03/08/2026
Iâm going to say something that will probably offend a few people.
Everyone is suddenly a âCEO.â
Scroll social media for five minutes and youâll see hundreds of them. Usually attached to a one-person operation, a dropshipping store, or someone who opened an LLC last week and ordered business cards.
Letâs reset the room for a second.
CEO stands for Chief Executive Officer.
It is not a personality trait.
It is not a marketing title.
It is not something you award yourself because you filed paperwork with the state.
A real CEO has very specific responsibilities:
⢠They are accountable for the entire organizationâs performance
⢠They answer to a board, partners, or investors
⢠They carry legal and fiduciary responsibility for the company
⢠They set long-term strategy and allocate capital
⢠They build and manage executive leadership teams
⢠They make the final calls when millions of dollars and peopleâs livelihoods are on the line
Thatâs not a social media title. Thatâs weight.
For perspective, I own multiple companies generating substantial revenue. Real businesses with customers, contracts, payroll, and real risk.
And I still donât call myself a CEO.
Now hereâs the part most people donât understand.
Most of the folks using that title are operating under an LLC.
At least here in Texas, an LLC legally consists of **Members or Managers**. Thatâs what the state recognizes. Not CEOs.
You can write whatever title you want in your email signature, but from a legal standpoint the structure is:
Member
Managing Member
Manager
Thatâs it.
The CEO title actually comes from corporate governance, not LLCs.
In a traditional corporation you have:
Shareholders
A Board of Directors
Then executive officers appointed by that board â CEO, CFO, COO, etc.
The CEO doesnât appoint themselves. The board does.
And the CEO answers to that board.
Thatâs the difference.
Most entrepreneurs arenât CEOs.
Weâre founders.
Weâre operators.
Weâre sales.
Weâre marketing.
Weâre HR.
Weâre the guy fixing the printer when it jams.
And thereâs nothing wrong with that. In fact, building something from scratch is a hell of a lot harder than handing out fancy titles.
A CEO is something different.
That title shows up when the company becomes large enough that your job is no longer doing the work, your job is leading the people who do the work.
Until then, youâre probably just a business owner.
And thatâs a title worth being proud of.