This is going to be a long post but I hope you take the time to read this monthly recap and read about the new things I’m implementing going forward to make this substack stand out.
Hey James, great work! All the best to your mum, hopefully she will recover soon :)
Here is an idea (from ChatGPT) how to do it with the subscription based access to google sheet. Maybe consult it with Edwin but sounds doable:
To make your Google Spreadsheet available only for your subscribers, you can use Google Workspace (formerly known as G Suite) to set up a subscription-based system and restrict access to the spreadsheet to only those who have paid for access.
Here are the steps you can follow:
1. Set up a Google Workspace account: You can sign up for a Google Workspace account and create a custom domain name that reflects your brand.
2. Create a subscription-based system: Use a third-party platform, such as PayPal or Stripe, to set up a subscription-based system for your subscribers. You can then integrate this platform with Google Workspace to automate the process of granting access to the spreadsheet to paying subscribers.
3. Restrict access to the spreadsheet: Once you have set up your subscription-based system, you can use Google Workspace to restrict access to the spreadsheet to only those who have paid for access. You can do this by sharing the spreadsheet with a specific email address or domain, and then setting the permissions to "View" or "Edit" for only those who have paid.
4. Monitor access to the spreadsheet: You can use the Google Workspace Admin console to monitor access to the spreadsheet and ensure that only paying subscribers have access to it.
I think there is also a way how to connect substack with your own domain.
James, You are doing so well, and you are so clear about how you do it that I worry that either
a) You will stop writing this substack and start a more commercial service in which you charge much more than you do for the substack or
b) Other people will copy you and spread the word resulting in so many people following this process that it will lose much of its power. (Doesn't this concern you?)
I wouldn't worry about someone copying me, humans are naturally greedy creatures, nobody wants to get rich slowly. They want to buy calls and puts for big gainers, my style is mostly just waiting out the market, that isn't the exciting thing most want to be a part of.
I always told myself I would give this substack 110% and reassess after 1 year, that would be June. I will be honest I'm not where I thought I would be given the content I provide, I'm not sure what happens in June but I would never raise prices on the people who are here, more likely if this isn't going as planned I will just fold it and move on. Maybe we can figure out a way where I can share my database and I do that anyways for my own notes daily and I stop spending so much time writing all the recaps because that is the time consuming part for me.
I wouldn't charge something crazy commercially because my whole purpose of doing this was I wanted an affordable product that was better at what I deemed important. I was hoping more would see the value there, I think I have 113 subscribers today? It's like making videos on YouTube, if you're too niche, you won't find enough of an audience. How many people are interested in selling puts? It's like my car, I post a video of a nice car and thousands watch, but nobody cares how you got the car, so is life. People want the quick and easy route, and this just isn't it.
It's clear that you do a lot of work for this substack -- and in my opinion that you provide very valuable content. I'm surprised that your subscribers haven't ballooned. One possible reason might be the name of the substack. I first came across you on Twitter. When I initially saw your Twitter handle I thought you would primarily offer wisecracks about Federal Reserve policy. I didn't think that a name that was a vaguely insulting play on the name of a Fed President would be a source of serious commentary. But I enough of your tweets were sufficiently interesting that I decided to look into you further. When I found your substack, I was even more surprised that you offered such a well thought out service -- and I became a fan. It didn't hurt that my trading has always included selling option premium so your approach felt immediately comfortable.
I hope you stick with it. If you decide to pack it in, I hope you find a way to allow your faithful subscribers to continue to participate in your work.
Best wishes to you and your mom. It's hard being old!
I'm very impressed with what Edwin wrote for you. Google sheets (the spreadsheet system) has a programming language built into it. Edwin must be a master at using it. I can't imagine building what he did without using the programming language. (I've never used it, but given what Edwin created, I'm tempted to look into it.)
I am still reading but I am so mind-blown by all of the above - WOW. Truly incredible and beyond impressive. Thank you for sharing and guiding. Also, I have been keeping your sweet mother (and you/your family) in my thoughts and prayers. Sending all my love.
James, first, I am very sorry to hear about your mother. I am familiar with that problem with my own mother and I hope she will be ok as it is a touch and go thing.
I am new to your substack and also to managing options and I have several questions about execution:
1. what is the ideal configuration to initiate put shorts? (I guess it's when price comes near the strike but not quite)
2. when is the ideal moment to exit put shorts (leave them to expire or get out when value approaches zero before expiry, or other parameters?)
3. Do you always use expiry dates 12 month away or does it vary and if so, based on what variables?
Many thanks in advance if you can help me better understand these points
Thanks for the kind words, I'm still home, its early here 6 am so have some time to answer your questions.
1. For me the ideal time is not a thing. It is a confluence of things. Chart setup, options flow, and value. I look for things like levels activists are involved at, ev/ebitda levels of sectors,etc and I sell puts at levels I think would be steals
2. Typically for me, I try to exit when the total return remaining is in the 15-20% of the margin utilized range. Just because I can use that margin on a higher return trade, but with this market being so overvalued, I may let trades run longer this year.
3.I do not typically go that far out, the issue at the moment is even where we are, the market today, is more expensive than when we were at 4800. I don't like where this market is an I'm trying to give myself as much of a cushion as possible. If we came down to that 3300-3500 range where I think value is reasonable today, I would go back to my typical style which is selling quarterly puts into strength and following the Post earnings drift that I typically follow but we're in unprecedented times with how overvalued equites are and I have to position for a decline that I believe is inevitable.
I think you can create a service which is a private discord, however they lock it. And have access to your newly created database and charge an annual fee of $1,000. I think that is well worth it.
Your service is too valueable and slim down the substack.
I want you to find it financially rewarding to continue. Your service is very valuable and worth paying for. No reason to let grandfathered substack subs get this new level of service for $19 a month.
Good luck with your mom. I'm sure all our prayers are with you and her.
Hey James, great work! All the best to your mum, hopefully she will recover soon :)
Here is an idea (from ChatGPT) how to do it with the subscription based access to google sheet. Maybe consult it with Edwin but sounds doable:
To make your Google Spreadsheet available only for your subscribers, you can use Google Workspace (formerly known as G Suite) to set up a subscription-based system and restrict access to the spreadsheet to only those who have paid for access.
Here are the steps you can follow:
1. Set up a Google Workspace account: You can sign up for a Google Workspace account and create a custom domain name that reflects your brand.
2. Create a subscription-based system: Use a third-party platform, such as PayPal or Stripe, to set up a subscription-based system for your subscribers. You can then integrate this platform with Google Workspace to automate the process of granting access to the spreadsheet to paying subscribers.
3. Restrict access to the spreadsheet: Once you have set up your subscription-based system, you can use Google Workspace to restrict access to the spreadsheet to only those who have paid for access. You can do this by sharing the spreadsheet with a specific email address or domain, and then setting the permissions to "View" or "Edit" for only those who have paid.
4. Monitor access to the spreadsheet: You can use the Google Workspace Admin console to monitor access to the spreadsheet and ensure that only paying subscribers have access to it.
I think there is also a way how to connect substack with your own domain.
Thanks for the well wishes simon I will ask him
James, You are doing so well, and you are so clear about how you do it that I worry that either
a) You will stop writing this substack and start a more commercial service in which you charge much more than you do for the substack or
b) Other people will copy you and spread the word resulting in so many people following this process that it will lose much of its power. (Doesn't this concern you?)
I wouldn't worry about someone copying me, humans are naturally greedy creatures, nobody wants to get rich slowly. They want to buy calls and puts for big gainers, my style is mostly just waiting out the market, that isn't the exciting thing most want to be a part of.
I always told myself I would give this substack 110% and reassess after 1 year, that would be June. I will be honest I'm not where I thought I would be given the content I provide, I'm not sure what happens in June but I would never raise prices on the people who are here, more likely if this isn't going as planned I will just fold it and move on. Maybe we can figure out a way where I can share my database and I do that anyways for my own notes daily and I stop spending so much time writing all the recaps because that is the time consuming part for me.
I wouldn't charge something crazy commercially because my whole purpose of doing this was I wanted an affordable product that was better at what I deemed important. I was hoping more would see the value there, I think I have 113 subscribers today? It's like making videos on YouTube, if you're too niche, you won't find enough of an audience. How many people are interested in selling puts? It's like my car, I post a video of a nice car and thousands watch, but nobody cares how you got the car, so is life. People want the quick and easy route, and this just isn't it.
It's clear that you do a lot of work for this substack -- and in my opinion that you provide very valuable content. I'm surprised that your subscribers haven't ballooned. One possible reason might be the name of the substack. I first came across you on Twitter. When I initially saw your Twitter handle I thought you would primarily offer wisecracks about Federal Reserve policy. I didn't think that a name that was a vaguely insulting play on the name of a Fed President would be a source of serious commentary. But I enough of your tweets were sufficiently interesting that I decided to look into you further. When I found your substack, I was even more surprised that you offered such a well thought out service -- and I became a fan. It didn't hurt that my trading has always included selling option premium so your approach felt immediately comfortable.
I hope you stick with it. If you decide to pack it in, I hope you find a way to allow your faithful subscribers to continue to participate in your work.
Best wishes to you and your mom. It's hard being old!
I'm very impressed with what Edwin wrote for you. Google sheets (the spreadsheet system) has a programming language built into it. Edwin must be a master at using it. I can't imagine building what he did without using the programming language. (I've never used it, but given what Edwin created, I'm tempted to look into it.)
Sorry to hear about your mom! Hope she gets well soon and best wishes for her speedy recovery!
I’m sorry to hear about your mother. She will be in my thoughts today, and I hope for the best.
`
Thank you for everything you do.
I am still reading but I am so mind-blown by all of the above - WOW. Truly incredible and beyond impressive. Thank you for sharing and guiding. Also, I have been keeping your sweet mother (and you/your family) in my thoughts and prayers. Sending all my love.
Sorry to hear the bad news, best wishes for a speedy recovery for you mom.
James, first, I am very sorry to hear about your mother. I am familiar with that problem with my own mother and I hope she will be ok as it is a touch and go thing.
I am new to your substack and also to managing options and I have several questions about execution:
1. what is the ideal configuration to initiate put shorts? (I guess it's when price comes near the strike but not quite)
2. when is the ideal moment to exit put shorts (leave them to expire or get out when value approaches zero before expiry, or other parameters?)
3. Do you always use expiry dates 12 month away or does it vary and if so, based on what variables?
Many thanks in advance if you can help me better understand these points
Thanks for the kind words, I'm still home, its early here 6 am so have some time to answer your questions.
1. For me the ideal time is not a thing. It is a confluence of things. Chart setup, options flow, and value. I look for things like levels activists are involved at, ev/ebitda levels of sectors,etc and I sell puts at levels I think would be steals
2. Typically for me, I try to exit when the total return remaining is in the 15-20% of the margin utilized range. Just because I can use that margin on a higher return trade, but with this market being so overvalued, I may let trades run longer this year.
3.I do not typically go that far out, the issue at the moment is even where we are, the market today, is more expensive than when we were at 4800. I don't like where this market is an I'm trying to give myself as much of a cushion as possible. If we came down to that 3300-3500 range where I think value is reasonable today, I would go back to my typical style which is selling quarterly puts into strength and following the Post earnings drift that I typically follow but we're in unprecedented times with how overvalued equites are and I have to position for a decline that I believe is inevitable.
I think you can create a service which is a private discord, however they lock it. And have access to your newly created database and charge an annual fee of $1,000. I think that is well worth it.
Your service is too valueable and slim down the substack.
I want you to find it financially rewarding to continue. Your service is very valuable and worth paying for. No reason to let grandfathered substack subs get this new level of service for $19 a month.
One question I forgot:
Is your YTD performance mostly mark to market or are you regularly closing your short put positions?