712 - Types of Business Entities

If you are starting a new business, you want to make sure you do it right. Learn about how businesses can be organized in this episode

Slow dialogue: 1:17
Explanations: 3:06
Fast dialogue: 16:57
Ron: I’m only your tax accountant, but let me give you a piece of advice. If you’re planning to start a business, you’ll want to carefully consider what type of business entity you want to do business under.
Marcela: Is that important? My parents ran a mom-and-pop store for 40 years and they never had to think about stuff like that.
Ron: I don’t know about your parents’ business, but opening a store these days means having to think about the tax implications and liability issues.
Marcela: Liability issues?
Ron: Yes. What if somebody sues you? Without proper safeguards, a lawsuit could bankrupt you and your business.
Marcela: I’d never thought of that.
Ron: You’ll probably want to consider forming a corporation or an LLC. You’ll be a sole proprietor, right? You’re not going into business with someone else, are you?
Marcela: I’ll have two partners actually.
Ron: In that case, you’ll also want to think about things like the transferring of interests and the duration of the entity.
Marcela: Wow, starting a business is a lot more complicated than I thought.
Ron: My advice? Get a lawyer, and the sooner the better!

Script by Dr. Lucy Tse