In today’s era they’re many business structures like sole proprietorships, partnerships, limited liability companies (LLC), and corporations in which individuals uses to start their own business. Any types of business structure that you may choose will have legal and tax implications (SBA, 2016). If I were to start my own business, I would choose a business entity structure like Limited Liability Company (LLC). A limited liability company is a mix type of legal structure that provides the limited liability features of a corporation and the tax efficiencies and operational flexibility of a partnership (SBA, 2016).
Types of Business Structure
There are several business structures that one could use to start a new business and to make a present business much more operative and inclusive. The business structures that will be talked about in the paper are:
• Sole proprietorship
• Partnerships
• Limited liability companies (LLC)
• Corporations
Sole Proprietorship
A sole proprietor is the most modest and common structure chosen to start a business (SBA, 2016). Someone who owns an independent business is usually a sole proprietor. They are no legal action needed to form a sole proprietorship. Sole proprietors are entitled to all profits and are responsible for all your business’s debts, losses and liabilities (SBA 2016).
Steps to form: Sole proprietorship is a popular business form due to its simplicity; ease of setup and at minimal cost (Staff, 2016). You must obtain required
| A sole proprietorship is easy to create; there is minimal creation cost and time.The single owner has autonomy in decision making; sole owner makes all decisions related to the business and has complete ownership of business’s finances.
Sole proprietorships are the most common type of business in the U.S. They are most commonly chosen because they are the easiest type of business to set up and give the sole owner of the company complete control of the company. There are many benefits to a sole proprietorship in regards to control, profit retention, and convenience.
2. Why do many entrepreneurs initially set up their businesses as sole proprietorships? Why do many successful entrepreneurs eventually decide to convert their sole proprietorship to some other form
Sole Proprietorship Sole proprietorship is the most common form of business in the United States. It is a relatively simple way for an individual to start a business since legal costs and business requirements are minimal, and the owner has complete control over the business. Though a sole proprietor is not responsible for any corporate tax payments, the owner is responsible for taxes incurred on the income generated from the business as part of his or her personal income tax payments, and personally shoulders any other risks or obligations. A sole proprietor may also choose to file their business under a fictitious business name or a DBA (doing business as), allowing him or her to operate and market the business under a more typical
Sole proprietorship: Is the simplest and most common business structure. There is no legal distinction between the proprietor and the business, which means it is autonomous. You are entitled to all profits and responsible for all your business's losses and liabilities.
A sole proprietorship is a form of business that is owned by a single individual. • Liability – Due to the lack of legal distinction between the owner and the business, the owner is fully responsible and liable for all debts that the business incurs in the same manner that an individual is fully responsible and liable for all debts that they incur. There is no legal distinction between the assets of the owner of the sole proprietorship and the business; this means that creditors have the ability to come after the owner’s business and personal material assets. Income Taxes – Since the business is the same as the owner of the sole proprietorship, all profits or losses from the business are filed by the
A1a: The Sole Proprietorship is the most common business form in the U.S. It offers the advantages of no-cost, easy startup, and full owner/operator autonomy with regard to business decisions.
Limited Liability Company (LLC) combines the tax advantages of a partnership with the limited liability aspects of a corporation. LLC’s are governed by the Uniform Limited Liability Company Act (ULLCA). All members of the LLC enjoy limited liability unless there is serious misconduct is committed by said member(s), or a member fails to follow through on an obligation. All this should be outlined in your preformation contract. You will have more flexibility with taxation and options on how to manage the company. It would be advisable to also have an Operating Agreement. This will dictate how management will be hired and fired, division of profits, how to transfer interest in the event a member chooses to opt out or dies. What steps to take in the event of dissociation of a partner, and if it causes the dissolution of the LLC. Most importantly how the members vote in the LLC. The weight of the members vote is in accordance with the member’s capital
Sole Proprietorship: A type of business that is owned by and run by one person with no legal difference between the business and the owner. It is easy to form with no cost or time to initiate. It gives the owner the ability to self-govern the business. There are drawbacks; only one owner can be established not allowing a partner. Also, unlimited liability puts the owner’s personal assets in jeopardy with the creditors.
Sole Proprietorship: The word proprietorship can sound intimidating. It is important to remember that most things are simplified with knowledge. If your business is a sole proprietorship then you as an individual are the owner and operator of that business. This means the sole proprietor handles everything from setting up
When choosing a business structure, it is important to understand the kind of liability that you might face. For example, in the case of Jeb and Josh their business venture is very risky, they should choose a business form that minimizes any potential personal liability. I think that a limited liability company (LLC) allows them the maximum protection for their personal assets without the formalities of corporate bylaws, directors and shareholders.
One of the most important decisions when starting a company is to determine the type of legal entity best suited for your business. Each country has different legal business entities under its regulatory framework. According to Dewhurst (2014), the most common types of business structures within the United States are: proprietorship, partnership, corporation, limited-liability company, and cooperative. Additionally, there are other types of legal entities derived from the association of different corporations, such as joint ventures.
After the creation of a business plan, the next step to operating a business is the selection of an appropriate business structure. Different legal forms of business ownerships affect different managerial and financial factors from the business names to the tax obligations (Gregory, n.d.). The most common forms are sole proprietorship, partnership, cooperatives, and corporations. There are different types of corporations in the business world, but the two most general corporation types are S Corporation and Limited Liability Company (LLC) (Ferrell et al., 2013). The sole proprietorship is the easiest and most basic form of business ownership. It is owned and run by one individual, which is the proprietor. The individual is entitled to all profits and is responsible for all the business’s
Is the most common business type, where the business is operated and owned by a single individual. In this type of business, the sole proprietor provides capital, does not share profit or loss and runs the business alone. As such, the business and the owner are indistinguishable for tax and legal purposes (Dlabay, 2011). To differentiate this business from other business types, a sole proprietorship is discussed under the following characteristics.
With a desire to be an entrepreneur, Shania has to determine what type of business structure that best represents her business. There are a variety of business structures that Shania can use to establish her business. These specific types are a sole proprietorship, corporation, partnership, limited partnership, limited liability company, and a few others (U.S. Small Business Administration, 2015). Each of these structures has their unique differences and characteristics.