Sole proprietorship

Business legal structure in which one individual owns the business.

Definition 2:

A business structure in which an individual his/her company are considered a single entity for tax and liability purposes. A sole proprietorship is a company which is not registered with the state as a limited liability company or corporation. The owner does not pay income tax separately for the company, but he/she reports business income or losses on his/her individual income tax return. The owner is inseparable from the sole proprietorship, so he/she is liable for any business debt and also called proprietorship.

On the positive side, a sole proprietorship is the easiest form of business to set up. If you operate your business under your own name, with no additions, you don't even need to register your business name to start operating as a sole proprietor