At just 24 years old, Lewis Crompton felt trapped in a dead-end retail job in London, earning a meagre £19,000 annually and despising every moment. The turning point came when his manager coldly informed him he didn't 'deserve' a pay rise.
"I was working on a shop floor doing a rubbish job which I absolutely hated," Lewis recalls. "When my horrible boss said that to me, I just thought, why am I doing this? I need to change this, now."
The Metro Advertisement That Changed Everything
The solution appeared unexpectedly during his daily commute. While reading Metro newspaper, Lewis spotted an advertisement for a seminar about becoming a successful property investor.
"This is it, I thought," says Lewis, now 36 and living in Lincolnshire with his husband. "So I went along to the introductory workshop but accidentally got the wrong one and ended up learning about day-trading. It was a no brainer for me."
Despite living in a rented flat share near Edgware Road with limited finances, Lewis remained determined to transform his circumstances. In what he describes as a "bit of a gamble," he borrowed £9,000 through a combination of loans and credit cards to fund an £8,000 weekend training course in day-trading strategies.
"It was half my annual salary and, yes, it was a risky decision," he admits. "But it was also definitely worth it."
The Journey to Day Trading Success
Lewis began his new venture with the remaining funds, dedicating significant time to research and implementing the strategies he'd learned. His approach involved a combination of day trades and swing trades, focusing on foreign exchange securities known as Forex, spread bets and contracts for difference.
"I spent an hour or so in the morning before work analysing the market, reading up on the financial news according to what we'd been taught in training, and then I'd place my trades and head to work," Lewis explains.
Over his 12-year trading career, he has utilised various platforms including Trading 212, FXCM and IG Capital, noting that "they're each good for doing different things, depending on what you want."
After three to four months of persistent effort, Lewis began seeing "some proper returns." The progress was substantial enough that just seven months after placing his first trade, he confidently left his detested job. Within 18 months of taking on the initial £9,000 debt, he had completely cleared it.
Diversifying Into Property and Education
At age 26, Lewis expanded his investment activities into property, though this venture proved challenging initially.
"I thought I'd have a go at buying something, doing it up and selling it on. It didn't work," he admits. "In fact, investing in property was where I made most of my mistakes and lost most money."
Despite early setbacks, he persisted, gradually building a portfolio of rental properties that reached ten properties over six years. He now maintains eight rental properties after selling less successful ones and focusing on quality accommodation with strong yields.
In 2019, Lewis founded StarTrading, a company dedicated to educating aspiring investors. "It sort of just snowballed from people asking me to mentor them online and eventually it was big enough to turn it into a business," he says.
Current Financial Picture and Investment Philosophy
Lewis now enjoys a diversified income stream totalling approximately £150,000 annually:
- £50,000-£60,000 from ongoing day trading activities
- £50,000 from property investments
- £50,000 from direct business investments
While acknowledging his approach "won't be for everyone," Lewis emphasises the importance of financial education and proactive investing.
"People think keeping money in cash savings isn't investing, but it is," he argues. "The bank is investing that money, then paying you a crap rate of interest and keeping the rest of the profit for themselves."
For those uncomfortable with higher-risk strategies, he recommends long-term passive index trackers that typically yield around 8% annually compared to less than 4% on cash savings.
"In my view, everyone should be investing at least something," Lewis concludes. "It's changed my life."
His journey from frustrated shop worker to successful investor stands as powerful testament to how determination, education and calculated risk-taking can fundamentally transform financial circumstances and life satisfaction.
