One of the core questions my coaching clients have asked me over the past few months is: “Can I still make money in stocks with the market down like its been?” The answer is yes, or no, depending on the type of investments you have.

If you hold stocks, stock mutual funds, or your investment is in the standard asset allocation accounts the answer is probably no. This is because these investments are held in large, regulated accounts that don’t allow short stock positions. This means that if the stock market goes down over the next 3-5 years, the accounts will lose money every single year.

Short positions, however, will allow you to make money whether or not the market goes down. These types of investments are only available to companies and individuals who trade individual accounts.

If you trade through your individual account rather than a fund, it is possible to for you to take charge of your own investment and make money in the stock market almost every day. That way, despite whether a stock value increases or decreases, you can make money, buy buying or selling short, as applicable.

If it’s that easy, why isn’t everyone doing it? It does take an investment of about $25,000 to set up your individual account. Some people don’t have the funds, or are reluctant to risk it in an individual account. And, it is true that stock trading for a novice can be very challenging. You could lose all your investment fast if you aren’t sure what to do.

There are tactics to alleviate these two concerns of the novice trader.

First, find a trading program that gives you low risk trade picks. The system I and my students use has stock pickers with an average experience level of thirty one years. With such experienced pickers, a trader can follow their picks with a high probability that they will profit from the trade. And if you set your stops to tie in with your personal risk tolerance level, your loss over time will be minimal.

Secondly, it’s important to find a program that walks you through every step to success. For example, in my 9 day trading class the students learn every aspect of using a turnkey system that is both safe and profitable to buy and sell short stocks, so that you can make money even if the stock market goes down.

Regardless of the system you choose, if you make sure that it has experienced advisors and a program that walks you through every step of the way, you can be smiling all the way to the bank while everyone around you is moaning about the poor performing stock market.

To read about other lessons I learned in my fifteen years as a day trader and coach, as well as tips and techniques for becoming successful at stock trading, even in a bad economy, read my free report “From Video Junkie to Day Trader,” and learn more about how you could be trading stocks profitably in as little as two weeks.

1.You will be rewarded from stock trading by keeping your trades low risk on a regular basis. Sure, this attitude will result in you missing out on the occasional windfall that the movies have led us all to believe can happen all the time.But you will find that, over time, waiting and hoping for those godsend trades usually results in an insane loss that deteriorates the portfolio you worked so hard to build.Better to stay lower risk with steady profits over time if you are looking to make stock trading more than a hobby.

2.  You don’t have to spend all day trading to be extremely successful.  This does not have to be a full time job.  But please don’t misunderstand.I’m not implying that stock trading is another make money while you sleep angle.  It takes time and effort to learn the systems needed to achieve success at stock trading. But, by using GAP trading effectively, my trading day lasts between two and four hours, plus another hour of prep time.And, I earn a great living.  With the right system, you can too. 

3.Building on the knowledge and the experiences of other profitable traders can greatly accelerate your learning cycle.  Don’t start from scratch because it will take you 10 or more years and a lot of money to make all the mistakes others have already made.It is just resourceful business sense to build on the knowledge of others.  How many times do we hear “don’t reinvent the wheel”, then turn around and do just that?Instead, read works by successful traders, take courses, find advisors and coaches, and use the insights of others to make your journey more enjoyable and low risk. 

Stock trading is often portrayed as mysterious and hard for “regular guys” to understand.Take it from a “regular guy”, that is just not correct.  With the right systems in place and a working knowledge of the basic truths of stock trading, anyone can be successful. 

To read about other lessons I learned in my fifteen years as a day trader and coach, as well as tips and techniques for becoming successful at stock trading, read my free report “From Video Junkie to Day Trader,” and learn more about how you could be trading stocks profitably in as little as two weeks. 

Start with a budget; never just leave your decisions up to a whim. While whims are great for piercings, temporary tattoos and even hair colors, it has no place in your financial outlook. You need to instead opt for security of a budget. This will help you to ensure that you do not lose everything but rather make wise decisions that are apt to result in a significant benefit for you. The greatest danger that you can fall into is thinking that a budget will hurt you because it will limit your options. Simply put, your budget is your safety line, it can help you to increase your potential profits, as well as ensure you minimize your losses.

Try to invest the largest amount possible each time within your budget. If you have a total of $1,000 to invest and your per transaction budget is $500 then you should invest no more than $500 for each transaction. This should never be waived even if you still have the entire $1,000 available to invest. Sticking to your transaction limits will ensure that you can still take advantage of other great opportunities as they arise also. However, with this in mind, if you have set a limit of $500 for each transaction that is what you should invest. While it is a small amount, the return on it will be much better than the return for 5 different $100 transactions for example.

Work with only professional brokers. As a stock trader you need a broker that is effective in helping you maximize your profits for the lowest charges and fees possible. This is something that is often overlooked but the transaction fees can quickly chew up any profits if you do not search for the best broker to work with. Of course, experience and professionalism are important factors when selecting a broker, but so are the fees that you have to pay. Compare the prices of several different brokers with the services that are offered to find the best services for the price, this will help you to save as much as possible while still getting the guidance and experience that you need.

Always look towards the future. If you purchased a stock and it seems to be jumping around and could possibly turn even further south quite quickly you might want to just jump ship. There will be times when you will lose money in a transaction. This is sometimes painful but it does happen. Waiting around is an option, but it might take a very long time before the stock rises enough for you to get your money back, much less make an actual profit. Work to ensure that you get everything organized so that you are well aware of what you paid, and how much you are potentially gaining or losing at any given moment.

Search for the most up to date tickers that you can find. If you are using tools that only update hourly for example you are about 59 minutes behind the curve. As a day trader, you must have access to quick updates in order to accurately monitor how your stocks are doing. In the course of a day you could end up doing numerous transactions and if they are carefully monitored you should be able to turn a significant profit which will further add to your earnings.

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