The Legal Structures

| 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.

The organizational forms a company might have as it evolves from a start-up to a major corporation are proprietorship, partnership, or corporation.

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.

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.

SOLE PROPRIETORSHIP: Has only one owner. Easy to start up. Some of the advantages are: owners may do whatever they want to with the business and if they want to go on vacation they can. One of the disadvantages they cannot bring in another person to help run the business. This business form is particularly common.

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

There are seven forms of business: sole proprietorship, partnership, limited liability partnership, limited liability company (including the single member LLC), S Corporation, Franchise, and Corporation.

Sole Proprietorship would give you complete control since you assume all the risks, which mean you get all the profits, but you also suffer all the losses and liabilities. There is little to no paperwork to be done with a sole proprietorship. You only pay personal income tax to include Social security. The business doesn’t have to file a tax return, but you are still liable for payroll, unemployment and compensation taxes (Clarkson, Miller, & Cross, 2016).

Having a sole proprietorship has many advantages and disadvantages for PODS. Some advantages to having a sole proprietorship would be the ease and cost of formation, having more flexibility and control, able to make quick decisions, minimal legal costs, closing business distribution and use of profits (Ferrell, Hirt, and Ferrell,2014) This is a wonderful option for someone who is just starting out and wants an easier way conduct business. Sole proprietorship also can have some disadvantages such as only having access to limited funds, lack of continuity due to investors not wanting to invest their money into something that has little or no history (Ferrell, et al., 2014). Most new business owners are not able to hire employees which have the qualified skills needed to get the company up and going successfully.

The advantages to the sole proprietorship are single control over the business and its decisions, easy to start up, less regulations and paperwork burden that the other types of business. The disadvantages are unlimited liability for their company debts and actions. The law does not recognize any distinctions between the owner’s business assets and personal assets. Banks are very skeptical about lending to these types business because there is only one person to hold liable for repaying the debt.

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.

All you need is money and a realistic vision. 4) Another advantage of a sole proprietorship is that you pay lower taxes. This happens because as you own your own business, the earnings are considered as the owner’s personal income. Because of this, the sole proprietor may be subject to lower taxes than other forms of businesses, such as a partnership or corporation. 5) In addition to all the other advantages listed, another advantage of owning your own business is that you, the owner determines how much you want your firm or company to grow. You decide if you want to stay a small business or expand, whether it be locally or nationally. This can be advantageous because the owner can determine whether it’s better to stay small or grow. If you’re business is successful, you may want to expand to reach more and more clients, helping you make more money and to establish your firm as a successful one. Or you might think that it might be better to stay small and local, because you might not want to take a chance because you might not want to mess with a good thing. Whatever the situation, the owner decides what suites the company.

The advantages to a LLC are: 1) Reduction of personal liability. A sole proprietor has unlimited liability, which can include the potential loss of all personal assets. 2) Taxes. Forming an LLC may mean that more expenses can be considered business expenses and be deducted from the company’s income. 3) Improved credibility. The business may have increased credibility in the business world compared to a sole proprietorship. 4) Ability to attract investment. Corporations, even LLCs, can raise capital through the sale of equity. 5) Continuous life. Sole proprietorships have a limited life,

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.