[av_buttonrow alignment='center' button_spacing='5' button_spacing_unit='px' alb_description='' id='' custom_class='' av_uid='av-k84w1yr0' admin_preview_bg='']
[av_buttonrow_item label='Real Estate' icon_select='no' icon='4' font='entypo-fontello' size='small' label_display='' title_attr='' color='theme-color' custom_bg='#444444' custom_font='#ffffff' link='post,1' link_target='' av_uid='av-34rfw']
[av_buttonrow_item label='Business Formation' icon_select='no' icon='5' font='entypo-fontello' size='small' label_display='' title_attr='' color='theme-color' custom_bg='#444444' custom_font='#ffffff' link='post,36' link_target='' av_uid='av-2ufj0']
[av_buttonrow_item label='Estate Planning' icon_select='no' icon='6' font='entypo-fontello' size='small' label_display='' title_attr='' color='theme-color' custom_bg='#444444' custom_font='#ffffff' link='post,55' link_target='' av_uid='av-1wmxs']
[av_buttonrow_item label='Intellectual Properties' icon_select='no' icon='ue800' font='entypo-fontello' size='small' label_display='' title_attr='' color='theme-color' custom_bg='#444444' custom_font='#ffffff' link='post,959' link_target='' av_uid='av-1ih7s']
[av_buttonrow_item label='Contracts' icon_select='no' icon='ue800' font='entypo-fontello' size='small' label_display='' title_attr='' color='theme-color' custom_bg='#444444' custom_font='#ffffff' link='post,949' link_target='' av_uid='av-uqic']
[/av_buttonrow]
[av_heading heading='Business Planning' tag='h3' style='blockquote modern-quote modern-centered' subheading_active='' size='' av-medium-font-size-title='' av-small-font-size-title='' av-mini-font-size-title='' subheading_size='' av-medium-font-size='' av-small-font-size='' av-mini-font-size='' color='' custom_font='' margin='' margin_sync='true' padding='10' link='' link_target='' id='' custom_class='' av_uid='av-k84w7ezt' admin_preview_bg=''][/av_heading]
[av_textblock size='' av-medium-font-size='' av-small-font-size='' av-mini-font-size='' font_color='' color='' id='' custom_class='' av_uid='av-k84uzdpp' admin_preview_bg='']
Sole Proprietorship: The Business Is You
The simplest form of business is called a sole proprietorship, in which you earn money from selling goods or services on your own. You can become a sole proprietor with no legal formalities whatsoever. You may even be one without knowing it; many self-employed people, such as freelancers and independent contractors, are sole proprietors.
A person can be both a company employee and a sole proprietor at the same time. For example, suppose you made $20,000 last year as an assistant office manager and $3,000 from your at-home business of making hand-painted napkin rings. Working a few hours a week and earning a few thousand dollars a year, you are just as much the sole proprietor of a business as a restaurant owner who makes $50,000 a year.
Legal steps – No legalities are necessary to form a sole proprietorship except obtaining any licenses or permits required by local and state laws. If you decide to do business under a name that isn’t your own, you will have to register the name with the secretary of your state
Tax treatment – Income and expenses are reported on your individual federal return. Your business income will be taxed at your federal individual rate. You may also have to pay state and local taxes as an unincorporated business, either a percentage of the business’s income or on some other basis
Control of the business – You alone make all the decisions, and negotiate and approve all agreements that concern your business, which is completely dependent on and legally inseparable from you
Your personal liability – Because a sole proprietorship has no legal identity apart from you, the courts consider your business and personal assets and obligations to be one and the same. If you default on a loan you have taken for business purposes, the creditor may take your personal property to pay the debt; and if you cause a car accident through negligence or carelessness, and an injured person wins a lawsuit against you, he can force you to sell your business assets to pay for his medical bills, if they exceed your insurance coverage
[/av_textblock]
