A majority of the small businesses in the United States are operated as sole proprietorship’s. This type of business organization is the simplest and is the form usually chosen by the one-person business, in which the owner and worker are the same person.
When two or more people carry on a business for profit, the law recognizes the existence of a general partnership. Unlike corporations, limited liability companies, limited partnerships, and limited liability partnerships, owners of a business do not need to follow specific formalities to form a general partnership.
A hybrid of the partnership and the corporation, has become a popular legal alternative for business owners. Like limited partnerships and corporations, the limited liability company has a separate legal entity from its “members.”
A corporation is an institution that is recognized as a separate legal entity with detached accountability. It has its own rights, privileges, and liabilities distinct from those of its members or individual owners.
A small business may operate under various legal forms. The most common of these, particularly for new startups, is the sole proprietorship. The individual who owns the business receives all of its income and is responsible for all of the business’s debts—including other liabilities to which the business may be subject.
A succession plan is a written document that provides for the continued operation of a business in the event that the owner—or a key member of the management team—leaves the company, is terminated, becomes incapacitated, retires, or dies. It details the changes that will take place as leadership is transferred from one generation to the next.