Hello traders.
After coaching hundreds of traders, we’ve seen what makes the difference between those who make it and those who don’t. Today, I’m going to tell you exactly what you need to do in your first year to set yourself up for success.
Month 1-3: Building Your Foundation. You won’t be making millions in your first month. Instead, you’ll be doing something far more valuable: building your foundation. Here’s your roadmap:
Master the Basics
- Learn to read the charts properly.
- Understand support and resistance (and I mean really understand them).
- Practice identifying trends without indicators cluttering your screen
- Paper trade for at least the first month – no exceptions.
Risk Management First
Every new trader wants to talk about entries. But here’s the truth: your exits matter more. We’ll start with:
- Never risking more than 1% per trade.
- Setting hard stops before entering any position.
- Learning to calculate position sizes properly.
- Understanding why small losses are part of the game.
Month 4-6: Developing Your Edge By now, you should understand basic market mechanics. Here’s where we get serious:
Choose Your Strategy
- Pick ONE strategy and master it.
- No jumping between strategies when you have a losing streak.
- Focus on one timeframe and one or two specific setups.
- Journal every trade with screenshots and notes (Use the DND Journal).
Building Routine
- Create a pre-market checklist.
- Develop a daily routine & stick to it.
- Learn to walk away when conditions aren’t right.
- Join as many live trading room sessions as you can.
- Start tracking your metrics weekly.
Month 7-9: Psychology and Performance This is where most traders start showing their true potential or fall apart. We focus on:
Mental Game
- Understanding your emotional triggers.
- Learning to trade your plan, not your P&L.
- Developing patience to wait for A+ setups.
- Building resilience after losses.
Performance Analysis
- Weekly review sessions.
- Monthly strategy adjustments.
- Analysing your best and worst trades.
Month 10-12: Scaling and Consistency If you’ve followed the process, you’re ready to:
- Gradually increase position sizes.
- Refine your risk parameters.
- Develop a business plan for your trading.
- Set realistic growth targets.
- Remember this is a business.
Common Mistakes We Won’t Let You Make:
- Overtrading out of boredom.
- Revenge trading after losses.
- Moving to larger positions too quickly.
- Neglecting your trading journal.
- Trading without a clear plan.
Remember: Your First Year Metrics
- Win rate: Aim for 45-75%.
- Risk: Reward: Minimum 1:2.
- Maximum drawdown: Keep it under 5%.
- Trading frequency: Quality over quantity.
A Word on Expectations, as your coach I’ll be brutally honest: Most new traders blow their accounts because they expect too much, too soon. Here’s what realistic progress looks like:
- Month 1-3: Learning, minimal real trading.
- Month 4-6: Small, consistent positions.
- Month 7-9: Developing consistency.
- Month 10-12: Starting to scale.
Your Homework:
- Create a trading plan.
- Set up a proper trading journal.
- Write down your rules and stick to them.
- Record your screen during trading sessions.
- Review your trades weekly with us.
Remember, trading is a skill like any other. You wouldn’t expect to perform surgery after watching a few YouTube videos, so don’t expect to master trading overnight. Follow this plan, stay disciplined, and you’ll be miles ahead of most traders who jump in blindly.
Stick to the plan, stay safe & protect your account.
