7 Comments
 

Why not nothing?  Just have a business card with your name on it, and when people ask, explain.

You have to be someone who thinks a title means something before you can be the person who claims that they want the least obnoxious one possible.  If you care about your title (which you obviously do), then lean into it.  You started your own firm, that's the least of your privileges!  But don't expect anyone to care that you didn't name yourself Emperor of ABC Investments LLC or some shit instead of Principal.

Titles matter at huge organizations where there are multiples chains of authority that overlap and interact in strange ways.  If you own the place, you don't need a title to assert your authority, and since my guess is it is just you or you and a few other people, there won't be any confusion in the first place.

 

Yup. Thats what I was going for. I hate titles and just want something basic that doesn't come off as arrogant.

So don't have a title.  Given that it is your shop, and you have all the authority, you don't actually need a title.  If you want a title, which you clearly do, then choose whatever you like, but don't worry about it being arrogant or not.  You're the owner; if you are successful, you are entitled to a little arrogance and pride, and if you aren't, no one will think more kindly of your failure because you called yourself a principal instead of "CEO, Chairman, and Managing Director" or something else pompous.

 

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