Meet Ben Barker, a 27-year-old online financial trader and mentor to thousands of young forex enthusiasts. During the 5 years that Barker has been trading the financial markets, he has experienced many ups and downs. However, none of his setbacks stopped him from mastering the craft of trading currencies, commodities, and indices. The failures which once kept him awake at night actually set the stage for incredible success.
Barker, the owner of the BsappsFX education, first entered the world of forex trading after he witnessed someone trading live on a social media app called Periscope. This trader’s huge profits planted a seed that led to Barker’s growth into who he is today.
Convinced he already knew everything there was to know about trading, Barker initially deposited a few thousand pounds into a live account and ended up experiencing large losses. To keep the account from blowing entirely, Barker and a friend deposited more money, eventually losing a total of £20,000.
When asked what went so badly, Barker noted his inexperience as a trader and a naïve approach to the market. In hindsight, Barker recognized his lack of risk management, trading just one very volatile instrument, the German DAX. In short, says Barker, “I chose to hold on to my losers, cut my winners short, and blindly enter the market based on emotion instead of logic, rules, and a clear plan of action.”
But rather than leave trading and be satisfied with running his multiple businesses, Ben chose to try again. Family and friends urged him against it, fearing further losses. More than once he was told, “You are either insane or insanely passionate!”
Nevertheless, Barker was determined to make a living trading the financial markets. The second time around, he traded currencies instead of indices, since they move less and are easier to handle. He began implementing strict risk management to control losses and journaled everything he did, both inside and outside of trading.
Throughout the next couple of years, Barker back tested multiple variables and market combinations. He also tried quick options such as signals and lost more money investing in other people’s educational programmes. Eventually, he found a strict rules-based, rinse and repeat strategy. More importantly, he learnt about his own identity within the market and what not to do when teaching others.
Barker learned from experience how toxic the forex industry can be and how eagerly some social media educators take advantage of forex beginners. As a result, he decided to do things differently. Barker is honest, authentic, and realistic. He wants people to know that not everyone on social media is out to grab your money!
In February 2019, Barker began doing Instagram live sessions for less than 200 followers. He shared live entries, set ups, and predictions for the future. As a result, word spread quickly. By April 2019, hundreds of people wanted 1-1 mentoring sessions to learn Ben’s unique view of the market and how he was able to secure such successful entries.
By May 2019, Barker realised he needed to develop a course in order to meet this demand. Enter BsappsFX, which went on to help 1,500 people organically in its first year and grow on Instagram from 200 followers to almost 25,000.
Ben has also partnered with a recognized funding firm which funds traders based on their success in the BsappsFX course. BsappsFX has already helped fund 90+ members through this partnership.
So what are Barker’s future goals for BsappsFX?
Barker told us he would like to use funds generated from course sales to open a small trading floor and fund people himself. “I can see there is huge talent within BsappsFX’s students, and I would like to fund this talent personally down the line by leveraging the course I have created.”
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