What classifies an agent/broker to state "Principal" on their business card?
We come across a number of different "designations" on business cards of commercial agents. Here are a few - Vice President, Sr. Vice President, Agent, Broker, Advisor, etc.....but what qualifications are required to use "Principal"? Does it mean you own the brokerage or are a Partner in the brokerage, does it mean you own property of your own? Just curious...
[{"id": "ijxsu29", "text": "The ma\u00eetre d\u2019 stops by to say hello to McDermott, then notices we don\u2019t have our complimentary Bellinis, and runs off before any of us can stop him. I\u2019m not sure how McDermott knows Alain so well\u2014maybe Cecelia?\u2014and it slightly pisses me off but I decide to even up the score a little bit by showing everyone my new business card. I pull it out of my gazelleskin wallet (Barney\u2019s, $850) and slap it on the table, waiting for reactions.\n\n___\n\n^(*Bot. Ask me how I\u2019m feeling.* |) [^(Opt out)](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=botrickbateman&amp;subject=Opt%20out)", "replies": [{"id": "ijy3vkc", "text": "Egg shell, with Roman", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "ijxt3xo", "text": "Usually the Principal is the owner or one of the owners of the firm.", "replies": [{"id": "ijxzda3", "text": "This. Also commonly used where the underlying entity is an LLC because putting \"member\" on a business card just sounds weird.", "replies": [], "depth": 2}, {"id": "ijy8no5", "text": "thank you", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "ijyse2b", "text": "You own a piece of the brokerage.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "ijzii4t", "text": "The principal broker is the main person in charge of the brokerage. Legally speaking, in some states, the principal broker represents all of the clients for the brokerage and the other agents in that brokerage represent the principal broker. Also the principal broker doesn\u2019t have to own the brokerage, but most of the time the principal broker is the owner.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "ik07bkq", "text": "Top of the Org chart. Head honcho. Owner. Vested interest.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "ikp7sze", "text": "Some brokers suffer from debilitating inferiority complexes and use their titles much like Patrick Bateman used his business cards in American Psycho.  Outside the Executive Vice President Jesus Maximum Emperor -esque titles, Principal would mean that they have a portion of ownership in the firm / brokerage.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}]