• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

ForexSchoolOnline.com

Learn to Trade Forex Online

  • Compare Brokers
    • Broker Type
      • Paypal Brokers
      • Swap-Free Brokers
      • Low Spread Brokers
      • ECN / STP Brokers
      • Market Maker Brokers
      • Non Dealing Desk Brokers
      • Low Minimum Deposit Brokers
    • Country
      • Brokers for Australia
      • Brokers for South Africa
      • Brokers for the UK
      • Brokers for the US
      • Brokers for Nigeria
    • Regulation
      • FCA Regulated Brokers
      • ASIC Regulated Brokers
      • FSCA Regulated Brokers
      • CFTC Regulated Brokers
    • Platform
      • MT4 Brokers
      • MT5 Forex Brokers
    • Strategies
      • Hedging Forex Brokers
      • Scalping Forex Brokers
      • Carry Trade Forex Brokers
      • Brokers for Indicators and EA’s
  • Start Here
    • Start Trading Guide
    • Beginner Trading Lessons
  • Free Forex Course
    • Public Login
    • Register
    • Password recovery
  • Lessons
    • Strategies
    • Videos
    • MT4 Guides
    • Money Management
  • Trade Setups
  • Tools
    • Correct Free Demo Charts
    • Forex Journal Download
    • Position Size Calculator
    • FULL List of Tools
    • Forex Demo Accounts
  • Price Action Guide
  • Free Course

How to Become a Successful Full Time Forex Trader

Johnathon Fox
10/16/2012 | UPDATED ON: 07/28/2020

How to Become a Successful Full Time Forex Trader

A major problem with many aspiring traders is that they want a large trading account, but are stuck trading a small one. This article is going to cover a few truths and what you can do to make that small account into a big one.

Many traders have the end goal of wanting to trade Forex full time for 100% of their living. Whilst this is a respectable goal to have, it does not have to be everybody’s goal. Some may love their job and just want a little extra income and others may just want their end of year holiday paid for. Whatever your personal goal is the fact is; the bigger the account, the more money you can safely make without over leveraging and over trading.

It is because of this fact that many traders end up risking far too much, or they trade too much. If you are familiar with our site and blog you will know we speak a lot about one of the biggest account killers which is;

 

OVER TRADING!!!

 

A common trading myth or thought is that the more you trade, the more money you will make. The thought pattern goes that to make money we need to trade and more trading will equal more money. Whilst it is true that more trading equals more potential to make money, more trading normally equates to taking less than desirable trades which end in losses.

There would be nothing wrong at all with more trading if all of the trades placed were A+ setups. This is rarely the case, and in most situations more trading leads to entering of more rubbish setups, a bunch of over trading which in turn leads to losses.

 

So How To Trade Less and Make More?

Whilst trading less may sound the exact opposite of what a trader needs to do, it is quite often why most traders come unstuck. In the Forex markets less actually means more. Stop for a second and think about it. LESS = MORE.

One of the main reasons why less equals more in the Forex markets is because the stricter you are in your trade selection, the higher the chance you have of placing a winning trade. When traders work out different mathematical equations for their trading, they often neglect to think about the losses and how much the losses can hurt their account balance.

less is more in forex

The pickier you are in your trade selection the higher your chance of having success in a trade, and more importantly the less chance you have of making a loss. Every time a trader makes a loss it eats away at the profit made from the winning trades. If you can cut down your losses, the less winning you will need to do to make a profit overall. In other words if you can trade less and place better trades, you will need to make less winning trades to make a profit overall, because the amount of losing will be reduced.

 

How to Build a Large Account and Trade Full Time

A major trick to building a large account is using both time and compounding. At Forex School Online we are not about making riches overnight, but teaching traders to trade and build accounts over time. Forex trading is a business and in all my time trading the markets I am yet to meet someone who has got rich quick and kept it. I have however met plenty of people that make profits consistently and live from profits made in the markets. To get rich quick you need to risk far too much, or trade far too much. Both of these things will kill your account in the end, it is only a matter of time.

Successful Full Time Forex Trader

Most professions that have large employee salaries will require you to have some sort of study or experience behind you. These jobs such as lawyers and doctors require you to have as a minimum 4 years of study and in a lot of cases much more. After this study you will then be required to work up the ranks working for someone else in most scenarios for many years to come.

In Forex trading there is no limits on how much money you can make. There is no boss and you are free to work your own hours on whichever days you choose.

If you are reading this and have a small account, I want you to start thinking about these other professions and put trading into perspective. If you could take that small account and over the next 4 years build it into an account large enough to trade for a living with, would it be worth it?

Most people wait for 35+ years of working to do what they want in retirement. If you can make that small account a big one in 4 years, you can live your dreams and cut 31 years off working and waiting that is normal in other professions. Would it be worth the 4 year wait?

The point I am trying to get across to you is that whilst most traders fall down trying to make millions overnight, they fail to realise what they could achieve with a little patience over time. I am also trying to stress that to take a small account and build it into something large enough to trade for a living with you do not have to make 1,000% overnight.

 

What is Needed to Turn a Small Account Into Large Account?

The following example is a hypothetical example of what could be achieved in 4 years if the following results were achieved by a successful trader with consistent profits.

Trader Jane has an account of $10,000. Jane really wants to trade for a living so she can spend time with her family. Jane has set herself 4 years to turn the small account into an account that is big enough that she can quit her job, and live comfortably with profits made from trading the markets. Jane will be using compounding and will not be touching any of the profits made.

Jane is a good trader and on average only makes 4 x A++ trades a month. Jane only makes 4 trades a month because she is very picky and realises that the pickier she is, the better the chance is of making a winning trade. Jane also realises that in the Forex market less is actually more.

full time forex trading

Over the following 4 years Jane risks 3% per trade and averages 3 wins and 1 loss for every 4 trades. In this example Jane has a good win rate but only averages 1/1 risk reward per trade, meaning that on each winning trade Jane makes she profits the same amount as the amount that was risked.

For the ease of this example, the following equation has been worked out with Jane having 3 wins in a row followed by 1 loss each month. If Jane risks 3% per trade it means she will make +9% per month. Once we take away the loss for the month which is -3% Jane will have a total of +6% per month. If the power of compounding is used after each month, the percentage made for the year will blow out to 100%.

If Jane can average 6% per month for the next 4 years and does not touch the trading account balance, she will turn that small $10,000 account into $160,000! This is more than enough for most people to trade for a living with.

In this example scenario Jane is not risking a crazy amount. She is not trading every single day; in fact she is only averaging 1 trade a week. What she is doing is using the power of compounding and treating her trading like a business.

Obviously some months Jane may have more losses than normal, and other months have much bigger winners, but the example is worked out as an average using reasonable targets.

 

Lastly

Before the start of this article if I told you that by averaging 6% per month you could turn $10,000 into $160,000 in 4 years would you have believed me? Most wouldn’t because most traders are trapped into thinking only about the now and what is happening in the next trade. Traders need to keep the bigger picture in mind for all of their goals. Most traders want their Ferrari now and don’t treat their trading like a business which tends to make them risk too much.

Becoming a successful full time Forex trader is not all smooth sailing.

Stop falling into the traps and mistakes that other traders are falling into. Take a step back to reassess your trading and goals. Are you aiming for goals that make you over trade or risk too much?

I hope this article has opened your eyes to what can be achieved when using the correct mindset and treating trading like a business.

Please leave a comment at the bottom of the page if you enjoyed this article and let me know about any experience you have had with the scenarios discussed in this article. Also make sure you hit the like and share buttons to pass it on to others that may find the information contained helpful.

 

Safe trading,

 

Johnathon Fox

 

Recommended Broker

  • Broker
  • Min Deposit
  • Benefits
  • Score
  • Visit Broker

$200

T&Cs Apply
  • The Lowest Trading Costs
  • 50% Welcome Bonus
  • Award-winning 24 Hour Support
5
Trade Now FreeBets Reviews
Reviews

About Johnathon Fox

Johnathon is a Forex and Futures trader with over ten years trading experience who also acts as a mentor and coach to thousands and has written for some of the biggest finance and trading sites in the world.

View all posts by Johnathon Fox →
Previous Post: « EURAUD Pin Bar Recap
Next Post: Silver Break Out »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Al zakir says

    11/14/2019 at 3:52 AM

    Thank you for sharing such a piece of useful information.

    Reply
  2. stuart aitken says

    04/19/2016 at 6:34 PM

    an excellent article to help anyone thinking of trading live move forward with the correct trading mindset. Excellent

    Reply
  3. mamoun ali says

    11/07/2014 at 4:55 AM

    It is agreat ideas you puplished
    Congratulation and best wishes for next stage

    BR
    Mamoun

    Reply
  4. Mohamed Tarek Tarek says

    07/27/2014 at 4:06 AM

    really it is a very good artical

    Reply
  5. Thiru Narayanan says

    01/25/2014 at 8:12 AM

    Indeed an eye opener article for newbie like me.Seriously considering a journey on this

    Reply
  6. Mpho Modisakeng says

    10/13/2013 at 8:21 PM

    This is so true and most of the time we are made to believe by most forex trainers that we can make a lot of money in an instant. thank you Jonnathon for bringing reality into the picture

    Reply
  7. Jan du Plessis says

    10/02/2013 at 12:33 AM

    Thank you. Highly appreciated.

    Reply
  8. Stanley Han's says

    08/09/2013 at 9:43 AM

    THE most hard thing in trading is to control own self..this article really good..

    Reply
  9. Erland Ando says

    04/22/2013 at 5:18 PM

    thank's for the article..success for all…

    Reply
  10. Sudath Dhammika says

    01/25/2013 at 10:35 AM

    very good article, tks for u…

    Reply
  11. Abner says

    01/04/2013 at 9:25 AM

    I thought you said small account. starting out with 10k$ is not a small account. I’ll start with 200-300$. Now that’s a small account. I love PA trading and will use that method to grow my SMALL account into an account I (and my wife) can live off of. That’s my dream goal.

    Reply
  12. Abner Broadus says

    01/03/2013 at 10:52 PM

    I thought you said trading with a small account. Starting out with a 10k account is not a small account. šŸ™‚ How about starting out with a 200 – 300$ account. Now that's a small account. That's what I am able to start out with. Great writing. Keep it up.

    Reply
  13. Kevin says

    01/04/2013 at 4:31 AM

    Good article indeed. However if you could afford to pay the taxes on that kind of growth over 4 years without dipping into the account itself to do it you probably could have funded a lot larger account.

    Reply
  14. Nor Affendi Ahmad says

    12/14/2012 at 5:59 PM

    One Great article! Trade less be pickie and patience. Always culculate how much you are willing to loose first and not how much you want to make before entering the trade.

    Reply
  15. mastah says

    11/20/2012 at 10:10 PM

    $10000 is quite big for me …:)

    Reply
  16. Akber Shah says

    11/20/2012 at 7:24 AM

    Well said and well done. Life is not bed of roses. Regards.

    Reply
  17. Hiedee Salimbagat Mellosa says

    11/04/2012 at 12:11 AM

    Awsome!

    Reply
  18. Augusto Evangelista says

    11/03/2012 at 9:47 AM

    I joined your group and read your article AT THE RIGHT TIME! I just joined a forex company and is working on a demo they provided me. You are right–my goal is to earn as much as I could so I started with too many trades and noticed I am losing more than I am earning. Thank you very much!

    Reply
  19. Emmanuel Russell Tito says

    10/29/2012 at 1:23 PM

    the secret is Be Patience!

    Reply
  20. Nathan says

    10/28/2012 at 2:51 PM

    What a relief! To breathe out and take the stress out of trying to force my account to grow by grinding it into the ground! Relax and treat it like a business. I’ll make better decisions, have less stress, and see my family more. It’ll come.

    Reply
  21. David Van says

    10/20/2012 at 1:18 PM

    very eye openning! much learned in a short but great article.

    Reply
  22. Martin says

    10/20/2012 at 5:00 AM

    Nice arcticle Johnathon. But I think that risking 3% of account is quite too much. I would say that itĀ“s gambling…

    Reply
  23. Pro Forex Traders says

    10/17/2012 at 5:13 AM

    thank for your note. I will reassess my trading life.

    Reply
  24. Mustafa Osman says

    10/16/2012 at 7:01 PM

    Thanks! Great article

    Reply
  25. Rihards Brinkis says

    10/16/2012 at 8:39 AM

    Great article!

    Reply
  26. Sanjay Ram says

    10/16/2012 at 2:49 PM

    Thank you for the wonderful article. Now lets hope i have the patience to identify only the A trades, and teade fewer wuality set ups!!

    Reply
  27. Hardev Singh says

    10/16/2012 at 3:55 AM

    no doubt there is priceless suggestion in this article , although I , m fresh in this trade but thank you very much.

    Reply
  28. Adeyemi O. Emmanuel says

    10/15/2012 at 9:30 PM

    Eye-openning article, indeed I have always in the past over laboured my account…. and it has lead to lossess upon lossess.
    Now I have to see FOREX, my account as a Business and with the mind set to grow it..

    Reply
  29. Barisiba Kelvin Samuel says

    10/16/2012 at 6:53 AM

    the article is has made me see things from a broader perspective…thank you Jonathan…please keep sharing insights with us…they are really an eye opener…God bless you.

    Reply
  30. Maxim says

    10/16/2012 at 6:37 AM

    10x Johnathon
    šŸ˜‰

    Reply
  31. Manoj says

    10/16/2012 at 2:59 AM

    Hi Jonathon,
    I have encountered such a hypothetical example before and my issue with it is this; although it may be possible to obtain easy “fills” on any trade orders when your account is Ā£10000, when your account grows to Ā£100000 or more, then it becomes much more difficult for a broker to accept your trade order at a good price as you will be trading multiple lots. So surely it becomes more difficult to continue making 6% a month as your base account grows ever larger.

    Reply
    • jonfox says

      10/16/2012 at 12:44 PM

      Thanks all for the comments.

      Manoj,

      trading should be no different whether on a $1,000 account or a $1,000,000 account and this includes getting fills.

      The only time you will have problems getting filled is when trading with a market maker which take the other side of your trades and make money when you lose.

      To fix this trade with ECN and STP broker which simply pass the price they receive from banks straight onto you. The make money by adding a spread to the price they quote you.

      A couple hundred grand is a drop in the ocean in the Forex markets that trade up to 4 trillion dollars a day. You could place 500 standard lots or 50 million dollar trades and go unnoticed as it would not make the even the tiniest of dents in the Forex market.

      If you are unsure what I am talking about google: ECN broker versus market market.

      Safe trading to all,

      Johnathon

      Reply
  32. rajib says

    10/16/2012 at 2:46 AM

    One of the best article i’ve ever read// Thanks

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Forex School Online

High Probability Price Action Trading

How to make, manage and take profit from trades in the markets

Start Learning (It's Free!)

Turn Your Trades into Winners!

The Price action course is the in-depth advanced training on assessing, making and managing high probability price action trades.

Sign up for Free!

Recommended Broker

  • Broker
  • Min Deposit
  • Benefits
  • Score
  • Visit Broker

$200

T&Cs Apply
  • The Lowest Trading Costs
  • 50% Welcome Bonus
  • Award-winning 24 Hour Support
5
Trade Now FreeBets Reviews
Reviews

Footer

Get Our FREE Course, Bonus Strategies & Indicators!
X
Join Us Now!

Your capital is at risk.

X

CORNERSTONE LESSONS

Forex Trading for Beginners

Price Action Trading

How to Trade Forex

Technical Analysis

Forex Charts

Forex Trading Strategies

Money ManagementĀ 

Compare Brokers

Best Forex Brokers

Forex Demo Accounts

Best Forex Trading Platforms

Forex Apps

Swap Fee Accounts

MT4 Brokers

CATEGORIES

Forex Videos

Trading Lessons

Weekly Trade Ideas

Start Here Guide

ForexSchoolOnline.com helps individual traders learn how to trade the Forex market

WARNING: The content on this site should not be considered investment advice and we are not authorised to provide investment advice. Nothing on this website is an endorsement or recommendation of a particular trading strategy or investment decision. The information on this website is general in nature so you must consider the information in light of your objectives, financial situation and needs.

Investing is speculative. When investing your capital is at risk. This site is not intended for use in jurisdictions in which the trading or investments described are prohibited and should only be used by such persons and in such ways as are legally permitted. Your investment may not qualify for investor protection in your country or state of residence, so please conduct your own due diligence or obtain advice where necessary. This website is free for you to use but we may receive a commission from the companies we feature on this site.

We Introduce people to the world of currency trading. and provide educational content to help them learn how to become profitable traders. we're also a community of traders that support each other on our daily trading journey

Forexschoolonline.com is not a financial advisor. Do your research before investing your funds in any financial asset or presented product or event. We are not responsible for your investing results.

Finixio Ltd, Tower 42, 25 Old Broad Street, London EC2N 1HN | [email protected]

Copyright Ā© Forex School Online - Finixio Ltd Company no. 11705811 - SitemapĀ  - Privacy Policy - Disclaimers & Terms of UseĀ - CONTACT US