Are you an Owner, President or CEO?

Today we celebrate Presidents' Day, and it reminded me of a question I get asked by women entrepreneurs about what title they should call themselves.  

In today's world, I think titles are less about posturing and more about positioning. 

When I say posturing, I mean making yourself look bigger than you are to impress others which is so 80's, and so not now! (I know because I lived through the 80's "fake it till you make it" mentality, big shoulder pads, and even bigger hair...ugh!).

When I talk about positioning, I'm not referring to marketing in this situation, I'm referring to your entrepreneurial mindset. I think choosing a title is actually more for your benefit than the person who is reading your bio or business card.  Here's what I mean:

Owner
If you title yourself as the owner, you are a sole proprietor telling yourself and the world that you are courageous, independent and willing to accept responsibility for the good AND the bad. Further, you are taking the road less traveled and forging ahead to become economically independent and self-sufficient... Hear me roar!

President
If you title yourself as President, not only are you serving the world with your unique gifts and talents, you know that your growth path to success includes a team.  Presidents are leaders and by declaring, "I am the President", you are positioning your business to grow bigger, more profitable, and beyond what you can do on your own. Hail to the Chief!

CEO
If you title yourself as CEO or Chief Executive Officer, you have established your business as a corporation, you have a group of advisors or a board of directors (formal or informal), and you know that in addition to a team, you will need access to capital to grow a multimillion dollar business.  You may step into your CEO stilettos right out of the gate or after being on your entrepreneurial journey for many years. There's no right or wrong time to establish yourself as the CEO, so don't compare yourself to others, just step in and step up when "WAY bigger" feels best to you. 

For me, because my boutique M&A firm is a professional practice and a corporation, I titled myself "Principal & CEO". As a practice organized as a corporation with 10 team members and a vision of multi millions in transactions, the title seemed fitting. And now that most of my time is spent in pursuit of training millions of women entrepreneurs to grow bigger, more profitable and sellable seven-figure businesses, guess what my title is? CEO, of course - it's the only way I roll! 

So to wrap this up, my bottom line message is to choose your title thoughtfully.  It's more about creating a personal mindset to grow the business of your dreams than telling the world who you are, so choose your title carefully and then own it as a vehicle to manifest your vision. Who knew titles were so powerful?!

So what do you call yourself? 
Do you think your title represents your vision (current and future)? 

I would love to know your thoughts on titles and hear your story, so please comment below!

XO, jgw.

P.S. If growing a bigger, more profitable and someday sellable business is your manifest destiny, click to learn about our accelerator program - it's a proven road map with a personal guide to get you there!