A sole proprietor

A sole proprietor is in sole charge of a business and is responsible for its success or failure. Unless an activity is specifically prohibited by law, no line of business is closed to an owner.

The chief advantages of sole proprietorship for the proprietor are that the owner is in total control of the business (subject to the requirements of anyone who has provided finance for it), and is entitled to all the profit. The main disadvantage is that the owner is also personally responsible for all the losses and debts of the business. This is called unlimited liability.