How To Become An Owner/Director: What It Is and Career Path

What is an owner/director and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

As an owner/director, you will provide leadership for managers to enable them to understand the business objectives and values. You'll be responsible for creating business plans and annual budgets. Similarly, you'll create a risk management plan. You'll develop and implement strategic plans. Also, you'll maintain a structure and benefits system that promotes the achievements of the organization. Furthermore, you'll oversee recruitment and make financial arrangements. Additionally, you'll provide a structure for reporting requirements and develop and implement key performance indicators for senior managers.

Although businesses can be owned without any formal education or training, having a degree will be an added advantage. You must possess problem-solving, communication, time management, and organization skills. You must have extensive knowledge of business principles. Also, you must be familiar with modern information and communication technology. Owner/directors earn an average salary of $90,318 per annum or $43 per hour. It falls between $49,000 and $166,000.

ScoreOwner/DirectorUS Average

Salary

3.5

Avg. Salary $45,038

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

9.6

Growth rate 6%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

3.5

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.47%

Asian 6.37%

Black or African American 6.19%

Hispanic or Latino 15.23%

Unknown 4.34%

White 67.40%

Gender

female 65.88%

male 34.12%

Age - 44

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 44

Stress level

9.6

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

9.2

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

3.6

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become an owner/director

Explore owner/director education requirements

Most common owner/director degrees

Bachelor's

54.3 %

Associate

18.7 %

Master's

14.4 %

Start to develop specific owner/director skills

Skills	Percentages
Payroll	22.27%
Financial Management	12.01%
Child Care Facility	6.90%
CPR	4.13%
State Regulations	3.92%

Complete relevant owner/director training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New owner/directors learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as an owner/director based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real owner/director resumes.

Gain additional owner/director certifications

Owner/director certifications can show employers you have a baseline of knowledge expected for the position. Certifications can also make you a more competitive candidate. Even if employers don't require a specific owner/director certification, having one may help you stand out relative to other applicants.

The most common certifications for owner/directors include Child Development Associate (CDA) and Certified Director of Safety (CDS).

More About Certifications

Research owner/director duties and responsibilities

Manage food inventory and stay within the nutritional guidelines set by the USDA.
Lead the effort to identify and implement a cloud base ERP solution for a new business venture in Poland.
Serve and prepare daily snacks and meals according to USDA food program.
Advance to positions of increasing responsibility, culminating in a management role with oversight for all customer relations.

Get owner/director experience

Generally, it takes 4-6 years to become an owner/director. The most common roles before becoming an owner/director include teacher, director team lead and administrative assistant.

Prepare your owner/director resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your owner/director resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on an owner/director resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable owner/director resume templates

Build a professional owner/director resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your owner/director resume.