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Small Business
Organization. Small Business Types. Small Business Forms &
Structure.
SOLE PROPRIETORSHIP:
A person who does business for himself or herself is engaged in the
operation of a Sole Proprietorship. Anyone who does business without
creating an organization is a sole proprietor. The sole
proprietorship is the most elementary organizational form: the owner is
the business. No legal formalities are necessary to create this form of
business. A sole proprietor is personally liable for all obligations of
the business. The sole proprietorship is usually associated with small,
local enterprise, but there is not legal or geographical limits to the the
scope or complexity of its operations.
PARTNERSHIP
A partnership is an association of two or more persons who carry on a
business. The partner are co-owners of the business, and thus they have
joint control over its operation and right to share in its profit. Each
partner is personally liable for partnership's obligations. The Union
Partnership Act (UPA), adopted in most states sets out the rules to govern
the operation of partnership in the absence of formal partnership
agreement. The partnership is suitable for almost any type of business.
LIMITED PARTNERSHIP
A limited partnership consists of at least one general partner and at
least one limited partner. The general partner is the same as partner. The
limited partner is an investor. Limited partner contributes capital, but
does not have power of management. Limited partnership allows a person to
invest in a partnership and share its profit without becoming personally
liable to partnership creditors.
CORPORATION
The corporation is the most widely used form of business. It consists
of shareholders (the owners of the business) and the board of directors
(the people elected by shareholders to manage the business). The directors
employ the officers and employees to perform daily business operations. An
outstanding characteristic of the corporation is that its shareholders are
not personally liable for business obligations beyond the amount of their
respective investment. The word INCORPORATION refers to the procedural
mechanics of forming a corporation, which may very from state to state.
The first step in forming an incorporation is an article of incorporation
prepared by lawyer and signed by incorporators. The article of
incorporation must be filed with the secretary of state.
BUSINESS TRUST
Business trust or " Massachusetts trust" is organization created by
agreement. One or more "trustees" have legal rights of ownership and
management of business property. The profit is distributed to
"beneficiaries". This form of business organization is created in attempt
to obtain advantage of corporate status, such as limited liability without
incorporation.
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