There’s lots of content on the web about naming your business, but what about your own title as the founder of the business?
While becoming a CEO is many people’s dream job title, there’s also a feeling that it can be a bit pretentious to deem yourself CEO when you’re one of only a handful of employees within your business.
Of course, your actions will speak louder than your job title. But it’s important to select one that accurately reflects your responsibilities and skills, as your title will inform the expectations that staff, customers and third parties have of you.
It might seem that many of the options available to business owners mean the same thing, but most represent a slightly different role. Read on for our guide to the most commonly chosen names for a business owner, and what they actually mean…
CEO
Shorthand for chief executive officer, the CEO job title highlights its bearer as top dog.
Traditionally, the CEO oversees the entire business, managing day-today operations while also devising and implementing strategies to push the company towards its long-term visions.
A key part of this is delegation – not trying to achieve everything with your own two hands, but finding the right people in the business to entrust particular tasks to.
If this seems more overarching than your actual role, it may be that a more specific c-suite title – for example, chief technical officer (CTO) or chief operating officer (COO) – will be a clearer representation of your skillset and daily duties.
Similarly, if you’re running a small business with a small team, it’s best to avoid it – the last thing you want is to alienate your staff or put off investors by painting yourself as an egomaniac, and calling yourself the CEO of a team of 10 is one way to do that.
However, as your business grows to incorporate multiple teams and tiers, having a CEO will become more appropriate – or, if you prefer, you could take up the title of…
Managing director
Usually shortened to MD, the titles of managing director and CEO are often interchangeable.
Like a CEO, an MD heads up the running of the business and implements strategies for achieving goals. Again, it’s best not to refer to yourself as an MD if you aren’t involved in all aspects of the business’ growth and development.
If this sounds like your role, whether you pick CEO or MD will be down to your personal taste. Generally, MD comes across as less egotistical in a start-up setting, however if you already have other c-suite employees it might make the most sense for you to take up CEO.
Founder
The title of founder or co-founder implicates you in the business' history, highlighting you as the person (or one of the people) who started it all. Unlike CEO, this title cannot be passed around – if you’ve created the business, you’ll always be its founder even after you exit.
As such, one great thing about the title of founder is that it indicates your passion for the business – it’s your baby, after all, and the staff who work with you may be buoyed to work hard by that.
In a start-up’s early days, the founder or co-founder has a profound influence on the business’ operations and growth; meeting with clients and investors and making crucial strategic decisions.
As your business grows you may find that you’re continuing with this level of responsibility, or that you’re focusing more on a certain aspect of the business than any others. Either way, the title of founder alone – while still accurate – may no longer clearly represent what you do.
In this case, it’s a good idea to combine your title of founder with something that reflects the specifics of your role; whether that’s ‘founder and MD’, ‘founder and CTO’, ‘founder and head of sales’ or something else.
Remember, a founder and a CEO/MD do not have to be one and the same. It may be that you decide to hire a CEO or MD down the line as you progress with a different job title.
Owner
Owner is a title that commands respect, however it doesn’t indicate any specific role within the business; and it is possible for an owner to have no working position at the company.
In heading up a start-up, this won’t be such an issue. The members of your small team will come into frequent contact with you and will have an awareness of your daily tasks (although you may find that clients and investors are confused by the nature of your role).
However, in large businesses the owner might be imagined as a kind of lofty figure who simply gathers a salary while other people actually run the business – whether this is true or not.
If you’d like to be known as the owner but want to avoid this kind of perception, it’s best to combine this with a more specific title, for example ‘owner and COO’ or ‘owner and MD’.
Associate vs consultant: What is the correct name for a freelancer?
Individuals who head up freelance operations might have a similar problem in deciding whether to refer to themselves as an associate or a consultant – a discussion that has appeared in our Startups Forum.
While both can refer to an individual who offers their services on a freelance basis, a consultant tends to package their expertise as ideas and guidance to share with the client, while an associate tends to use their abilities to complete tasks that the client already knows has to be done.
One of our forum users explains: “Functionally, the difference I found was that a consultant answers questions such as “What should I do?” and the associate is given direction: “Do this.”
The key point is that associates can then be assessed for quality of performance to a predefined level, where the consultant functions in a world of ambiguity, where the performance level is harder to define.
The implications are many, from the level of availability and freedom to plan work, to the ability to defend hours spent (and therefore owed) on a job. The consultant adds a value that is not there, while the associate adds bandwidth that is not there, which are two different price tags.
If you provide the service to assess a situation within a specified scope and provide strategic input on the direction to take and how to get there, then I would advise the label of consultant. If your work is more tactically based, or managerial to deliver on certain objectives, then associate might be more applicable.”
Remember, as with any job title, it is what you make it. There aren't exactly any hard and fast rules, but finding the most accurate one will help you to manage expectations and deliver exactly what your client is looking for.
As the head of a company, CEOs can receive hundreds of emails every single day, making their inbox bogged down with information every morning. While some CEOs have stringent policies about how many emails they read or respond to every day, others spend hours each morning going through over 700 emails.
When sending and receiving emails at this scale, one of the most useful tools and additions a CEO can rely on is their email signature. Acting as a central location that shares information about the CEO while also giving off an air of professionalism, this is a vital accompaniment.
In this article, we’ll be taking a look at how CEOs should structure their email signatures, summarizing the must-haves and documenting all the best tips for success. Let’s get right into it.
Why Does a CEO Need an Email Signature?
Email signatures make a great impression when you use them well, with a CEO’s email signature demonstrating core information about who they are and what they do.
Typically, there are three core reasons that a CEO should start using an email signature:
- Sets an impression – In the vast majority of career fields, professionally matters. Email signatures give a level of professionalism, ensuring that people that the CEO messages understand who they’re talking to. Equally, including further company materials on the email signature, like the logo of the brand or a photo of the CEO, will ensure that the email looks as sleek and refined as possible.
- Builds trust and demonstrates authority – One of the other largest advantages of using an email signature as a CEO is it instantly gives a sense of authority. While there may be many people with a similar name in the company, only one has the title of CEO. By including this on your email, you’ll be able to gain a sense of authority in your messages, often leading to a faster response to any questions asked.
- Tells people of your title – Quite simply, including CEO on the post will ensure that people know exactly who they’re dealing with. This can often lead to much smoother communication, with your emails going on high alert to any other employees that they arrive to.
What’s more, email signatures are incredibly easy to create and include in your communications. With this, you’re set to gain many benefits without having to put in much upfront work to make it happen.
What Should I Include in my CEO Email Signature?
When structuring your G suite email signature, there are several core elements that you should include. They shouldn’t be as populated as other email signature structures, especially not as crowded as those present in the HR department’s email signature.
There are six core elements that you should include when creating a CEO email signature:
- Company Colors – Across your text, banner, and other digital elements, you should ensure that you stick to either monochrome or, even better, use your company colors. The latter will make sure that your email signature comes across as cohesive, fitting in nicely to the overarching marketing colors and style that your company uses.
- Information – Of course, one of the central reasons that anyone would use an email signature is the fact that they’re a great place to share information. When it comes to writing an email signature for a CEO, you should include the name of your company, your CEO title, a company link (preferably to your website), and a logo or professional photo. This will give everyone all the information they need when getting in contact with you.
- Specific Layout – As to not over-clutter your CEO email structure, you should aim to follow a certain order of displaying information. Start with your name, then add your title, then which company you work at, then further information or links.
Remember, CEO email signatures shouldn’t be an extended document, it should be short, sharp, and to the point. You’re not using your email signature to overwhelm people reading your emails. On the contrary, they should provide additional information and keep people informed.
General Tips for Success
Although the above information should be more than enough for you to get started, we’ve collected a few additional tips for success in this area. Each of these just gives a little additional context, which will help you to refine your email signature.
Three things to remember when making your CEO email signature are:
- Keep it simple – While some people like to include long winded quotes that inspire them, the reality is that very few people will actually want to read them. The vast majority of people will simply skip over them, with a select few thinking that you’re a little ridiculous for including one. When it comes to quotes, unless you’re really set on including it, we recommend that you save the space and don’t include any additional details.
- Don’t include too much – When creating your CEO email signature, test out a few emails after you’ve finished to see what the finished design looks like. If it takes up a huge amount of space, then we suggest you take out a few things. It’s always better to be minimal, get rid of anything that’s not necessary, and keep things as streamlined as possible.
- Keep it professional – This specifically pertains to the potential inclusion of either a professional photo or a logo. While personal photos can give a sense of relatability to your role, considering you’ll be emailing people both internally and externally, it’s better to select a professional photo. Typically, the photo you should select should be a business-casual photo or a headshot. If you don’t have one of these available, then simply using your logo will be much better idea.
With these three tips in mind, you’ll be well on your way to creating a successful email signature as a CEO.
Although CEO email signatures are important and can be a useful tool, they aren’t all too different from conventional employee email signatures. Typically, you should only include the barebones information, as you don’t want to give out all of your personal information to the potentially 1000s of people that could be emailing you in any given month.
When creating your email signature, stick to the basics, keep things fresh, and continue your own company’s marketing styles and colors where possible. Don’t overthink it and you’ll be well on your way to creating a fantastic CEO email signature.
Have you read?
Best CEOs In The World, 2022.
Global Passport Ranking, 2022.
Top Residence by Investment Programs, 2022.
World’s Richest People (Top Billionaires, 2022).
Economy Rankings: Largest countries by GDP, 2022.
Countries and territories with the largest population, 2022.
Top Citizenship and Residency by Investment Programs, 2022.
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