Recently, I talked a lot with traders, due to the launch of one of my new projects (I will be ready to talk about it in a short time, but not now).
This experience helped me realize that there are so many things that professional traders and business owners can learn from each other, but in most cases, the business owner has more to learn from the trader than vice versa.
So, if you’re starting a business or struggling to run a business, I suggest you take a look at some of the following lessons that you can learn from a trader.
Planning and Execution
Few people are as efficient in planning and executing strategies as day traders are. In fact, in order to make it as a trader, strategy development is one of the most important traits that one needs to master. The strategy needs to be bulletproof regardless of the current market conditions.
Anyone looking to succeed in business will have to master the same skill, although it might not be as obvious, and it’s a major reason why many businesses end up failing.
Lesson number one is to create a strategy and then stick to it.
Mental Preparation and Stability
Another reason many business owners struggle is because they allow themselves to get overworked and overwhelmed when things aren’t going according to their plans. In the world of trading, there is no room for mental fatigue and every professional trader out there has mastered the skill of staying calm in the worst conditions.
Imagine what would happen if you didn’t stay calm when you’ve opened a position worth thousands of dollars and the market starts moving in the wrong direction? The trick is to stay calm until the market turns again or have a mind that’s clear enough to realize when it’s time to cut losses and move on.
Unfortunately, many business owners fail to stay calm or acknowledge when it’s time to move on, and the result is always that they run their company and products into the ground.
Lesson number two is to be calm and collected regardless of what’s happening around you.
Adaptation and a Willingness to Change
Want to know what the next technological trend will be? Then take a look at what some of the leading day traders are doing. For years, they have been the first to adapt to changes and new opportunities. For example, the trading industry was one of the first to go digital and adapt to the internet, and lately, we have seen tremendous growth in the mobile trading world, especially when it comes to the leading stock trading apps.
Many business owners, on the other hand, are more reluctant to change and adapt and there are countless examples of amazing companies that completely fail because the management was scared of change.
Look at Netflix and Blockbuster for example. Blockbuster refused to adapt to the way their customers wanted to consume videos and eventually went bankrupt. Netflix on the other hand quickly dropped the DVD delivery part of their business and jumped on the streaming trend, and look where they are now.
Lesson number three is to not be scared of change and to always strive to be ahead of the pack.
Discipline
Out of all these lessons, the most important is discipline, and no one is as disciplined as a day trader that’s on top of his game. Every part of a day traders life follows a strict routine, and as soon as that routine is broken, their system starts to collapse and so does their ability to trade.
The same goes for business owners. What all top executives have in common are strict routines and incredible discipline that encompasses everything from their personal life, health, exercise, and family time to the way they run and operate their business.
The final lesson is to learn and master discipline, and that applies to every part of your life.
