The Grasshopper Project Explained

“The Grasshopper Project” launched Monday, June 23, 2025 and will end December 31,2025.

Whether I’m teaching an options class or answering emails, the most common question I get from students is:
“How much money do I need to start trading options?”

The answer depends on several factors, including the type of strategy you use, your broker’s requirements, your risk tolerance — and whether you plan to use margin.

Here’s the truth: If you’re only planning to buy call options, your broker might let you open an account with as little as $500 to $1,000.
But if you go that route, I can almost guarantee you’ll lose your money.

There are so many variables when it comes to opening an account and choosing the right strategy that I decided to show you how to do it — live, with real money.

I’ll be start The Grasshopper Project with $10,000 and making only low-risk trades. I’ll use just two strategies that I encourage Grasshoppers to use — both of which:

I plan to make one to three trades per week, depending on whether I can enter solid positions without going over the $10,000 limit.
Each trade will be posted along with:

My goal is to invest all or most of the $10,000 each week and grow the account from Monday, June 23 until the end of 2025.

This journey will be called The Grasshopper Project.

The two strategies I’ll be using are:

  1. In-the-Money Covered Calls – I’ll buy shares of stock solely for the purpose of selling In-the-Money (ITM) covered calls. These calls will have strike prices below the current stock price, which allows me to generate higher premiums and reduce my downside risk. The cost of buying the shares will come directly out of the $10,000 starting budget.
  2. Cash-Secured Puts – I’ll generate income by agreeing to buy high-quality stocks at a lower price using cash I already have in the account. If the option expires worthless, I keep the premium. If I get assigned, I’ll own the stock at a discount — and can then turn around and sell covered calls on it.

These two strategies are considered low-risk and are commonly approved for Level 1 or Level 2 options trading. They do not require margin, and are fully allowed in cash or retirement accounts. Most importantly, they are easy for beginners to understand — which makes them perfect for this project.

My Financial Goal for The Grasshopper Project

All of the trades I make will follow my “1 Week/1%” strategy. If I can consistently find trades that meet this target each week — from Monday, June 23 through the end of the year — the strategy could yield a return of approximately 25% over six months, or 50% annually.

That’s a very ambitious goal.

Can it be done? Maybe. But to keep things realistic, I’m setting a more conservative target of 20% for this period, which would translate to 40% annually. I’ll use this benchmark to evaluate the success of the project.

Wish me luck! My real goal is to teach new traders—especially those who follow Main Street Beats Wall Street—how to grow a small account using low-risk trades. I want to help them pursue their ambition of becoming successful options traders the right way: with rules, discipline, and a long-term mindset.

Final Thoughts:

If you have any questions, feel free to email me anytime. If you’re doing your own research, you’re welcome to suggest a stock that you think might be a good fit for The Grasshopper Project. I’ll take a close look at your suggestion, and if I believe it aligns with the goals and risk profile of the project, I’ll make the trade.

The Grasshopper Project kicks off at the opening bell tomorrow morning. Watch for my trades!

If you have any questions you can email me anytime. To help you with your research you can make a suggestion to me on what stock might fit into The Grasshopper Project. I will investigate into your suggestion and if I feel it will be a good trade for the project I will make the trade.

The Grasshopper Project started at the opening bell the morning of June 23, 2025.

📈Successful trading,

Steve

The Options Coach