Unit 3: Legal Issues

Introduction

Should your business be a sole proprietorship, partnership, or a corporation?  Will you need financing to get your business up and running?  Will you be able to borrow money?  These are some of the questions you are probably facing as your new business begins to take shape.

This unit will introduce you to the forms of business organization, and legal issues and procedures that you may need to consider when starting up your business.

This unit will also cover some of the commonly required licenses, permits and regulations that apply to small businesses.

 

What You Will Learn

This module is divided into the following sections:

Section One: Methods of Carrying on Business
Section Two: Factors in Selecting Your Business Structure
Section Three: Taxation of Business Entities
Section Four: Creating a Corporation
Section Five: Creation of Partnership, Franchise and Sole Proprietorship
Section Six: Naming Your Business
Section Seven: Legal Checklist
Section Eight: Business Insurance

Learning Outcomes

After reviewing this module you should be able to:

Choose the best method of carrying on your business.
Complete any steps necessary to legally create the method of carrying on business which you have selected.
Determine if you will require debt financing to start up your business, and if so, then determine a source of financing and the securities or collateral you have available.
Apply for registration of a trademark and/or patent if necessary.