One Portfolio, Many Businesses

just like running a superstore or shop. In my mind, the market is my store, and the stocks are the items I keep on my shelves. I try to “buy” these items at reasonable prices so that I can “sell” them later at a profit margin, just like any smart shopkeeper would do.

There are a few things I like most about this trading business:

You can operate your “store” from anywhere in the world.
You do not have to answer to any boss.
You are not dependent on any employees.
You can start this business with very little capital.
It is, in many ways, less risky than running an actual physical business or company.

Many people may not agree with that last point, so let’s compare.

The Traditional Shop Setup

Imagine opening a store of garments, home appliances, a restaurant, or any business you like. Before you even start, you usually need:

Years of experience and expertise in that particular field.
A place to buy or rent where you will conduct your business.
Interior work and furnishing according to the business needs.
Initial stock or inventory that you are going to sell.
In many cases, a few employees to run it smoothly.

All of this has to be done even before the business really starts. In today’s time, even to open the smallest proper shop, you may easily need 10–15 lakh rupees of initial investment.

And the expenses start from day one:

Rent
Employee salaries
Electricity and maintenance
Marketing, advertisements, logistics and transportation

All these costs keep running, even if not a single customer walks in.

On top of that, you must be physically present every day—from opening the shutter in the morning to closing it at night. If you lose sight of the shop, there is a risk of mismanagement, theft, or poor customer service. Even after all this hard work, you are tied to one type of business. You cannot sell school stationery in a garment shop or car batteries in a restaurant. Your opportunity is limited by your category and your location.

How Trading Becomes a Better Shop

Now look at the trading business.

Here, you can start with as little as ₹10,000 as initial capital. Someone else opens the “market shutter” for you at 9:15 AM, and you can operate remotely from your home, office, or anywhere with an internet connection.

The most beautiful part is this: in your trading “shop” (your portfolio), you are not tied to one type of product. In the same portfolio, you can keep:

Car batteries (Exide)
Pizza (Jubilant Foodworks)
Clothes (Page Industries)

All under one digital roof.

This means:

You can participate in multiple businesses and sectors at the same time.
You are not limited by geography or shop size.
You can adjust your “stock” quickly if something is not performing well.

There are no physical shelves, no rent for a showroom, no fear of goods expiring on the rack.

Risk: Real World vs Market World

People often say trading is very risky, and yes, if done like gambling, it absolutely is. But when trading is treated like a serious business—with risk management, discipline and a plan—it can be less risky than running a small physical shop.

Think about what happened during the COVID period. Lockdowns destroyed many small shops and businesses. Their shutters stayed closed for months, but their costs did not stop. Many owners went into heavy losses or even bankruptcy.

During the same period, markets also crashed, but:

Traders and investors still had liquidity and could move capital.
Some could shift into sectors that were benefiting (like pharma or IT).
Many even built wealth in the recovery phase by buying good businesses at discounted prices.

A physical shop is fixed to one location and one business model. A trading “shop” can adapt, switch sectors, book losses early, and redeploy capital where the opportunity is better.

Why Trading Is My Preferred Business

For these reasons, trading has become my preferred form of business:

Low entry capital compared to starting a physical store.
Flexibility of time and location.
Freedom from bosses and employee dependence.
Ability to participate in many businesses from one portfolio.
Better adaptability to major uncertainties like COVID-type events.

Trading is not easy money, and it is not magic. But when treated like a proper business—planned, disciplined, and diversified—it can be a smarter, more flexible version of running a superstore where the shelves are digital and the customers are the entire market.

Parvej Alam

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