Definitive Guide To Starting A Home-Based Design Business - Part 4 - RD208

<h2>What structure are you planning for your design business?</h2> <p>In this final instalment of The Definitive Guide To Starting A Home-Based Design Business, I'm covering your business structure.</p> <p>If you haven’t heard the first three parts of this series, I suggest you go back and listen to them.</p> <ul> <li><a href="https://resourcefuldesigner.com/episode204">Part 1 - Is Self Employment For You?</a></li> <li><a href="https://resourcefuldesigner.com/episode205">Part 2 - Business Plan and Your Workspace</a></li> <li><a href="https://resourcefuldesigner.com/episode206">Part 3<span class="Apple-converted-space"> - Legalities and Marketing</span></a></li> </ul> <p>Once you know what you’re going to do with starting your business. You need to decide what form or structure it will take.</p> <ul> <li>Sole-Proprietorship,</li> <li>Partnership</li> <li>Cooperative</li> <li>Corporation</li> </ul> <p>Your business structure will determine how and when you pay taxes. It may affect how you deal with banks, especially if you are applying for a loan or line of credit to help you get started. Different insurance rates may apply depending on your business structure.</p> <p>I’m not a business expert. I highly suggest you talk to your local business center, your accountant, your lawyer and seek their professional advice on the structure that is right for your design business. Plus, the information in this article is based on Canada and the USA. Rules and regulations may differ where in the world you are and may even vary depending on what state or province where you live. That’s why it’s important to seek the guidance of someone in your local area.</p> <p>Also, your business structure can change over time. It’s possible that you start off using one model today, and switching to a different structure down the road.</p> <h2>The four business structures.</h2> <h3>Sole Proprietorship</h3> <p>A sole proprietorship is the simplest way to structure your business. A sole proprietorship is a business that is owned and operated by