How to Day Trade Like a Business | Full Guide

As a beginner trader, you’re always on a quest to improve and learn fast so you can reach consistent profitability quickly.

And with that, you’ve probably heard “Treat your trading like a business” a million times.

While that is true, it is one of the FASTEST ways to get to profitability.

But what does that mean?

In this issue, I will share with you how I treat my trading like a business and what that means for me.

Grab a coffee, I will share with you all the steps in detail.

First, let’s examine how a business correlates with trading.

They are remarkably similar.

Let’s break it all down, imagine you are looking to open a small business, let’s use a popular example of opening an e-commerce store.

What does this look like on a business plan?

This list is LONG…

I have run multiple online e-commerce stores in the past 7 years and I have taken them to 6 and 7-figure stores. So I can write novels on what is needed to build a successful online store. But I am going to summarize it to keep it simple.

Here are the key pillars that your business plan should include:

1. A reliable platform to do commerce

2. A winning product (s)

3. Marketing & Sales

4. Logistics and fulfillment

5. A way to track and scale

These 5 essential pillars are the basis for running a successful e-commerce store. So when we translate this over to trading, it looks like this:

1. A reliable platform to do commerce ←What market do I want to trade? futures? forex? options? stocks?

2. A winning product ←What assets do I want to trade? NQ? ES? YM? etc.

3. Marketing & Sales ← How much am I willing to trade with? How much am I willing to risk? What does my strategy look like?

4. Logistics and fulfillment - What platform and broker am I going to use?

5. A way to track and scale ← How am I tracking my trades? Do I have a tracking journal? Do I have a roadmap for scaling up my accounts based on the data I have collected?

So let’s put together a simple plan to start our trading journey based on the criteria above.

1. Choosing what market to trade - this can be difficult for some. But most already have an affinity for what they like. For example, many will gravitate to Forex and Stocks. You will want to go towards what you have an affinity for. Otherwise, if you are brand new to trading, start with Futures. There are many benefits to Futures, and generally more beginner-friendly. This is what I have gone with.

2. What instruments do I want to trade? There are many many instruments to choose from, and you can essentially trade a bunch of them simultaneously at the same time. IT IS NOT RECOMMENDED. Start with 1 instrument. Start either with NQ or ES. For me personally, I picked NQ. The volatility of NQ allows you to quickly scalp 10-15 points every day with ease.

3. What does my strategy look like? Essentially, what does your ‘playbook’ look like? This is perhaps the most important pillar of them all when you start. How are you going about the market? What time frames will you be trading? You need to figure out what type of trader you are. Are you a scalper? Are you day trading where you’re holding positions for more than a few minutes, maybe even up to a few hours? or are you a swing trader, where you’re holding positions over several days, even weeks? Once you identify this, it will then identify the strategy that you need and in turn identify the time frame that you need to be able to get in the best positions for the trade.

   You need to formulate a strategic approach from the top down:

   1. What type of trader are you?

   2. Narrow down your time frame based on the type of trader you are. Scalping, swinging, hybrid, long-term position holds?

   3. Based on the type of trader you are, what type of strategy are you using? Basic price action, indicators, order flow, etc.?

   When you can identify these key points, it allows you to focus on winning repeatable trades and avoid taking “junk” trades where you will give back your profits.

4. Now that you have a framework to work off of, you need to decide what platform you plan to use to execute your trades and decide which brokers you want to go with:

   1. Platform - when it comes to platforms, there are many to choose from, you want to pick something easy to use and easy to learn. But most importantly supports the trading that you do. If you are trading Futures, then a robust platform like NinjaTrader will work well. It’s easy to use and easy to learn. If you’re trading stocks, for example, you might prefer something like DAS Trader Pro. You need to figure out what suits your needs in terms of features, functionality, and cost. Most of these platforms will have a fee for you to trade live, but the majority of them will also have FREE versions for you to try with simulation (paper) trading so you can learn the platform. Always try it out first before committing.

   2. Brokers - Similar to choosing a platform, there are a few things to consider. First, make sure the broker you choose supports the instruments that you plan to trade. Second, always ask to see their detailed commission table. Make sure you compare brokers to see where you can get the best rate when it comes to commissions. Lastly, make sure you do research and see user reviews for their customer service. You want to go with a broker that has good customer service so that if something goes wrong, they can and will help you.

5. Tracking - this is essential for you to improve and stay consistently profitable. Make sure you track ALL your trading progress. Just like in any business, you’re focused on your P/L statement, revenue, profits, expenses, etc. You would be obsessed with knowing what these numbers are at all times. You would want to know when your business is generating revenue and when your business is not generating revenue. What are the weaknesses and strengths of your business? You can only know this through data. Data that you collect daily. In trading, it is the same thing, you will want to know when you have your best trades and when you have your worst trades. What are your best scenarios for setups? What market conditions to avoid, etc. The best way to get this information is through journaling your trades. Then once you have collected your data, you need to do daily reviews, weekly reviews, monthly reviews, and quarterly reviews of your trades and performances. Through your data, you’ll be able to spot where the low-hanging fruit trades are, and where to avoid the market altogether. Focus on what’s working, and eliminate everything else. This pruning process is vital for reliable profits every day.

   Grab my FREE journal template 👉 HERE 

The last thing is tying it all together by having structure and processes in place for your trading. Just like in business where you have specific processes and procedures, in trading, it is the same thing. You’ll have to map out your accounts and figure out what your daily, weekly, and monthly recap looks like. What does your daily session look like? Are you allocating time for pre-market analysis? Allocating time for daily review after each session?

The idea here is you want to have a proven process, a repeatable process that can help you be profitable reliably every day.

You’re going to make a lot of mistakes and have a lot of variables to control.

So the only way to minimize this is to have a structure and process in place after all the planning.

Planning without execution is useless.

Execution without tactics/methods is aimless. And aimless = losing trades and failure.

So your execution should be precise and strategic.

Every trade session should be well planned ahead of time and systematically executed.

Every trade that you take is based on a well-analyzed thesis, a well-structured strategy where you know where the entry, take profit, and stop loss should be before placing a trade.

Treat your trading like a business with a well-thought-out plan, and make sure your decisions are driven by data, and not based on what you “think” or “hope” will happen.

There should be no point in time where you just go in and “wing it”, every time I did this, I lost.

And I continued to lose until I changed my mindset and outlook and operated my trading like I was running a business when approaching the market.

Be prepared. Always.

Until next time,

-Huy N

P.S. You can get my complete in-depth “Beginner’s Guide To Futures Trading” 100% free 👉HERE.

​DISCLAIMER: I'm NOT a financial advisor. This content is for education and information purposes only. Trading, Crypto, and DeFi are risky and speculative. Please do your research before engaging in any form of trading/investing.

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