Business Owner CV—Sample and Writing Tips

As a business owner, you have worn many hats.

The salesman hat. The accountant hat. The stockroom, cleaning, and worrying about the end of the month hats, too.

Through this invaluable education, you are perfectly equipped to slot into many management and business roles in larger organisations. Let’s work on making them see that right out of your business owner CV, and get them to believe in your brand.

In this guide: 

• A business owner CV sample that is always in high demand.
• A definitive walkthrough on the CV format.
• How to extract maximum value from your business owner job description. 

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Business Owner CV Sample You Can Take Home

Considering many paths? See our dedicated CV guides:

• Assistant Manager CV
• Business Manager CV
• Manager CV Sample
• Office Manager CV Sample
• Operations Manager CV Sample
• Product Manager CV Sample
• Project Manager CV Sample
• Restaurant Manager CV Sample
• Sales Manager CV Sample
• Store Manager CV

Haven't found what you're looking for? Check all our CV examples.

Ready to put on the uniform again?

1. Use a Business CV Format

You may not sell more if your store is clean, or your website works perfectly, but you will definitely sell less if your store is dirty, or your website messy. Along the same lines, you won’t get hired for your font choice, but bad formatting can land your CV in the shredder.

Format your CV this way:

Business Owner CV Format

• List everything in the reverse-chronological CV format.
• Use an easy-to-read CV font in a 10–12pt size.
• Set 1-inch CV margins, and leave adequate spacing.
• The one-page CV rules.
• Outline your CV like this: Header, Profile, Experience, Education, and “Additional.”
• Save your CV as a PDF, unless a MS Word document is requested.

Now that you’re clear on your CV layout, it’s time to stock your shelves.

Expert Hint: An eye tracking study shows that the average recruiter gives 7.4 seconds of their attention to each CV. Keep this in mind throughout this process.

2. Write a CV Summary or Objective That Opens Negotiation

In a business owner CV, the CV profile is your 7-second pitch. Think as a business owner—if you were investing some money in someone, what would you like to know? Mainly what they can do for you, right?

Check out the responsibilities of the position you’re applying for, and adjust your targeted CV to focus on illustrating that you have handled this kind of stuff as a business owner. That’s how you build a bestselling CV summary statement.

Here’s what to include:

• Start the first sentence with a power adjective, business owner, years of experience, industry.
• In the next 2 to 3 sentences illustrate your successes using numbers and percentages. These will be your achievements in a nutshell.
• Close the summary or objective by specifying your intent on running the very business you’re applying for.

See how that works out in practise:

Business Owner CV Summary—Example

Meticulous business owner with 10+ years of retail and online sales experience. Transformed family coin collecting tradition into thriving online business generating £300k in annual online sales and £150k turnover at physical location in sales, appraisal services, and purchasing items at metal prices. eBay Gold Powerseller. Managed day-to-day operations of the store with 4 employees. Created social media following of 12,000 for the business. Provided apprenticeships for two local youths in appraisal and collectible purchasing, who are now tasked with purchasing items at local auctions and sales. Seeking to apply business experience as a Mulligan Burger franchisee.

I am a business owner experienced in retail and online sales. Ran family coin business for 10 years both on site and online. Added additional services on site to stimulate turnover. Employed 4 people. Handled external brand image including social media.

Do you have what it takes to run a business but you’ve never owned one? Your entry-level CV template will need a CV objective statement.

Business Owner CV Objective—Example 

Dedicated manager with 7 years of experience in smoothly running day-to-day operations at a busy restaurant. Increased revenue by 30% in the first year by revamping the menu and sourcing meat products of higher quality from a more reliable supplier. Improved bookkeeping accuracy by replacing obsolete accounting software with a modern, more efficient application. Enthusiastic to utilise proven business know-how at a Mulligan Burgers franchise.

I am a detail-oriented and experienced restaurant manager with 7 years’ worth of experience. Responsible for creating a new menu and finding a better source for meat products. This resulted in increased profits.

See the difference between the good and bad examples? The quantified achievements practically jump out at you and cannot be ignored.

Expert Hint: How to write a CV profile? It is best to do this once you have completed the other sections of your business owner CV, especially your job description.

3. Write a Business Owner Job Description and Skills Section That Seal the Deal

Try and remember all the hats you wore again. Think about how good you were at wearing those hats—how much the sales grew, how much budget you saved, how much needless work you saved by doing something smart. Put it into numbers.

Out of these achievements, pick the ones that match the hats you’re going to have to wear in your new job. This is what they are interested in, and only that. Everything else can become a cool interview anecdote.

See the self-madeness radiate from this job description:

Business Owner Job Description

coinDepository

Business Owner

March 2010–Present

• Built a physical store (2010) and online sales (2012) business specialising in collectible coins, jewellery, watches and precious metals.
• Bringing £300k in online sales annually using a Shopify platform.
• Generating £150k turnover at the physical store in sales, appraisal services, and purchasing items at metal prices.
• Grew the team from 2 to 5 employees.
• eBay Gold Powerseller (£120k+ annual sales), 99.8% positive feedback on 15,000+ transactions.
• Created a social media following of 7,500 on Facebook and 12,000 on Instagram for the business.
• Implemented GoAntiquing! point-of-sale software to improve stock and price tracking and streamline posting of new offers to online stores, saving 20 hours per week.
• Implemented QuickBooks accounting software to save 4 hours per week.
• Implemented Zapier automation for generating sales and new offer newsletters from new stock registered in the system.
• Provided apprenticeships for two local youths in appraisal and collectible purchasing. They are now self-employed, purchasing items from local auctions and sales, and supplying them to our store.

Business Owner

wareHouse

2011–present 

• Owner of a physical and online store specialising in coins and other collectibles.
• Employing 5 people.
• eBay Gold Powerseller
• Managing the brand image, including social media accounts.
• Implemented new software for stock management and accounting to save time.

If there are some skills you have that you think are relevant, but don’t command their own bullet point, add a CV skills section. Make sure that any skills you have which also match the skills in the ad find their way into your CV. This will make for an ATS-compliant CV that will not be discarded before it even sees the light of day.

Business Owner Skills for CV

• Customer Service Skills
• Attention to Detail
• Friendliness
• Energetic & Enthusiastic
• Verbal & Written Communication Skills
• Organisational Skills
• Time Management Skills
• Teamwork Skills
• Collaboration
• Critical Thinking
• Interpersonal Skills
• Decision Making
• Detail Oriented
• Dependability
• Communication
• Problem Solving
• Perceptiveness
• Self Motivated
• Sales Platforms: (e.g. Shopify) 
• Accounting Software (e.g. QuickBooks)
• Sales and CRM SoftwareZapier
• eBay
• Physical Store Diversification
• Social Media
• Employee Training
• Business Plans and Strategy
• Marketing Skills
• Management
• Computer Skills

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4. Turn Your Education Section Into Another Reason To Hire You

Writing a business owner CV is tricky. On the one hand, you’re saying “I abandoned all you know, and did this, this and that!”, and on the other, you’re saying “Please take me back.” People who have left the workforce for a prolonged period of time are sometimes distrusted. You weren’t meant to come back.

Leave the reasons for your career change for your business owner cover letter. If your business owner experience still doesn’t convince your potential employer, a well-crafted education section might. Record your diploma name, school name, and graduation date. Any relevant coursework can also be included in this section (if it’s relevant to the position you’re applying for).

Here’s how to add education on your CV:

Small Business Owner CV Sample—Education

Education 

BSBA in Accounting

University of the West of England

Graduated in 2008

Expert Hint: A good LinkedIn profile can go a very long way. Check out our LinkedIn career advice examples to make your profile as attractive as your CV.

5. Upgrade Your Former Business Owner CV With Added Sections

Let me guess, you didn’t start your business right out of high school. Even if you did, there were a multitude of other things you did that may be relevant. Pick your brain, and if you believe something is truly relevant, perhaps it fits in one of these bonus CV sections:

• Awards
• Certifications
• Foreign Languages
• Hobbies, Activities, and Interests
• Volunteering
• Professional References
• Other skills you haven’t included in your other sections

Compare these two examples:

Business Owner CV Example—Extra Sections

Awards

• Local Business of the Year 2012, 2014

Languages

• Cantonese—Fluent

Other Info

• Chosen Local Business of the Year twice
• Speak fluent Cantonese
• Shopify, QuickBooks, Zapier, GoAntiquing!, eBay

You should be set to go.

Expert Hint: Now that you’re on your way to writing the perfect CV, remember to create a CV cover letter. Many employers expect to see one, and the ones who don’t, will be glad to see one.

Double your impact with a matching CV and cover letter combo. Use our cover letter builder and make your application documents pop out.

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Want to try a different look? There’s 18 more. A single click will give your document a total makeover. Pick a cover letter template here.

Key Points

Ensure that your business owner CV is marketable by

• Adjusting your CV format—margins, fonts, 1 page, reverse chronological.
• Drawing inspiration from ResumeLab’s business owner CV sample.
• Backing up business owner job description with achievements and numbers that relate to the hats you will wear in your new role. 
• Adding your certifications, skills and other additional info in separate bonus sections. 
• Writing a business owner cover letter. 

Got questions on how to write a great CV for business owners? Did we help you get your business owner CV right? Contact us by leaving a comment. We’ll be happy to reply.

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