A trading plan is a written set of rules you must follow when trading. Take into account that:

• The rules must tell you about when to enter when to exit, and money management criteria for every purchase. 

• The key is to adjust your position size so that you give yourself enough room to stay within the stop-loss and not risk everything in a single position.

• By having rules, you will significantly reduce your fear. 

• You must check the validity of your trading plan before risking your money in real time by backtesting it using historical data and determining its viability. 

• Only after having tested the developed plan and backtesting showing good results, is the time to go full-throttle investing in the stock market. 

• Sometimes your trading plan won't work. Bail out of it and start over. The key here is to stick to the plan. 

• Taking trades outside of the trading plan, even if they turn out to be winners, is considered a poor strategy. 

One of the best assets you can get with a small trading account is experience. Be aware that:

• You should start with demo trading first to get acquainted with your trading platform. 

• Then understand the basics of trading by simulating trade operations for a while, defining trading rules, and gaining trading experience. 

• Switch to a real account as soon as you’re ready, and ready means that you have verified that your trading plan works. 

• Don’t spend too much time on demo trading because you, as a trader, need to minimize your fear of the markets. 

• Emotions like fear and greed are best understood once you start risking real money, which will make you a better trader. 

• -Trading financial assets is not a hobby or just a job, it's a serious business.

• Trading requires precision, patience, commitment, in-depth analysis, and thorough research.

• Unlike a hobby, trading requires a significant amount of commitment and dedication.

• If you treat trading like a job, it can be frustrating because there is no regular paycheck.

• Trading is a business that incurs expenses, losses, taxes, uncertainty, stress, and risk.

• As a trader, you are essentially a small business owner.

• Therefore, it is important to research and use effective strategies to maximize your business's potential.

Today, technology has changed the way share market trading is performed on the exchanges. In fact:

• Everything is mobile, swift, intelligent, and real-time. In such a scenario, a trader must be up-to-date in the trading world and use technology to track all financial assets's movements, new products, and new trading schemes and pre-empt market movements. 

• Trading is a competitive business. It's safe to assume that the person who is sitting on the other side of a trade is taking full advantage of all the available technology.

• Charting platforms give traders an infinite variety of ways to view and analyze the markets. 

• Backtesting is an idea that uses historical data to prevent missteps. 

• Getting market updates via smartphone allows us to monitor trades anywhere. 

• Technology that we take for granted, like a high-speed internet connection, can greatly increase trading performance. 

• Using technology to your advantage and staying current with new products can be fun and rewarding in trading.

• However, it would help if you didn't take unnecessary risks that could adversely impact your trading capital and overall performance in the stock market. 
• Saving enough money to fund a trading account takes a great deal of time and effort. It can be even more difficult if you have to do it twice. 
• It’s important to note that protecting your trading capital is not synonymous with never losing a trade. All traders have losing trades.
• Protecting capital entails not taking unnecessary risks and doing everything you can to preserve your trading business.

• Understanding the markets and all of their intricacies is a lifelong process. 
• Deep research allows traders to understand the facts, like what the different economic reports mean. 
• Focus and observation allow traders to sharpen their instincts and learn the nuances. 
• World politics, news events, economic trends—even the weather—all have an impact on the markets. The market environment is dynamic. 
• The more traders understand the past and current markets, the better prepared they are to face the future.
• In stock market trading, every day is a new day. It would help if you perceived it as it came. 
• Be a learner and practise stock market trading as a new entrant, even if it has been decades of trading for you. 
• Look at stock market trading as a classroom with much to offer and to be taken one step at a time.

• Acknowledgement enables you to plan well and not overexpose yourself to the risks of financial market trading.
• Never forget the importance of a well-thought-out trading plan. 
• Before you start using real cash, make sure that all of the money in that trading account is truly expendable. If it's not, the trader should keep saving until it is.
• Money in a trading account should not be allocated for the children's college tuition or paying the mortgage. 
• Traders must never allow themselves to think they are simply borrowing money from these other important obligations. Losing money is stressful enough. 
• Your capital should never have been risked in the first place. 
• You want to be sure your stop-loss can tolerate a minor loss relative to your trading capital. 

• Traders should have the discipline and patience to follow specific rules while exposing themselves and their capital to financial market trading. 
• Taking the time to develop a sound trading methodology is worth the effort.
• But facts, not emotions or hope, should be the inspiration behind developing a trading plan. 
• Traders who are not in a hurry to learn typically have an easier time sifting through all of the information available on the internet. 
• Consider this: if you were to start a new career, more than likely you would need to study at a college or university for at least a year or two before you were qualified to even apply for a position in the new field, learning how to trade demands at least the same amount of time and fact-driven research and study.

• Never in financial asset trading should there be a time that you follow a trading plan that is outdated or rigid to change. 
• Since the trading world is fast-paced, your strategies should also be agile and adaptive.

• A trading failure in the financial asset market should not at any time be taken as a personal loss. 
• Instead, it should be taken at all times as a learning experience and a valuable asset to be kept alongside the share market trading journey.

• The ideal is to exit all trades with a profit, but that is not realistic. 
• A stop-loss is a predetermined amount of risk that a trader is willing to accept with each trade.
• The stop-loss limits the trader's exposure during a trade and helps limit the losses and risks. 
• Stop-loss should be a hygiene feature in your trading plan and be exercised diligently during a trading cycle. 
• Not having a stop-loss is a lousy trading practice and should be avoided, even if it leads to a winning trade.  
• Remember, exiting a trading cycle with a stop-loss and eventually having a losing trade is still suitable trading if it falls into your trading plan. 
• Using a stop-loss can take some of the stress out of trading since we know that we will only lose X amount on any given trade. 
• Using a protective stop-loss helps ensure that losses and risks are limited and that you have preserved enough capital to trade another day. 
• The key is to remember that you always need a stop-loss as part of your trading plan.

• It is essential to differentiate between what is data and what is rumoured data as a trader.
• In addition to this, do not fall for feelings or suppositions but for facts. 
• All your moves in the stock market should be based on facts and research.

1. An ineffective trading plan and
2. An ineffective trader. 

• That happens. Markets may have changed, or volatility may have lessened. For whatever reason, the trading plan simply is not performing as expected. 
• Stay unemotional and businesslike. It's time to reevaluate the trading plan and make a few changes or to start over with a new trading plan.
• An unsuccessful trading plan is a problem that needs to be solved. It is not necessarily the end of the trading business. 

• External stress, poor habits, and a lack of physical activity can all contribute to this problem. 
• A trader who is not in peak condition for trading should consider taking a break. 
• After any difficulties and challenges have been dealt with, the trader can return to business. 
• In bull markets, it can be easy to make money in the market. Knowing when to take profits takes practise. 
• One way to take the emotion out of closing a profitable position is to use trailing stops. 
• The vast majority of the rules outlined above have one thing in common: attention to risk, or losing money. 
• That's because you're in the business of making money in the markets. Losses will inevitably occur. 
• The trick is to keep the losses small enough so that you can keep trading until you find more winning trades.
• Experienced traders know when it's time to take a loss, and they have incorporated that into their trading strategy. 
• Experienced traders also know when it's time to take profit, so they may move their stop loss in the direction of the trade to lock in some profit or simply take profit at the current market price. 
• Either way, rest assured that there will always be another trade set-up coming down the road.

• To succeed in trading, it's crucial to maintain a clear perspective. Keep these points in mind:

• - Losing trades are an integral part of trading. Expect them, and don't be surprised.

• - Winning trades are merely stepping stones towards building a profitable business. It's the overall profits that matter, not individual trades.

• - Once you acknowledge that wins and losses are part of the business, your emotions will have less impact on your trading performance. Remember that a losing trade is always around the corner, so stay focused!

• - It's essential to set realistic goals. Your business should earn a reasonable return within a reasonable timeframe. If you expect overnight riches, you're setting yourself up for disappointment. Be realistic, and you'll be in a better position to succeed.

Here below you will find a selection of good resources where you can find additional useful information for achieving a successful trading experience. Most of the above tips & tricks have been taken from the sources you will find here below, and we want to mention and thank their respective authors:

• Trading skills and essentials. Investopedia.

• Learn how to trade the market in 5 steps. ALAN FARLEY

• 10 Important Tips & Tricks To Improve Trading Skills. Outlook.

• Top ten rules for trading. JEAN FOLGER

And you can always check your trading knowledge by simply responding to this short quiz. It will not take you more than 10 minutes to complete it. 

Getting a high quiz score (>80%) means that you know how to start as a trader and understand the hazards of trading with financial assets.

By the way, you will receive a good reward for completing the quiz.