Finding The Perfect Title For Your Business Card

“Who am I?” It’s a question that’s plagued philosophers for ages, but it has a more practical meaning for those designing a business card. Deciding on the best title to give yourself can be a real conundrum. Are you a Technician, Owner, President, or CEO? What you call yourself can have a big impact on how people perceive you.

The title you put on your business card has the potential to make you look very big or very small. Consider what unique impression you want to make on your client or colleague. An authoritative title can let others know right away that you have the prerogative to make important decisions or negotiate prices. But if you are part of a small service-based company with one or two people (such as a carpenter or website developer), you want your potential clients to know that you are the one who will actually do the work. In cases like these, being personable is the key.

In general, honesty is the best policy. There’s no reason to hide anything; if you are a computer technician working by yourself, then say so. Don’t mark yourself as an owner or a president; after all, when was the last time you saw the president of Best Buy repairing someone’s computer? An appropriate title in this situation would be “Technician,” “Computer Engineer” or no title at all. Giving yourself a title that’s descriptive of what you do also allows you to be seen as an employee of a bigger company, and that is always a good thing.

Another important factor to consider is whom you will give your business card to. If you’re doing the work yourself, you don’t want to give a business card to your customer with the title “Founder,” “President” or “CEO” on it because it makes your company look miniscule. Those would be great titles, however, for a card given to a potential investor, partner or a banker.

A good rule of thumb is to do a little research before you make a final decision. Look at titles other people in your industry are using. If you want to be creative or playful, study synonyms or root words for your job title; you might come up with an interesting variation. If you’re having trouble choosing a title (or figuring out how to work it into your card’s design), it never hurts to work with business card design services like ours. Professional designers will likely have some good advice based on things they’ve seen or done.

One last thing: don’t forget to have some fun! There aren’t any rules written in stone regarding the title you should use on your business card. It all depends on your unique situation. Whether you’re a freelancer, an executive, or part of a small business, choose the title that will provide the greatest benefit to you.

Posted in Business Card Designs, Print Design