Building a trading business or establishing oneself as a successful trader is no walk in the park. But it's not a many-years project either.

First

When some try to convince you of rapid success—oversimplifying the process as 'easy'—they're doing you a disservice.

What happens next?

When reality hits and the journey proves a greater challenge than anticipated—you might wrongly blame yourself leading to frustration and self-doubt.

It's not just about losing money; it's about losing faith in yourself, and that's truly unfair.

As a newbie at a professional trading firm you're told:

"You won't make money for 9-12 months. It takes that long to develop an understanding of game planning and proficiency executing your playbook trades."

The expectation is different. Correct?

Second

But they're not saying consistently winning at trading will take you years either. Right?

So if your months have descended into many years without a breakthrough—you're the one doing yourself a disservice—because something is fundamentally wrong with your knowledge, process, or both.

If stuck in a prolonged struggle, it's time to reassess and refine your approach. The best traders all credit external successful factors—so taking ownership of your journey by seeking guidance is how you serve yourself.

But how do you choose the right guidance?

Due to the competitive nature of trading—success *doesn't* leave clues.

Access to skills and knowledge needed to succeed in trading remains exclusive to those fortunate enough to earn a seat on a professional trading firm desk.

So unless you're on the desk of a professional trading firm—your best option is to seek guidance from someone who's been there. Make sense?

But what else?

Consider the following:

Imagine you're someone who is out of shape and maybe could shed some excess weight. You're feeling fatigued all the time, and parts of your body constantly ache—and you know if you don't do something now things will only get worse.

But you've tried gym membership and various diets without success. So it's time to get help. You want to know the best way to get results, and ongoing guidance would really make a difference.

You decide a personal trainer is the way to go—and on visiting the training facility you've got a choice between 2 trainers:

Tom or Sam?

Tom was a promising competitive swimmer as a teen—dedicated to 4 am daily starts in the pool. He nearly made the Olympic squad. Not to give up on competitive sport—he now competes in heavy lifting comps. The size of an ox—he's got muscles on muscles.

By contrast, Sam isn't a competitive sportsperson.

In fact - although he's now fit and in good shape—for years, he was actually one-and-a-half times his current weight and grossly out of shape. The lengths he had to go to and the personal challenges he experienced to make a radical shift are significant.

So who do you pick?

Who will better understand the struggles and obstacles you're facing? Who will better understand what it's like to make a dramatic change?

Who will help you through the mental hurdles because they've been there themselves—relating intimately to all your prior struggles and future challenges as you start the journey to build winning knowledge and habits?

Is it the person who knows no differently than a professional athlete? Or is it the person who has been where you are now—who shares a similar path with the only difference they are further along it than you?

It's an easy question to answer. Right? And so it is with trading.

I know traders who it's as if they were born for it or they went straight out of university into a professional trading environment and learned how to do things the right way from the get-go.

And then there are traders like Sam. They slogged away for 10 years as retail traders before making the move to professional firm trading—unlocking insights and skills that make a significant difference—transforming them into consistent winners.

I bet you're a bit like me

Before I entered the finance industry—I was a struggling retail trader dealing with all the same challenges you've experienced. I know them intimately. I know what it's like to have your account, your self-esteem and your dreams crushed. The challenges cut so deep—it's why I went into the finance industry to resolve them.

If you're looking to make a transformative change and consistently win at trading, consider seeking guidance from someone relatable yet further along the path—someone who can provide you with the crucial industry know-how needed to win. 


Forex and derivatives trading is a highly competitive and often extremely fast-paced environment. It only rewards individuals who attain the required level of skill and expertise to compete. Past performance is not indicative of future results. There is a substantial risk of loss to unskilled and inexperienced players. The high degree of leverage can work against you as well as for you. Before deciding to trade any such leveraged products you should carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite. The possibility exists that you could sustain a loss of some or all of your initial investment and therefore you should not invest money that you cannot afford to lose. You should be aware of all the risks associated with trading on margin, and seek advice from an independent

Editors’ Picks

EUR/USD struggles below 1.1800 ahead of US data, Fedspeak

EUR/USD struggles below 1.1800 ahead of US data, Fedspeak

EUR/USD remains trapped in a tight range below 1.1800 in the European session on Tuesday. The pair struggles amid a modest US Dollar strength and an improvement in risk sentiment, even as US tariff uncertainty lingers. The focus now remains on the US data and Fedspeak. 

GBP/USD stays defensive below 1.3500 as USD firms up

GBP/USD stays defensive below 1.3500 as USD firms up

GBP/USD stays on the back foot below 1.3500 in the European trading hours on Tuesday. The pair declines as the US Dollar rebounds from losses recorded over the previous two sessions. Traders will focus on the US weekly ADP Employment Change and Consumer Confidence data due later in the day, along with speeches from Federal Reserve officials.

USD/JPY jumps to 156.00 as Japanese Yen plunges on BoJ rate hike concerns

USD/JPY jumps to 156.00 as Japanese Yen plunges on BoJ rate hike concerns

USD/JPY catches a fresh bid wave and challenges the 156.00 level in European trading on Tuesday. The pair rallies as the Japanese Yen (JPY) falls hard on reports that Japan's PM Takaichi voiced concerns to BoJ Governor Ueda on interest rate hikes. 


Editors’ Picks

EUR/USD struggles below 1.1800 ahead of US data, Fedspeak

EUR/USD struggles below 1.1800 ahead of US data, Fedspeak

EUR/USD remains trapped in a tight range below 1.1800 in the European session on Tuesday. The pair struggles amid a modest US Dollar strength and an improvement in risk sentiment, even as US tariff uncertainty lingers. The focus now remains on the US data and Fedspeak. 

USD/JPY jumps to 156.00 as Japanese Yen plunges on BoJ rate hike concerns

USD/JPY jumps to 156.00 as Japanese Yen plunges on BoJ rate hike concerns

USD/JPY catches a fresh bid wave and challenges the 156.00 level in European trading on Tuesday. The pair rallies as the Japanese Yen (JPY) falls hard on reports that Japan's PM Takaichi voiced concerns to BoJ Governor Ueda on interest rate hikes. 

Gold holds pullback below $5,200 amid USD uptick

Gold holds pullback below $5,200 amid USD uptick

Gold holds moderate losses below $5,200 in European trading on Tuesday, though it lacks follow-through selling. Following the previous day's knee-jerk fall in reaction to US President Donald Trump's new global tariffs and the subsequent bounce, the US Dollar attracts fresh buyers ahead of mid-tier data and Fedspeak. 

Dogecoin, Shiba Inu, and Pepe extend losses on bearish signals

Dogecoin, Shiba Inu, and Pepe extend losses on bearish signals

Meme coins are facing renewed selling pressure amid fading broad risk-on sentiment so far this week, with Dogecoin, Shiba Inu, and Pepe extending their losses after recent corrections.

AI-scare trade and tariff uncertainty takes hold

AI-scare trade and tariff uncertainty takes hold

It was quite a day, with AI-disruption fears and tariff uncertainty triggering a risk-off session. By now, it's nearly impossible to have missed the Supreme Court's 6-3 decision that struck down US President Donald Trump's reciprocal tariffs last Friday.

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