Lana – First Woman being Master Trader with DTA

Yes women can also do day trading – and they can do very well!
This is Lana – our very first Female Master Trader. And we hope to have some more soon. In fact we tend to think that trading is mostly for men when women would actually do better than most men in the industry. Why? Because many women have emocional control, patience and the ability to accept loss which is necessary to become a successful trader.

 

A bit about me:
Mom, wife, trader. Colorado native. Background in real estate and business management.

When and why I started trading:
I first started learning about trading in late 2013, when I found DTA. Although I had no prior experience in the markets, it was always something that I was drawn to. Day trading specifically appealed to me because it didn’t require you to hold positions very long or to really have to research news, companies, etc. I realized that day trading offered, at least for me, a style of trading that seemed less stressful than holding more long term investments. I wanted only to have a position while I was actively engaged with the charts – therefore not having to think about the market when I wasn’t in front of it. Trading, and specifically this style of trading, provided more potential for the freedom I was after than anything else I had found. The freedom (both time and financial) to truly live life on my own terms, is really the driving force behind why I was drawn to this profession.

Why I chose DTA and how it helped me:
Before committing to learn from DTA, I did research on other trading schools, people etc. I really liked that with DTA, the winning ratio didn’t really need to be super high in order to still be profitable. The price seemed reasonable compared to others that I had seen and I also was drawn to the personalized coaching that came along with it. Learning to read the market felt a lot like learning a new language that I knew nothing about. The DTA curriculum really gave me a way to understand how price moves and offered a strong foundation to build from.

Results:
It took me about 2 years in the live market to start finding some consistency in my trading. It then took another solid year to really refine my approach and be able to pull profits on a regular basis. I typically like to be finished trading within the first 1-2 hours of the market session. The points I’ll accumulate during that time varies greatly depending on the way the market is moving. A slower, less volatile session may only offer a few points in that time frame. However, if the market it moving well – meaning there is good volume and volatility – the profits can be much higher.

Biggest challenge:
The biggest challenge for me was definitely holding my patience and discipline while trading. I think that most of the impatience came from unrealistic expectations and continually trying to meet them. This led to continued frustration and eventually forced me to realize that patience is probably the single most important characteristic that would finally lead to profitability.

Trading style and ‘financial freedom’ today:
Designing my life and then finding a profession that fits into it and supports it, has always been really important to me. I wasn’t willing to just live my life in the time that was left over after job commitments. Now I can trade each morning and have the rest of day still ahead of me… and even better, all I need is my laptop and a good internet connection to do it. This journey has taken a lot of time, a lot of hard work, many sacrifices and a ton of dedication but the freedom it provides is priceless.

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