Your Day Trading Edge

Many business executives spend hours defining their Unique Selling Propositions. This is the "edge" which make these businesses stand out in the minds of its potential customers. In day trading, you need to know your day trading edge to help you define what it is that makes you money on a CONSISTENT basis. If you think long enough, chances are that you will have at least one good traits which you then can use to define your day trading edge! You may not know your edge, however, at this time.  Take some time to determine your unique qualities (like a business' Unique Selling Proposition) and use those qualities to help you define your edge.

Determine Your Day Trading Edge - Start With Personality Traits

Start with your personality traits and what makes you better than someone else:

• Do you type faster on the keyboard than most other people?
• Are you comfortable with risk becuase you have a background in one of the riskier professions (pilot, firefighter, etc.)?
• Are you more tenacious than other people you know?
• Do you like to read books for your industry?
• Are you able to blend humility along with decisiveness better than most people you know?
• Can you accept losses emotionally and still perform with precision?
• Do you have a background in a sport which allows for a high percentage of losses and you can still be a success (like a baseball player hitting safely only 3 times out of 10 is considered successful)?
• Are you extremely analytical?

Determine Your Day Trading Edge - More Trading-Functional Qualities

For the more "functional" ways to determine your edge, ask yourself:

• Do you have new ways to use a specific technical indicator?
• Do you have mentors for trading?
• Do you trade with a group which offers software with advanced functionality?
• Do you know the intricacies of each exchange and rules which can help you find a strategy with good odds?
  
• Do you have faster technology than most others?
• Do you have access to margin rates which allow you more flexibility?
• Do you have specific trading education which most people do not have?
• Do you have any background with previous traders such as having been on the trading floor or trading pits?
• Do you have programming language experience to help you write programs to trade the markets?
• Do you trade around and/or associate with consistently profitable traders?
• Do you have risk management methods which most people do not possess?
  

These are just some ideas to get you started. Once you have defined your edge, develop day trading strategies around those traits so that you play to your strengths. While the market offers no guarantees of success, a trading style based on your strengths will increase your reassurance and confidence when trading in the markets.  Hopefully these strengths will help you define your day trading edge and give you consistent profitability in the future.