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  1. #26
    Join Date
    May 2003
    Location
    London
    Posts
    189
    I am the owner but i never state that on thebusiness cards. I use the format below

    Mark Anur
    Sales Depth
    http://www.quicklyweb.co.uk

  2. #27
    Well it seems I am in the minority. I have our company pretty well structured with the titles and our roles. We are small, and almost a year old, but I go by President, which it says on my business cards. We also have a Vice President, and our CFO. We will soon hire a "Technical Director" or something to that effect once we are all too overworked. I have pride in the company Ive spent so long on, and I feel I deserve the title of President. The title of CEO however makes it sound as though it is a big corporation with a boad of directors and such. The board of directors thing will never happen because the first thing they do is try to remove the origional owners from the company. I witnessed that with Cisco and many other companies in the Silicon Valley during the dot com era.
    Thanks,
    Ryan
    AdaptiveHost President

  3. #28
    Join Date
    May 2003
    Location
    London
    Posts
    189
    I make sure customers never get involved with the directors. I only introduce myself as director if i am only going to partner with a company or if i require certain services from a company. While i am dealing with customers i introduce myself as sales person only. Ego does not make you money

  4. #29
    Join Date
    Jun 2003
    Location
    Canada
    Posts
    23
    On my company card, my title is "President".
    On my personal card, my title is "Entrepreneur".

    Personally, I wouldn't use the title "CEO" for the same reasons others specified.
    Not fond of "Owner" or "Founder" however because it doesn't sound professional imo. I think it works for company's which are expected and known to be smaller, but when it comes to web hosting, and you're targetting businesses, that deterioration in title can cost you.

    Is it a crime to come off bigger than you are? I wouldn't say so if you can handle your clients' needs. In most cases using the term CEO would be taking it too far, unless you're a corporation with a full executive team. I think the title Owner or Founder however, is just selling yourself short.

  5. #30
    Join Date
    Feb 2004
    Location
    FTL on the Information Super Highway
    Posts
    142
    Serial Beggar
    Hate Your Family? Have No Friends? Make Me Your Beneficiary!

  6. #31
    Join Date
    Oct 2003
    Location
    Singapore
    Posts
    317
    Administrator
    CyberUltra.Net

    Because originally I was doing almost all the sysadmin and support jobs, but now more focus on sales because already hired somebody to do that for me.

    Maybe will change to "President" or "Director" later..
    Cyber Ultra Network - Reliable Budget Web Hosting Provider Since 2003

  7. #32
    Join Date
    Aug 2003
    Location
    Boston:Mass
    Posts
    231
    My Thoughts:

    CEO-
    For companies with hierarchy of administration. Does not designate you as an owner, but does represent high authority.

    Founder-
    Suits a well established corporation more then a small business.

    President-
    Acceptable, yet should have more employees under them with an established sturcture.

    Manager-
    Very universal, fits almost any administrative position. Very common but does not designate you as the head or owner.

    Owner-
    Works well, does not insist that the company is large or small. Gets you acknowledged as the admin.

    Administrator-
    Would work with a department or something similar. Doesnt seem like a position but more like a label of authority over something. Should be paired with another word.

    Executive Director-
    Alot like CEO, mostly shows you are the top decision maker in the business or corporation.

    Operations Manager-
    Save this title for your right hand man. The person you will trust, and expect to run the company in the event of a tradgedy or interruption in your life.

    Chief Technology Officer-
    Sounds technologically fit. Professional and still to an extent unique. Obviously only fits the Technology Field and represents the top of a hierarchy.


    Which one to use?

    I suggest you start out calling yourself what you plan to be called for the remainder of your entreprenuerial career. You adapt to whatever title you grant yourself. Give yourself some credit, give yourself the title you like. Thats the beauty of entrepreneurship, you make the decisions. So what if other business owners may think its corny, trust me, more people think against your business ambitions then they think with you. People will giggle at more then just your business name, but its not the name that will make it serious its your business and how its run.

    I would reccomend CTO (Chief Technology Officer) because it compliments the business type and will compliment you.

  8. #33
    Join Date
    Jan 2001
    Posts
    578
    I use Executive Director, We do have a CTO and a couple of other directors who are not full time,
    Somehow i too do not like CEO being used in a small organization.Sounds odd.
    I have seen - Director - Business Development on some cards too , or if you do not want to show that you are owner / part owner of the business then simply write Business Development executive.

    Business cards are important, you never know when you would need one though in a hosting business we do not meet clients face to face but some of them who do come and visit i like them to have our cards.

    I think the title of Director / Chairperson / President is accurate only for an incorporated company ( atleast in India) , is it the same in Us and Uk ?

  9. #34
    Join Date
    Apr 2002
    Location
    UK
    Posts
    429
    Ina company with only 3 permanent employees, all of who are equal partners and all of who get equally involved in sysadmin, sales, marketing, administration and finance, it's hard to quote an accurate title.

    So we just put our names on business cards.

  10. #35
    Join Date
    Apr 2003
    Posts
    936
    "Owner"

  11. #36
    Emperor of the Known Universe
    "Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy" -- Ben Franklin
    Twice Tied Laces

  12. #37
    Join Date
    Aug 2000
    Location
    NYC
    Posts
    6,623
    Originally posted by adaptivehost
    The board of directors thing will never happen because the first thing they do is try to remove the origional owners from the company. I witnessed that with Cisco and many other companies in the Silicon Valley during the dot com era.
    In the US at least, a Corporation must have a board of directors. But, there's no reason why the entire board can't be made up of the owners. That's often the case with small business corporations. Most states allow a corporation to have just one director, at least in the case where there's just one owner (in some states, two directors if there are two owners), while a few states still require a minimum of three directors.

    And, there's no way in a corporation to "remove the original owners" unless they are no longer owners (stockholders) but have been retained in other positions. If you're the only owner, or one of a small group, you're in charge. The stockholders select the board of directors.
    Specializing in SEO and PPC management.

  13. #38
    If you put CEO or Owner or something of high authority people will be more inclined to ask you for deals and such. I mean, you'd have a better chance of getting a deal on hosting if you're speaking directly with the president.

    Best bet is to put a non generic title. Sales Rep is good.
    Hockey is Life

  14. #39
    how about "head janitor" that way no one asks for a discount.


    gd

  15. #40
    I use "Administrative Director".

    To me is says you direct all administration of your company, much like an owner would, but without actually calling yourself the owner.
    Last edited by blackworm; 03-06-2004 at 03:47 AM.

  16. #41
    Join Date
    Dec 2001
    Location
    Above The Clouds
    Posts
    7,223
    Technical Director is what I use. I run the technical department that has 6 people and my business partner use Accounts Manager, I think as he runs Accounts/Billing and has one staff member helping him.
    Laurence Flynn @ HostNEXUS.com
    Managed WordPress Hosting Solutions
    Focused on speed. Obsessed with security.

  17. #42
    Join Date
    May 2001
    Location
    Colorado, USA
    Posts
    814
    It's always good to have 2 sets of business cards. When you need to impress or talk to the bank - you're the owner. If you talk to a client - you're a Technical Director or 'hosting specialist'.
    Web Hosting Resource Kit - Web Hosting Reviews & Hosting Tutorials

  18. #43
    Join Date
    Nov 2003
    Location
    Deltona, Florida
    Posts
    646
    my business card says "Owner"
    WHT's Own Tekster

    Do i have a "Technical Support" sign on my back?
    Listen To Tekster Radio!

  19. #44
    Join Date
    Dec 2003
    Location
    Southern California
    Posts
    35
    I would like to see a sole proprietor of a hosting company actually put "One Man Show" on his business card. That would be pretty funny.

  20. #45
    or 'the boy wonder' for the 13 yr old kids

  21. #46
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    Taiwan
    Posts
    1,271
    I use President but thinking about changing it to General Manager because most companies use that here.
    Toeki - a Fikarast Co., Ltd. business (Accredited .WS & CentralNIC Registrar)
    We accept PayPal, Bank Transfers and all crypto currencies (BTC, ETC, LTC ...etc)
    █Domain Registration http://www.toeki.net

  22. #47
    Use just name, no tile in my card.

    It sound good to use title CTO :-)

  23. #48
    Join Date
    Jun 2001
    Location
    Oz
    Posts
    329
    I wouldn't use CTO because it seems to me that if there's a CTO, there'd be a CEO. and if you're the CTO, you're not the CEO, so you're not the boss. if someone gave me a card with the title CTO I would assume they were not the boss. maybe that's just me...

    in any case, I consider using CEO deception if you were not elected to that position by a board of directors/executives.

  24. #49
    Join Date
    Aug 2003
    Location
    Boston:Mass
    Posts
    231
    Well, Bill Gates is the head honcho at Microsoft and doesnt designate himself as CEO or President or anything like that:

    http://www.engagedhost.com/images/gates.gif

  25. #50
    Join Date
    Nov 2003
    Posts
    518
    *if you saw this before I edited...ignore that. lol*

    OK - I just use Owner

    I'd use Partner...because I am...but that term usually implies a larger firm. So Owner works well.

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