Sole Proprietorship | General Partnership | Trade Name/Corporate Style |
---|---|---|
A sole proprietorship is a business registered when there is only one owner |
A general partnership is a business registration where there are 2 or more partners. |
Also known as a trade name and is registered to a corporation instead of a person. |
A benefit of being a sole proprietor is having more control over your own business decisions. |
A benefit to partnerships includes having the ability to draw on various peoples’ strengths and resources. |
This allows a corporation to continue business under a name other than its own. |
A drawback could include difficulty in raising funds | A drawback can be difficulty in reaching decisions, which must be made as part of a consensus instead of individually. |
A corporation can register multiple different trade names. |
A further drawback is the transfer of business ownership, which cannot be done simply and a new registration must be filed. |
Note: A corporation can also be a partner | |
NOTE: If doing business under your own personal name, a business registration is not required. |