Forms of Legal Business Ownership... Continued

Sole Proprietorship
A sole proprietorship, also known as a sole trader or simply a proprietorship, is a type of business entity that is owned and run by one individual and in which there is no legal distinction between the owner and the business. The owner receives all profits (subject to taxation specific to the business) and has unlimited responsibility for all losses and debts. Every asset of the business is owned by the proprietor and all debts of the business are the proprietor's. This means that the owner has no less liability than if they were acting as an individual instead of as a business. It is a "sole" proprietorship in contrast with partnerships.

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sole_proprietorship CC: BY-SA

Partnerships
A partnership is an arrangement where entities and/or individuals agree to cooperate to advance their interests. In the most frequent instance, a partnership is formed between one or more businesses in which partners (owners) co-labour to achieve and share profits or losses… Partnerships have widely varying results and can present partners with special challenges. Levels of give-and-take, areas of responsibility, lines of authority, and overarching goals of the partnership must all be negotiated. While partnerships stand to amplify mutual interests and success, some are considered ethically problematic, or at least debatable.

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Partnership CC: BY-SA