Entrepreneur Resume Sample & Guide (20+ Examples)

You ran a company, developed strategies and business plans, managed employees and contractors, and built a zillion skills. Prove it with this impressive sample entrepreneur resume.

Tom Gerencer

Career Expert

Updated 11/17/2021

As seen in:

Entrepreneur Resume Sample

Matthew Tafalla, Business Manager

matt.q.tafalla@gmail.com

linkedin.com/in/mattqtafalla

303-517-1598

Professional Summary

Motivational business manager with 6+ years of experience. Skilled in coaching, budgeting, and leadership. Seeking to raise revenue, boost efficiency, and lower costs at Greener Reentry Services. At Tafalla West Inc., grew clientele 25% in 20 months through four-part strategy of service streamlining, sales training, outreach, and marketing. Increased revenue 15% per year through direct cold call campaign.

Work Experience

CEO and Business Manager

Tafalla West, Inc.

Jan 2013–May 2019

Ran a business with $1.1M in annual revenue and 25 employees at a profit for 5 years.
Increased clientele by 25% in 20 months through four-part strategy.
Streamlined service offering by surveying 150 top clients, gathering feedback, and recrafting product list. Increased customer satisfaction survey scores 28%.
Created and conducted sales training program that increased average revenue of 15 sales reps by 22%.
Implemented a cold calling campaign that raised revenue 15% per year.

Retail Manager

New England Outdoor Center

Feb 2011–Jan 2013

Increased profit for a summer retail store from $48,000 per year to $78,000 per year.
Trained 10 retail employees in sales and customer service best practices.

Education

2007–2011 CU Denver Business School

Bachelor of Science in Business Administration

Pursued a passion for business management coursework.
Vice President of Student Government, 2010–2011.

Skills

Technical Skills: Computer skills, training, hiring, business knowledge, marketing
Soft Skills: Leadership, collaboration, communication, interpersonal skills

Activities

Volunteer Coordinator, BSA Denver Area Council
Avid kite surfer

Did you run a small business? See our dedicated guide: Former Business Owner Resume Sample

Former entrepreneurs can do all kinds of jobs. Once you know how to write an entrepreneur resume, see our other guides:

Want to save time and have your resume ready in 5 minutes? Try our resume builder. It’s fast and easy to use. Plus, you’ll get ready-made content to add with one click. See 20+ resume templates and create your resume here.

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Sample Entrepreneur Resume—See more templates and create your resume here.

One of our users, Nikos, had this to say:

[I used] a nice template I found on Zety. My resume is now one page long, not three. With the same stuff.

Here’s how to write an entrepreneur resume that gets jobs:

1. Pick the Best Entrepreneur Resume Format

Entrepreneurs start and run businesses, from the one-person shop to the multinational conglomerate. They handle all aspects of business management, from strategy to operation. An entrepreneur resume can prove important business skills the hiring team desires, even if the business failed.

Spoiler alert:

You need to prove you’re disciplined.

A well-laid-out resume can help.

Here’s how to lay out a resume to impress:

While there’s no perfect resume format, the chronological format of a resume comes close. Start with your recent role, then work backwards.
The sections on a resume are header, experience, education, skills, and bonus sections like classes or volunteer work.
Use a clean resume header format with name, title, and contact info.
Not sure how to write a phone number on a resume? List it under your email and LinkedIn address.
Export your resume document as a PDF if the online announcement doesn’t say otherwise. PDFs stay formatted correctly.

Pro Tip: What is the best font for a resume? There’s no one answer, but Arial, Helvetica, Georgia, and Cambria are all safe bets.

2. Write an Entrepreneur Resume Objective or Resume Summary

Act fast.

You’ve only got a few seconds before they skim your entrepreneur resume and move on.

The trick?

Most hiring managers know even failed entrepreneurs have lots of marketable skills.

Reassure them with a solid elevator pitch for a job. Write a summary on your resume with:

One adjective (motivational or hard-working)
The title of the job you want
Your years of experience (6+, 3+)
A goal (raise revenue)
A snapshot of your skills (budgeting, leadership)
Evidence of skills (grew clientele, raised revenue)
Numbers to make it real (25%, 20 months)

Is this a resume for the first job besides your business? Consider writing resume objective statements. They’re similar to summaries, but they talk more about transferable skills.

Pro Tip: “How many pages should my resume be?” A single page works best for most. If you’ve got lots of blistering entrepreneur achievements, feel free to go longer.

3. Customize Your Resume to the Entrepreneur Job Description

This isn’t hard.

But lots of job-seekers blow it.

If you want heaps of interviews, list your entrepreneur work experience in a resume so it looks like the job you’re seeking.

Here’s how to write a targeted resume:

Add business position titles to your entrepreneur work history similar to the job you want.
List bullet points with professional achievements that show you’ve done their job already.
Add numbers to entrepreneur resumes like $1.1M or 28% to show you weren’t just whistling Dixie.

Pro Tip: Can power words for resumes get you hired? Well, they can keep the hiring team’s interest longer, which gives you a bigger shot they’ll like what they see.

4. Tailor Your Entrepreneur Resume Education Section

Here’s a tip:

The education section of a resume should not just list your school, degree, and dates.

Use it as more proof of your abilities.

How?

By adding achievements from your days in school.

Example: they want leadership skills and you were the Student Government Vice President. Put that in your resume!

Pro Tip: Does GPA belong on an entrepreneur resume? If it was mind-meltingly high or you graduated less than one year ago, then show it.

5. List Entrepreneur Skills in Your Resume

Use this job skills list in your entrepreneur resume:

Entrepreneur Resume Skills

You can choose from lots of technical skills in a CV for former entrepreneurs:

Business management
Business analysis
Training
Project management
Negotiation
Hiring
HR
Scheduling
Budgeting
Business knowledge
Finance
Giving presentations
ERP systems
CRM
Computer skills
Conflict resolution
Public speaking
Business development

...and dozens more!

But entrepreneurs don’t just build hard skills. Check out these soft skills too:

Pro Tip: Here’s the trick: you don’t need all those entrepreneur resume skills. See which ones the job ad features prominently, then add (and prove) them.

When making a resume in our builder, drag & drop bullet points, skills, and auto-fill the boring stuff. Spell check? Check. Start building a professional resume template here for free.

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When you’re done, Zety’s resume builder will score your resume and tell you exactly how to make it better.

6. Add “Other” Sections to Your Entrepreneur Resume

Entrepreneurs are special.

Show you’re no exception with special “bonus” sections in your entrepreneur resume.

You can add:

Certifications in a resume
Activities
Freelance work
Conferences
Kudos from clients
Publications
Interests and hobbies
Honors & awards
Media appearances & mentions
Fitness

Listing volunteer work on a resume is a great way to show energy and passion. If you used skills the job requires, make “Volunteering” a special section under “education.”

Pro Tip: Unsure how to list languages on a resume? If they’re needed for the job, make a separate section. If not, leave them out or add them to an under-populated skills list.

7. Send a Cover Letter With Your Entrepreneur Resume

Do you need a cover letter for a job if you’re a former entrepreneur?

Cover letters help a lot.

But it’s vital to know how to write a cover letter so they see your value.

Use this cover letter formatting advice:

Start with the 3-paragraph approach.
Know how to open a cover letter so they stop daydreaming about Pokemon. Beginning with your greatest entrepreneurial achievement is sound strategy.
In the 2nd paragraph of your entrepreneur cover letter, show proof you’re the right choice for the job. (That means more accomplishments.)
When ending a cover letter, offer something. Example: “I’d love to explain how I grew my client list 25% in 20 months.”
How many words is a cover letter? 300 to 350.

When following up on a job application, you don’t need to write Moby Dick. Remind them of the biggest proof you fit the role and get out fast.

Plus, a great cover letter that matches your resume will give you an advantage over other candidates. You can write it in our cover letter builder here. Here's what it may look like:

See more cover letter templates and start writing.

That’s it!

That’s how to write an entrepreneur resume.

What’s your greatest fear about your startup entrepreneur resume? Do you think a resume for entrepreneurs should hide a failed business? Give us a shout in the comments. We’d love to talk!

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