The Typical Trader Growth Pattern

Every trader is different, but the typical path for a developing trader usually looks like this:
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​Step 1 – Lose Money
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​No one comes right in and makes money from day 1, there are some exceptions of course, in the ’90s tech bull run unless you were shorting stocks you were making money…
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But modern markets require some more nuance.
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Net loser is normal.
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​Step 2 – Lose Less Money
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​Then comes the improvement, it’s tough to adjust a ship’s heading quickly, but just losing a bit less than last month is a good benchmark to work towards.
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And it might be something you work towards for a while…
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Just do a bit better than last month, even if that’s still red.
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​Step 3 – Break Even
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​This is when you are hovering around green for the month.
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You might be a touch red or green, and that might have come down to one day or trade, but this is where you are making incremental improvements and making things happen.
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A good place to be, light at the end of the tunnel.
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​Step 4 – A Good Green Month
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​This might be the first green month, and boy does it taste sweet!
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No fluke, you worked your way up over the months to hit this…
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This is a multi-green day combo that’s given you that first taste.
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​Step 5 – Steady The Ship
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​Now you try and repeat what you did last month, steady the ship, prove to yourself it’s not just luck, boost that confidence, and marinade in the success.
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Turn the equity curve around and get things heading in the right way.
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Month after month.
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​Step 6 – Scaling Things Up
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​You need the confidence of steps 1 – 5 to get yourself here.
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Scaling up requires a lot of confidence, whether that’s adding to trades, getting bigger on your best plays or just a size bump in general.
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It’s taxing and puts you under a lot of pressure.
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But, you have the data, have built the confidence and hopefully are still in the right market conditions.
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So, it’s go time…
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Sure, everyone’s different, but if you use that step-by-step framework, then being at step 1 or step 2 isn’t so bad… it’s forward momentum and that’s what matters.