Best Online Trading Platforms for Option Trading

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StrategyDriven Entrepreneurship Article | Best Online Trading Platforms for Option Trading

Options trading isn’t just for anyone; it’s got high-risk involved because everything is dependent on fluctuations in the market prices, how much you can afford to pay for the option and whether you should make the call to either sell or buy certain securities at its set price based on future dates — you’ve got to be experienced and knowledgeable about how brokerage systems work or you’ll end up with losses. If you’re looking for a particular online options broker to start or continue your investment journey, we highly recommend you to check out this article about the best options brokers on business24-7. We’ve compiled some of the best online platforms for Options trading, just read on to find out which is the perfect one for you!

1. TD Ameritrade

Across all the trading platforms, this is the best one overall; it has got a fair pricing system, a very resourceful database for beginners and an efficient trading platform for all veterans and experts alike. It doesn’t matter how experienced you are because you’ll be sure to benefit trading on this platform that provides for all users.

Each contract costs $0.75 cents while the trade is priced at $6.95 each; the good thing is that there is no minimum for your account and the site even offers a promotion of commission-free equity, option trades, and ETF for 60 days with just a deposit of at least $3,000. You’ll also get additional bonuses if you’ve got opening deposits of a larger amount.

2. Robinhood

Even though some expert traders aren’t too pleased with the way Robinhood processes and handle their trades, Robinhood nevertheless stands at the top of the list for having no commission price. Investors get to sell and buy options without having to risk anything above their initial investments — they really mean it when they say that there’s no trading fee.

If you’re looking at Robinhood solely as a platform, it would be a great trading avenue. It’s especially for traders who’ve already read up enough on trading, so beginners won’t find many educational materials here. Aside from that, traders trade with ETFs, stock trades, some cryptocurrencies and American Depository Receipts on both the website and the mobile application — all at zero commission fee.

3. TradeStation

Initially starting up as a software trading company, it grew to become an advanced options trading platform. They’ve got rapid-speed trading and exclusive data suited for professionals, making it the ideal platform for the more experienced group of traders.

You’ll be charged $5 each trade and $0.50 cents each contract, but they’ve also got some unbundled and per-contract prices up for offer; for the more veteran and active traders, a common choice is to opt for the flat-rate pricing of $1 each contact rather than the usual base price and individual contract fee. The tools here are so superb that you can find them being sold at other brokers, so if you’re keen on joining TradeStation as a member, you’re in for a good time.

4. Gatsby

Gatsby is most suited for the retail investors, the traders who are new to options trading, social traders and the millennial bunch — if either of these sounds like you, this might be the platform that best suits your needs. Gatsby is an all-inclusive trading platform that ensures you, as a beginner, would be informed of the most common trade lingo and the most up-to-date trade news — they’re all for making sure you get the resources and expertise you’ll need to optimize your trading strategies. Once you’ve signed up, you can begin trading instantly and earn your passive income when you trade for ETFs and companies — or, you can even trade against companies if that’s what interests you.

StrategyDriven Entrepreneurship Article | Best Online Trading Platforms for Option Trading

5. IQ Option

IQ Option is reputable for being a low-costing brokerage, offering low trade prices at $0.95 each, $0.65 for each contract and no minimum account amount. As of now, depending on the amount you’re willing to deposit, they’ve got a promotion that allows you to earn up to $3,500 bonus cash. This would be quintessential for traders who like to start with low investment amounts; with IQ Option, you can start small while reaping the other benefits of using its powerful online trading platform, informative charts and analytics to help you build your trading strategy — at no minimums and low costs, here’s a great place to begin your investment journey. You can find a more detailed review of IQ Option here.

6. Interactive Brokers

Should you be a more active trader that prefers small and quick trades, this may be the platform that fits the bill. When you trade at Interactive Brokers, you won’t need to worry about pre-trade fees and every option commission is priced at $0.70 each. The high-volume traders can enjoy the lower pricing of just $0.15 each contract with the qualification criteria of at least 100,000 contracts every month. There’s also the requirement of having a minimum account balance of $100,00 per month or risk incurring a $10 commission fee, if not you’ll need to deal with an activity fee — this definitely isn’t for those with a smaller trade appetite, but if you’re up for a thriving and excitable trading experience, don’t hesitate to give Interactive Brokers a try.

7. Lightspeed

Like Interactive brokers, Lightspeed also caters to the experienced and active trading community. They charge $0 each trade and $0.60 cents per contract with a minimum of $1 per trade. Their tiered pricing system starts at 500 contracts every month; it depends on your trading volume, but the discounted rates can range from $0.50 cents from 500 to 2,000 contracts each month or even go as low as $0.20 cents with 100,000 contracts a month. Not to mention that they’ve also got the most professional trading tools you need, such as analysis tools, an integrated order executor, personalized layouts and older data analytics that you might find useful for predictions — whatever you want, they’ve got it all.

8. ETrade

Last but not least, ETrade is one of the oldest online trading platforms that boasts of a rich trader history. They’ve got a multitude of research tools and data available, even including the ones you’ll need to build your very own advanced trading options chain and ladders. The only downside is that the commissions aren’t the cheapest you’ll find around; the trades and contracts cost $6.95 and $0.75 respectively. However, you will find some discounts available if you would like to trade in high volumes. The Index and Equity options will be as affordable as $4.95 and the contracts will be priced at just $0.50 each. For new accounts that manage to have a balance of $10,000 and more, these users can get an outstanding $600 in free trades plus 60 days of trades that are commission-free — ETrade gives you the epic premium trading experience you never knew you needed.

StrategyDriven Entrepreneurship Article | Best Online Trading Platforms for Option Trading

That’s all we have for the best options trading platforms for 2019, but we promise you won’t be disappointed with any of these. Before you start investing in any of these platforms, ensure to do sufficient additional research just to be sure that you’ve found just the right online trading platform that best suits your needs; options trading may be a high-risk investment but it definitely is worth the effort, all you need is to understand how it all works and you’ll have the relevant expertise to make the right call.

Ensuring Small Business Success

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StrategyDriven Entrepreneurship Article |Small Business Success|Ensuring Small Business SuccessWhen you decide to pursue your dreams and open your own small business, there are many things that can disrupt your venture and reduce your chances of success. Making sure that you have covered all bases is so vital to ensure that your company can thrive, but without a wealth of previous experience then how can you stay in control and push your small business in the right direction? Luckily, there are a few simple steps that you can follow to be as successful as possible throughout your company’s lifetime, and it couldn’t be easier to start making positive changes today! So, if you want to know more about what you can do to ensure your small business is a success, then read on to uncover some of the best tips and tricks that you can utilise to push your profit to respectable levels in no time at all!

Staying On Top Of Paperwork

Opening your own small business is often an overwhelming experience, as the sheer quantity of paperwork that you have to complete to a very high standard can be too much for just one person to handle. Failing to stay on top of your paperwork can easily cause your business to spiral into difficulties, as not only do you have a moral responsibility to keep track of your company, but also a legal requirement too. A large amount of general paperwork can actually be outsourced and completed by another organisation, such as any payroll services for small business needs which can take a huge weight off your shoulders.

The Importance Of Marketing

When you are in the very early stages of business, this is the most important time for you to start marketing and advertising your brand, product or services to gain enough attention and custom to grow and thrive. New small businesses must put effort into getting their name out there to attract customers and develop a reputation, otherwise you will likely not receive even one single customer. Even a small emphasis on advertising can encourage local people to start talking about your business, and word of mouth marketing is one of the most beneficial techniques, as it’s completely free and can help your brand name to spread at a super fast speed.

Sourcing Excellent Staff

Though you may find it difficult to let go of some responsibility and allow other people to get involved and contribute to your small business, it’s so important for growth and success that you can source excellent staff to support you and help your company expand and evolve. Finding a great team doesn’t have to be a difficult task, as you can approach an employment agency with the job role description you have to offer, and allow them to find the perfect candidate to fit your needs. Qualifications and previous experience are a must, as you cannot afford to spend time training and educating your staff.

Ensuring that your small business is a great success has never been so simple when you can make the most of the steps above!

The Entrepreneur’s Roadmap to Success

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StrategyDriven Entrepreneurship Article | The Entrepreneur's Roadmap to SuccessWhen speaking with groups, questions arise on how and where to get started on going into business for ones self. Often times a new entrepreneur feels he or she has done their due diligence only to learn later that they barely scratched the surface. They checked out the market, discussed the business idea with friends and family and feels they can come up with enough capital to set themselves up for success.

Unfortunately, often the amount of working capital needed to fund the project is simply not enough to account for all the expenses that arise with a new business. It seems that most businesses fail, not due to the validity of the idea, but rather that the project was under capitalized or underfunded from the start. The simple fact is that if you cannot preserve your working capital, “You won’t make it”. We have all seen great business ideas go down in flame because of working capital issues. Too often, the unforeseen – which were not budgeted for, will consume the cash that the business was relying on to bridge the gap between idea and implementation. If nothing else, budget and plan for the unknown – because if something can go wrong – it will.

Being in business for yourself, according to many entrepreneurs, is the greatest job most individuals will ever have . In doing so you have the potential to impact other people’s lives in a positive way while leading an organization to success. This can be both a blessing and a curse. If you are confident enough in what you are doing, and you have truly done your due diligence, you can have a prosperous business. If you don’t put in the time and effort to cover all your bases, you are not only setting yourself up for failure but you are doing yourself a disservice. A successful entrepreneur not only plans for the unexpected, but anticipates that it will invariably happen.

Ask yourself, “Why do I want to go into business for myself?” The first answer most of us give is that we want to be our own boss. A great perk is that most entrepreneurs can live and work wherever they want. Entrepreneurship, if done correctly, can not only be rewarding from a financial perspective but also from a quality of life perspective.

How someone with a limited amount of experience and resources thinks they can go into business and be successful is beyond me. Furthermore, what financial institution would ever loan this type of person any money? Does this mean there is little or no hope for young adults to make it as budding entrepreneurs? Not necessarily. Since most young entrepreneurs don’t have the luxury in making a lot of mistakes, they must go about this very differently. Having a partner with the experience and resources to make this idea or business a reality is a route these young entrepreneurs must take. Finding a business mentor can be the difference between success and failure. You may have to give away more ownership in this type of arrangement than you wanted, however, if successful, it should be well worth it.

About the Author

Randy Steele, author of The Entrepreneur’s Roadmap to Success, is a lifelong entrepreneur and has had tremendous success in the financial service business, real estate, real estate appraising, greenhouse growing operations, and the mortgage industry. Through these experiences, the knowledge he has gained is invaluable to someone wanting to start a business or someone wanting to take their business to the next level.

Be More Productive With These Office Tips

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StrategyDriven Entrepreneurship Article |Productive office tips|Be More Productive With These Office TipsWorking in an office environment is sometimes a stressful job. It is a working environment that is often fast paced and sometimes it is hard to balance every little job and reach your goals.

If you have been sure going creating a productive office space recently it is important for you to try and make some key changes for efficient working. Today we are going to take a look at some of the ways you can make a change to your office space this year and be more productive.

Make it light

An office space cannot be dark and drab if you are to work in it effectively. You need to make sure that the office has plenty of natural light as well as bright light sources such as a 2×2 led panel above desk areas. Light helps people to stay awake and focused and it will ensure that they are able to work efficiently throughout the week.

Hire an Accountant

Running a business is stressful enough but if you are also trying to budget your business it can become a difficult and overwhelming task rather quickly. Instead of trying to budget for your own business and risking making mistakes, hire an accountant to handle it all for you. It will save you time and will ensure that you can be more productive at work.

Schedule social media

If you are looking to better market your business with an online presence, one of the things that can be very time consuming is making social media posts to go out throughout the week. To save you some time throughout the week, schedule them all in one sitting with an app like buffer and this will allow you to maintain an online presence without taking too much time out of each day to create new posts.

Virtual Receptionist

Who enjoys answering the phone? No one! If you don’t want to spend every 10 minutes having to stop working to answer the phone, a great idea would be to get a virtual receptionist. All calls will go through to them and they will simply update you with messages when needed.

A happy environment

The most important thing you can do to create a productive work environment is to make the office a happy and homely place to be. The office is a place where you will spend a lot of your time during the week so ensure you bring some comforting touches to the space. This includes things such as plants, cushions, sofas and artwork. The last thing you want is to have an imposing space that leaves no room for inspiration.

Avoid clutter

A cluttered desk is a cluttered mind. If you constantly have clutter all over the office and your desk, you won’t be able to concentrate very well on your work and nothing will get done. Always make sure that you clear away paperwork and clear the space to make it feel open and light. This will make a huge amount of difference.

2020 Exit Planning Checklist

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StrategyDriven Entrepreneurship Article | 2020 Exit Planning ChecklistAll business owners will stop being business owners at some point.  So, there is no better time to begin planning for the inevitable than the present.  The earlier you begin planning, the more options you will have for a successful exit.

However, like any strategic plan, it can be difficult to know how and where to begin.  With the start of the new year it’s also an ideal time for us to publish a basic “To-Do List” that will serve you in considering that most significant event as a business owner…your future exit.

DECIDE WHERE YOU WANT TO GO.  Establish Clear Goals and Objectives for Exit and Your Life After Exit.

  • When do you want to leave the business? Whom do you wish to transfer/sell the business to?
  • What are your values-based and legacy exit goals?
  • What is your post-exit “life-plan”? Business owners can often regret leaving when lacking a plan for life that replaces the sense of purpose and meaning they experienced in building their business.
  • Update your Personal Financial Plan. Find out how much $$$$ you will need post-exit to do all you want to do. Is there a gap?

ASSESS WHERE YOU ARE.  Without Accurate Data All Planning Becomes Meaningless.

  • Get an accurate Business Valuation. If the business is your largest asset shouldn’t you know what it really is worth to potential buyers?
  • Assess your business Value-Drivers and areas of Risk.
  • Review your Business Continuity Plan for life transitions and unexpected death or disability. Co-Owners would include a review of their Buy-Sell Agreement to ensure alignment with the current goals of all owners.
  • Review Estate Plan to ensure alignment with exit goals.

DESIGN AND IMPLEMENT A PLAN.  Build Transferable Value and Enjoy a Future Exit On Your Own Terms and Conditions.

  • Which Exit Route will best accomplish your goals? Sale to Third-Party | Sale to Insiders | Transfer to Family Members | Sale to ESOP | Absentee Owner.
  • Focus on growth and profitability today. At the core of tomorrow’s successful exit plan is today’s profitability and plan for growth.
  • Strengthen business value drivers. An owner with a sellable business will have more freedom in life and options for exit.
  • Update a strategic financial plan for the business.
  • Do you have the right Team of Experienced Advisors for plan design and implementation?
  • Who will Manage the Exit Planning Project?

The most important thing you could do in 2020 would be to GET STARTED AND GET HELP if you have yet to do so.  If you wait until you’re ready to exit to begin planning, you won’t be ready and neither will your business.  Keep in mind, that “You don’t know what you don’t know” and, like in all other areas of life, that could end up being disastrous.

There is much at stake during this most significant event in your life as a business owner.  Take steps in 2020 to be as responsible and successful in planning your eventual exit as you have been in running your business.

About the Author

Pat Ennis is the President of ENNIS Legacy Partners (ennislp.com). The mission of ELP is to help business owners build value and exit on their own terms and conditions. With decades of experience in financial services, for-profit and non-profit leadership and management, along with the founding of ELP in 2010, Pat has extensive knowledge and understanding of the many challenges faced by business owners.  His knowledge base, experience, and training results in a goals-based, comprehensive approach for business owners’ who are intent on building transferable business value and exiting their business responsibly and successfully.

“A successful business owner with a thriving business has tremendous impact on many people, including: their family, employees, customers, suppliers, vendors, the community in which they do business and both the local and national economies. All of this impact… all that they’ve built… is at stake when and how they exit their business. We want to help them be as impactful in how they exit their business as they have been in building it.”