I gave myself a promotion

So I’ve started posting more on LinkedIn as I work to reach a wider audience to share the opportunity to join me on an immersive trip to Ethiopia to visit our artisans.

As I dusted off my LinkedIn presence, I realized my profile was wildly out of date.

Definitely not a platform I’ve spent much time on over the years and it showed. 

So, I turned to my pal ChatGPT to help refresh my About Me section, and honestly? It was a surprisingly encouraging exercise.

Seeing all the ways my focus has sharpened & how we’re increasing our impact through job creation around the world in increasingly efficient ways was a moment of real clarity.

And then I saw it—my title.

"Founder + Executive Director."

When you create your own business, you get to create your own title. This was one I had settled on ten years ago & never really reconsidered. 

But looking at it now, I realized something: choosing Executive Director instead of CEO was my way of not taking up too much space.

Who did I think I was to call myself a CEO? 

Most days, I still feel like I don’t know what I’m doing, even after 14 years of running Purse & Clutch. Being an entrepreneur means making something from nothing—bringing an idea into existence. And that’s scary. And vulnerable.

Playing it safe with my title was just another way of keeping myself small.

So last week, I quietly changed it.

Founder & CEO.

And you know what? It felt right.

Slightly terrifying, but in a good way, I think. 

So, let me ask you: Do you need to give yourself a promotion?

Instead of being just a mom or just a volunteer or just an aunt or just a student or just a [fill in the blank]—what if you took up a little more space?

What if you claimed the value you bring—to your family, your workplace, your community—without minimizing it?

What if you recognized that the work you do, in whatever role you hold, is real, important & worthy of being seen?

Because here’s what I’m learning: no one is going to come along & hand you permission to take up space. You have to claim it for yourself.

So consider this your invitation.

Step into your title.

Own your role. 

And don’t be afraid to make it official : )