Interview with Julie Melillo

Could you tell us a little about yourself?

I’m Julie Melillo, a Manhattan-based certified coach. I live in the Financial District of NYC (minutes from the stock market bull), and work with financial traders, entrepreneurs, CEOs and professionals in high-risk positions. Financial traders ready to take things to the next level work with me to focus on achieving greater success — discipline, creating daily action tasks, defining the most successful approach, staying calm and logical in the midst of fears. Financial goals are often linked with personal life or love life goals, and greater work success tends to breed happiness in all areas of life. Traders should learn their strengths, discover how they want to design their work life, and realize their vision for money and their career long term — getting excited about using your unique strengths every day leads to faster success. My clients are intelligent, dynamic, high-potential people who dislike being told what to do and want to discover their own answers.

How did you get started coaching?

I began life coaching in Arizona, and I then moved to Manhattan in 2007 to bring my coaching company to stressed out New Yorkers who needed my services most. I built my business over the years and now coach full-time.

How long have you been coaching now?

I’ve been life coaching since 2005. My clients have ranged in age from 25 to 70-years-old. I’ve worked with financial traders, sales professionals, entrepreneurs, CEOs, artists and many other clients.

What do you like best about trading?

While I’m not a trader myself, I don’t need to be to be an excellent coach. My clients are the experts on their own lives. We work to hone all of their skills including ways to gather information and approaches that best suits their unique trading style.

What are the biggest influences that you find in the development of your clients as traders?

For my clients, it’s a combination of factors. Increasing confidence and trust in oneself, devising plans and approaches that will work — instead of making assumptions — and learning the discipline necessary to carry out those actions. In addition, we work on all areas of life to ensure that everything is supporting your development as a trader — not draining energy away from it. We’ll look at health and fitness, relationships, home life, finances, recreation and fun, and get a big-picture view of how one area is affecting the rest. Sometimes the change is big and drastic — a huge mental block a trader had carried with him for 20 years suddenly dissolved after our work. Other times, it’s as simple as increasing a trader’s focus by working on discipline, increasing exercise and improving diet and hours of sleep. These small changes can also lead to better trading.

What is the one biggest lesson that you have learnt since starting trading?

From day one in coaching school and beyond, I’ve realized how vital it is to not “tell” clients the way it is, but to ask “how is it” and then devise solutions together. You cannot develop an approach that works without completely understanding the issues at hand.

About Your Trading Coaching

How did you get interested in coaching other traders?

I’ve been coaching others as a life coach since 2005, and this is my greatest passion. It’s thrilling for me to be able to work with someone who is frustrated, and then watch them succeed. This impacts their entire life. For instance, I was coaching a trader who had moved in with his girlfriend, but was not able to propose to her because he didn’t feel financially stable — he was getting pressure from her family, and from himself — he really wanted to take that step. He really was at a point of settling down, but couldn’t because he simply wasn’t making enough money — and this is Manhattan, so you need to be doing very well here. After several months of coaching, he had changed his trading strategy, trusted his gut, and learned to stay calm despite the anxiety around him in the office — he had to go against the grain with all the guys around him insisting he trade their way. He changed teams, found mentors and began researching and learning new techniques. He improved his trading, increased his earnings, and was able to proceed with the life he wanted.

Do you focus on coaching of one particular area of trading, e.g. risk management / psychology or finding trades?

I’m not an expert in my clients work, and this allows me to coach anyone, in any profession. My work is not to tell clients what to do, but to help them develop the tools they need to find their own answers

How do you work together with your clients? E.g. phone / email / screen sharing?

I offer phone coaching sessions with clients across the country. In Manhattan, I offer in-person sessions. I also offer discount packages, some of which include email sessions.  Weekly in-person sessions (in Manhattan) or telephone sessions (anywhere) help clients uncover and trust their gut-instinct, define what works best, and discover what the roadblocks are — they could be internal such as fear, or external such as negativity from co-workers. The goal is to guide the client to create their own best plan.  I use a 30 Day Success Action Chart to help clients track their progress and discover which approaches yield the best results. Discipline, self confidence, and personal strength increase with this program, which is completely individualized. Plans and approaches are adapted every step of the way, as the client evolves to higher levels of success. Coaching includes a Discover Your Top 2 Strengths personality profile, as presented to Duke University’s NYC Alumni chapter. I was featured in Manhattan’s City Scoops Magazine, and NYC’s Life Coach TV program, and am a past member of the NYC chapter of the International Coach Federation. I’m also certified by The Southwest Institute of Healing Arts. Fill out the form for rates and availability —  http://www.yourdreamslifecoach.com. Mention the Trading Coach Directory  for a new client discount.

What is the most satisfying part of coaching traders?

I love to see traders get past their blocks and really own their success — to not fear what’s on the other side of making these changes. Change can happen quickly with some individuals, especially intense and dynamic people, and that is an exciting process to experience.

What is the biggest but most easily fixed mistake that you see traders make?

Very often, traders have had some sort of “mistake” happen in their past. This often keeps them frozen, or operating at a lower level of success than is their true potential.

Do you recommend journals or other record keeping as an important part of trading?

Yes. I have several tools in this area, from a coaching perspective. I have a 30 Day Success Chart which includes all of the daily tasks that need to be focused on. I have several other tools as well, including a Life Overview, which takes a snapshot of the clients life at that moment in all major areas, such as finances, relationships, etc. It also shows how one area of life, such as finances, influences all other areas, and improving one area improves the rest. I have several other tools I’ve developed as well, such as the Discover Your Top 2 Strengths assessment and results, which is included in my coaching.

What are the most common issues that you see in your clients that prevent them from becoming better traders?

It can be many things — and usually the client has a pretty good idea that they are held back. This is the first thing we discover together in coaching.

General Advice

What advice would you give traders who are just starting out?

Trying anything new means experiencing fear and feelings of uncertainty. It’s a time to experiment with different approaches and learn as much as possible, and to expect mixed results. This is a time to learn to handle these uncertain or frustrating moments in a way that allows the client to boldly continue forward, instead of getting caught up in doubt. Doing this builds a foundation of strength.

What 3 books do you recommend traders read?

I don’t give book recommendations,  as the approaches that work so well for one trader may fall flat for another. I recommend clients first discover their big picture goals for their trading, and decide what kind of trader they’d like to become. Then finding specific books in line with that is quite easy. That said, “One Good Trade: Inside the Highly Competitive World of Proprietary Trading” by Mike Bellafiore is quite a popular book with traders.