How to make money on trading, starting from scratch? A step-by-step action plan to start successful trading on the stock exchange

At one time, the presented trading scheme allowed a novice entrepreneur to live comfortably for a couple of years and accumulate worthy capital to organize a more profitable business.

Once, at the very beginning of perestroika, when there was no initial capital behind my soul, there was not even money to feed my family, I was organizing trade for sale. Not God knows what kind of earnings, but he did not require any investment. All that was needed was healthy legs and a well-suspended tongue. And, of course, registration of either an enterprise or a private entrepreneur.

What was the job?

First of all, it was necessary to outline the desired type of product.

Make a list of possible manufacturers of the product. Visit them, find out from the management or in the sales department what goods their company manufactures, take price lists, find out if these goods can be taken from them FOR SALE, clarify the minimum lot size.

It's possible. I, and then my people, took polyethylene hoses, boxes for hidden electrical wiring, scissors, taps, valves and mixers from enterprises in Kyiv and gave them for sale.

You can target goods in your city to sell them in another - or vice versa. Take or buy samples of goods.

Make lists of potential buyers, visit them with samples of goods and discuss the possibility of selling goods.

Conclude an agreement with the manufacturer to take a consignment of goods from him for sale. Specify the term of the contract, at the end of which the proceeds should be transferred and the remaining goods returned, if any.

Conclude a contract for the sale of goods with a store or trading company at a price 20% higher than the manufacturer's price. The validity of this contract is one month earlier than the contract with the manufacturer. Establish penalties for non-compliance with deadlines. At the end of it, the store must transfer the proceeds and return the remaining goods, if any.

Deliver the goods to the store.

After three months, ask the store for money and the rest of the goods and make sure that the store pays in full for this batch. If not, then file a lawsuit against the store with the economic court and demand financial sanctions in accordance with the terms of the contract.

Example. We conclude an agreement with the Manufacturer for the sale of 1000 pcs. scissors for $5. We conclude contracts with 10 stores for the sale of 100 scissors in each at a price of $ 6. And we deliver scissors to shops. We harvest in three months.

Let's say 800 scissors are sold. Transportation costs are small compared to the profit from the sale of goods. If you spend a week of pure time on such an operation, then the monthly income will be quite worthy.

In addition, it is possible to organize a pyramid of distributors on this, promising everyone for the concluded contract 10-40% (depending on the number of levels of the pyramid) and, accordingly, earning 10% of the sales volume from each distributor, but that's another story.

I don’t know how it is now, but at one time this scheme of work allowed me to live comfortably for a couple of years and save up initial capital to run a more profitable business.

So, you have decided to try your hand at such an interesting and potentially profitable craft as trading. But you still do not know where to start your work, how to go from a beginner to an accomplished trader with a minimum of financial losses and a maximum of experience gained. Then you have come to the right place, because why go through the rake when others have already done it before you, in particular your obedient servant. And on the basis of my thorny path, I want to give you not just a few tips on how to and how not to start Forex trading, but to provide you with a step-by-step action plan, following which, if you do not become a seasoned professional, then helplessly hang out in the ocean of financial markets will definitely stop, having found your course for an island called "Financial well-being". Well, or in the process of learning, you will simply understand that trading is not for you and give up further attempts to master it, which, by the way, will also be a valuable decision. After all, in this world there are a lot of ways to make money, and from all of them you need to choose exactly the one that suits you.

Before we start, I want to give one good advice: Don't buy into the promises of paid Forex trading courses. Believe me, there is nothing exclusive in them, there is nothing that would not be freely available on the Internet. The only thing that such courses can give is an incentive to master them from beginning to end for the simple reason that you paid a considerable amount of money for them. And so, I repeat, all the necessary information on trading in the Forex market is abundantly presented on the Internet. This site "The ABC of the Trader" is no exception, by the way, new ones are periodically published on it. interesting articles and to be constantly aware of these updates, I recommend subscribing (for this, enter your e-mail in the form at the bottom of the page).

So let's get started:

Step one: Installing the trading terminal

Step two: Learning to work with the trading terminal interface

You need to learn how to work with the acquired tools, for what is the use of a hammer if you cannot hammer a nail with it. In the first step of our step-by-step action plan, you installed the MetaTrader 4 trading terminal, which has a very convenient and intuitive interface. First of all, you must master the basic functions of the trading terminal, such as: working with charts of financial instruments (switching between, types of charts), opening and closing positions, setting, etc. All this is necessary so that in the process of trading you do not have to be distracted by unnecessary details. All actions for opening, closing positions and placing pending orders must be performed automatically.

Step Three: Teaching the Basics of Technical Analysis

In my opinion, it is the basis of the fundamentals in the work of a trader. Although, of course, knowledge of this type of analysis is not a panacea, but without knowledge of the basics of technical analysis, you should not even try to start trading on Forex. To complete this step, you will need some time to study special literature, such as:

• Jack Schwager Technical Analysis. Full course.
• John Murphy "Technical Analysis of Futures Markets: Theory and Practice"

It is not worth studying all the well-known publications devoted to technical analysis, since they basically describe the same thing. It will be enough to read one good book(for example, one of the above). In addition, on this site you will find a whole section dedicated to technical analysis indicators.

Step Four: Learning the basics of fundamental analysis

It is also quite an important discipline in the education of a trader. Although, in my opinion, the role of fundamental analysis when applied to the Forex market is not as important as, for example, when applied to trading on stock exchange. Therefore, in Forex, I limit myself to only the following points: I try not to trade at the moments when important fundamental news is released (since the rate fluctuations at this moment are unpredictable) and I monitor changes in US and EU interest rates (since I mainly trade the EUR / USD currency pair). But again, this is just my opinion. There are many traders who successfully use fundamental analysis in the Forex market, and their opinion is undoubtedly worth listening to. On the Internet, you can find many books on this topic for free, including:

• V. Likhovidov "Fundamental analysis of world currency markets"
• D. Soros "Alchemy of Finance"
• A. Kiyanitsa "Fundamental analysis of financial markets"

Step Five: Understand the Basics of Money Management

Trading is not only the art of buying or selling a certain financial instrument in time to stay profitable, but also the art of handling money. Many take this aspect of trading for granted, however, in fact, the art of dealing with money in trading (or from the English money management) is the cornerstone of your success.

Step Six: Building Your Trading System

Having reached this stage, you have already acquired all the necessary information and your knowledge should be enough to build your own trading system. You need a trading system in order to turn trading from a feverish pursuit of currency fluctuations into a calm, respectable occupation that brings regular, stable income. The trading system requires unquestioning obedience from the trader, but thereby removes most of the psychological burden from him. Here you can look at . For yourself, you must create your own trading system that takes into account all the psychological characteristics inherent in you (your risk appetite, attitude to losses, level of activity in trading, etc.).

Step Seven: Trade on a demo account until you get a stable result

Now you are armed with tools necessary knowledge implemented in your trading system and besides, you know how to properly manage your money. In a word, you have everything to start practical trading on the Forex market. The only thing you're missing so far is experience. But experience, as they say, comes with time, and so that it does not become a “son of difficult mistakes”, you will acquire it by trading virtual money on a demo account. A demo account, by the way, is no different from a real account (with the exception of virtual money, of course) it has exactly the same price movement charts (in real time) and the same conditions for executing transactions.

This is the stage for which you should not spare time. You should not just trade following your trading system, but trade with a stable profit. If you don't get a stable profit, go back to the previous steps: fill in the gaps in your knowledge, improve your trading system, hone your money management system. And so on until you get a stable profit for several months. Do not chase quantity, stability should be at the forefront of the amount. Remember that a stable 3% profit per month is much better than plus 50% one month and minus 47% the next.

Step Eight: Live Trading

If you have reached this step, then I congratulate you most of the way behind, but not all the problems are over yet. Trading on a real account, due to the fact that you have to risk not virtual, but real money, leaves a negative imprint on the trader. It often happens that a trader who shows wonderful stable results on a demo account starts to merge when switching to a real account. Here come into force - emotions that need to be learned to control. However, if you took the time to master the seventh step of our plan, namely, devoted enough time to practical trading on a demo account, then you should have confidence in your abilities, backed up by this successful experience.

Even when switching from a demo account to a real account, such a concept as a comfort zone comes into force and in this case it means the amounts that you operate when making deals. It happens that by trading two lots, a trader consistently makes a profit, but as soon as he switches to a volume of twenty lots, he begins to experience psychological discomfort, which prevents him from critically looking at the market and eventually leads to losses. Well what can I say: increase the volumes gradually and again trading system help you.

Step Nine: Self Improvement

Never stop developing. A stop means a rollback and this is true for any field of activity, not just for trading. The market is constantly changing and those systems that work and bring a stable profit today, in a year may be potentially unprofitable. Develop and test new strategies. Learn the psychology of trading. Study yourself, your reaction to changing market conditions. Increase your stress resistance and learn to control your emotions. Life is always movement, either backward movement (degradation) or forward movement (development). I wish you to go only forward.

How to start trading on stock market? At first glance, this is quite simple. But if you have never encountered trading on the stock exchange, then this will be a dark forest for you. I remember myself, when I also wanted to start buying shares, I didn’t even know what was needed for this. What actions need to be taken? I had to look for information from different sources: a little bit of everything. The problem is that for many, information is presented in pieces, without a complete picture of the action plan from the very beginning to the receipt of the first profit.

Therefore, I decided to show you the complete guide to success in the stock market. Trading on the stock exchange can be said to be a whole science, but you do not need to master it completely. At least for now. It can take many months, or even years, to fully study. For the first time, it is enough for you to know only the basics that will provide you with 80% of success (according to the 80/20 principle). Well, the rest of the knowledge that you can learn later will require you to spend more time and do not guarantee a significant increase in profits.

Start of trading

The very process of starting work on the exchange is very similar to opening a deposit in a bank and it can be:

• open a brokerage account;
• deposit money;
• buy shares.

But without additional knowledge, you will be left to your own devices and practically operate blindly, like a boat in the sea without sails and navigation. Wherever the current takes you, you will swim. Without a clear course in what you need to do, you will almost never be able to achieve positive results in the market.

Let's say you want to own shares of the most famous and large companies. You buy shares of Gazprom, Lukoil, Magnit, Sberbank. Good. It doesn't take much intelligence. And then what? Here are some scenarios for further developments:

• Gazprom quotes will grow by 30% in a month - what will you do? Keep on? Or take profits.
• Sberbank shares will fall in price by 2 times - to sell at a loss?
• Lukoil begins to grow at a frantic pace, and Magnit also begins to decline rapidly. Your actions?
• Absolutely all stocks are in a downtrend and have been falling for several months. Sell ​​everything or wait for the fall to stop (and watch your portfolio depreciate every day) with the hope of further growth?

If there are no answers to these questions, then you will be like a blind kitten wandering at random. And your chances of success are minimal. It will be like a casino where you place bets (buy shares) on various numbers. According to the theory of probability, there is a chance to correctly bet on the desired sector and win. But as you know, the mathematical expectation will not be on your side.

Check list

To start trading, as mentioned above, you need to know at least the basics, certain basic knowledge. And even mastering only this knowledge will take time. Moreover, it is desirable to master them in a certain sequence, for better assimilation and understanding, and as a result of obtaining better results in terms of future trading.

Here is a step-by-step plan of what you need to do to successfully trade in the stock market.

1. To begin with, you need to clearly draw up, namely, what you want to get from trading in the stock market. “Of course profit, what else!” the majority will answer. But profit can be made in different ways. It can be completely passive income, in the form of coupons on bonds or received dividends, or profit generated from the growth in the market value of assets (bought cheaply - sold expensively), due to the purchase and sale of assets. Additionally, determine your timeframe in advance, this is called the investment horizon.
2. Get basic knowledge about the structure of the stock market and the rules for working with it.
3. Determine for yourself what financial instruments you will deal with: stocks, bonds, ETFs, futures or options, maybe a currency. Each of them has its pros and cons, such as simplicity, profitability, volatility, risk level, and more. If several at once, then in what proportion they will be in your portfolio.
4. Choose your trading style - understand what is closer to you: active trading or passive investing. Here everything will depend on your goals (see paragraph 1 - financial plan), free time, the ability to conduct qualitative analysis and psychology.
5. Depending on the style of trading, choose the trading or investment strategy that suits you.
6. Be sure to study the money management system. It is she who is one of the most important in trading on the stock market (along with the chosen strategy and trading psychology). This will allow you to protect your capital from significant losses (up to a complete drain), increase the efficiency of trading and profitability, and protect your assets from other negative influences, of which there are more than a dozen on the stock market.
7. Acquainted with . You must know such concepts as: trend, support and resistance zones, horizontal levels, the most important reversal patterns, trend continuations.
8. Fundamental analysis. First of all, it is used for long-term investment; at shorter periods, its impact on trading results is significantly reduced.
9. Decide for yourself on which stock market you will trade: Russian, American, European. I recommend making a choice in favor of Russia - Moscow Exchange. By receiving additional you can, without any risk.
10. That's right, through which you will trade.
11. Conclude an agreement with him for brokerage services, select the best tariff based on your needs, deposit money into the account.
12. Install and configure a trading program (usually Quik or Transaq).
13. Depending on your goals and the chosen strategy, conduct an analysis (technical or fundamental) and select promising assets for purchase.
14. Using a money management or money management system, we determine the size of each transaction.
15. Make your first purchases.
16. Stick to the previously chosen strategy when trading. You should have a clear plan of action - exactly when to buy and sell, no matter what.
17. Record completed trades in the trading journal. This will allow you to analyze the effectiveness of your trading in the future, identifying errors, profitability and receiving many other statistics (the ratio of profitable and losing trades, average profit per trade, maximum and minimum profitability per trade, on which securities you earn the most, and on which trading is not worth it, in view of constant losses).
18. Keep your finger on the pulse of events. Here you can help financial world news (television and websites). Of course, you don’t need to constantly monitor them, but a general idea of ​​\u200b\u200bwhat is happening in the world in this moment, Must have.
19. Periodically analyze your financial results (see paragraph 17), on the basis of which you can (and even need to) make adjustments to your trading strategy or even completely change it if the indicators are disappointing.

Engaged in active trading and making transactions several times a week, constantly monitoring the situation on the market, the trader earned 25% profit during the year. It seems to be good. But if we compare it with the market, which also grew by 25% over the year, we get a disappointing result. Instead of just buying assets once and holding them, the trader wasted his time, nerves, and constantly took risks in the hope of making money during the year. And the result is the same.

Therefore, to evaluate the effectiveness of your trading, first of all, compare the results obtained with the overall growth of the market in which you trade (for Russia, this is the MICEX index).

Now you know how to start trading on the stock exchange. The stock market is one of the most promising, profitable ways to invest capital. It is in the stock market that millions of dollars are made, however, they receive significant losses. Therefore, on the stock exchange you need to play according to the rules you predetermined.