Welcome to my blog!

I've worn many hats during my entrepreneurial journey, including writing and creating whiteboard videos, marketing, investor relations (Blurbeo), owning and managing my own vapor pen brand (TouchESubject), servicing the real estate market and other clients as the CEO of Puget Sound Field Inspections, founded CLV Investments LLC, and currently holding a position with Byte Me LLC as a Digital Marketing Consultant.

This blog was originally started as a way for me to track my progress in trading stocks, but it's has since morphed into much more. I now use it as a window into what I'm doing to reach my goal of financial freedom. You're going to see what I'm doing to create multiple streams of income, articles and interviews that are business related or featuring other entrepreneurs, and most importantly you're going to get to know me and hopefully I can inspire you to pursue your own dreams

I'm a very driven individual with a passion for customer service and improving our communities.

Please feel free to connect. I'd love to do business with you.


Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Karma Rocks!

Thanks for the Karma Tim!


Sometimes the Best Trade is No Trade: $GIG



One good thing about limiting myself to 1 trade a week until my account is bigger, is that I must be picky about my picks. I had planned on trading $GIG today if the pattern held and was aiming for an 8% to 10% gains target.

I decided to wait for the morning bounce in hopes of getting a better entry price to increase the chances for a better % gain.

But the opening was ugly and the trend changed directions so I stayed out and will look for a stock to play tomorrow.




I can't remember where I heard it... possibly from one of Tim's YouTube videos, but it basically stated that sometimes the best trade is no trade. Since every time you put your money into the market you are taking on risks, you might as well wait until the trade is in your favor or at the very least the risk is at the lowest possible.



Monday, October 26, 2015

Why I'm Happy I Didn't Trade $IMMY Today.

The title is a little misleading isn't it? You may read that and think I avoided a big loss or that I was wrong about it... I did lose money, but only because I didn't play it.


I started to watch $IMMY after someone on Profit.ly posted that it had hit the news for countering that infamous pharma villain's $750 aids pill by offering an equally good pill for the low price of $1 per pill. Naturally the media went crazy with the story and articles popped up on everything from Fortune to the WSJ.


Friday trading saw a huge spike to $9 a share from around $6 a share, a big pullback, then a gain for the EOD at $7.01 a share... this being a great example of how media can effect a penny stock and while, if played correctly, playing with pennies can be so dang profitable.


I ran the numbers with the stock profit calculator that I like to use HERE to see if the $7 a share would be worth me trading. I have what I call a "micro account" of $300 to trade with so the cost per share plus commission slippage really limits what I trade. I will be adding to my capital as funds become available, but for now that is what I have as disposable funds.


The calculator showed that I'd have to see some major gains to see profits and while the news was hot and I figured there would be a good gain on Monday, jumping in Friday at the close and holding over the weekend still felt like more of a gamble than a calculated risk, so I stayed on the sidelines.


I decided to paper trade it as a "pretend" play and follow the rules that I've put in place for myself.


Since I was not in at the EOD of Friday I would have definitely waited to avoid buying at the top of a morning spike, which climbed to the $7.50 range and then quickly fell to the $7.10 range. That would leave me with a likely entry point around the $7.30 range. Following my rules I would have exited in one of two places, $8.10 range mid-day, or $7.80 range closer to the EOD.


I would have seen gains of roughly $0.50 to $0.80 a share...


So while I didn't make any money today on this play, I'm happy I didn't trade $IMMY because I stuck to my rules, was smart about calculating in my cost per share, commission slippage, and % needed to hit green and made the smart decision to learn from this. I hope you did too, and I hope if you did play this that you banked!


ps. I think there may be enough momentum to see more gains tomorrow especially since more news came out with $IMMY in the articles HERE and HERE, but I doubt the same amount of gains and I wouldn't hold this overnight.

Friday, October 23, 2015

Possible Trade on Monday $IMMY

Just a FYI for those who happen to actually read my blog. I'm keeping an eye on ticker $IMMY for a possible momo play on Monday. Imprimis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. hit the news pretty heavily today with a report that they are under cutting that $750 aids pill and only charging $1 per pill. News is going crazy over it, including an article set to come out the Sat from the WSJ.

It jumped nicely today and closed with a 17.42% gain.

It is a bit pricier than the stocks I really want to trade, especially with the amount of commission slippage I have with my small account.... but with the amount of buzz this has, if it continues throughout the weekend or we see new news, the gains on Monday would be well worth it.


How my Pretend Trade Did




Today's "pretend" trade on $ARO would have likely been one of my best executed trades. I followed my rules and it paid off nicely. I know not every trade will go like this but this is the basic rundown of it.



Remember... this is not an actual trade, only a "pretend" or paper trade.



There are two possible ways that this would have taken place depending on when I entered. But the results are very similar.



Option #1: The Morning Spike



In this option I would have placed my entry right at the opening and road the momentum within the morning spike. The spike quickly rose to the 12% gains area and I would have placed a hard stop loss at the 5% gains level as it climbed. Once the stock reached and passed my target of 10% I would have taken profits as soon as it began to turn red. This would have likely had me exiting with roughly 9% to 11% gains on the trade. 


Option #2: The Bounce Play

This is the more likely play that I would have taken part in. Mostly because at time the market opening is taking place I'm in the middle of getting my kids up and out the door for school. I would have entered around the $0.73 range and fairly quickly placed a hard stop at the 5% gains level around $0.72. I would have then let the trade breath through the day and close out the trade near the EOD with roughly 11% to 12% gains.


Of course it goes without saying, that if I was dealing with a larger account I would have likely played both and doubled my gains.

Please feel free to comment.








$ARO Pretend Play is Running!

Just a quick update to log what I "would be" doing. $ARO is running and the momo play would be working nicely. Currently it is up 7.20% @ $0.74 a share. A little bit ago it even hit the 8% area. I would be placing a hard stop at the 5% gains level, roughly $0.72 a share.

8% trailing stop still in place of course.


Profit.ly: F**k You Fake/Lying Traders

Thursday, October 22, 2015

Pretend Pick for Friday $ARO

Thought I'd do another practice play and have a pretend pick for tomorrow.


$ARO in @ 0.69 target is 10% gains.


I like the chart's steady upward trend (5 day chart).


In keeping with my rules I'll pretend that I have an 8% trailing stop in place and if the ticker reaches a 6% to 8% gain during the trading day I will pretend that I'm putting a hard stop loss at the 5% gains marker. Being that it is Friday I would likely close out the position and not hold over the weekend, so I'll pretend that I close at the EOD.

Pretend Picks Update!

I was please with my pretend picks today. 


$BPTH closed in the red but it did have a nice run today into the 6% gains mid-day.


$NBG (which is the one I would have truly picked) was up this afternoon 9.79% gains and closed in the green at 3.86% gains.


I would have placed an additional hard stop loss on both today around the 5% gain mark and then left the 8% trailing stop in place to breath with the plays. I would have been stopped out of both, but I'd been sitting on 5% profits today.


This leads me to a new rule that I'm adding...


I will always place a hard stop loss at the 5% gain marker with my play reaches 6% to 8% gains.

Done with $IBIO

I stuck to my plan with $IBIO of exiting at the EOD regardless of the price level. I was hoping for an end on green but it really doesn't surprise me that the EOD was in the red. This play has been bad for a while and looking back at it I see three major flaws in what I was doing. But one flaw is so major that I literally just slapped myself... no really, I actually did.

It boils down to this... ready???

I believed in the stock!


Yep, one of Tim Sykes biggest "don't do that's"

Let me break it down for you. I originally entered the trade on 4/27/15 with a position size of 100 shares @ $1.15. I liked the chart at the time. It was actually the same type of play that I'm going to be focusing on and it would have been a decent trade if I had not broken the rules. I even blogged it.


Originally I had a 5% trailing stop in place... not a bad idea but a little tight I think. The stock's momentum faded and the T/S was triggered kicking me out @ $1.1144. 

That should have been that and I should have been done with this trade. It would have been a loss but a well traded loss.

Now this is where I made my biggest mistake. I looked at the charts, listened to the chat room chatter, ready the company's website, articles, etc etc etc. I said to myself, this has to go up! This looks like a great company and there is HUGE potential here! I "BELIEVE in $IBIO" this is a good play and it will work.

I then re-entered on the same day with 100 shares @ $1.1399 and had no stop losses in place... why would I? I believe and this will go up... it dropped again.

I said, "I BELIEVE in $IBIO still" this isn't a bad thing, in fact now I can dip buy and increase my position size with an even better entry point. So on 4/28/15 I entered again with 100 shares @ $1.0299... it dropped again. (still no stop losses).

I wake up on 5/1/15 and can't believe my luck! Another dip buying opportunity and I added 100 shares @ $0.9373 for a total position size of 300 shares. Still no stop losses and now plans of an exit strategy.

I wait, it drops, I wait, it drops, I wait, it drops... you get the picture right?

So there it is you guys, my big nasty mistake in all its glory. Please learn from it and don't do that!!!

My final exit was at the EOD today @ $0.6531.

I'll be posting this on Profit.ly shortly and the trade logged too, I'm waiting to hear back from them on how to log a trade like this with multiple entries and one exit.

Thanks for reading.


Wednesday, October 21, 2015

My "Pretend" Picks for this Week $NBG & $BPTH

My TD Ameritrade still has my play in $IBIO underway and is currently in the red. I plan on exiting tomorrow and cutting losses. I hate taking a loss (as we all do) but need to do it as part of my trading plan....


1) Only 1 trade a week until my account is large enough to do so.


In the past I've been starting a couple trades at a time and staggering them. Mostly because I get anxious and want to be trading as much as possible. The flaw to this that I'm trading with what I'd call a micro account and not only am I effected by the PDT rule but also have to take commission into account more so than someone trading with a larger amount of capital. Executing only one trade a week will allow me to focus all of my available funds to maximize my position size while limiting my commission slippage. (Yes, I know trading with ALL funds it super aggressive).


2) I plan on entering trades mostly on Tuesdays or Wednesday at the latest. Mondays only if there is news over the weekend that would be a "no brainer" move.


I'm sticking to "momo plays" as in momentum plays. Finding a stock that is in a strong uptrend for 2 to 3 days and then looking to ride the momentum for a day maybe two if the chart and news warrants it. I'm only looking for gains of 10% to 15%. But will let it ride if the trend is good.


3) I will be using an 8% trailing stop on every trade and leaving it alone. I WILL NOT REMOVE IT!!! I do not have to use the trailing stop and can exit at any time to either take profits or limit losses should it look really bad and I can exit with less than 8% losses.


I know many don't believe in trading with a stop loss but I look at it as insurance. Better to have one in place and not need it than need one and not have it. The only thing as unpredictable as the stock market is life... Shit happens, and I like knowing that if the power goes out, computer crashes, kid breaks an arm, or zombies attack... I'm only out 8%.


4) Transparency. All my trades will continue to be posted here as well as Profit.ly


Personally, if you are going to trade and not really share with the public what you're doing then go ahead and be private. But if you're going to post on a blog or YouTube or StockTwits etc... show your damn trades and prove it. 


To test my plan and picking strategy I'm looking at two stock that I'm pretending that I went long on. If I were to actually be trading I'd only pick one as I stated in rule #1 and I'd likely go with $NBG. I like the chart a little more and higher volumes.


$NBG in @ 0.90 w/ 10% target
$BPTH in @ 1.51 w/ 10% target

Yeppers $VTL turned into a Loss, but Manageable!

The trade was both a good trade and a bad trade for me. The momentum play with $VTL could have been an easy 10% gainer for me because I hit that within the 1st hour of placing the buy. 

I failed to pull the trigger however and planned on holding through the weekend with my 8% trailing stop in place. I figured that it could breath and do a slight pullback before another leg up.

Here is a breakdown of what I think went wrong and what I think I did right:

1) I really should have taken the 10% to 12% profit as soon as I hit it. Especially since in was into a weekend and I didn't see any hints of new coming news.

2) Holding the ticker over the weekend without news coming out.

3) VTL had already climbed a few days and I was at the tail end of the momentum. 

4) Lot size, with me trading a micro account I need to clear the board and trade only one play a week to maximize my position size and lessen the blow from commissions.

4) I stuck to my 8% trailing stop and limited my losses

My next entry for a trade will be next week likely Tuesday or Wednesday. I'll explain my trading plan in the next post.

$WTW for a Gain of $16.15%

Well I didn't get to stay in for the $18 closing range because my 8% trailing stop triggered during the afternoon dip, but I did take in some profit on this easy momentum play. To bad I'm still trading with a micro account as this would have been a nice one to cash in on. :)












Tuesday, October 20, 2015

$VTL Likely to be a Loss

I'm still holding $VTL with an 8% trailing stop but I just learned that an Investor's Alert has been issued... Again, proof that I should have taken the initial 10% to 12% gain within the first hour of placing my trade. The easy momo gain just turned into a loss (most likely unless there is a spike for some reason).


INVESTOR ALERT - VTL: The Law Offices of Vincent Wong Launch Investigation Vital Therapies, Inc. Possible Securities Fraud Violations


Yahoo Finance Article Link



Taking a Small Position on $WTW

So I missed the meat of the move today with Weight Watchers $WTW... I wasn't watching the news today, but with major resistance not coming until the $15 range I think there is a good chance that the momentum of today may continue for a quick 8% to 10% gainer. I have a very small position because the available funds are minimal, but a gain is a gain and I hope to snag some.





Monday, October 19, 2015

Mondays... Ugh

Just a quick update on the $VTL play. The ticker declined to $6.13 after hours meaning I'm extremely close to the 8% TS being triggered. I'm hoping that it is a correction/consolidation and that we see it move further towards the mid 7s in the next couple of days.


The lesson here is that on the day I entered the play I saw a gain of 10% to 12% but didn't pull the trigger. I figured it would pull back some and then continue higher... YOU SHOULD ALWAYS TAKE YOUR 10% and RUN!


Time will tell if this changes directions and I can see green again.

Friday, October 16, 2015

Getting Back into the Swing of Things

I know that the whole idea behind a blog is to make consistent posts... I have not done that. But to be fair, life has been unusually crazy the last few years and even more so recently. I won't bore you with details, but trust me when I say that making trades has not been on my mind.






That said, things are starting to return to a normalcy or at least something close to it.






I still had two positions open all this time and both I hate to say have turned into bags.






$IBIO is sitting at an ugly 31.45% loss and gouging my TD Ameritrade balance. I haven't decided if I should cut the damn thing out and lick my wounds or continue to hold and hope that the market Gods smile upon me and at least give me a nicer exit point.






$BRWC is the worst bag at the moment and not just because the move is still in the red. The numbers aren't actually that bad when I look at my entry of $0.0015 and it is still hovering in the $0.0011 and $0.0013 ranges. As a swing it could still pop to $0.0016 or higher. The issue is that I made the rookie mistake of using my Sharebuilder account to buy the stock. The commissions on the penny are ridiculous... $42 in commission fees for the buy and another $42 for the sell when that comes! When taking the commissions into account I'm currently sitting on a -42.71% loser and for me to see green the price would have to climb to $0.002! It can be done but the wait may not be worth it. I have an auto sell set to $0.0025 a share... so we will see.







Now for the new.






I decided to get back into it and wanted to go for something that has worked for me in the past. I chose to find a nice momentum play and see if I can ride it with a trailing stop.






I found $VTL to be enticing after seeing the 5 day chart with a nice steady climb.



I was able to enter at $6.43 a share and ride the momo to $6.77 a share at the EOD. With my 8% trailing stop in place I'm going to swing this and see if I can continue to ride the momo tomorrow.