How To Become A President/Owner: What It Is and Career Path

What is a president/owner and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted expert

Mark Zweig

The top dog. You've made it. As a president/owner, you're pretty much in charge of the entire company. Any decision the company is considering requires your stamp of approval before it's made official. That means you'll be listening to a lot of presentations.

Your main goal as the president/owner is to make sure that the company's policies and goals are being upheld and met. Keeping the company on track is your main priority. Everything else comes after that.

The president/owner of a company also has to keep up communication with shareholders and even the general public to ensure the company is on the right path while being transparent in the process. You wouldn't want anyone to think you were being sneaky about anything. Unless, of course, you were being sneaky.

What general advice would you give to a president/owner?

Mark Zweig

Entrepreneur in-Residence, Website

Because the potential is unlimited! An entrepreneur can design their job around their personal needs and strengths. And you can do it as long as you live!

ScorePresident/OwnerUS Average

Salary

8.0

Avg. Salary $114,992

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 6.32%

Black or African American 6.13%

Hispanic or Latino 15.02%

Unknown 4.33%

White 67.73%

Gender

female 24.20%

male 75.80%

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 a president/owner

Explore president/owner education requirements

Most common president/owner degrees

Bachelor's

62.9 %

Associate

14.3 %

Master's

11.5 %

Start to develop specific president/owner skills

Skills	Percentages
Financial Statements	13.79%
Payroll	12.93%
Product Development	9.83%
Business Plan	5.83%
Real Estate	5.70%

Complete relevant president/owner training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New president/owners 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 a president/owner based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real president/owner resumes.

Gain additional president/owner certifications

President/owner 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 president/owner certification, having one may help you stand out relative to other applicants.

The most common certifications for president/owners include Certified Sales Professional (CSP) and Certified Construction Manager (CCM).

More About Certifications

Research president/owner duties and responsibilities

Manage business functions: payroll, A/P, A/R, taxes, business direction, and negotiate contracts.
Manage and maintain business/banking/ordering/scheduling/event coordination and payroll weekly.
Oversee financial reporting and analysis, costing, budgeting, A/P, A/R, collections, fix assets, etc.
Assist with clients' selections and have immense knowledge of paint, tile, flooring, windows, cabinets, doors ...

Get president/owner experience

Generally, it takes 4-6 years to become a president/owner. The most common roles before becoming a president/owner include vice president, general manager team lead and project manager.

Prepare your president/owner resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your president/owner 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 a president/owner resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable president/owner resume templates

Build a professional president/owner 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 president/owner resume.