Business Ownership.

Authors Avatar

Business Ownership

Sole Trader

A sole trader is a business that is owned and managed by one person. Sole traders are common in simple businesses and they do not need many people workers. A sole trader can employ workers but the owner of the business makes all of the decisions. Sole traders can include hairdressers, corner shop owners and plumbers and it is the most common type of business in the U.K.

An advantage of being a sole trader is that the business is simple and cheap to start up. Also as the sole trader takes all the decisions, they can have full control over their business in all aspects. Another advantage is that the sole trader keeps all the profits made. Lastly sole traders do not need a large amount of capital (money invested into the business) to start up the business.

A major disadvantage of being a sole trader is unlimited liability. Unlimited liability means that the owner is responsible for all the debts of the business. Therefore if the business goes into debt, they will be forced to sell their possessions to pay it off. Another disadvantage is that sole traders have to work very long hours as they do most of the jobs themselves. Lastly the range of skills possessed by a sole trader can be limited as they do not have the skills to run the business.

Join now!

Partnerships

Partnerships are businesses having more than two owners. The partners in the partnership normally all contribute capital to start the business and they all take a share of the profits. Partnerships include businesses such as estate agents and solicitors.

An advantage of being in a partnership is that it can be less stressful than being a sole trader. A partner will be available to cover if the other partner is ill. Also partnerships find it easier to raise capital than sole traders do. There are more owners to invest money, and banks are more willing ...

This is a preview of the whole essay