Having put money into a money-making program, I'm immediately psychologically prepared to sell. I'm impatient for the time to arrive when I can get my money back and get into the "can't-lose" position! I'm also ready at any time to admit that I made a mistake and to get out, even if it means taking a loss. If after a few days or weeks it looks like I made a mistake in buying, I'm psychologically ready to sell and get out. (When I originally bought into Bessarabian Collection and added it to the Risk Meter, and several people indicated that it looked like a scam similar to a scam called "Close2Art," I took it off the Risk Meter and indicated on the Financial Independence List that it had probably been a mistake to add. Later, when BC improved their credibility by paying referral fees, improving their website, and providing good service, I restored BC to the Risk Meter. I kept my $1,000 position in BC, because I sensed that it was legitimate, despite original appearances to the contrary.)
My general strategy with programs such as WHP is to recover my original capital in 2 - 3 months (by selling at the appropriate time). Then I want to take out (by selling) every month at least the equivalent of my initial capital. If possible, I want the remainder of my holdings plus my referral fees to be such that I can increase the amount I take out every month (by selling). I may also decide to take out money (by selling) every three weeks or even every two weeks.
I'm not interested in building up huge "paper profits" (or "cyber profits"). I want a growing income stream of cash coming in every month. I want to use some of the cash to diversify into other programs and multiply the number of income streams.
Nevertheless, in the case of BC, because I risked only $1,000 and I've earned some referral fees that were paid directly into my e-gold account (that's how BC worked before their website was upgraded), I've decided to wait until my holdings are up to about $4,500 before taking out $2,000 or more periodically. An important consideration is that I don't want to spend about an hour a week on a program that's only going to pay me $1,000 a month. If I can earn $2,000 or more a month from a program, then it's worth spending four hours a month on. Otherwise, I'm better off spending that time on a more lucrative program -- see Money Skill #43.
(Note: When selling short, you start with rational selling. Then you take profits (or minimize losses) through rational buying.)
