What is a Sole Proprietorship?

A sole proprietorship is where one individual personally owns all the assets of a business and is responsible for all the business’ debts. There is no separate legal entity in a sole proprietorship situation so if the business is successfully sued, the person obtaining a judgement against the business can collect from the sole proprietor’s personal assets. This is known as personal liability.

Sole proprietors generally carry on business under a business name, a name which their business is known to the public. This name must be registered with Information Services Corporation and a check must be done to ensure that the name is available.