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There are many facets to being an entrepreneur. Determining the business structure that best suits the needs of the business owner is a vital step. The type of business structure that a person employs may help to create a solid company, or may lead towards failure. To determine what type of business structure is needed, the potential entrepreneur must look at types of business structures available and decide on which one best suits the company.
There are three basic types of businesses; sole proprietorship, partnership, and a corporation. Each offers its own advantages and disadvantages as seen in the table below.
The first basic business structure is the sole proprietorship. "A sole proprietorship is a business owned by one person." (Parrino, Kidwell, & Bates, 2012, p. 6) This type of business structure is the largest type in the United States. This type of business structure offers several advantages including simplicity in startup, the proprietor keeps all the profits and has sole decision making authority, and sole proprietorships have lower income taxes versus corporations. However, there are disadvantages as well including sole responsibility for paying the bills and unlimited liability for all debts and obligations of the business. Additionally, the owner's personal wealth will limit the amount of equity capital that may be invested. The last major disadvantage is that transfer of ownership can be difficult as there is not stock or interest to sell.
The second basic business structure is a partnership. In this category, there are limited partnerships and general partnerships.
A "partnership consists of two or more owners who have joined together legally to manage a business." (Parrino, Kidwell, & Bates, 2012, p. 7). In a general partnership, the same advantages and disadvantages as a sole partnership apply. All partners have unlimited

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