When you are starting a business there is a multitude of decisions that you need to make with everything from the company name to your choice of commercial lawyer on the list of options that you need to finalise.
Another decision you need to make is exactly what sort of business entity you are going to operate as. By business entity, we are not referring to the business sector or niche you are going into but rather the legal status of the business you are creating. Depending on the size of the business you are creating and the initial capital you are investing you have a number of choices.
These include a corporation for larger-scale businesses, a limited company, a partnership, or it could be that you setting out in one of the simplest forms of business you can start and that is as a sole trader.
Starting as a sole trader has its pros and cons and it is by weighing these up that you can decide whether it would be the most appropriate for your situation or not. Obviously, we would recommend you speak to your commercial lawyers for more detailed advice, but for now here are some of the basics you need to know about running a business as a sole trader in Australia.