Masi Habibi is an entrepreneur and trader. After quitting her 9-to-5 corporate job, she entered the trading industry and has never looked back. Her business, Masi Trades, is an educational service that provides individuals the tools to learn about the basics of the stock market so that they can move into more advanced day trading strategies. She believes that a majority of people don’t know much about the stock market except that you can invest long term. There are various other ways in which one can earn income from the market and that is what her business provides. She is here to tell us her story.
Why did you start trading and what makes you unique?
I was unhappy with my corporate jobs, I went from job to job and just wasn?t happily working under someone. So I started trading and even though I blew through a couple of accounts, I never gave up. I?ve always heard about the stock market, just like anyone in life that?s taken a basic economics course. However, it wasn?t until I was in my 20s that it really piqued my interest. I started to do some research, through YouTube videos, reading books and I started to find people that were making money just by day trading. I started like any trader who doesn?t understand basic market etiquette and lost 20,000 in the first year of my trading career. I took a step back and re-evaluated what I wanted to gain from this experience. I wanted to be as successful as possible and really believed this was something I could attain that success through. So I started again and now I have been successfully trading options for about 3 years now. What makes me unique is that I’m just like everyone else. I have a job, I show up every day and I work towards my goals. At the same time, I have this knowledge that I’m able to share with others that will in turn help them succeed in different ways. It’s not just about learning about the stock market, sometimes all someone needs is a motivational push to be able to chase what they are actually passionate about.
What motivated you to get started with your business?
Multiple things but I think my family mostly. Seeing my dad work so hard as an immigrant and working multiple jobs to take us to where we are now was my biggest motivation. If someone with less than a high school degree can come to a foreign country and provide everything for their family and grow as an individual, there was no excuse for me as someone with every opportunity in the world. I knew that my 9-5 was a good job and it was good pay but it wasn?t something that I could grow to my potential in nor was it something that I could see myself doing for the rest of my life.
What would you say are the biggest challenges when starting a business?
Being able to start from the ground up is a big hurdle. When starting a business you have to really put in the time and dedication and be willing to do whatever it takes to make that business grow. The biggest challenge I faced was not having business knowledge in general. How to incorporate your business or how to open a business account may seem like little things but sometimes they are overlooked and can hurt your business in the long run. Another one is putting yourself out there on YouTube especially and continuing to make educational content while so many people criticize you daily.
What inspired you to get into this industry?
What inspired me to get into the industry is the concept that you can make money from your computer, on your own time. Also, I loved the fact that I would be able to share this skill with anyone once I had mastered it myself. In addition, the trading world and finance world is largely male-dominated. As a female trader, I was intimidated a lot by this fact, however, it was this exact fact that made me want to pursue a career in trading. I wanted to show that anyone can do it, regardless of gender, ethnicity, social background. Anyone could learn and start somewhere.
What is the biggest obstacle you?ve overcome so far in your career?
Doubt in myself and my potential. Ever since I can remember I always doubted myself and what I am capable of. It wasn?t until I actually jumped into new things and learned new skill sets that I realized anything is possible. There are certain skills that you’re going to be great at and certain skills that are not going to be your strong suit. I used to let those things I wasn?t good at define my potential instead of watering the skills that I was good at. Once I started focusing on those things, I started to see changes in everything in my life. I stopped putting a cap on my potential and everything started to grow and flourish on its own.
What?s your advice for those trying to start their own business?
My main advice would be to make sure whatever business you are starting, you are passionate about it. It’s a key component to the success of your business. I struggled during college and after college with my career and what path I wanted to take, and I wish I had a mentor or guide to talking to that had been through the same things I was going through. Now, starting an educational service, I’m able to provide that for others so that they don’t have to go through that struggle alone.
What are your future projects?
In options trading, there are flow providers, that provide traders with insight into the market. They show you orders that have been put through by big institutions, banks, or people with a lot of money. If utilized properly these services can really help elevate a trader’s success in the market. I?m looking to start a very high probability flow service for my community which will help my group of traders is able to gauge market direction and sentiment better. I would also like to have a successful team of traders in our community.
What have you learned in the course of your career?
If you are happy in life, you can accomplish so much more. I was unhappy in my corporate life, which caused me to start a new skill, which led to me starting a business, which led to me being able to help others and my family, in turn, all of these things added to my happiness.
I was always very scared of change and the unknown. It wasn’t until I actually took the leap of faith that I started to believe I could make things change for the better in my life. Success isn’t handed out on a silver plate, it is earned, this may sound cliche but it’s what I believe. If you truly want something bad enough, nothing in the world will stop you. If I could go back and tell my old self anything it would be to never doubt your potential and that anything is attainable. I used to think I would never make $100,000 or a million dollars until I actually achieved these things and I realized that I was only holding myself back from so much potential by putting a cap on what I was capable of achieving.
To know more, check out her Youtube, Instagram, and Website.