Why You Should Open Your Own Trading Business

I’ve worked for a dozen or so small businesses over the years, and I’ve met a lot of dedicated men and women in every one of them. Every job, several months in, gives me the feeling like I’m not reaching my potential. A frequent thought comes to mind, why aren’t they using all my talents?

I’ve worked for the U.S. Army and learned a lot about mission accomplishment, leadership, and teamwork. And I’ve worked for myself in seven separate businesses. To be candid, there is nothing like working for yourself. I get along so well with the boss!

You already know the freedom allowed by trading or you wouldn’t be reading this now. Today, I’ll lay out some of the reasons you should immediately reconsider trading from a private account, like 99% of traders currently are doing, and trade within your own business instead.

The choices for your trades are vast, and you know this. You can trade so many instruments, equities, options, currencies, crypto, commodities, and more. You can trade 24 hours per day internationally in whatever time zone you prefer. You can work when and only if you want to.

My office is about 20 yards away from my morning shower. My gym is a 30 second walk from my office. Lunch is another 30 seconds away in another direction. The flexibility and convenience is incredible. I could go on and on here. However, do you know the financial benefits of trading within your own trading business? Perhaps more important, do you know what you are missing by not having your own trading business?

When I first came up with the thought of doing this I was in awe. Am I the first one to think about such a business? Obviously not. However, for the most part, the only people I knew in business as a retail trader were businesses training people how to trade. Most of these are, in fact, educational businesses, training others how to trade for a membership fee, and they are not an actual trading business.  

My first clue was doing legal research. While researching one day, I queried trader, and lo and behold, a bunch of tax law cases appeared. After reviewing them, I realized it was retail traders fighting with the IRS on their tax returns, and the case law was creating a base of who would qualify as a trader for tax purposes versus who was, instead, an investor. Now I knew the “trader as a business” model was possible, and the rest is history. After doing a deep dive into the case studies and realizing it was possible, I started my own company and published my book on the subject, The Business of Trading.

Once you realize all the tax and other benefits of trading within your own company, you will never again trade outside of one.

Enuf said.