A proprietorship is the business equivalent of nothing. A vacuum. You’re a proprietorship if you never bothered to incorporate or LLC your business. So proprietorships are the cheesecloth of business entities: everything passes through a proprietorship to its owner — including creditors.

On the asset protection scale of what works, a proprietorship is a zero.

So why would someone want to be in a business as a proprietorship?  Well, it’s seductively easy, a real do-it-yourselfer. Pick a name for your business.  Print up some business cards and stationery showing the name.  Get a website. Voilà. You’re now a proprietorship.  But big deal. Read more