What is the business perception of identifying yourself as the Principal vs the Owner? I assume they are largely synonymous (please tell me if there are subtle differences, but in a small business sense, they seem interchangeable). Using "Principal" to me has always sounded fancier 🙂
Also, as a small issue: Is "Principal" the correct spelling? It's not "Principle" is it? My spelling skills are terrible!
Best Answer
"Principal" has a specific meaning in the context of commercial law. From Wikipedia:
Effectively, this means that the principal is the business. In the case of a corporation, say General Electric, the principal is General Electric itself, while Jack Welch was one of its agents during the 80s and 90s. In the case of a sole-proprietorship, the business and its owner are effectively one-and-the-same, so a person might realistically be called the principal in that situation, but pretty much no other.