Updated November 2, 2020:

A Florida LLC AMBR is a member of a limited liability company that is authorized to perform certain business tasks, such as filing documents with state officials.

What Title to Use for the Head of an LLC

When it comes to printing materials, such as business cards or stationary, to be distributed to others, you are allowed to put any title you want on them. However, in the state of Florida, if you are the member of an LLC, your legal title is "managing member." If you hire an outside party to run the company for you, their legal title is "manager." You are afforded some flexibility, however, when it comes to selecting the public title of your top-most manager.

Typically, when you file your limited liability company's Articles of Organization with the state, you will be required to indicate how the business is going to be managed. This will usually be either:

  • Member-managed
  • Manager-managed

A member-managed LLC is formed when one or more of the company's members will be actively involved in managing daily activities. On the other hand, a manager-managed is formed when an outside professional is hired to handle this so the members don't have to. Regardless of whether your company is member-managed or manager-managed, when the company's top-level executive signs any kind of legal document, such as an agreement or a contract, they have to use their legal title for the documents to become official and enforceable.

Good Title Choices

There are two things to keep in mind when you're trying to select a title for yourself or another high-level executive in your organization:

  • Your title needs to let others know that you carry the authority to act on behalf of your company.
  • Your title shouldn't be misleading.

Here are a few examples of good title choices:

  • Owner (If your company has only one or just a few members)
  • Managing Member
  • Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
  • President
  • Principal
  • Managing Director
  • Creative Director
  • Technical Director

There's nothing new or exciting about these titles, but they've stood the test of time and are commonly recognized among most business professionals. The ultimate goal here is to gain recognition while avoiding confusion.

Titles to Avoid

There are a few titles that you should, at the very least, be cautious of using if not attempt to completely avoid using. Some of these titles include things like:

  • Managing Partner

Really, any title that contains the word "partner" should be avoided. Although you likely consider yourself to be partners with the other members of your limited liability company, a partnership is an entirely different business structure. The main difference between these two structures is that general partnerships don't offer any type of liability protection to partners. Simply put, if you sign a contract as a "partner," it's likely going to lead to some confusion and could even lead to you being held personally liable for any agreements or contracts you sign using this title.

  • Proprietor

A lot of single-member LLC owners like the way this title sounds but, similar to a partnership, sole proprietorships don't offer you any kind of liability protection. It's best to avoid any potential confusion and just list yourself as the "owner."

  • Any kind of made-up title

It's no secret that entrepreneurs love to get creative. In fact, many business owners like the idea of inventing their own titles as a way of breaking away from tradition. It's worth noting that breaking from traditional business titles is likely to cause confusion. At the very least, you should combine your invented title with a traditional title by listing something like "Lead Coordinator / CEO." However, this still isn't ideal. It's really best to just stick with the sort of titles people are used to seeing.

While your current customer base may find it hilarious that you call yourself something like "Supreme Overlord," this probably isn't going to go over very well if you plan to try to expand your business and take on new clients or customers. It really is best to stick with tradition when it comes to giving yourself a business title.

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