I have always said, and I know I am not alone when I say it, that trading can be one of the loneliest activities out there. As a retail trader, you sometimes may feel like you are on an island because you have to make all the decisions yourself. This mentality feeds into why extracting money from the market can be difficult because of the psychological aspects of trading. However, there is a simple solution that cannot guarantee your success but may help. Find a friend!

To be honest, this might not be the easiest thing to do. First of all, where do you find someone? And secondly, can you trust that person? There are several trading groups out there that you can search for online as well as chat groups. We have one at Market Taker Mentoring too. The way to possibly befriend someone is to follow their posts. See if they have similar styles and approaches to yours. If they do, you can always contact them to see if they wouldn’t mind reaching out to you on a more personal level occasionally. Who knows? It may become a regular routine.

In addition, ask friends and acquaintances if they trade options. You may be surprised by who does trade, and it might be a close friend too. You may even get the occasional “I always wondered about trading options,” in which case you can help them, which in turn usually helps you perform better.

No one says you need a trading buddy, but many times it cannot hurt, especially at the onset of your options trading career. The key is to find someone you can trust.

John Kmiecik, Market Taker Mentoring