I consider a small account to be anything under a $10k pot.

At this level it would be hard to generate enough reasonable sustainable R / gains to make a living from, without going stupid on risk.

Having this type of smaller size makes it harder to grow a small account as its easy to trick your brain into wanting/aiming for exaggerated returns. You end up desperately looking for those returns to compensate for your account size. Its an unhealthy relationship to have.

Defining Edge

In the beginning its actually ideal to trade with this small account size, especially if you have no proven track record of profitability. Id even suggest reducing size even further. Focus on whether you have an actual edge first before you can even think about trying to grow an account.

Your goal at this point is to build a process.

• Who are you trading against?
• Where do you want to get into the market?
• What do you want to see once price gets there?
• What do you NOT want to see there?

I always come back to these questions as its the core surrounding what you should build around.

Most assume it's their account size which is holding them back from success when in reality they have zero or little concrete evidence that they have an edge in the first place.

Whilst building your edge, some things you must focus on:

• drawdown (both frequency & depth)
• performance across various market conditions

The Harsh Reality

It will take you YEARS of refinement and adjustment before you know whether your system has any legs to it, know what is variance vs what is you messing up will be an extremely challenging job.

Whilst in this phase, you should keep your day job if you require it to pay bills or have responsibilities, whilst also saving aggressively.

You Have Edge, Now What?

You have 2 options.

Option 1:

You've built up a big enough nest egg to a point where you can slowly start to become self sufficient and trade bigger amount from this pot.

This doesn't mean you instantly start betting big. You slowly begin to risk more from this pot in stages.

Option 2:

If you don't have funds but you have a clearly proven edge, only at this stage do I ever recommend the "prop" route, and even then there are very few if any I'd personally feel comfortable backing. The only one I'd feel comfortable telling you to go with is @Raentrading.

Regardless the goal for me was to always build up a big enough pot to go at things alone.

Keep the same consistent input. Same risk, same setup, focus on quality. Don't size up because you have a gut feeling. Over time you will start to build a playbook using MATH as to when you should bet more. This is what leads to eventual exponential growth.

tldr:

1. Prove you have an edge
2. Keep consistent input variables
3. Build a big enough stack to go solo or find funds
4. Size up based on MATH not "feel"

Stop attempting to run before you can walk.