Good morning, traders…
There’s a shift that happens when your trading starts to work. You’ve got a routine. You’re managing risk on purpose.
And for the first time, you might be seeing some serious gains.
That’s when the game changes. Once you’re trading consistently, it’s crucial to consider how you approach making money in the options market.
That means treating your trading like a business, not a hobby — you’re the CEO, CFO, and CIO of your own small trading company.
That shift matters more than people think. You can spend countless hours focusing on entries and exits, support and resistance, technicals and fundamentals — but it’s the stuff outside the charts that often determines your long-term success (or lack thereof).
Things like tracking expenses, keeping records, and pulling money out of your account (in a way that actually benefits you).
This is a part of trading that doesn’t get talked about much.
But it’s where your wins start turning into real income, real progress, and real changes in your life.
You’re The CEO. Start Acting Like It…
Treat Your Trades Like Employees
You’re the CEO of your trading business. The trades are your employees.
When you hire someone, you expect them to show up on time, do the work, act with integrity, and collaborate well with the team.
You set clear expectations. If they don’t meet those standards, there are consequences.
Now imagine hiring someone who shows up hours late with incomplete work. They blame their colleagues for every mistake. They steal from the donation jar. They miss deadlines repeatedly, offering nothing but excuses.
What would you do? You’d fire them. Immediately.
You wouldn’t keep paying them week after week, hoping they’d suddenly change. You wouldn’t throw more resources at the problem. You’d cut your losses and move on.
Yet traders do this all the time with losing positions. They add to losers, hoping the trade will “turn around.” They hold positions well past their stop because they don’t want to admit the trade failed.
Your trades work for you. When a trade isn’t doing its job (returning gains on your capital) … fire it.
Cut the position. Move on to the next opportunity. The best CEOs are ruthless about accountability.
Your trading account deserves the same discipline.
Pay Yourself Like a Business Owner
If you’re making money in the market — even just a little — you have to get in the habit of transferring profits out of your brokerage account and into your savings account.
That money is income. It’s not just theoretical. If you want to reinvest your profits into stocks or indexes, that’s fine.
But if you’re just letting profits sit in cash while your actual life continues to cost money, you’re missing a big opportunity to pay yourself for your hard work.
I suggest a monthly or quarterly “owner’s draw.”
Think of it like cutting yourself a paycheck. Some months it’s small. Other months, if I’ve had a strong run, I might transfer a bigger chunk.
But either way, it reinforces that this isn’t just for fun…
I’m trading to support my family, fund our future, and honor the hard work I’m putting into my craft.
Taking that money out also gives you perspective. It helps you stop overtrading. It gives real meaning to your wins. And it makes the hard days easier to stomach, because you’ve already pulled some value out of the market.
You wouldn’t run a profitable business for months without paying yourself. Trading shouldn’t be any different.
Why Getting Paid Matters
There’s another benefit to paying yourself that goes way beyond dollars in your checking account: it clears your head.
Traders deal with all kinds of mental traps — greed, fear, frustration, revenge.
And one of the fastest ways to get spun out emotionally is to feel like your wins aren’t real.
When gains do nothing but sit in your brokerage account, you lose connection to the impact of your work.
You start thinking in terms of numbers on a screen instead of results in your life.
Pulling money out and actually using it — even if it’s just to cover bills, take your significant other to dinner, or buy groceries — brings meaning to the grind. It helps anchor your decisions in reality.
It makes this whole trading game feel less like a high-stakes poker game and more like a productive part of your life.
Don’t Miss My SchwabTV Debut
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT:
I’ll be appearing on Schwab TV at 9:15 a.m. EST today to discuss the “Trump Trade” and macro trends.
Want to understand how policy shifts are creating trading opportunities? Tune in.
Also, if you’re part of OMEN Platinum…
Monday’s prep session (and Thursday’s lotto sessions) with the great Ethan Harms are an absolute must-watch.
In last week’s Thursday session, he called out a 400% lotto winner on QuantumScape Corp. (NYSE: QS).*
Don’t miss the next 5x slam-dunk…*
Join this Thursday’s session at 4 p.m. EST.
Happy trading,
Ben Sturgill
*Past performance does not indicate future results. Not typical.
