobby, but a money maker instead of a money consumer. I don't know that I could have ever become a successful full time professional poker player. I think perhaps my awe and respect for the real pros kept me thinking small, thinking I would not in the long run beat them. There is always somebody better than you. Kinda like being a gunfighter in the 1880s West, I suppose. Trading is less intimidating. The market appears faceless, at least at first. It is just a wall that can presumably be climbed or dismantled or undermined or flanked or a door found through which to pass.
My initial goal was to work with $10k and not lose it while I learned the ropes. In that, I was successful. In not "blowing up" my account, or even dipping very low before climbing back up to the initial amount, I can say that I was successful. Now that I will be playing with 5x my initial account, I believe that I will be able to trade 3 or 4 mornings a week and turn a profit, and see a bigger profit as time goes by and I develop myself as a trader. I consider that to be success. I beat the odds. I didn't fall into the 80% or whatever who fail or quit. I never thought I would fail and I didn't. Success. Got that, yeah. My goals were reached and my ongoing goals will also be reached.
If you only consider those who are determined to become full time traders, especially if you include swing traders, I would guess that the success rate by the standards of the subjects themselves is probably nearer to 50% than 5%. Most of the punters you run across in forums or chat rooms do not have that determination. They want it handed to them and don't see why they should make a vigorous effort to learn. That nearly all of them will fail is pretty much a foregone conclusion. This is an endeavor where a reasonably intelligent and disciplined person makes it on grit and determination. Those who won't make a genuine effort are food.
Hey, if you want to talk odds, think about what the odds are that a college dropout with no programming experience could create a multi-million dollar online community for traders in 1997 and attract a who's who list of industry sponsors and keep everything running smoothly for 20+ years? I can assure you the odds of that succeeding are way less than 5%, but you know what, I DID IT.
So it's not about what the generic odds of failing are. It's about what the odds are that you're personally going to say to yourself, "I Quit". For me, the answer is always the same: "Never".
Can I upvote this more?
I think the 5% figure is kind of a bullshit statistic the same way that the statistic that 90-95% of newly opened restaurants fail within the first few years is. The number itself is probably correct, however when you look at the actual population of people doing it and their circumstances you'll see that the number itself doesn't do justice to the scenario.
Because trading is a business.
How many people (or married couples) have no experience in the restaurant business but take their savings and open a restaurant? They do not have a definable edge, and often do not have adequate capital backing them. Contrast this with an experienced front of house manager and an experienced, trained chef who have adequate money backing them and a definable edge, what are the odds that they fail? 10%? 20%?
Most people who start a restaurant have no business starting a restaurant. Their qualifications and strategy consist of "I like food and I don't like having a boss".
How many people take that approach to trading?
Nearly all restaurateurs (who fail) treat running a restaurant as a cooking project.
Nearly all traders (who fail) treat trading as an amateur science study project.
Both groups are not treating their task as a business. Not surprising failure rates for both are high and similar.
The statistic is right but yes its irrelevant.
On most trading platforms I've seen lately it says '76% of people lose money trading this' or something similar.I'd be interested to know how they are required to report this? 76% lose money on one/the first trade? I'm assuming it's a legal requirement (or they pre-empted a legal requirement) now so what is the reporting metric.
Yes, its a regulatory requirement now across the EU and will probably remain one in the UK. The data normally refer to current clients, so they're saying that clients with accounts on this day are mostly losing money.
