I wanted to take this time to share with everyone some currency trading advice. This business is the largest market place on the planet. You can practically trade at all hours of the day and profit from the comfort of your own home. This is the advice I'd give to anyone planning on entering this business.
When you get your first forex platform, you're going to have the ability to use what is called a demo account. These are great because they allow you to simulate making trades in the real live market. The reason this is great is because you can practice strategies for hundreds of trades until you're confident it is good enough. Along with making a lot of these real live trades, you can the experience necessary to become a better currency trader.
The next thing you need to understand is that you need to be calculated. All this means is you're not going to make decisions on gut feelings or here say. You're going to do it on calculated numbers. This is the emotionless way to trade. With that said, you need to always reflect on your trades, like you were a poker player. Often in poker, as with currency trading, you will make all the right moves and still lose. You need to reflect knowing that you made the right move and 9 out of 10 times you would of profited.
Lastly, you'll want to avoid trades with tiny margins. When you're new, you don't want to make big trades because there is a potential to lose big money. The fact is that small trades are subject to just about the same fees to the broker as are big ones. You don't have to make big trades, but stay away from extremely small ones that end up with the profit being eaten up by the broker.
Learn More about Forex
Monday, May 12, 2008
Work From Home Trading Forex
Ways of making money on the internet are abundant today and everyone is competing for that great product to market. Making money from home ranges from paid surveys to affiliate marketing and many more, but all these require a great deal of marketing on your part.
Forex Trading is a great way to work from home because you do not require having your own product, building a website or buying a domain name. one way of trading forex without so much stress is through the use of autopilot system which trades your account for you.
Trading forex simply means buying and selling currency pairs simultaneously, meaning that you buy one and sell the other at the same time. By using an autopilot system what you are doing is simply handing over control to mathematically designed complex algorithms which will analyse the market data and enter trades on your behalf. Most of the systems live up to their name by not requiring any sort of attention from you, although you must set them up properly the first time.
Trading forex using the autopilot system might require that you download a piece of software that runs on various famous trading platforms. Some of them also allow you to start trading with capital as little as $100 and in some cases even less than that. Because the forex market is open 24 hours majority of the forex autopilot system can run on your computer for 24 hours non stop but it might require that you keep your system on.
Deciding to start forex trading as a work at home opportunity using forex autopilot system, you must ensure that you set up the system properly from the start. Most of the programs take about 15-20 minutes to set up and once it is set up you are ready to start trading. Using a forex autopilot in most cases might require for you to either use the default trade settings or to select your trade setting. If you are knowledgeable in forex trading then it will be wise to select a setting that will suit your trading account, but if you do not have any previous trading knowledge you might be better off using the default setting with the recommended account value.
Forex Trading is a great way to work from home because you do not require having your own product, building a website or buying a domain name. one way of trading forex without so much stress is through the use of autopilot system which trades your account for you.
Trading forex simply means buying and selling currency pairs simultaneously, meaning that you buy one and sell the other at the same time. By using an autopilot system what you are doing is simply handing over control to mathematically designed complex algorithms which will analyse the market data and enter trades on your behalf. Most of the systems live up to their name by not requiring any sort of attention from you, although you must set them up properly the first time.
Trading forex using the autopilot system might require that you download a piece of software that runs on various famous trading platforms. Some of them also allow you to start trading with capital as little as $100 and in some cases even less than that. Because the forex market is open 24 hours majority of the forex autopilot system can run on your computer for 24 hours non stop but it might require that you keep your system on.
Deciding to start forex trading as a work at home opportunity using forex autopilot system, you must ensure that you set up the system properly from the start. Most of the programs take about 15-20 minutes to set up and once it is set up you are ready to start trading. Using a forex autopilot in most cases might require for you to either use the default trade settings or to select your trade setting. If you are knowledgeable in forex trading then it will be wise to select a setting that will suit your trading account, but if you do not have any previous trading knowledge you might be better off using the default setting with the recommended account value.
Top Forex Trader Advice
I'm here to give you the top forex trader advice that I use everyday when I do my trades. These are tips to help the trader become better and more efficient at making trades.
When should I trade?
You should trade during peak hours. This is the time when most people trade, so there is the highest volume. I know when it comes to business, people usually suggest to not follow the crowd, but I'll explain in this case. There is such a high volume of trades, the currencies really do follow market forces or "the invisible hand". During the lower volume times (off peak hours) big banks and firms with a lot of money can make trades that affect the direction of the market. The last thing you want to do is trade at this time because they can make a currency go up or down, which is very unstable for you.
I don't seem to be making much on my profitable trades, and I seem to lose more when I make bad trades. Why?
Well, skill could very well be the problem. Assuming you're a good trader, than you probably have poor margins to make profits. Basically your broker needs to be paid for trades, and they take a cut, which is the difference between bid and ask prices. As you know, the broker is going to get paid no matter what, so your losses are often worse and your profits are often small. All you need to do is make larger trades that are for more money. This reduces the percentage taken by the broker and you should notice that your profits will be more and losses should be less(as a percentage).
What do I do when I make a bad trade?
Just cut your losses. This is probably one of the most simple rules you could take in, but most people have a hard time with it. Just sell it and move on.
This is my top forex trader advice and I hope this makes you into a great trader.
When should I trade?
You should trade during peak hours. This is the time when most people trade, so there is the highest volume. I know when it comes to business, people usually suggest to not follow the crowd, but I'll explain in this case. There is such a high volume of trades, the currencies really do follow market forces or "the invisible hand". During the lower volume times (off peak hours) big banks and firms with a lot of money can make trades that affect the direction of the market. The last thing you want to do is trade at this time because they can make a currency go up or down, which is very unstable for you.
I don't seem to be making much on my profitable trades, and I seem to lose more when I make bad trades. Why?
Well, skill could very well be the problem. Assuming you're a good trader, than you probably have poor margins to make profits. Basically your broker needs to be paid for trades, and they take a cut, which is the difference between bid and ask prices. As you know, the broker is going to get paid no matter what, so your losses are often worse and your profits are often small. All you need to do is make larger trades that are for more money. This reduces the percentage taken by the broker and you should notice that your profits will be more and losses should be less(as a percentage).
What do I do when I make a bad trade?
Just cut your losses. This is probably one of the most simple rules you could take in, but most people have a hard time with it. Just sell it and move on.
This is my top forex trader advice and I hope this makes you into a great trader.
Forex Day Trader Advice
I wanted to share a little with you about my forex day trader advice that may help you in trading. Learning this business can be a somewhat frightening task, due to the massive volume of trades daily. This isn't really that complex of a business to learn.
Trade at peak hours: This is important. Peak hours start right after the morning news and this is the point of the day when the trading volume is the highest. You're probably wondering why you should do it when everyone else is doing. Well, the reason is simple, the volume is so high, no bank or big firm can make massive trades that would end up altering the direction of a currency. Buying and selling of currency will affect the direction of the currency, but when the volume is so high, it is next to impossible for a big bank to make a massive trade that could move it in a specific direction. At off peak hours, this is the case. Big banks will come in with massive trades that will cause a currency to move up and down. As a little guy, you're not going to have the money a bank has to make these trades, so you're limited. Just avoid this time and just stick to peak hours.
Have healthy margins: It's surprising how much people just don't work on having healthy profit margins. People make small trades and most of their profit goes to the broker. This is a poor tactic and it will deceive you into thinking you're worse at trading than you really are. A broker gets their pay from the difference between bid and ask prices. These prices are practically a flat rate no matter how much you trade at, so make sure you're getting healthy margins.
Don't hesitate on cutting your losses: Losses are inevitable, but the difference between the profitable trader and the losing trader is that the profitable trade limits the damage of a loss. This is why it is essential to cut your losses and move onto a better trade.
Trade at peak hours: This is important. Peak hours start right after the morning news and this is the point of the day when the trading volume is the highest. You're probably wondering why you should do it when everyone else is doing. Well, the reason is simple, the volume is so high, no bank or big firm can make massive trades that would end up altering the direction of a currency. Buying and selling of currency will affect the direction of the currency, but when the volume is so high, it is next to impossible for a big bank to make a massive trade that could move it in a specific direction. At off peak hours, this is the case. Big banks will come in with massive trades that will cause a currency to move up and down. As a little guy, you're not going to have the money a bank has to make these trades, so you're limited. Just avoid this time and just stick to peak hours.
Have healthy margins: It's surprising how much people just don't work on having healthy profit margins. People make small trades and most of their profit goes to the broker. This is a poor tactic and it will deceive you into thinking you're worse at trading than you really are. A broker gets their pay from the difference between bid and ask prices. These prices are practically a flat rate no matter how much you trade at, so make sure you're getting healthy margins.
Don't hesitate on cutting your losses: Losses are inevitable, but the difference between the profitable trader and the losing trader is that the profitable trade limits the damage of a loss. This is why it is essential to cut your losses and move onto a better trade.
How To Write A Successful Business Plan
Whether you are planning to start a brand-new business, expand an existing company, or get financing for a business venture, you will need to write a business plan. A business plan not only lends your business a sense of credibility, but also helps you to cover all your bases, increasing your chances of success.
Although writing a business plan can be a lengthy, intimidating project, it is not necessarily difficult. Here is an overview of how to write a successful business plan.
What to Include in Your Business Plan
Your business plan needs to demonstrate that you have thoroughly considered all aspects of running your business. To that end, the standard business plan has nine major sections, covering everything from your business’s mission statement to a detailed financial analysis.
Executive Summary
The first – and most important – section of your business plan is the executive summary. This section is so important that it should literally be the first thing the reader sees – even before the table of contents! However, it should also be written last, as you’ll have a better understanding of the overall message of your business plan after you’ve researched and written the other sections.
One of the most important parts of the executive summary is the mission statement. The mission statement is only three or four sentences long, but it should pack the most punch out of everything else in your business plan: Those four sentences are responsible for not only defining your business, but also capturing the interest of your reader.
The rest of your executive summary should fill in the important details that the mission statement glosses over. For instance, your executive summary should include a short history of the business, including founder profiles and start date; a current snapshot, listing locations, numbers of employees, and products or services offered; and a summary of future plans and goals.
This section is a candidate for a bulleted format, which allows you to list main points in a manner that is easy to scan. Avoid using too much detail – remember, this section is a summary. A page or two is usually sufficient for an executive summary.
Market Analysis
The next section of your business plan focuses on market analysis. In order to show that your business has a reasonable chance for success, you will need to thoroughly research the industry and the market you intend to sell to. No bank or investor is going to back a doomed venture, so this section is sure to fall under especially close scrutiny if you are looking for financing.
Your market analysis should describe your industry, including the size, growth rate, and trends that could affect the industry. This section should also describe your target market – that is, the type or group of customers that your company intends to serve. The description of your target market should include detail such as:
• Distinguishing characteristics
• The needs your company or product line will meet
• What media and/or marketing methods you’ll use to reach them
• What percentage of your target market you expect to be able to wrest away from your competitors
In addition, your market analysis should include the results of any market tests you have done, and an analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of your competitors.
Company Description
After your market analysis, your business plan will need to include a description of your company. This section should describe:
• The nature of your business
• The needs of the market
• How your business will meet these needs
• Your target market, including specific individuals and/or organizations
• The factors that set you apart from your competition and make you likely to succeed
Although some of these things overlap with the previous section, they are still necessary parts of your company description. Each section of your business plan should have the ability to stand on its own if need be. In other words, the company description should thoroughly describe your company, even if certain aspects are covered in other sections.
Organization and Management
Once you have described the nature and purpose of your company, you will need to explain your staff setup. This section should include:
• The division of labor – how company processes are divided among the staff
• The management hierarchy
• Profiles of the company’s owner(s), management personnel, and the Board of Directors
• Employee incentives, such as salary, benefits packages, and bonuses
This goal of this section is to demonstrate not only good organization within the company, but also the ability to create loyalty in your employees. Long-term employees minimize human resource costs and increase a business’s chances for success, so banks and investors will want to see that you have an effective system in place for maintaining your staff.
Marketing and Sales Management
The purpose of the marketing and sales section of your business plan is to outline your strategies for marketing your products or services. This section also plans for company growth by describing how the growth could take place.
The section should describe your company’s:
• Marketing methods
• Distributions methods
• Type of sales force
• Sales activities
• Growth strategies
Product or Services
Following the marketing section of your business plan, you will need a section focusing on the product or services your business offers. This is more than a simple description of your product or services, though. You will also need to include:
• The specific benefits your product or service offers customers
• The specific needs of the market, and how your product will meet them
• The advantages your product has over your competitors
• Any copyright, trade secret, or patent information pertaining to your product
• Where any new products or services are in the research and development process
• Current industry research that you could use in the development of products and services
Funding Request
Only once you have described your business from head to toe are you ready to detail your funding needs. This section should include everything a bank or investor needs in order to understand what type of funding you want:
• How much money you need now
• How much money you think you will need over the next five years
• How the money you borrow will be used
• How long you will need funding
• What type of funding you want (i.e. loans, investors, etc.)
• Any other terms you want the funding arrangement to include
Financials
The financials section in your business plan supports your request for outside funding. This section provides an analysis of your company’s prospective financial success. The section also details your company’s financial track record for the past three to five years, unless you are seeking financing for a startup business.
The financials section should include:
• Company income statements for prior years
• Balance sheets for prior years
• Cash flow statements for prior years
• Forecasted company income statements
• Forecasted balance sheets
• Forecasted cash flow statements
• Projections for the next five years – every month or quarter for the first year, with longer intervals for the remaining years
• Collateral you can use to secure a loan
The financials section is a great place to include visuals such as graphs, particularly if you predict a positive trend in your projected financials. A graph allows the reader to quickly take in this information, and may do a better job of encouraging a bank or investor to finance your business. However, be sure that the amount of financing you are requesting is in keeping with your projected financials – no matter how impressive your projections are, if you are asking for more money than is warranted, no bank or investor will give it to you.
Appendices
The appendix is the final section in your business plan. Essentially, this is where you put all of the information that doesn’t fit in the other eight sections, but that someone – particularly a bank or investor – might need to see.
For instance, the market analysis section of your business plan may list the results of market studies you have done as part of your market research. Rather than listing the details of the studies in that section, where they will appear cumbersome and detract from the flow of your business plan, you can provide this information in an appendix.
Other information that should be relegated to an appendix includes:
• Credit histories for both you and your business
• Letters of reference
• References that have bearing on your company and your product or service, such as magazines or books on the topic
• Company licenses and patents
• Copies of contracts, leases, and other legal documents
• Resumes of your top managers
• Names of business consultants, such as your accountant and attorney
Writing a Successful Business Plan
Despite the quantity of information contained in your business plan, it should be laid out in a format that is easy to read. Just like with any piece of business writing, it is important to craft your business plan with your intended audience in mind – and the bankers, investors, and other busy professionals who will read your business plan almost certainly won’t have time to read a tedious document with long-winded paragraphs and large blocks of text.
Business plans for startup companies and company expansions are typically between twenty to forty pages long, but formatting actually accounts for a lot of this length. A strong business plan uses bullet points throughout to break up long sections and highlight its main points. Visuals such as tables and charts are also used to quickly relay specific information, such as trends in sales and other financial information. These techniques ensure that the reader can skim the business plan quickly and efficiently.
Think of your audience as only having fifteen minutes to spend on each business plan that comes across their desks. In that fifteen minutes, you not only have to relay your most important points, but also convince the reader that your business venture merits a financial investment. Your best bet is a well-researched business plan, with an organized, easy-to-read format and clear, confident prose.
Although writing a business plan can be a lengthy, intimidating project, it is not necessarily difficult. Here is an overview of how to write a successful business plan.
What to Include in Your Business Plan
Your business plan needs to demonstrate that you have thoroughly considered all aspects of running your business. To that end, the standard business plan has nine major sections, covering everything from your business’s mission statement to a detailed financial analysis.
Executive Summary
The first – and most important – section of your business plan is the executive summary. This section is so important that it should literally be the first thing the reader sees – even before the table of contents! However, it should also be written last, as you’ll have a better understanding of the overall message of your business plan after you’ve researched and written the other sections.
One of the most important parts of the executive summary is the mission statement. The mission statement is only three or four sentences long, but it should pack the most punch out of everything else in your business plan: Those four sentences are responsible for not only defining your business, but also capturing the interest of your reader.
The rest of your executive summary should fill in the important details that the mission statement glosses over. For instance, your executive summary should include a short history of the business, including founder profiles and start date; a current snapshot, listing locations, numbers of employees, and products or services offered; and a summary of future plans and goals.
This section is a candidate for a bulleted format, which allows you to list main points in a manner that is easy to scan. Avoid using too much detail – remember, this section is a summary. A page or two is usually sufficient for an executive summary.
Market Analysis
The next section of your business plan focuses on market analysis. In order to show that your business has a reasonable chance for success, you will need to thoroughly research the industry and the market you intend to sell to. No bank or investor is going to back a doomed venture, so this section is sure to fall under especially close scrutiny if you are looking for financing.
Your market analysis should describe your industry, including the size, growth rate, and trends that could affect the industry. This section should also describe your target market – that is, the type or group of customers that your company intends to serve. The description of your target market should include detail such as:
• Distinguishing characteristics
• The needs your company or product line will meet
• What media and/or marketing methods you’ll use to reach them
• What percentage of your target market you expect to be able to wrest away from your competitors
In addition, your market analysis should include the results of any market tests you have done, and an analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of your competitors.
Company Description
After your market analysis, your business plan will need to include a description of your company. This section should describe:
• The nature of your business
• The needs of the market
• How your business will meet these needs
• Your target market, including specific individuals and/or organizations
• The factors that set you apart from your competition and make you likely to succeed
Although some of these things overlap with the previous section, they are still necessary parts of your company description. Each section of your business plan should have the ability to stand on its own if need be. In other words, the company description should thoroughly describe your company, even if certain aspects are covered in other sections.
Organization and Management
Once you have described the nature and purpose of your company, you will need to explain your staff setup. This section should include:
• The division of labor – how company processes are divided among the staff
• The management hierarchy
• Profiles of the company’s owner(s), management personnel, and the Board of Directors
• Employee incentives, such as salary, benefits packages, and bonuses
This goal of this section is to demonstrate not only good organization within the company, but also the ability to create loyalty in your employees. Long-term employees minimize human resource costs and increase a business’s chances for success, so banks and investors will want to see that you have an effective system in place for maintaining your staff.
Marketing and Sales Management
The purpose of the marketing and sales section of your business plan is to outline your strategies for marketing your products or services. This section also plans for company growth by describing how the growth could take place.
The section should describe your company’s:
• Marketing methods
• Distributions methods
• Type of sales force
• Sales activities
• Growth strategies
Product or Services
Following the marketing section of your business plan, you will need a section focusing on the product or services your business offers. This is more than a simple description of your product or services, though. You will also need to include:
• The specific benefits your product or service offers customers
• The specific needs of the market, and how your product will meet them
• The advantages your product has over your competitors
• Any copyright, trade secret, or patent information pertaining to your product
• Where any new products or services are in the research and development process
• Current industry research that you could use in the development of products and services
Funding Request
Only once you have described your business from head to toe are you ready to detail your funding needs. This section should include everything a bank or investor needs in order to understand what type of funding you want:
• How much money you need now
• How much money you think you will need over the next five years
• How the money you borrow will be used
• How long you will need funding
• What type of funding you want (i.e. loans, investors, etc.)
• Any other terms you want the funding arrangement to include
Financials
The financials section in your business plan supports your request for outside funding. This section provides an analysis of your company’s prospective financial success. The section also details your company’s financial track record for the past three to five years, unless you are seeking financing for a startup business.
The financials section should include:
• Company income statements for prior years
• Balance sheets for prior years
• Cash flow statements for prior years
• Forecasted company income statements
• Forecasted balance sheets
• Forecasted cash flow statements
• Projections for the next five years – every month or quarter for the first year, with longer intervals for the remaining years
• Collateral you can use to secure a loan
The financials section is a great place to include visuals such as graphs, particularly if you predict a positive trend in your projected financials. A graph allows the reader to quickly take in this information, and may do a better job of encouraging a bank or investor to finance your business. However, be sure that the amount of financing you are requesting is in keeping with your projected financials – no matter how impressive your projections are, if you are asking for more money than is warranted, no bank or investor will give it to you.
Appendices
The appendix is the final section in your business plan. Essentially, this is where you put all of the information that doesn’t fit in the other eight sections, but that someone – particularly a bank or investor – might need to see.
For instance, the market analysis section of your business plan may list the results of market studies you have done as part of your market research. Rather than listing the details of the studies in that section, where they will appear cumbersome and detract from the flow of your business plan, you can provide this information in an appendix.
Other information that should be relegated to an appendix includes:
• Credit histories for both you and your business
• Letters of reference
• References that have bearing on your company and your product or service, such as magazines or books on the topic
• Company licenses and patents
• Copies of contracts, leases, and other legal documents
• Resumes of your top managers
• Names of business consultants, such as your accountant and attorney
Writing a Successful Business Plan
Despite the quantity of information contained in your business plan, it should be laid out in a format that is easy to read. Just like with any piece of business writing, it is important to craft your business plan with your intended audience in mind – and the bankers, investors, and other busy professionals who will read your business plan almost certainly won’t have time to read a tedious document with long-winded paragraphs and large blocks of text.
Business plans for startup companies and company expansions are typically between twenty to forty pages long, but formatting actually accounts for a lot of this length. A strong business plan uses bullet points throughout to break up long sections and highlight its main points. Visuals such as tables and charts are also used to quickly relay specific information, such as trends in sales and other financial information. These techniques ensure that the reader can skim the business plan quickly and efficiently.
Think of your audience as only having fifteen minutes to spend on each business plan that comes across their desks. In that fifteen minutes, you not only have to relay your most important points, but also convince the reader that your business venture merits a financial investment. Your best bet is a well-researched business plan, with an organized, easy-to-read format and clear, confident prose.
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